Hints & Tips

Archive for the ‘Sewing machine information’ Category

There is a product on the market called Dust Away. It is flammable gas in a can and has a long plastic tube which is inserted into the noozle.  Its great for getting into areas of your sewing machine that you cant get into, like under the bobbin.  Cleaning your Over locker will be so easy using this stuff.  I am going to give you the website and you can have a look at where your nearest distributor is – www.helmar.com.au and go to  Products then at the bottom is “Where to get our products”.  I buy mine at a computer shop, because its used to get into nooks and crannies in computers.

Happy sewing

Judith aka genie

Your overlocker or serger can be converted to many different things.  For example you can buy a gathering attachment that slots into a groove on the machine and you will have automatic gathering.  Or you can buy an elastic gathering attachment.  There are a wide variety of attachments you can get for your overlocker.  Talk to your local sewing machine specialist about what you can buy for your machine.

Please note that there are some over lockers that will not take the attachments.

Happy sewing

Judith aka genie

Have you ever had trouble with the tension on your overlocker/serger?  One of the biggest mistakes I think people make is to leave the tension dials and sewing the thread through till it gets to the needle.  The knot going through the tension dial is going to cause it problems.  Think about it.  A knot is going to cause damage as it goes through.

Get into the habit of releasing the tension dials to zero (0) each time you change threads, and pull them through my hand.

Then reset the dials after you have the new thread pulled through.  This will save you a lot of money in service calls.

Happy sewing

Judith aka genie

Another great way to save money is to purchase the 5,000 reels of poly thread, instead of the 250, 500 or 1,000 reels.  The only thing you need to help you is a thread reel holder.  They can be purchased at most haberdashery shops.  I do sell them on my website, but if you live outside of Australia you will have the postage cost as well.

The reels are a little bit more expensive in the short term, but you will find they last a very long time.  Just purchase your standard colours like black, white, cream and grey.  That should get you out of trouble.  I do always try to match the thread colour to the garment.  One of my pet hates is seeing a black garment over locked in white or pink.  It is so unprofessional. You want the garment to look like it has never been altered, so you must always try to match your colours.

Happy sewing

Judth aka genie

If you are altering a lot of black garments, you may like to consider purchasing the fluffy over locking thread.  It comes in a 15,000 meter cone (textured polyester) and the brand I use if called Gramax, but this may vary from country to country.  Its very cheap to buy and will save you a lot of money on over locking.

I buy the standard colours – black, white, cream and grey.  The only problem you will have is fitting it onto your overlocker.  You only use two of these cones, with a normal poly thread on the needle thread, and you would have your over locker set up as a three thread.

To stop the thread from catching underneath the spool, cut out a piece of cardboard that is 6” (15 cm) wide and 9” (25 cm) long. Put holes for the metal spool spikes to go through, and sit this underneath the spools.   If you don’t use the cardboard the thread can drop down and get caught, which cause the thread to break.

This is a real saving in money if you use the Gramax or textured polyester for all your over locking.  Remember you only need two, and you will have to leave a gap between each one because they are so big.

Happy sewing

Judith aka genie

When you are making a tee shirt or stretch top you would have your overlocker or serger threaded as a four thread machine.  This gives you the safety stitch and means you don’t have to sew a seam first, then overlock.

But when you are doing the hem, I would recommend you overlock with only three threads.  This gives the hem a lot more flexibility and stretch without the safety stitch.  Also take the right hand needle out and use one needle in the left hand side for a wide overlock.

Some fabrics will become too tight across the grain and then the stitching will break with the safety stitch on.

Another alternative is to purchase a cover stitch machine which solves this problem.  If you are looking for a new machine to buy take a look at the domestic or industrial cover stitch.  For what I do the domestic is excellent.

Happy sewing

Judith aka genie

If you find that your over locker (serger) is not sewing properly, you may find that its the quality of your thread.  I did an alteration recently and the customer brought the thread with her.  She wanted a rolled hem on a piece of chiffon that she would wear as a wrap.  Ordinarily it should be a simple exercise, but this thread was very coarse and it caused the tension to become very tight.  I broke 3 needles before I finished the job.  I changed the thread to a good quality (different colour) and the machine sewed perfectly.

So use quality thread rather than going for the cheaper ones.

Happy sewing

Judith aka genie

Rather than sewing a long stitch and pulling the threads to gather the fabric, consider getting a gathering foot for your overlocker (serger).   I have a Janome and the gathering foot cost around $25 from memory.  the time it saves is unbelievable.  It will also rouch.  It is as simple as laying one piece of fabric on the bottom (the fabric that is going to be gathered and another piece of fabric on the top (right sides together) and put your pedal to the metal (sew).  It does it all for you.  I would suggest you consult your manual for details.  The beauty of using the over locker is the fact that it gathers and overlocks at the same time.  A big saving on time.

Happy sewing

Judith aka genie

I worked with a lady recently who did not realise she could convert her standard over locker into a rolled hemmer.  The modern versions have the lever on the front which is moved into the Rolled hemming position.  The older versions had a different plate.  The standard plate has an “S” on the under side.  The Rolled Hemming plate has an “R” on the underside.  Your manual should explain how to change, but basically you need to take the “S” plate off and put the “R” plate on.  Move the needle to the left hand side.  Move the dial on the right hand side of the over locker to the “R” position and move the Stitch length to the desired length.  The final thing to do is to move your tension dials.  Usually the top right is on 4, the bottom left on 3 and the bottom right on 7.  You only need to use three threads.  My friend could not believe that she had owned the machine for 15 years and never knew she could use it for rolled hems.

Happy sewing

Judith aka genie

I personally prefer to have one needle in the left (LEFT) hand position and only use three threads on my overlock/serger.  Four threads are really for when you are sewing lycra and other stretch fabrics.  If you are just overlocking a garment from an alteration or making a garment, you really only need the three threads. I think it looks more professional and with the needle in the left hand position, it gives a nice wide over lock.

I had made a mistake in this blog previously saying RIGHT position, when I actually meant LEFT.  All I can say is – it’s old age.  My apologies if I confused anyone.

Happy sewing

Judith aka genie