Sewing Machine Attachments

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 85, Issue 3, 15 September 1952, Page 257

Sewing Machine Attachments

kyIOST sewing machines are sold with a * ’ * set of special attachments to simplify such work as hemming, tucking, and binding, and some may be adjusted to do other work. Though the purchaser is usually provided with an instruction book describing these labour-saving gadgets, few people get much advantage from them because of a reluctance to try them out. In this article by Helen Paine, Field Officer in Rural Sociology, Department of Agriculture, Wellington, the use of the more ordinary attachments that are included with most machines and the application these attachments can have in dressmaking and household sewing are described. EACH sewing machine attachment is designed to speed up an operation that would otherwise have to be done in two or more steps or by hand. Often after one trial an attachment such as the hemmer is put away in its box with the comment: “It is quicker to do the job by hand”, or the feller is discarded because “the seam was more untidy than those done by the usual method”. However, to try out the attachments once is not enough; skill is required to use all but the simplest, and though this, comes quickly, it is necessary to practise on a scrap of material at least twice before using a new gadget. When sufficient skill has been attained it will be found that time is saved and that a neat finish is obtained very easily by using the attachments carefully. Most attachments are fixed to the machine in place of the presser foot. The needle is .first raised, the presser foot is unscrewed, and the attachment is screwed on in its place. The balance wheel is then turned slowly to make

sure that the needle goes through the needle hole and does not touch the side of the attachment. The Foot Hemmer The hemmer is a small attachment about the . size of the presser foot. It is a plate which fits behind and in front of the needle hole and is solid except for the small scroll at the mouth of the hemmer. The material is fed into this scroll and is turned

under twice before it reaches the needle hole, where it is caught with the machine stitch. When the hemmer is to be used the material must first be folded by hand as if for a narrow (Jin.) hem for about an inch, and then with the hemmer foot raised the material is drawn through the scroll with the hem on the right and the material on the left of the worker. When the portion of the hem that has been folded by hand is under the needle the hemmer foot is lowered and the first few stitches are made very slowly by turning the balance wheel with the hand. With the first, few stitches caught, the rest of the material can easily be guided through the hemmer. With the thumb and finger of the right hand the material is kept drawn over the top of the hemmer .while the left hand keeps the bulk of the material in place. To get an even hem the scroll of the hemmer must be kept just full of material. If the material slides to the right of the hemmer, the hem will be too narrow, and the material in the right hand should be drawn further over the hemmer. If the material is drawn too far over the hemmer in the opposite direction, the hem will be too wide.

The hemming attachment is particularly useful for hemming blouses, the skirts of long dresses, tea towels, the edges of sheets if they have been turned sides to middle, and in fact for any edge where an invisible hem is not required.' It works particularly well with fine materials and is excellent for hemming underwear, and has a special use for those who like to sew the edges of their underwear by hand. With the sewer using the hemmer and largest stitch on the machine,, the material is guided through and caught by what amounts to a tacking stitch.

Lace can then be whipped on to the edge or a shell stitch can be worked much more quickly than when the hem has to be rolled and whipped or turned and sewn at the same time. The tacking stitch can then be removed quite easily. Uses of the Hemmer Sewing on lace: A hem is folded by hand for lin. and fed into the hemmer as previously described. When the first few stitches have been made the hemmer foot is raised and the straight edge of the lace inserted so that it lies under the heel of the hemmer and goes through the slot in the side of the hemmer and over the scroll. The hem has to be guided into the attachment as described before, but the lace also has to be guided by the thumb and first finger of the right hand. This usually requires a little practice before it can be done perfectly. The hemmer can be used for attaching insertion and edging laces, and can also be used with a very large tacking stitch which holds the hem and the lace in position for whipping, and which can then be removed. This is much easier than attempting to roll, whip, and attach the lace in one process.

Sewing a flat fell seam: The two pieces of cloth to be joined with a flat fell seam are laid with their right sides facing; the lower piece should protrude about Jin. The first seam is sewn with the ordinary presser foot, or with the hemmer foot used as a presser foot, the front projections acting as a stitching guide. The first seam should be close to the edge of the upper piece of material, but care should be taken that it is not so close that the seam gives way under strain. The first seam is then opened out so that the two raw edges stand up from the material. The top edge is then folded by hand for an inch and eased into the hemmer until it can be caught under the needle. The edges are then guided slowly through the hemmer as described before.

The Feller

The feller is included with some machines especially for sewing a flat fell seam. It is similar to the hemmer, except that it has no scroll and therefore turns in the material once. only. As with the hemmer the lap seam is sewn in two operations as follows: —

1. The pieces of fabric to be joined are placed on top of each other with the lower piece projecting slightly. Both pieces are guided into the feller so that they are turned down at the same time, care being taken that the same width of material always enters the feller.

2. When the two pieces of material are unfolded and laid flat the join stands up like a small pleat. This pleat is guided through the feller in the same direction as before so that the raw edge is turned in and the hem sewn down.

