Weekend Review: You and Your Sewing Machine

 

You and Your Sewing Machine / Bernie Tobisch
Lafayette, CA: C&T Publishing, c2018.
144 p.

This month my local Garment Guild was fortunate enough to have author Bernie Tobisch speak to us via Zoom all about working with our machines to our best ability. His humour and knowledge (and great props!) are all found in his excellent book on building a better relationship with your sewing machine. 

This book is comprehensive, based in his nearly 50 years of maintaining and servicing sewing machines of every brand. It's well laid out, easy for the reader to follow and to find what you're looking for. It's broken up into three sections; Getting to Know Your Sewing Machine (features, all the various parts and how they work and why), Maintaining Your Good Relationship (using the right foot, cleaning, lubricating, updates and other little bits), and Problems and How to Fix Them (tension, needles, threads, specific common issues). It ends with a quick reference Troubleshooting Guide that's 5 pages long and gives quick possible solutions to various common issues - and where to find more info in the book.

Laid out this way, there's a logical progression, and one thing I especially liked is that in the beginning he describes the different kinds of bobbin cases found in various machines so that you can be sure you're looking at the one that is in your machine when you're looking up the problem solving bits. I found the section of getting the tension right in your machine to start with really useful; then it's just little adjustments for the particular project as you need it, and very little bobbin adjustments are ever required. While we often think first of tension as the root of most problems, he notes "it's hardly ever the tension".

There are tons of large clear photos for everything, which include his oversize props that make needle threaders or tension disks, for example, extremely understandable. There's a lightness in the writing which makes it both informative and entertaining. He's very straightforward and is clear about what you can do yourself, and what kind of things require you to take your machine in to a technician. I learned a lot from his presentation to our Guild, and this book is a super addition to that knowledge. I feel like it's the class handouts from a very informative discussion! I think that I'll be more inclined to fiddle with a few of the issues I might encounter before deciding that it's up to the shop to fix it. Also, I feel more informed about why problems might be occurring, so I can avoid easy errors such as buying cheap needles or bobbins that aren't made for my machine. 

Definitely recommended if you are interested in keeping your machine running smoothly and getting the most out of it for as long as you can. 

Weekend Review: The Complete Sewing Machine Handbook

The Complete Sewing Machine Handbook / Karen Kunkel
NY: Sterling, c1997.
160 p.

I'm going through some of the older books on my shelves this month, and this is one I picked up at the thrift store a while ago. It is a great book even if it is nearly 25 years old! In fact, I'd like to see it updated, since it's really solid apart from the one section on computerized machines. 

It's made up of 8 chapters, starting with buying a machine (points to consider), getting to know your machine, needles and thread, and moving to stitching basics (straight stitch, zigzag, buttonholes, blind hem), decorative stitches, specialty presser feet, then the aforementioned chapter on technology in the sewing room, and finishing off with some tips on care and maintenance of your machine. 

There is a ton of great info in this book, presented clearly and succinctly, perfect for beginners who are just starting out with their machine sewing hobby. There are numerous clear photos to illustrate parts of a machine, stitches, presser feet, techniques, etc. Every time she discusses something there is either a clear list of steps or images to follow. She's a really good communicator. She shares a trick to checking your machine tension that I haven't seen elsewhere -- sew a line on a folded bias square, then pull it evenly from either end. Both threads should break together; if just one breaks the tension isn't balanced on that side. 

Even after sewing for so long myself, I still learned things, especially in the decorative stitching and specialty feet chapter. I now have a couple more specialty feet on my wishlist (fringe foot I'm looking at you!). I found that there were some really basic things I wasn't doing in my sewing, to use my machine to its full capacity. And it gave me a bit of a bug to try out some of the stitches I've never used before -- I don't take advantage of some of the abilities of even my pretty basic machine. 

I got busy with some scraps and various kinds of thread and tested out some of the patchwork stitches. Here's my sampler trying out the feather stitch -- in regular sewing thread (blue) to topstitching thread (pink) and in rayon embroidery thread (gold). I liked all of them. Then I tried bobbinwork using handwound embroidery floss in the bobbin (coral). That didn't work well in the decorative stitch but in a plain zigzag or straight stitch it looked kind of cool. 

So this book has inspired me to try to use elements of my machine I haven't been using, and to be more careful to keep it running well by regular cleaning and by ensuring I'm using the right threads and needles for my projects so there's no extra strain going on there. I think it's a great book! 

Weekend Review: Clothing Care & Repair

Singer Sewing Reference Library: Clothing Care & Repair
Minnetonka, MN: Cy DeCosse, c1985.
127 p.

This is an older book -- straight from the 80s in fact! But it is a very useful book even after 30 odd years. And it's easily found in thrift stores and online if you want to check it out yourself. 

This is full of useful information; the pictures are dated, but excellent mid-80s examples of clothing choices! 

Even though there are new products now that make mending and altering clothes quicker and easier in some ways, this book has solid info on a lot of topics. And unlike most other books on mending, even modern ones, this also goes over how to care for your clothes.

As stated below, "Care Extends Wear", and we are hearing today that "the most sustainable piece of clothing is the one already in your closet." So let's learn how to care for our clothes well so we can wear them longer.

The text is broken up into 3 main sections: Care (including washing & drying, hanging & storing, even packing advice... and an extremely useful nearly 4 page spread on stain removal) -- Repair (all the usual suspects - zippers, patches, mending tears, seams or hems, and discussion of different kinds of fabrics and their needs) -- and Customizing (quick changes to styles to keep things current and wear them longer, and even though the specific changes are aimed at an 80s silhouette, the techniques are still applicable and handy today). 

Have a stain? This book will help you with that. 

There are also some tips on creative repair or customization to make something your own. Those of us who already make our own clothes to start with could really run with these ideas. 

Patch It! 

This is book is one of those "oldies but goodies" that I keep on my shelf alongside my old and much used Readers Digest Guide to Sewing. I really like the clarity of instruction and the many, many clear photos in this book. I've found the answer to nearly every wardrobe malfunction emergency in here, and really do recommend it even though it is a little older. It covers basics to more involved information, and offers ideas for mending techniques that aren't visible if you aren't into the modern trend. Really solid. Enjoy the 80s hair while you're at it.