Equipment Access

• Brother Overlock Serger

• Consew 230 Straight Stitch

• Juki LU-563 Industrial Walking Foot

Safety Considerations

Recommended:

• Closed-toed shoes

• Remove dangling jewelry

• Tie back long hair

Industrial Walking Foot & Industrial Straight Stitch Machine

There is a box that needs to be signed out from the front desk for the industrial machines. In the box you will find:

• Screwdrivers

• Walking foot & Zipper foot

• Bobbins

• Original Instructions for the Walking Foot

You can bring your own needles or buy them for $2 each in the MakerStore.

Industrial machines work on the same principle as domestic, except the motor is on the outside, and is belt driven.

1. Industrial Straight Stitch machine

1.1 Loading the Bobbin

• Go through the steps to load the bobbin

• Explain the differences with winding the bobbin and loading the bobbin between a domestic machine and the industrial machine.

1.2 Threading the top spool of thread

The sewing needle size is determined by weight. The larger the needle, the larger the hole it makes. European needles range in size from 60 to 120, which refers to the diameter taken on the shaft right above the eye. American needles are sized from 8 to 19 in an arbitrary numbering system, and paired with corresponding European sizes

We have two different needle sizes at the front desk for the industrial straight stitch machine 10/70 or 14/90.

• 10/70 needle for medium-weight fabrics like cotton, jersey, Lycra, linen

• 14/90 for heavy fabrics like jeans, vinyl, upholstery or canvas

To insert the needle into the machine, undo the tension screw, insert the needle, and tighten the screw.

• Go through the steps to thread the straight stitch machine

• Explain the differences with threading the top spool between the domestic machine and the industrial machine.

In industrial machines, you always thread the needle from the outside to the inside. You want the channel to be on the side where the thread is coming down and out so it can tuck in.

1.3 Sew a test stitch

General rule of thumb for test stitching: always use the same type of fabric that you’re going to be sewing.

The relationship between the threads, fabric, and tension will change every single time.

If you leave your machine and come back to it later, you should always do a test stitch. You don’t know if it’s been bumped or the tension has moved. This is especially important in a space with shared tools.

When doing a test stitch, don’t test a single thickness of material - we don’t sew that way. Always start on a double layer. Machines don’t like doing small amounts of fabric unless they’re specially designed for it.

Before your start your test stich, oil the machine. You need to oil the machine every time you sit down to sew. Our machine does not have an oil bed. Most industrial machines have an oil bed.

To raise the presser foot, use the knee lift. Feed your material under the foot, and lower your knee to disengage the knee lift and lower the presser foot.

The industrial machine has more power and moves much faster than the domestic machine. The motor has a clutch and there is a certain period of time before the pedal engages the motor.

Stick needle in fabric as a starting position. Always start with needle in material.

Before pressing on the pedal, make sure you are holding both threads at the back of the machine.

Slowly press on the foot pedal to start sewing. It will move very quickly!

After you finish sewing and the machine is turned off, it still has power. Before leaving the machine, lift the knee lift and tire out the machine. You don’t want the next person using it to be surprised.

2. Overlock Serger

A serger is good for finishing the edges with an overlock stitch. With this finishing method, it will never fray. The serger binds the edge and automatically finishes it.

Almost all clothing is made this way because it’s such a secure seam. This type of seam can also hold a lot of weight. It is also good for sewing stretchy fabrics.

Just like a sewing machine, a serger has a hand crank and a pedal, but it also has two top threads and two bottom threads.

Although there are many different types of stitches that can be made with the serger, we’re going to look at 3 main methods.

2.1 Balanced Stitch Methods

Balanced stitches are used in construction applications such as seams, overcasting, edgings, and finishes.

A balanced three or four thread stitch has both looper threads meeting or knitting at the outside edge of your fabric.

2.2 Decorative Serging

By unbalancing your tensions, you can create some very interesting effects. We call this decorative serging or serger embellishing.

Adding decorative threads to your serging creates many beautiful opportunities for creative serging.

2.3 Rolled Edges

The rolled edge and its variations are probably the most used and versatile of all decorative stitches. Variations of the rolled edge make the perfect hems or edgings for napkins, curtains, ruffles, scarves, tablecloths, etc.

3. Industrial Walking Foot Machine

The walking foot is designed for thick material. Nothing thinner than 3mm of thickness on the walking foot. If you go thinner you might run into tension issues.

You can sew regular materials with a zipper foot, but you shouldn’t because it will mess up your material and it won’t sew very straight.

3.1 Install the Walking Foot

There are two presser feet bars and a needle bar that work in conjunction with each other on a walking foot sewing machine. One bar is going up and one bar is going down. At the same time, the feed dog is moving inside the base plate of the sewing machine. This combined motion moves the fabric through the sewing machine all by itself, greatly assisting in sewing heavy fabrics.

Install each part of the foot onto the presser feet bars.

• The outer foot slides into the notch and is screwed into place.

• The middle foot slides over top of the presser foot bar and is screwed into place.

3.2 Loading the Bobbin

• Go through the steps to load the bobbin

• Explain how to wind the bobbin

3.3 Threading the top spool of thread

We have three different needle sizes at the front desk for the industrial walking foot machine. The gauge of the needle is determined by the thickness of the material.

• 20 gauge, for most materials of 3mm in thickness

• 18 gauge, for very thick materials

• Leather needle

Remember that the thickness that you’re sewing is not the thickness of the material itself, but the thickness of two pieces of material being sewn together.

When choosing a needle, the larger the number of the gauge, the smaller the thickness of the needle.

When working with leather, it needs a special leather needle. It’s actually a different shape.

You can view how to thread the needle by watching the video below.