Embroidery the Easy Way?

As promised, I've got a lot to tell you about my newest embroidery sewing machine and the fun I'm having with it. Oh, it's not all fun and games but once you get things figured out it can be exciting to watch the designs appear and creative, too. There's just so much to learn! The machine I've been playing with is a Singer Futura XL-400:

Singer Futura XL400

This is by no means any kind of a high end machine, and a plastic Singer to boot, but it's been pretty easy to use and the end results has been good, too, so I'll shut up now about modern Singers. This machine came to me via Goodwill Online auctions where I got the machine in one bid and a set of three embroidery arms in another bid. I took a chance that one of those arms was going to fit the Singer Futura and it did but now I have a Pfaff Creative 1.5 embroidery arm with large hoop and manual plus an unbranded arm that could be for a Brother machine. But that's okay because I've learned that the right parts just might come along one day or someone reading this post might want just what I've stumbled upon!

The Singer came home with me and I got it all sorted out with a borrowed power cord and foot control but there are issues. I keep getting error messages and it seems like I'm not in the right mode. It occurs to me it might be stuck in the embroidery mode so I back out of it just like I was going to take the embroidery arm off and then start the machine over again and VOILA it works! There does seem to be an issue with the speed control so with a repair manual, free from a Facebook group for Singer embroidery machine users, I find the component that controls the speed and order it. There are also some levers that have their handles snapped off so they also get ordered along with the large hoop that was missing and I'm good to go.

Dell laptop with Futura Embroidery software loaded

I forgot to mention I needed software, too, so I ordered a disk for this model and crossed my fingers that it would work. Above is a laptop with old Windows 7 or 8, a better match for this older system embroidery machine anyway. Everything was installed correctly so now the fun begins! I had some small under four inch circles that I used for making zippered pouches originally intended for earbuds but used for anything. Some of them were just too plain so I downloaded some designs that would fit the fabric theme and colors to come up with the following:

Truckers: another good theme

In the above design with a big truck, there were ten "blocks" where you had color changes and each block had to be selected, sent from the computer directly to the sewing machine via a cable, press Start on the sewing machine and it stitched the block. When finished the machine stopped, you cut off the thread, added the next block, chose your thread and rethreaded the machine, hit Start, and you were off and stitching. Here's the above design all finished:

This might be my mantra

How cute is that? You can see the finished product below. It wasn't all fun and games when Harry Potter turned out not to line up right and I had to remove those extra stitches:

Are those shadows or misplaced outline stitches?

Even my cat, Meg, was curious enough to sit on the chair and watch the needle but this isn't something you can just load and forget: you need to be attentive to any mishaps that can be corrected if found early.

Meg the cat, ever curious about what's going on

I finished a project for work, adding our initials to some microfiber cloths that we use for wiping off white boards. It only takes about ten minutes for each one but with 36 of them it adds up quickly.

Microfiber cloths with BUL stitched on each one

 I had way too much fun with those circles that are for holding earbuds:

Backside to compliment printed fabric on most of them

 Then I have a few designs that I just like and I'm itching to try out but first I need to find a purpose for the design. For instance, I have a Mustang GT and an Elvis head: what could I possibly do with them? I'll think of something!

Scrunchies!

What is old is new again pertains to sewing machines and also the current hair fashion craze called scrunchies. For those who do not have long hair that needs taming, let me explain: scrunchies are a piece of elastic you can wear to hold your hair back but it is covered in a cloth sleeve. This now makes it fashion with a wide variety of fabrics and even sizes. I made up a bunch of these with my grandkids because even the boys wear them on their wrists, partly as a token from a girl to show her interest in a special boy. So now it's fashion and pre-teen hormones! We had such a good time sewing them up on a Singer 99 hand crank:

Emma making scrunchies at home with the Singer 99 hand crank

I thought it might be fun to make up a bunch to sell at our church craft and bake sale. Maybe we could have a scrunchie making party where we sewed up a bunch to sell but just didn't get around to setting it all up. I mentioned this to one of the moms after the sale and she said "I would come and bring my daughter!" so, with her help, we posted a scrunchie making party on Facebook and I got ready.

Fabric was pressed and cut, supplies organized and loaded, and off we went. My granddaughter, Emma, was getting to be a pro at this so I picked her up and put her to work. I ended up cutting out about sixty pieces of fabric in a variety of prints, including Christmas, in cotton and flannel with even a red velvet.

Selection of fabric, all pressed and ready to sew up

I set up a Kenmore electric for those who already could use a sewing machine, a Singer 99 hand crank for younger sewers, and even a serger for experienced or at least adult sewers.  As it turned out, our high school student had taken a sewing class so she sat down to the Kenmore, the younger girls used the hand crank Singer, and the adults, experienced or not, gravitated to the serger.

Kenmore electric and White Speedylock serger

Although I had the four steps all on samples it still took supervision to get everyone on track and sewing. I also had to keep those machines threaded as well as brief teaching along the way. 

Emma learning to thread the Singer 99

Over the two hours we were set up, there were four adults and four kids working on three machines to make up 25-30 scrunchies!

A busy bunch, waiting for their turn, in a basement classroom

All pitched in and helped with the clean up and bringing everything back to the cars, remaining snacks were divided up, and we called it a success:

Emma showing off her earlier success in sewing

An abundance of scrunchies!

This might be a repeat performance at a Girl Scout meeting so we shall see. Even with all of the planning and prep, it was well worth it to get more people sewing and having fun while doing it.

Next up, I promise, is the fixed Singer embroidery sewing machine. Stay tuned!