Equipment for Wide Hems

Some machines are provided with a special series of hemmers similar to that described but specialised for sewing wider hems. They are used in the same way as the narrow hemmer. Other makes of machines are provided with an adjustable hemmer that will sew any width up to lin. The adjustable hemmer is basically the same as the foot hemmer. A scroll attached

to the foot turns the hem in while a projection to the right of the foot adjusts the width of the hem. A gauge marked in sixteenths of an inch and numbered in eighths of an inch from 1 to 8 is set by loosening a thumb screw and sliding the attached pointer to the required mark on the gauge. For instance, for a hem Jin. wide the pointer is set to 4. The adjustable hemmer replaces the presser foot. The hem is turned under for about an inch and inserted into the hemmer under the gauge and through the scroll. The material is then slid backward and forward until the hem is formed for some distance, the pressure bar and needle are lowered, and sewing is done slowly, the material being guided into the attachment. For a hem wider than lin. the adjustable hemmer is still useful for turning in the raw edge, though the main crease must be made by hand. The thumb screw is loosened and the gauge pulled to the right as far as it will go and swung round to the left to expose the 'scroll and projection. The screw is then tightened. The edge to be turned under is inserted into the scroll and will be stitched by the machine, but the crease for the hem must be kept evenly turned under as the machine sews. The Tucker The tucker replaces the presser foot. Two gauges extend to the right of its foot. The small one close to the needle hole is the tuck scale, which adjusts the width of the tuck. It is set by loosening the screw at the back and sliding the guide on the scale to the required * mark. The scale is marked in sixteenths of an inch and numbered in eighths from 1 to 8 over lin. For a tuck Jin. wide the guide is set at 2. The scale keeps the tuck uniform in width. The large gauge in front of the attachment is the space scale, which adjusts the distance between the tucks. It is marked in eighths of an inch and numbered in quarters from 1 to 8 over 2in. The space required between the tucks is adjusted by loosening the front thumb screw and moving the space scale until the number desired is directly, in line with the

centre of the needle hole. A marking lever above the two gauges is pressed down as the machine sews and brings a groove at the end of the space scale in contact with a spur on the blade below it. When these are pressed together a mark is made on the material which indicates where the fold is to be made for the next tuck. To adjust the spaces between the tucks, the tuck scale is first set and the space scale moved to the same number; this will give tucks with no space between. For instance, with the .tuck guide at 1 and the space guide at 1, tucks of jin. with no space between them will be made. With both guides at 4, tucks of Jin. with no space between them will be formed. For obtaining a required space between tucks the space guide is moved the required distance after it has been set at the same number as the tuck guide. For instance, for tucks Jin. wide with Jin. space between them both scales are set at 2 and then the space scale is moved Jin. to 3. For Jin. spaces the scale would be moved to 4. To make the first tuck the material is creased for its whole length by hand. The tuck is then inserted into the attachment so that the material goes under the space scale and between the blades of the tuck guide. When the beginning of the tuck is under the needle hole the presser bar and the needle are lowered and sewing is begun, the material being guided through the attachment. The position of the next tuck is marked by the spur and groove on the space scale, and the material has only to be creased and inserted as before. The tucker is most satisfactory when it is used on fine linens, cottons, and silks; these materials crease easily and the space guide mark can be readily followed when tucks are being folded. Materials such as wools or wool and cotton mixtures or any crease-resisting materials are not marked. Though the tuck guide is still useful for keeping the tucks in these materials even in width, the spacing . of the tucks must be measured and the material creased by hand. The tucker will be found to be particularly useful for making tailored blouses and fine tucks on babies’ dresses. Care must be

taken to see that only fine cotton and fine needles are used, as these are necessary for successful tucking. The Ruffler The ruffler has a complicated appearance, but is really, very easy to use. It can be used for making even gathers for any sort of frill, and also for making small, even pleats. It replaces the presser foot, but when it is being screwed on care must be taken that the forked arm which projects at the top is placed astride the needle clamp. A lever at the back of this projection has two slots marked 1 and 5. If the projection is placed in the slot marked 1 a full gather is sewn. With the projection in slot 5 the material is gathered into small pleats, which are made every fifth stitch.

