How to Use the Sewing Machine

Place the sewing machine on a table, sturdy workbench, or place it on the tripod frame in front of you. Sit in a chair with a height that matches the height of the sewing machine table. Position the machine so that the tip with the needle is on your left, and the body is on the right. First you have to check a few things and learn a little about the machine so please plug it in.

Insert the needle tightly. The needle has a flat side so it can only move in one direction, usually the plane is facing backwards. One side of the needle has a groove running down the side, usually facing the plane of the shank – when inserting the needle, the groove should be facing the direction you thread the needle (only runs in the groove as the needle goes up and down the face). fabric). Push the needle into the post completely and tighten the screw knob. If you can’t install it, see the user manual.

Whip the bobbin and insert the bobbin into the machine. The sewing machine uses two thread sources, one that feeds from above and one that feeds from below, and the bobbin is a thread feeder from below. To wind the bobbin, you place the bobbin on the bobbin on the top of the machine. Following the instructions printed on the machine, you pull the thread from the spool to wrap it around the guide and go to the bobbin. Run the bobbin winder and wait for it to stop automatically when the bobbin is full.

• After winding the bobbin, you place the bobbin in the boat below the needle, which is located in the lower half of the sewing machine. Sometimes the bobbin simply drops in on its own (the boat is integrated into the machine). In this case you must thread the thread through a small slot in front of the boat and pull the thread to the left. Let the head just lie outside. You will have to thread the tip of the thread through the hole on the platen after inserting the thread into the upper needle.
• Click the link above for detailed instructions on how to wind the bobbin and install the bobbin.

Thread into the sewing machine. The spool is on the top of the sewing machine but you have to remove the thread and pull it to the needle. To thread the machine, you take the thread from the spool and pull it through the guide hook located on the top of the machine, then thread the thread down and around the trigger set. On the machine, there are often numbers and small arrows printed to guide how to thread the machine.

• You can also follow the instructions printed on the machine.
• Usually the thread will be threaded in the following general form: “left, down, up, on hook, through needle”. You can rely on another way to know how to thread, which is “Spool holder, tension wheel, trigger set, needle, and follow threading instructions between these units”.
• Needles can be threaded from the left, right or front to back. If the machine is already threaded, you should keep in mind the direction of threading; otherwise you notice the last guide before reaching the needle, which is closest to the needle threading direction.

Pull both ends out. Use your left hand to stretch the tip of the thread from the needle toward you. Use your right hand to turn the flywheel towards you so that the needle completes one down/up turn. Now you pull the tip of the thread from the needle that has been lying in your left hand until now. The bobbin thread will be captured as the needle goes down and up, and it is now hooked to the needle thread. Pull one side of the loop to pull up the bobbin thread end, or you release the needle thread end and insert the scissors between the presser foot and the throat plate to pull the loop from the bobbin out. You now have two threads, one from the needle and the other from the bobbin underneath.

Plug in the power and open the switch. Many sewing machines are fitted with a light to let you know if power is connected to the machine. If there is a switch, it is usually located on the right or rear of the machine. Some machines don’t have their own switches, meaning they’re ready to go when you plug them in. ^[2]

• Insert the pedal into the machine. Place the pedals in a convenient location under your feet.

Select straight stitch and medium stitch length. See the instruction manual for the selection for your sewing machine type. With this type of sewing machine, the stitch is set by turning the knob below, located on the right hand side of the machine, until it clicks on the step to be adjusted. Always set the stitch when the needle is on and off the fabric, because when adjusting the needle may move.

• The most commonly used straight stitch. The second most popular is the zigzag stitch, often used to prevent fraying at the edge of fabric.

Sewing on scrap fabric. Choose a plain weave, not a hand knit, to practice sewing for the first time. Do not use fabric that is too thick for the initial sewing sessions. Jeans and flannel are difficult to sew because they are too thick when stacked in many layers.

Align the fabric under the sewing needle. You must sew with the main fabric located on the left side of the machine; if you try to push the main fabric to the right, the seam will be very bad.

Lower the presser foot onto the fabric. The presser foot lifter is located behind or on the side of the needle mechanism, which helps you raise and lower the presser foot.

