How to use a sewing machine

How to Use

A Sewing Machine

How to Use a Sewing

Machine

Sewing machines can look frighteningly complex to those of

us who don't know how to use them. However, don't let the

fear of an unknown machine and skill set keep you from

creating glorious textile wonders! Use this step-by-step guide

through the anatomy, set-up, and use of a sewing machine so

that you can begin crafting your own hand-made items.

Learning the Parts of a Sewing Machine

1 Find the power switch. It may seem silly, but locating the

power switch is the most important step! This is located in

different places depending on the sewing machine you have,

but is normally on the right side of the body.

2 Locate the spool pin. This is a small plastic or metal pin that

sticks out of the top of the sewing machine, and holds your

spool of thread.

3 Look for the thread guide. The thread guide directs thread

from the spool on the top of the machine to the bobbin winder.

It is a geometric metal piece that sticks out of the top of the

sewing machine on the left side.

4 Find the bobbin-winder. To the right of the spool pin on top

of the sewing machine is another smaller plastic or metal pin,

next to a small horizontal wheel. This is the bobbin winder and

the bobbin winder stopper. These work together (with the

spool of thread) to wind thread onto your bobbin prior to

starting sewing.

5 Look for the stitch adjustment buttons. These are in

different locations depending on the specific sewing machine

you have, but there is typically a small screen next to a few

physical buttons on the front side of the sewing machine.

These buttons select the type of stitch you create, the length

of the stitch, and the direction of the stitch (forward or in

reverse). Check the manual for your specific machine to

determine the functions for each of the buttons.

6 Locate the thread take-up lever. When you’re ready to

thread your sewing machine, you will wind the thread from the

spool on top, through the thread guide, and then around the

takeup lever. This is the lever (with two cut-in grooves)

located on the front left side of the sewing machine. There are

typically numbers and arrows printed next to it to clearly direct

you the way in which to thread the machine.

7 Look for the tension dial. The tension dial is a small

numbered wheel near the takeup lever. It controls the tension

of the thread as you sew; if the tension is too tight, the needle

will be pulled to the right. If the tension is too loose, the thread

will loop on the bottom of the fabric you are sewing.

8 Find the needle clamp screw. This is a metal piece that

holds the needle in place while sewing. It is located under the

arm of the sewing machine, looks similar to a large nail, and

sticks out to the right side of the needl

9 Look for the presser foot. This is a metal attachment under

the needle clamp screw that looks like a small ski. When

engaged, this holds the fabric in places and guides it through

the sewing machine as you sew.

10 Find the presser foot lever and practice raising and

lowering the presser foot. It will be a lever to the right or

back of the needle assembly. To adjust the presser foot,

move it all the way down and all the way up.

11 Look for the needle plate. the needle plate is the silver plate

just below the needle. Simple enough, huh?

12 Find the feed dog. The feed dog (silly name, right?) is a

small metal guide under the presser foot on the needle plate

that moves the fabric through the machine as you sew. You

can find it by looking for the two small metal rows underneath

the presser foot.

13 Locate the bobbin cover and bobbin release. The bobbin is

a small spool of thread that is supplied from the bottom of the

sewing machine, and supplies thread to the needle for the

backing. Under the metal plate where the needle is is the

bobbin cover, and next to that there should be a cover release

button or pin. You’ll use this to put the bobbin in place before

sewing.[1]

Setting Up your Sewing Machine

1 Place the machine on a sturdy table, desk, counter, or

sewing cabinet in front of you. Sit in a chair that is a

comfortable height for the height of the table. Arrange the

machine so that the needle end is on your left and the body of

the machine is on the right. You will be checking a couple of

things first and getting to know the machine a bit, so don't

plug it in just yet.

2 Install a needle securely. Needles have a flat side, so they

can only go one way, usually with the flat side toward the

back. There is a groove down one side of the needle,

generally opposite the flat side of the shank––this groove

must be facing the direction from which the needle is threaded

when installing the needle (the thread rides in this groove

while going up and down through the fabric.) Insert a needle

all the way into the post and tighten the thumbscrew

securely.If you are still having trouble, refer to your machines

manual.

