Saturday, 18 October 2008
Needle Guard update
I spoke to my local dealer today. The needle guard is used mainly to keep fingers safe...there is an opening at the top of the guard so the needle could still fly up.
He suggested that wearing safety glasses would be the best, especially for this project .
He also thought that because I was breaking so many needles that something might be misaligned on my machine. He wanted me to check and make sure that the needle is going up and down properly and not off center. It does appear to me that everything is alright.... Or.... I might also be using the wrong needle. I started with an 80/12, but that wasn't working very well..... the fabric was too thick. I switched to a 90/14 stretch. The fabric does have stretch but now that I re-check the fabric again, maybe not enough for this type of needle- oops. So I will change to a 90/14 universal needle and see if it makes a difference. I have a feeling it will :) I am not one for dramatics, but this actually did put a scare into me, so I think I will, for now, wear safety glasses when I sew. It's one of those things that is so simple to do but can make such a big difference.
Happy Sewing!
Ann
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
Oupsy, I asked my question about using the needle gard to fast. Thank you for the update.
Ann .- am very sorry what happened (earlier post). sometimes these things happen and suddenly begin to break all the needles. I did not know these protectors. The truth is that I have two very old sewing machines, but they still work to perfection. so far the only thing that has happened to me is that I stuck the needle in a finger. You also try to sew with a point a bit long (3 - 3.5 mm.). I hope that everything goes well from now on. a hug and a wish: "Happy sewing." Paco
I've never heard of needle guards before. Interesting.
Ouch Paco, a needle in the finger does not sound nice at all.
I have been using a 3.5 stitch and that does appear to be working for me.
The bigger needle sounds to be a good idea, as is Paco's suggestion to lengthen the stitch size. I do both things when sewing thicker fabrics. If nothing else you have learned a few new things from the experience!
Post a Comment