Blackberry

On my singer 15-91 and my singer 201 if you put the stitch lever at the very top part of the numbers it puts the needle in neutral and if you sew with it in that position it only makes stitches in the same place. If your machine doesn't have the back tack mechanism then i don't know if it has the neutral position or not. Both of my machines have the back tack option and therefore the neutral position

J Miller

On my 66-4 the stitches are controlled by a nob. It takes 7.5 turns to go from full in and the widest stitch, to full out and neutral. When piecing the quilt cover I'm making it would be a royal pain to sit there and screw that nob in and out every time I put on another piece of fabric.

Other than that it is a good idea.

Joe

Candace

Joe, I don't know why you're going back and forth when piecing? I don't and have been quilting for over 20 years and have never done that. It adds bulk to seams and generally is not needed. Just a smaller stitch length for piecing is needed and that's it.

J Miller

Back and forth? Who said I was going back and forth? So far I keep my stitches at about 12 to 15 or so and put the pieces together.

The idea of going small then getting bigger is just out there for discussion.

My wife says just sew the pieces together, then when I put in a seam or a hem or add a crosswise part it will nail them down.
I'm not to that point yet. I just don't want the thing to come apart on me.

Joe

Candace

"I've tried:
Stitching forward a bit, then lifting the needle and presser foot, moving the material back a bit, lowering the foot and stitching over the beginning again.

Stitching forward then lifting the foot and turning the material around and stitching back to the beginning then turning it around again.

Starting in from the beginning, then turning the material and stitching to the beginning then turning it again and retracing my stitches."

This is back and forth to me. Maybe I'm not understanding what you mean. But, yes, your wife is right.

J Miller

OK, sorry bout that. The thread has hit three pages and I forgot what I'd posted earlier.
Basically I was trying to stitch over some like you'd do if you had a back tacker. Pathetic attempt, it doesn't work too good.

Joe

Charlee

Joe, it depends on what you're putting together, but yes, if you're quilting, your wife is right.

k9dancer

Put the stitch length to zero for a few stitches.

J Miller

Stephanie,

That's easy to do with some machines, no so with others. Query: have you ever sewn with an older Singer 66 or 99 or any of them with just the nob to control the stitches? It is not a precise way to adjust the stitches and it takes over 7 complete turns of the nob to get to the zero stitch point. That's why I say it's a good idea in general, but a pain in the butt with the older Singers.

Joe

MrsBoats

I'm surprised no one has mentioned drag tacking yet. Put the fabric under the foot, put the foot down, put the needle down and start sewing, but *hang on to the fabric*. The feed dogs will be trying to move the fabric backwards and you'll resist the pull for a few stitches, then ease up and sew as usual. That will effectively give you a few teeny stitches at the start of your seam with no knob fiddling, or turning the fabric around and about.