3

Wind and insert the bobbin. A machine uses two thread

sources, a top thread and a lower thread, stored on a bobbin.

To wind the bobbin, place the bobbin spool on the bobbin

winder on the top. Follow the guides, and wrap the thread

from the thread spool around the guide and to the bobbin.

Turn the bobbin winder on, and wait for it to stop automatically

when the bobbin is full.

When the bobbin has been wound, place it in the bobbin cage

below the needle on the lower half of the sewing machine.

Sometimes the bobbin simply drops in (the bobbin case is

built in). In this case it is important to pass the thread through

a small notch at the front of the case and then pulled to the

left. Leave the end of the thread outside. It will need to be

brought up through the hole in the needle plate after you have

threaded the top thread.

Follow the link above for detailed instructions on winding and

inserting a bobbin.

4 Thread the sewing machine. The spool of thread resides on

the top of the sewing machine, but must be unwound and

attached to the needle. To do this, take the thread and pull it

through the thread guide at the top, and then down and

around the takeup lever. There should be small numbers and

arrows printed on the machine showing the way in which to

thread the machine.

You may also be able to follow the guides printed on your

machine.

Usually, the thread follows this general pattern: "left, down,

up, down, into a hook, through the needle." Another way to

know how to thread the machine is "Spool pin, tension, take-

up lever, needle, using thread guides provided between these

parts".

The needle might be threaded from the left, the right, or from

front to back. If it is already threaded, that is a clue to the

direction; if not, the last thread guide before the needle, is

located nearest to the direction from which you must thread

the needle.

5 Get both threads out. Hold the needle thread taut, and

towards you in your left hand. With your right hand, make one

complete needle down/up revolution by turning the hand

wheel toward you. Now pull up on the needle thread that you

are still holding with your left hand. The bobbin thread was

caught when the threaded needle went down and up and is

now looped over the needle thread. Pull on one side of the

loop to bring up the bobbin thread tail, or just release the

needle thread and pass a pair of scissors between the

presser foot and plate to pull the looped bobbin thread out.

You should now have the ends of two threads, one from the

needle and one coming up from below from the bobbin.

6 Plug the machine in and turn it on. Many sewing machines

have a built-in light, which is often a good way to tell whether

there is power to the machine. The power switch will usually

be on the right side or back of the machine, if there is one.

Some machines don't have a separate switch, in which case

they're turned on as soon as they're plugged in.[2]

Plug the pedal into the machine, too. Place the pedal in a

comfortable spot under your feet.

Sewing With Your Machine

1

Select a straight stitch and a medium stitch

length. Consult your manual for how to do this on your

machine. On this machine, stitches are set by rotating the

lower knob on the right side of the machine until it clicks into

place. Always set the stitch with the needle up and out of the

fabric, since it may move the needle.

A straight stitch is used to sew most seams. The next most

common stitch is the zigzag, usually used to prevent edges

from fraying.

2 Practice on some scrap material. Choose a simple, woven

material, not a knit one, for your first sewing experience. Don't

use a very heavy fabric for your first attempts at machine

sewing. Denim and flannel can be hard to sew because they

are too thick when several layers are piled together.

3

Line up the fabric under the needle. Sew with the bulk of

the material to the left of the machine; crowding the bulk on

the right side can cause messy stitching.

4 Lower the presser foot onto the fabric. There is a lever

behind or to the side of the needle assembly that raises or

lowers the presser foot.

If you give the fabric a gentle tug while the presser foot down,

you'll feel that the machine grips it pretty firmly. While you

sew, the machine uses a feed dog under the presser foot to

advance the fabric at the correct speed. There's no need to

pull the fabric through the machine; in fact, pulling can bend

the needle or damage your project. You can adjust the speed

and the stitch length on the machine.

5

Hold the loose ends of both threads. For the first few

stitches, you'll need to hold these ends to keep them from

retreating into the fabric. After you've stitched for a short

distance, you can let go and use both hands to control the

fabric and the machine.

6 Press the foot pedal. The foot pedal is your speed control.

Just like the gas pedal in a car, the harder you push it, the

faster you will go. Push it slowly at first, just enough to get the

machine going.

