Beautiful_Sound

Do any of y'all use your vintage zig zag machines to make overlock seams? The Touch N Sew 630 I found is performing wonderfully these past few days, I want to devote it's time to garment construction. I am a complete novice so I'm starting at step one and just studying the manual when it comes to using the machine beyond the joining of fabric or darning, etc. I even ran a few quilting lines on a piece I've been working on, the harp is less forgiving and I don't like the feed as much with all that material. So I think I'll stick to smaller scale work on the Touch N Sew.

Anyway- I had no idea you could create an overedge seam on a zigzag machine! But you can! I have no experience with a serger nor do I own one, but it seems advantageous to use this stitch to finish seams. How about doing this work on an older machine?

manicmike

Do you mean like this?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]525770[/ATTACH]

Beautiful_Sound

Yes exactly! How do you like the strength of the stitch? Does it hold up well after washings and wearings?

elnan

In this picture, the sewer is stitching through at least 2 layers of fabric, using a speciality foot. I'm curious about the straight line of stitches just above the zigzag, or is that a folded edge shadow? There was a time when sewing patterns called for different edge finishes to seams, such as pinking, binding, french seams, or zigzag. A zigzag edge was so much easier. One thing you soon learned was that zigzag edges did not work well on a single layer of fabric, the stitches curling the edge. Thick knits worked fine with a single layer, but you had to work out the tension to stitch length on a practice piece. Any thinner fabric was a puckered mess. I've never seen the instructions for folding over the edge as shown in this picture, what machine would that manual have gone with?, but in those days I probably wouldn't have bothered reading a manual, thinking all machines worked the same.
By the way, I'm probably much older than your vintage machine that would make a zigzag stitch.

manicmike

No, it's the all purpose foot, as mentioned in the manual.

It's the fabric edge.

It was exactly as strong as normal stitches. I don't know how it holds up, having only used it from June this year. It was certainly very neat. Here is the right side of the fabric I used to test the seam:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]525806[/ATTACH]

In most cases I use my pinking shears to finish an edge. If the garment design is modern, I'll use the overlocker.

Macybaby

There are many ways to finish a seam in garment contruction - from basic pinking, zigzag, narrow fold and zigzag, double fold and straight stitch, binding, overcasting, serging.

And you can do some by treating both sides of the seam and pressing open, or treating as one layer and pressing it to one side.

And then there are felling and overcasting done so that you don't end up with a seam allowance sticking out.

I invested in a serge 35 years ago, because of the volume of garment construction I was doing at that time. Glad I did as I'm still using it, though I don't make near the clothing that I use to.

As to whether a edge finish will hold up - that is way more dependent on the weave of the fabric than anything else. Most of the time you won't run into the really strange stuff unless you are working with upholstery or drapery type projects. Or if you get into working with tulles and all over laces. Though I've also run into some spendy satins that need very careful handling - though sometimes it's the cheap stuff that is the worst to work with.