At the base of the attachment are two blued blades, serrated at the end. The material is inserted between these, and the serrated teeth push the material in pleats up to the needle. The attachment has guides, and the material is fed through different guides according to the particular operation being carried out. The operations are described in detail below. The fullness of the ruffles is adjusted by the large screw on the top projection, the screw being turned up to lessen the fullness and down to increase it. I ■ Uses of the Ruffler Ruffling: The edge of the material to be gathered is inserted between the two blades and under the first projection of the guide at the back. After

the presser bar and needle are lowered sewing is begun, the material being eased into the guide at the back. Ruffling and setting material on to a garment in one operation: The material is placed as described for ruffling; the edge of the garment to which the ruffle is to be attached is placed under the bottom blade and brought up with the top piece of material beyond the projection of the guide at the back. The operation is continued as described for ruffling, both pieces of material being fed carefully into the machine. , Adding a facing to a ruffle when the ruffle is sewn on to a garment: The piece of material to be ruffled and the garment on to which the ruffle is to be sewn are placed in the attachment as described for ruffling and setting. The facing material is placed above both blades and under the projection of the front guide. The three pieces of material are then guided gently through the attachment. For pleating, the material is placed in the same

position as for ruffling and the lever is set at 5. A long stitch will make the pleats further apart, and, with the screw adjusted, pleats of up to jin. are formed. If spaces are required between the pleats, lift the lever and place it on top of the projection at the position marked with a star. The ruffler will then stitch plain stitching until the lever is moved. The ruffling attachment is particularly useful for sewing anything that requires even gathers. Frills round petticoats may be sewn on and faced in one operation. Border frills for bedspreads, eiderdowns, and curtains are easy to sew with this attachment, and are much more even than those gathered by hand. The degree of fullness required can be controlled by the adjusting screw and the length of stitch. A good idea is to try out the fullness on an extra piece of material and adjust the attachment properly before working on the cloth.

The Piping Foot

The piping foot is similar to the presser foot, but has only one prong side bar, which means that with this equipment it is possible to stitch very close to cord or a slide fastener or any other raised surface. It is the simplest of all attachments to use. It replaces the presser foot, and sewing proceeds as usual. Care must be taken that the needle does not get too close to the cord or the metal in a slide fastener, as these will break the needle.

The Binder

The attachment known as the binder is a standard provision with most machines. The material is fed through a double scroll which turns in both edges of the binding material and at the same time folds it in half. The binding material, which should be just lin. wide, is folded by hand for a short distance. It should be folded in half and cut to a point which is passed through the scroll and drawn under the needle. The material to be bound is then placed between the upper and lower scrolls of the binder and under the needle. Care must be taken to keep the material in position so that the edge is always caught by the binding; at the same time the binding must be fed into the attachment evenly. This requires a little practice.

The Shirrer

A small foot like the presser foot with the two front prongs joined is called the shirrer; it is especially adapted to stitch material in gathers. The fullness of the gathers can be adjusted by lengthening or shortening the stitch. An attractive effect can be obtained by winding embroidery silk on to the bobbin and stitching the material on the wrong side. The stitch should be practised on a trial piece of material to get the tension and the fullness correctly adjusted.

Attachments for Darning

Many of the machines now on the market have special attachments for darning and embroidery; some models have no special attachment, but provide an easy way of releasing the presser foot from the presser bar to

disengage the feed. This means that the material can be moved freely by hand and the stitch guided from side to side and backward and forward across the area to be mended or decorated. It is sometimes necessary to use a frame so that the material is kept taut and cannot pucker while being stitched. This is essential for embroidery. For both darning and embroidery the tension of the upper thread should be loose and the cotton should be thinner than would ordinarily be used; otherwise a very thick darn results. Some machines are designed with a free arm projecting so that socks and stockings can be slipped over it and darned.

When household linen is to be darned the special attachment is fitted according to the instructions, which may be different for different machines. The part of the hole farthest away from the worker is placed under the foot of the machine to be darned first. The-stitching is started and the cloth is guided from side to side under the foot so that the machine threads are stretched across the hole and gradually cover it. These should be parallel and close together and should extend some way past the hole to strengthen the material, each row being taken different distances into the fabric to prevent the material tearing at the limits of the darn.

When the rows of threads from side to side have covered the hole the material is turned round and the crosswise threads are put in in the same way. The first rows should be in the fabric itself and then the darn should be made very close.

Darning with Wool

Some machines provide a . special attachment for darning with wool. A foot that looks like a needle with a loop at the tip replaces the presser foot. The wool is fed through the loop and the rest of the machine is threaded as usual with cotton to match the wool. The same adjustments are made to the machine as for ordinary darning. The sock is drawn over the arm of the machine until the hole is under the needle. The wool is placed in the notch in the darning foot. The hole is then covered with rows of wool by guiding the sock from side to side. The wool is caught at the edges of the hole by the cotton machining and carried across it in rows that are fairly close together. When the hole has been covered one way the wool is broken off and the crosswise threads are put in with the cotton as for ordinary darning. This gives a very strong darn that is not as bulky as if both directions were darned with wool. The threads in the second direction should not be too close together if the darn is to be elastic.

Many other attachments have not been mentioned in this article. Some machines have attachments for sewing invisible hems and for making buttonholes; some of the newer and more expensive models can be adapted to sew with a zig-zag stitch, which is used for many different sorts of embroidery.

A description of the uses of these attachments is beyond the scope of this article, which aims to encourage the home dressmaker to use the attachments provided with her machine and those readily available.