Your machine may have a knee bar rather than a foot pedal. If

that's the case, use your knee to push it to the right.

You can use the balance wheel on the top, right side of the

machine to get the machine spinning or to move the needle

by hand.

The machine will advance the fabric automatically away from

you. You can "steer" the fabric in a straight line or a curve by

guiding it through the machine with your hands. Practice

sewing in a straight line and try sewing some curves. The only

difference is how you guide the fabric.

Do not force the material or pull the material while it is going

under the needle. This can cause the material to stretch or the

needle to break, or the stitches to clog up in the bobbin. If you

feel like the fabric is not moving fast enough, press the foot

pedal harder, adjust the stitch length, or (if you must) buy a

faster machine.

7 Find the reverse button or lever and try it. It reverses the

direction that the machine feeds, so that the fabric travels

toward you as the machine sews. Often, this button or lever is

spring-loaded, so you must hold it down to sew in reverse.

At the end of a seam, sew a few stitches in reverse back over

the last few stitches you just made. This finishes the seam

and helps keep it from pulling out.

8 Use the hand wheel to move the needle to its highest

position. Then, raise the presser foot. The fabric should pull

out easily. If the thread pulls back when you try to remove the

fabric, check the needle position.

9 Cut the thread. On many machines, there is a small notch on

the back of the post that holds the presser foot. You can hold

both ends of the thread and draw it down over this notch to

cut the thread. If you don't have such a notch or you would

like a cleaner cut, use scissors to trim the thread. Leave a tail

extending from the machine for your next seam.

10 Practice sewing a seam. Pin two pieces of fabric, right sides

together, near the edge. The seam will go 1/2 inch (1.3cm) to

5/8 inch (1.5cm) from the edge. You can sew a single layer of

fabric (and might do so to stop an edge from fraying, say), but

since the goal of most machine sewing is to join two pieces of

fabric, you should get used to sewing with a couple of layers

and pins.

Fabric is pinned right sides together so that the seam

allowance will end up on the inside. The "right" side is

whichever side of the fabric you will want on the outside when

the piece is done. On printed fabric, it is generally the side

with brighter colors. Solids may not have an obvious right

side.

Place the pins perpendicular to the line where the seam will

go. You can sew right over straight pins, and still remove

them later with no damage to the machine, the fabric, or the

pins. It is safer to remove pins just before stitching reaches

them, as accidentally striking a pin will break, or at least dull

the needle. Avoid sewing over the heads of the pins, however.

While you're looking at the fabric, notice which way the fabric

itself goes. Seams may go any direction, but most sewing

projects are cut so that the main seams go parallel with the

lines of the weave. Also note the direction of the print if your

fabric has one, and arrange it so it will be "right side up" such

as with a floral or animal print or so that stripes or other

patterns run a certain direction.

11 Move to another part of the fabric. Use the hand wheel at

the top of the right side of the machine to move the needle to

the top of its travel before starting a seam and again to

remove the fabric from the machine at the end of a seam.

This lifts the needle, and allows you to move to another area

of the fabric you’re working on.

If the needle is not at the top of its travel, the thread may not

move when you pull on the ends.

Look for lines on your sewing machine indicating seam

allowance. This is the "normal" space between the edge of

the fabric and the stitching line. Generally, you should use the

line at 5/8" (1.5cm) or 1/2" (1.3cm). Use a ruler measure on

either side of the needle. This should already be marked on

your machine's "throat plate" (the flat metal piece that the

needle goes through). If not, mark it yourself with masking

tape.

12 Learn to sew a sharp corner. Where you want to turn the

corner, lower the needle all the way into the fabric. You can

use the hand wheel to lower the needle. Raise the presser

foot. Leave the needle down, in the fabric. Then, Rotate the

fabric to the new position, leaving the needle in it. Finally,

lower the presser foot with the fabric in the new position and

resume sewing.[3]

13 Try a simple project. When you have made an assortment of

test seams and start to feel comfortable with the basics,

try sewing a pillow, pillowcase, or cloth gift bag.

How to repair sewing machines at home

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