• If you pull the fabric slightly when the presser foot has lowered, you will feel the machine hold the fabric quite firmly. During sewing, the machine uses a feeder under the presser foot to pull the fabric in at a suitable speed. You do not need to pull the fabric into the machine; In fact, if you pull the fabric, the pull can warp the needle or damage your item. You can adjust the sewing speed and stitch length of the machine.

Hold the two ends of the thread. In the first stitches, you must hold the ends of the thread so that they do not draw into the fabric. Once you have sewn a piece, you can release them and use two hands to control the fabric and the machine.

Press the pedal. The pedal is the speed control part. Just like the accelerator pedal in a car, the harder you press, the faster the engine will run. At first, you should press lightly, just enough for the machine to start running.

• The sewing machine may be equipped with a knee lever instead of a pedal. In that case you have to use your knee to push it to the right.
• You can use the flywheel on the right side of the body to turn the machine or move the needle without power.
• The machine will automatically pull the fabric in. You can “orient” the fabric in a straight line or in a curve by guiding the fabric into the machine with your hand. Practice sewing in a straight line and try sewing some curves. The only difference is the way the fabric is fed into the machine.
• Do not pull the fabric while the machine is running. This may cause the fabric to stretch or break the needle, or cause a jam in the transparent thread. If you feel that the fabric is running slowly, you can press the pedal harder, adjust the stitch length or (if necessary) buy a sewing machine that runs faster.

Find the button or reverse lever and try using it. It reverses the direction of pulling the fabric into the machine, so the fabric is pulled towards you as the machine runs. Usually the reverse button or lever has a spring, so you have to hold it down during reverse sewing.

• At the end of the seam, sew a few reverse stitches over the last stitch you just sewed. This is how the seam ends to prevent the thread from coming apart.

Use the flywheel to move the needle to the highest position. Then raise the presser foot. Then you can pull the fabric out easily. If the thread is pulled back when you try to remove the fabric, check the needle position.

Cut. Many sewing machines have a small V-notch located behind the presser foot holder. You can grab both ends of the thread and pull it down to this V notch to cut. If the machine does not have a V-knife or you want a neater cut, use a thread trimmer. Leave a thread on the machine for the next stitch.

Practice sewing a complete line. Pin two pieces of fabric with right sides facing each other, near the edge. The seam will eat into the edge of a 1.3-1.5cm segment. You can sew on a single piece of fabric (say to prevent fraying of the edge) but the primary purpose of sewing is to join two pieces of fabric together, so you should be familiar with how to sew multiple layers of fabric. on top of each other.

• The fabric is stapled with the right sides pressed together so that the seam stays inside once finished. The “right” side is whatever side of the fabric you want to lay on the outside after you’re done. For patterned fabrics, usually the darker side will be the right side. Solid-color fabrics may not have a clear right side.
• Place the pin perpendicular to the edge of the fabric where the seam will run through. You can sew over the straight pins and then remove them without harming the machine, the fabric, or the needle itself. But it’s still safer to remove the stapler before it enters the machine, as the sewing needle can break or become blunt when it accidentally hits the stapler. However, you need to avoid sewing on the tip of the pin.
• While observing the fabric, you need to pay attention to the direction the fabric runs. The seam can run in any direction, but most needlework projects are cut so that the main seam runs parallel to the weave. You also need to pay attention to the direction of the pattern, if any, and align it to be “in the right direction”, such as a flower or animal print, or align the stripes or pattern to run in a certain direction.

Move to another part of the fabric. Use the flywheel on the right side of the machine body to move the needle to the highest position before starting a seam, and to remove the fabric from the machine after the seam is completed. When the needle is lifted, you can move to another part of the fabric.

• If the needle is not at the highest position, the thread may not move when you pull the ends of the thread.
• Find the lines on the machine to determine the distance of the seam edge. This is the “normal” distance between the edge of the fabric and the seam. Usually you should use a seam edge of 1.5cm or 1.3cm. Use the ruler located on one side of the needle. This gauge is usually pre-engraved on the face of the machine (the metal plate through which the needle passes). If you don’t have one, mark it yourself with duct tape.

Learn to sew at sharp corners. When sewing to the required corner position, lower the needle as deeply as possible into the fabric. You can use the flywheel to lower the needle. Raise the presser foot. Continue to leave the needle in the lowest position. You then rotate the fabric to the new position while the needle is still in the fabric. Finally lower the presser foot when the fabric is in the new position and continue sewing. ^[3]