Sewing

Latest News

The sewing area has been remodeled! It is being managed by Kyle. Some machines have been added and others have been repaired.

Overview

We have four mostly functional sewing machines:

• Straight Stitch Drop Feed (Juki DDL 5550-6)
• Straight Stitch Walking Foot (Artisan 618-1SC)
• Straight Stitch Mini Walking Foot (Thompson PW-500)
• Five-thread Overlock Serger (Juki MO-2416)

Tips

• Please DO NOT unthread the sewing machines unless you must. (e.g. to remove a spool of thread, simply cut it close to the spool so that the next person can simply tie a knot with the next thread and pull it all the way through to the needle)

• Needles, bobbins, and other parts are located in labeled drawers underneath the pegboard (PLEASE KEEP IT ORGANIZED).
  • The closest place to get parts is at Apparel City, on Howard between 11th & 12th.
  • Needles may differ between machines and come in sizes (10, 12, 14, 16, etc.). The higher numbers are heavier gauge needles suitable for thicker fabrics. Leather needles have a tiny blade at the tip. Don't use a leather needle for other fabrics, though, it will cut the threads rather than squeezing between them, leaving holes that may start rips.
  • Needles for the straight stitch machines must be inserted with the scarf facing right. Please check the respective manuals.

• If you've never operated a sewing machine before, ask some people at Noisebridge (Kyle or Ely). Sewing machines are not self-explanatory and this page does assume a certain amount of prior general knowledge.
  • Read the manual and do some research online.
  • Printed manuals for the two Juki Machines and the Thompson are located in a grey binder on the bookshelf

• Use provided scraps for testing to determine thread tension and sewing speed.

• Recommended reading:

About sewing machine needles

Understanding thread tension

Sew heavy material

What is a thread wiper?

Winding a Bobbin

• Juki DDL-5550-6 & Artisan 618-1SC
  • To wind a bobbin, place the empty bobbin on the horizontal spindle to the right of the machine body (near the hand wheel). Run a second thread through the upper holder, down to the tensioner at the back of the right side of the machine, in line with the spindle. Thread the end through one of the holes in the bobbin side, from the inside to the outside. Press the lever to push the spindle down in contact with the sewing machine belt. While holding the thread end so it doesn't just whip out of the bobbin, press the pedal to run a couple of inches (if there were fabric in the machine). Soon enough you can let go of the thread end as it will have been caught by windings on top of it. If you are doing a lot of sewing, you can start a new bobbin before the current one is empty, and let it wind up as you sew. When the bobbin is full, the lever will automatically snap out away from the belt and stop winding thread.
• Thompson PW-500 may not wind evenly tensioned bobbins automatically. It may be better to wind the bobbins on a different machine.

Repairing a Sewing Machine

• If a sewing machine is actually broken and non functional, as opposed to just you can't figure out how to make it work, please call Billy from Apparel City at 415-816-8645 (mobile) and schedule an appointment for him to come fix it.
  • He usually charges around $80 per hour, plus parts.
  • Email the list and people will chip in to cover this. If you can't manage this process, email the sewing list and find someone else who can. Also, please put a note on the machine so people know what is going on with it.

Sewing Machines

Straight Stitch Drop Feed (Juki DDL 5550-6)

• DO NOT use the thread cut function (DO NOT depress the back part of the pedal)
  • The machine is missing a thread wiper and needle guide for thread cutting.
  • Juki Maintenance Notes - Replacing the counter knife, needle bar, thread guides, etc.

Overview

• General fabrics, light-weight materials and medium weight materials.
  • Not for leather or book binding. Please use the right tool for the job.
• Electronic Motor
  • The top speed of the machine can be adjusted using one of the knobs on a box under the table, next to the motor. It is the second knob down. Right is faster, left is slower.

Manual for Juki DDL-5550

PDF - https://noisebridge.net/wiki/File:Juki-ddl-5550-6.pdf

Straight Stitch Walking Foot (Artisan 618-1SC)

• This machine is on loan from Ely

Overview

• Popular for upholstery and leather stitching (MUST USE THE RIGHT NEEDLE FOR THE JOB)
  • Recommended SCHMETZ brand Needles
    • Fabrics: 135 x 17 Size(14 to 24), Leather: 135 x 16 TRI Size(14 to 24)
• Servomotor

Manuals for Artisan 618-1SC

• PDF - http://www.artisansew.com/pdf/manuals/exisiting/618SCmanual.pdf
• PDF - http://www.artisansew.com/pdf/manuals/exisiting/618SC_1updatedpartslist.pdf

Straight Stitch Mini Walking Foot (Thompson PW-500)

• This machine is located in a white carrying case in the sewing area
• Bobbin winder may not wind evenly tensioned bobbins automatically. It may be better to wind the bobbins on a different machine.

Overview

• Portable machine for heavy materials like denim, upholstery fabrics, and heavy canvas
• Very similar to the Sailrite LS-1 (refer to Sailrite instructional videos and manual)
  • Instructional videos: http://www.sailrite.com/Cap-Spring-Hook-Needle-Bar-Driver-Timing-for-Ultrafeed

=== Manuals for Thompson PW-500

• Hard copy only (located on bookshelf in grey binder)
  • Can also refer to Sailrite manual: https://saic.instructure.com/courses/1344494/files/52934323/download

Five-thread Overlock Serger (Juki MO-2416)

Overview

• This machine does three kinds of stitches: a three-thread overlock, a chainstitch/overlock combination, or a four-thread overlock. Normally it is set up to do the three-thread overlock, which only requires one needle, and doesn't use the rear thread trace or the second upper thread trace.

• This machine has a knife placed to cut the fabric as you sew, and it *is possible* to cut your finger badly on this knife if you are not careful. BE CAREFUL. This machine also can go extremely, sometimes startlingly, fast.

Tips

• Thread tension is controlled by the knobs on the right front of the machine. Mostly they're adjusted properly, and for most uses of serging the tension is not critical. If the serged stitching is really wonky, though, try messing with the tension dials - be sure the thread is caught properly between the tension plates, as it occasionally gets into the springs instead.

• DO NOT UNTHREAD THE SERGER. If you want different colored thread, simply cut off the current threads near the cone spools, and tie on a new thread. Then either pull the threads through from the needle area (this can be difficult as they are somewhat knotted and you'll have to pull one out through the guts of the machine), or serge for a few inches on some scrap until the new color is pulled through. You may or may not find that the knot catches on the hole in the needle. If it does, just cut it, rethread the needle, pull 6 or 8 inches of thread through, and keep serging for a bit.

• If a thread breaks and forms a tangle, or breaks somewhere in the middle of the threading, you can find a map of how to rethread it on the inside of a little door that opens up just to the right of the knife. It opens downwards and lets you get at the levers and such of the thread traces. Each thread trace is drawn in a different color, however note that the tension dials are of mismatched colors, so follow the guide not the tension dial coloring.

• If you have to replace the needle, the notch in the needle faces backwards and it threads front to back.

Manual for the Juki Serger

• PDF - Media:JukiMO240424142416.pdf