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Category Archives: Sewing Machines


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Sewing Room Reorganization!

Have you ever found yourself being blind to flaws? Everything is fine as long as you’re blissfully unaware of the situation but when you suddenly start to see the problem, it just wont go away. It’s a bit like the Matrix, once you’ve seen the lie it becomes impossible to ignore. My ‘Matrix’ was the sewing room (or rather sewing corner because the same room also works as an office). I knew already beforehand that the room was a bit untidy and that I had collected quite a number of things that was bursting out of the tiny wardrobe. But I didn’t see just how awful it was until we returned from Japan after four weeks of vacation.

I’m pretty certain it’s obvious, but this is what my sewing corner looked like before the reorganization:

Like the proper Swedes we are, my husband and I went to IKEA to get a new and bigger wardrobe. We got two 50cm PAX wardrobes with two BERGSBO doors. The possibly best feature with the PAX wardrobe is the pull-out-tray KOMPLEMENT that I’ve put one of my sewing machines on. Whenever I need it, I just pull out the tray and grab the machine. Wave goodbye to the risk a strained back!

Another feature I’m very fond of is the box combination HYFS that fits perfectly inside the drawers. Inside the boxes, I’ve organized ribbons, elastics, pins and needles, scissors, you name it! It no longer matters if things slide around inside the drawers because they will be separated by the boxes.

Behold my sewing corner after the reorganization!

Welcome to my sewing room
The hanger on the wall also works as storage for the ironing board
Check out the pull-out-tray to bottom left :)
Lace and ribbons neatly ordered inside boxes
There’s also room for a small library
My new serger, a Janome MyLock 644D

In the space between the wall and the wardrobe, I store everything that’s too big to fit inside the wardrobe. For example, a cutting mat, pattern paper, large rulers and my cheap muslin fabric (also IKEA). The observant reader might’ve already noticed that my Pfaff Hobbylock is gone and instead there’s a Janome MyLock 644D. The Pfaff was alright but it broke down right in the middle of my Asymmetrical Neckline Dress project and I had to buy a new one. I guess all machines have their quirks and you learn to deal with them as time goes on. So far, I find the Janome easier to deal with (especially when it comes to thread tension) and I’m really glad I bought it.


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Finally, my bobbin winder is back in business!

After months of waiting, I finally got my hands on the missing rubber ring that’s needed for my bobbin winder to work. Gone are the months of having to, annoyingly slow, wind the bobbins on my old Janome machine. It took me 6 months of fiddling, but my wonderful Singer 20U-53 is now complete! I know this is a pure “sewing machine porn” post but I just can’t help myself. Don’t you just love it when you get more presser feet/needles/sewing machines/other gadgets to further fuel that hobby of yours? :)

For my Swedish readers, I can highly recommend Indukta. With very reasonable prices and great service, these are your go-to-guys when you need more needles or your sewing machine is acting up. So far they’ve managed to answer all my questions and get me all the spare parts I’ve needed.

And of course, here’s a link to their home page: http://www.indukta.se/

Will it fit?
Oh yes it did! Ah yeah!
So far, so good…
This is what I call great success!


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Rolled hem presser foot

I got a very pleasant surprise when I got home today. I had completely forgotten about this little beauty that I ordered for my Singer 20U-53 just before Christmas! What you see is a presser foot that produces a 5.6mm rolled hem as it goes along. The curve in the middle of the foot guides the fabric around and the needle stitches it all in place with a straight stitch. At least that’s the theory. I’m telling you, rolled hems can be quite tricky and I find that pretty much all the fabrics I throw at it behaves differently. Before ever attacking a garment with this, you need to try it out on some fabric scraps.

So far I’ve never used a rolled hem presser foot on stretch jersey but I was thinking now would be a good time to start. After all, I need to finish the hem on the Tamoto dress. First I tried it out on the super-stretchy side and oh well, it looked like s**t before it’s encounter with the iron. Perhaps the problem was that the pressure from the presser foot was too strong. Maybe if I tuned it down a bit, the fabric would flow better and I wouldn’t end up with a wonky mess?

Flipping the fabric around and trying another side (still stretchy but not super-duper) gave me a better result but there’s still room for improvement. The foot works just fine on some good ‘ol cotton so I’m finding this a tad bit annoying. Has anyone got any experience with using such a foot on stretch jersey? Any ideas you’ve got are more than welcome!

The presser foot in action on some light-medium cotton.
All wonky before ironing :(
After ironing. Not perfect but we’re getting there.


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Sewing machine maintenance (Singer 20U-53)

Alright, the wedding dress was all finished and it was time to finally start using the new sewing machine, the Singer 20U-53. I grabbed a piece of random cotton fabric and started test sewing. Oh the horror when I realized that the seam looked like crap! I cursed myself for not testing the machine better before I bought it. That time I noticed that the thread tension needed a bit of work but I honestly thought that it just needed some minor fiddling. As it turned out, no minor fiddling could fix this mess. For a week I was sure that I’d bought a (darn expensive) lemon. The worst thing wasn’t the purchase price but the fact that it’s hard to find, and very expensive to hire, a repairman for an industrial sewing machine. This was something I was aware of when I bought the “lemon” but being my usual positive self, I said to myself “what could possibly go wrong!?”. Famous last words, I know :)

The black thread is the bobbin thread and the white is the needle thread.