Manly Kenmore Sewing Machines

I know I promised to write about a new-to-me embroidery sewing machine but since I'm waiting for parts it's on hold for now. But, there's so much else to write about I better tell you of my latest adventure. It's all about Kenmore sewing machines and men: they want something heavyweight but not expensive and I've got Kenmore's for them!

Kenmore 158-1755

With only one cabinet left to sell, I got a call from Michael who was interested in the Brother Select-O-Matic in a compact cabinet. Excited to finally getting it out of my living room and into someone else's house, even though weather has been poor, he came right over to check it out. As we talked about his sewing needs I could tell he needed something that would be heavier duty and the Brother wasn't going to cut it. I brought out a Kenmore 158-1755, a great heavy machine with built in zigzag stitches but also cam ready. He wasn't interested in decorative stitches just wanted to sew up canvas for his boat. He went home happy but the Brother in a cabinet still lives in my front room.

Brother Select-O-Matic

A few days later I got an email asking for advice about sewing up canvas and seat covers for another boat. This time it's James from Chesapeake Bay who sent a detailed list of questions along with what he wanted to accomplish. At the end of his email was a photo of his boat, a real beauty. Should he go with a portable Sailrite? Walking foot? Zigzag? Industrial? I digested his request and organized my thoughts and came up with the following advice:

1. I have never used a Sailrite but it will probably do the job for you and because of  their excellent reputation you can easily sell it when you are done. Other portable walking foot sewing machines I have used, Consew and Reliable Baracuda, are just too rough and required a steep learning curve for me.

Reliable Barricuda

Consew CP206R

2. Walking foot built in or as an attachment is the way to go. It works to keep layers of fabric from slipping out from under by putting feed dogs on top to work with the regular feed dogs on the bottom.
3. Portable versus table models, or industrial versus home/domestic sewing machine: canvas and large items are bulky and heavy so they need support as you are sewing them. A table gives that support. Consider that into the mix of decisions.
4. Expensive Sailrite or industrial: is this really necessary? For a beginner, and most of these questions come from beginners, maybe it would work out better to learn some skills on a sewing machine that is less of an investment, say a Kenmore. For less than a hundred dollars you can get a solid sewing machine that can sew most anything you throw at it up to size 18 needle. This is a good way to build up sewing skills by practicing sewing on vinyl and canvas while making seat covers and trying to figure out what works and what doesn't. Making up some bags with zippers to store gear would be a great way to learn to use the sewing machine and give you a practical goal.

Although I'm not sure what James is going to do, there are quite a few men sewing in Minnesota using Kenmore's I have sold to them. That Brother sewing machine is going to sell but not until I find the buyer who can use it as it was meant to be used. It's a huge disappointment to buy a tool only to find out it's the wrong one and now you are stuck with it. By using available expertise you can save yourself time, money, and grief or maybe that's just part of the process for some. Go figure!

Deep Knee Bends

I'm having knee problems; No, not my knees but knee controls. Bernina Record 730's can come with a knee lever as speed control and although I have one of these machines I cannot find a lever for it. Two have sold while I was searching so I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong in my search that I cannot find and purchase before it is gone but I'll keep trying. It's the all metal folding kind, not the one with a plastic handle (the connections are different):

Bernina Record knee power control (not presser foot lifter)

While I continue to search for this elusive knee bar control, I picked up a Singer 99 in a bentwood case that also used a knee bar for speed control. The wiring looked unsafe so before I could even test it out I needed to fix that wiring. It was a model that used these very old plugs but you can take them apart and add new wires:

Plugs that need new wire

Screw for tightening down the new wire (red circle)

Even the funky plug connection was different than most so I added new wire and a new wire and plug to the outlet. It ran but things just didn't look right. Come to find out, the knee lever pulls on an internal lever to activate:

Control box and how it should look inside

How mine looked: see lever out of the slot

and it wasn't in the slot but next to it. Wait a minute, the whole thing isn't screwed down. When I removed enough of the mechanism I found three screws floating around in the bottom so it must have been tinkered with and not returned to its original state. I got it all screwed down, every lever in position, and it worked. Well, there was power to the motor but the sewing machine needed oil and cleaning to rectify the sticking points. As I worked with it all of a sudden it just didn't work. Dead. No power. Since my husband had been sitting at the table at the time, we discussed all of the possible problems and why it suddenly stopped getting power. Out came the multimeter, going over all of the steps we took before this happened, but he kept saying "It's gotta be the box" meaning the metal box where the controller was housed.

Now I took everything apart, again. and when I pulled up the controller there was only one wire connected. It needs two. Upon closer inspection I could see where the wire had finally snapped off. No wonder! With very careful work I could pull through enough wire to give it a new connection, making sure there was no wire touching the metal box. Warning! Warning! Warning! I am not an electrician and only do what I know is sound, having either my husband check my work or I consult with a son-in-law who is an electrician. Do not take chances with electricity!

This one looks pretty nasty inside but both leads are connected

Once I got things back in good shape, it finally ran but needed that cleaning and oiling, all easy in comparison to replacing so much of the electrical system. But there's another part of this tale: I sold the same model to Jordan and the knee lever was not in the right position. I was sure I had worked on it and there was no repositioning of the knee lever. But maybe the lever in the control box wasn't inside the slot to put it in the correct position. Here's the steps to correcting this problem (lever positioning, not electrical connections):

How it looked before with lever outside of the correct slot (green circle)

Remove screw (purple circle) to either lift lever off or up

Move lever (red circle) into place and tighten everything back up

As you take it apart it might fall into too many pieces so take a good look at it before you start to see how it all fits back together. You only need to check the wiring and to make sure the lever is in the correct position.

Icy weather out now so we are hunkered down and sewing. What's up now? An embroidery machine! That's next up so stay tuned.