Contents
Sewing Basics
Sewing Toolkit
How to Choose Sewing Fabric
How to Thread a Needle
Basic Hand-Sewing Stitches
How to Sew on a Button
How to Mend Split Seams
How to Hem
Sewing Machine Basics
How to Wind a Sewing Machine Bobbin
How to Use a Sewing Machine
How to Use Sewing Patterns
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How to Use a Sewing Machine
To start using a sewing machine, first place a wound bobbin inside a bobbin case and install it in the machine’s bobbin mechanism. Next, place the spool of thread on the spool pin and wind the thread through the thread guides and through the eye of the needle, leaving a tail of a few inches.
Adjust Thread Tension
Before you start sewing, first make sure that the thread
tension is balanced between the spool and bobbin thread. To set your thread tension, adjust your machine’s stitch length according to the owner’s manual’s recommendations for the fabric thickness you’re using. Then run a scrap of fabric through the machine at those settings:
- The thread tension is correct when only the needle thread is visible from the top of the fabric while only the bobbin thread is visible from underneath the fabric.
- If the bobbin thread is visible on top of the fabric, then the stitches are too tight, and you should turn the stitch length regulator to a higher number.
- If the needle thread is visible underneath the fabric, then the stitches are too loose, and you should turn the stitch length regulator to a lower number.
Start to Sew
As you start to sew:
- Place your fabric in front of the needle, on top of the throat plate and aligned with one of the guides etched into the throat plate. This ensures that you sew with a proper seam allowance.
- Lower the presser foot on the fabric.
- Sew about 1/2" of manual stitches using the balance wheel, then flip the reverse lever and manually reverse stitch over them to secure them in place.
Using the Foot Pedal
Once you’ve manually made some stitches, start using the foot control. This pedal works like the gas pedal on a car:
- Increasing pressure increases the speed of the needle.
- Easing pressure slows the needle’s speed.
- Even pressure maintains a constant speed.
Maneuver Fabric
When you press on the pedal, the feed dogs pull the fabric
beneath the needle. Use your hands to keep the fabric steady.
To turn the fabric as you sew:
- Stop the machine at the point where you need to turn.
- Turn the balance wheel so that the needle is fully extended through the fabric.
- Lift the presser foot with the presser foot lifter.
- Swivel the fabric around the needle so that the new direction in which you want to sew in points in a straight line away from you.
Stop
Always finish a line of stitching by reversing the stitch over about a 1/2" section of the stitches, then passing over the doubled stitches going forward with the balance wheel. Then lift the needle, raise the pressure foot, pull the fabric away from the machine, and cut the two threads so that you have 6" tails from the machine and 1–2" tails from the fabric.
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