Upgrading foot pressure adjuster

Old machines usually come with a simple thumb screw for a foot pressure adjuster. Nothing wrong with it in itself, simple and effective. But I am fussy. On machines where I tend to change foot pressure frequently, I like to have a more modern adjuster that goes in steps. These adjusters are very common on…

Needles for Wertheim TS

Most transverse shuttle machines take 12x1 needles which were standard at the time but are unfortunately no longer made. Many people have searched for a modern substitute, and many solutions were found, yet every time I had such a machine in my sewing room, nothing would fit. The reason for it is that there is…

A dog’s jumper

It's so cold! Still freezing at night in places and the Arctic wind chills you to the bone. People wear thick jumpers, coats and hats. Dogs are supposed to have winter fur. This is the time to be a Siberian Husky! But Roxy is a small terrier with a short smooth coat, and not much…

Working from home

I'm getting help with that! 😆

Buttons and buttonholes with a transverse shuttle machine

Impossible! It doesn't do zig-zag. True. But possible. 😁 I made a pair of long-sleeved tops out of fine viscose jersey, so I used my Singer 48K to get that flexible stitch with 60% stretch. Now I need to make buttonholes in the cuffs. I'm fussy about the feel of my clothes, so I did…

Fixing up New Home 551

Janome's New Home 551 is one of those machines that you think you can easily do without, only to discover that nope, you can't. Which is why, having sold my previous one because it was "surplus to requirements", I had to chase for a replacement because it left a gaping hole in those requirements... This…

Sewing the finest jersey with Singer 48K

My Singer 48K is set up for sewing fine jersey - from single knit light weight to the finest lightest jersey available to buy these days. I already described in detail why this machine is so wonderful, but it has never been easy to find just the right combination of various parameters for that perfect…