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Sunbonnet Sue and Overall Sam stitched on my Willcox & Gibbs treadle
click on the images to see full size pictures and close up of the stitches
These are the first two blocks I made on my Willcox & Gibbs treadle. They aren't perfect, but they're not bad either, considering the fact that they were the first sewing I had ever done on it!
I used a tear away stabilizer and traced my pattern in reverse onto the stabilizer, then placed the stabilizer on top of the fabric, then stitched through the stabilizer. I also starched my fabric very heavily, and between the starch and stabilizer, my block turned out great.
As you can see, I messed up a little on the curves, and sharp turns, but I think this can be overcome with practice. I used a heavy thread that was made for the embroidery machines. One thing you don't want to do, is to use a thread with any stretch to it. The W&G doesn't like stretchy thread, and it will get wrapped around the looper. If you hear a 'ping' sound when stitching, it is probably because the thread is stretching.
My advice would be to make a sampler of stitches, starting with a lighter thread and using different stitch lengths with it, then try other threads of different weights and types and experimenting with different stitch lengths again. Be sure to remember to use stabilizer while practicing your stitching.
After you get comfortable with that, then try some gentle curves and see which stitch length produces the best curve. I think the shorter the stitch the smoother the curved stitch.
Also practice turning corners, they are tricky. You will also want to practice ending off your stitching in the fabric till you get comfortable with that.
Don't try to do a real project till you've spent time doing the above, it will reduce the level of frustration.
While I've practiced chain stitching on my STANDARD Rotary, I've not done a project on it yet. I will try to do that soon, and then post the results here.
Chainstitching on a Kenmore electric sewing machine
Some Kenmore sewing machines come with a chain stitch attachment also. Here is the instruction page for the Kenmore model 1803. Besides being decorative, the chainstitch is very useful in garment making. Using it to sew a seam that may need to be adjusted can save many minutes picking out a seam, as you only have to open the last stitch of the chain, pull on it, and the whole seam is removed in seconds with no worry about ripping the fabric with a seam ripper, or other sharp implement.
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