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Posted by Sparafucile on May 27, 2008, 4:23 pm
Hi,
As you know, I'm new to sewing, and chalked this problem up to my
inexperience, but now, I'm not so sure. I could use some expert help.
Since a picture is work more than words, I've put photos up on the
web; ignore my pet cat, and scroll down to see the samples:
http://www.smurgle.net/anais/
Here's a description: I tried to eliminate all possibilities, and it
seems to be the Gutterman thread that must be causing the "squiggles",
on the bobbin side, though I don't know why - the black & white are
the worst, though the red is unacceptable. I have also had this
problem topstitching jeans with Coats & Clark Dual Duty Plus "Extra
Strong for Jeans" topstitching thread in gold; I didn't include it on
these samples.
If you look carefully at the top side, there are some squiggles too on
the Gutterman, but not many. The Coats & Clark seems to be almost
perfect; the Gutterman seems to be the squiggly one, though the sky
blue C&C has a few - but not terrible, on the right side.
The Gutterman threads are 100% Polyester (follow the link to see the
store description); I thought Gutterman was a great thread! The Coats
& Clark are their "Dual Duty Plus" cotton covered polyester, and for
the heck of it I threw in a really cheap ($1.55 for 1000 meters)
Polyester size 40 Embroidery thread from Threadart.
The needle is a brand-new Schmtez 80/12 universal, the thread tension
is "4" and the stitch length is 2.5mm. The fabric is all cotton khaki
twill from "Dockers" pants, right-sides facing as if I were sewing a
normal seam. The only difference between stitches is that I paused to
rethread the machine; everything else is constant.
What is causing this????? Can anyone help?????
--
Ciao,
Serge
ŽI love cats because I take pleasure in my home; and little by
little, the cats become its visible soul.¡
Jean Cocteau, 1889-1963
5/27/2008 4:20:31 PM
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Posted by BEI Design on May 27, 2008, 5:05 pm
Sparafucile wrote:
> Hi,
>
<snip>
>
> The needle is a brand-new Schmtez 80/12 universal, the
> thread tension is "4" and the stitch length is 2.5mm. The
> fabric is all cotton khaki twill from "Dockers" pants,
> right-sides facing as if I were sewing a normal seam. The
> only difference between stitches is that I paused to
> rethread the machine; everything else is constant.
>
> What is causing this????? Can anyone help?????
This is generic since I don't know what your machine is:
It appears to be tension related. Whenever I hem jeans,
(and the bobbin thread is going to show on the "right" side)
I tighten my top thread a *lot*. Then test until I get the
right settings. The other problem may be related to bobbin
tension: are you able to loosen/tighten the bobbin thread
independent of the top thread? If so, make small
incremental adjustments, test, and see if you can't find a
combination of top tension-bobbin tension which makes both
sides look right.
Also, for hemming heavy denim you may want to look into a
heavier needle.
http://www.ggcreations.com.au/althea/needles.html
Beverly
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Posted by BEI Design on May 27, 2008, 5:09 pm
BEI Design wrote:
If so, make
> small incremental adjustments, test, and see if you can't
> find a combination of top tension-bobbin tension which
> makes both sides look right.
I should have added, make your tests on scraps of the actual
material you are going to use, and on the *same thickness*,
i.e.folded twice for hems (three thicknesses).
Beverly
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Posted by Sparafucile on May 27, 2008, 5:31 pm
On Tue, 27 May 2008 14:05:18 -0700, BEI Design wrote:
>
> This is generic since I don't know what your machine is:
Thanks, Beverly! It's a White 3100. I just updated the web-site to
include that
>
> It appears to be tension related. Whenever I hem jeans,
> (and the bobbin thread is going to show on the "right" side)
> I tighten my top thread a *lot*. Then test until I get the
> right settings. The other problem may be related to bobbin
> tension: are you able to loosen/tighten the bobbin thread
> independent of the top thread? If so, make small
> incremental adjustments, test, and see if you can't find a
> combination of top tension-bobbin tension which makes both
> sides look right.
Thanks, I'll try the top tension adjustments tomorrow ( for the
bottom, you have to remove the whole bobbin case, turn a screw, etc -
not something I think I should fool with)! Why do you think it happens
mostly with the Gutterman, and not the C&C (which I have read was NOT
a good thread)??
>
> Also, for hemming heavy denim you may want to look into a
> heavier needle.
> http://www.ggcreations.com.au/althea/needles.html
When I did my jeans, I used a Schmetz 16 "jeans" needle with the C&C
gold dual-duty topstitch thread; it squiggled too... now I'll try
cranking up the top tension when I find some scrap denim.
--
Ciao,
Serge
ŽI love cats because I take pleasure in my home; and little by
little, the cats become its visible soul.¡
Jean Cocteau, 1889-1963
5/27/2008 5:17:21 PM
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Posted by Mary Fisher on May 27, 2008, 5:36 pm
> On Tue, 27 May 2008 14:05:18 -0700, BEI Design wrote:
>
>>
Also, check that there's no build-up of lint in the spool area. A 'birds'
nest' can play havoc with tension.
Mary
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