The black thread is the bobbin thread and the white is the needle thread.

As the first shock settled, I began diagnose the sewing machine. At a first glance, I thought that it was skipping stitches. However, a closer inspection revealed that the needle thread didn’t pull up properly from the bobbin thread side of the fabric. After browsing the Internet for some miracle cure, I put together a troubleshooting list of things that might be wrong and how to fix it.

  • Check the needle thread tension
  • Check the bobbin thread tension. It shouldn’t be too loose or too hard. When holding the thread and dropping the bobbin + case, it should slide down ~5cm.
  • Change needle. It’s best to use a needle that is appropriate for the fabric and the thread you’re using. Make sure it’s properly inserted.
  • Re-thread the machine (both needle and bobbin thread). Consult the machine manual for this.

Those are the first easy fixes. If that doesn’t do the trick, it’s time to grab your toolbox and open up the machine.

  • The needle thread tension. Pick it to pieces and clean everything. Small thread pieces and lint could be your mortal enemy.
  • The bobbin thread case. This needs to be cleaned as well.
  • Clean all the cogwheels. Remove old grease and oil. Remember to perform the cleaning with the right tools that doesn’t leave any lint behind. I found a can of 5-56 and toothpicks very useful.
  • Oil the machine using sewing machine oil. For the love of all that’s holy, do not use canola oil (it’s not good for the machine and rancid oil smells like shit). Judging by the smell when I loosened a couple of the screws, I wouldn’t be surprised if the former owner used the wrong oil for said screws… Depending on the sewing machine you’ve got, you might need to grease some of the gears. I have yet to do this but it looks like sewing machine oil works fine, at least for a while.
  • It could also be that the timing is messed up. Make sure that the needle doesn’t bump into anything on its way down. I considered changing plate and dog feeds just to make sure that this wasn’t the issue.
The gears before cleaning.
After cleaning!

I don’t think the grease should have this yellow colour and be that sticky. Some 5-56 dissolved the grease enough for me to remove it with a toothpick. As a temporary solution, I applied sewing machine oil. Also notice the large piece of felt. That felt is supposed to be drenched in oil and the same goes for every piece of felt inside the machine. In my case, I think the biggest issues were the oiling and the threading. At first, I threaded the machine according to a manual for a “Singer 20U”. The problem was that it wasn’t made for the 53 model so the information was only partially accurate. I learned that even the slightest deviation from the intended threading managed to screw everything up.

New oil made a huge difference. You could easily tell the difference just by listening to the machine working. Prior to oiling it had a “clonky wonky” sound and afterwards, the sound was much lower and smoother. When I asked the prior owner about how often I should oil the machine she said “once a year maybe”. No wonder the machine was dryer than the Sahara desert under the hood!


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Singer 20U53 – My new sewing machine

I’ve been cross with my Janome 920 for quite some time now. It’s been causing me trouble since the day I got it. The thread tension’s been way off (I even had to adjust the bobbin thread tension the first thing I did). The needle refuses to go to the right, left to centre are my only options. It’s noisy and the fabric feeding feels jerky and wonky.

Long story short, because of these issues I’ve been thinking about getting a new machine. After contemplating my needs, I’ve realized that I don’t really all of them fancy stitches you get with new machines. All I need is straight-stitch and maybe zigzag to make button holes. Other reasons why I don’t want a new machines are:

  1. Good ones are crazy expensive
  2. They’re so plastic -> shorter life-span.
  3. It’s hard(er) to fix a broken electronic machine

Thinking about what the ideal sewing machine would look like takes me back to my mother’s old Husqvarna ZigZag. At first we didn’t really see eye to eye, the machine and I but after some fiddling I’ve come to treasure it. There are seldom any problems and it just keeps on sewing year after year. I would love to own a machine like that!

Then one day I stumbled upon an ad for an 8 year old Singer 20U53! After arguing a bit with myself  (and convincing my fiancé), I knew that I needed (wanted) the machine. Still a bit afraid that an industrial sewing machine wouldn’t be my cup of tea, I contacted the seller and went to try it out.

Isn't it pretty?

Isn’t it pretty?

Sit down and hold on tight to your desk. This baby is one bad-ass machine. It manages 2000 stitches per minute with a stitch width up to 9mm, and an astonishing 2500 s.p.m with a stitch width of 0-5mm. That’s over 40 stitches per second! Another epic feature of this machine is the knee control pedal. Simply pushing the lever with my knee raises the presser foot. How cool is that? Now that I have both hands free, it’s easier to control the fabric.

Buying this machine could be one of the better ideas I’ve had, or possibly one of the worst. At the moment, it’s hard to tell which one it is, but so far I’m happy :)

The beautiful singer20U53! Check out the knee control right in front of the engine.

The beautiful singer20U53! Check out the knee control right in front of the engine.

singer20U53