Friday, April 11, 2008

The Secret Behind How Wholesale Sewing Machines Work

If you're looking for a wholesale sewing machine, there's almost as many available as there are tailors. Nowadays wholesale sewing machines have numerous features that can suit every budget, skill level and profession. You can pay anything from $50 to $5000, and can choose a specialty machine for one particular task, or a more general machine that perform various different functions.

When you consider that wholesale sewing machines were created back in the mid-1800's, they really are an amazing feat of engineering and technology. Take the loop stitch as an example. This is very simple to do by hand. You tie the thread onto the eye of a needle. You then push the needle and thread through the two pieces of fabric you want to sew together, pull it out the other side, turn it around and push it back up through the fabric again. The thread loops in and out of the fabric and holds them together. And yet trying to duplicate that stitch on a sewing machine is almost impossible. You'd have to work out how the machine could push the needle through, let it go, turn it around, and push it back again. Then the machine would also have to pull the full length of the thread through the material as well. It doesn't sound as simple as doing by hand, that's for sure!

So the only solution was for the sewing machine to perform the stitch in a slightly different way. A sewing machine needle has the eye at the point of the needle instead of at the top end. A needle bar holds the needle, and is driven up and down by the motor. The sharp end of the needle passes through the fabric and is then brought back up through the fabric again. In the process it leaves a small loop of thread on the bottom side of the fabric. Underneath, another mechanism grabs the loop that's left behind. It then wraps the loop around another piece of thread, or makes another loop in the same piece of thread.

The good thing about wholesale sewing machines is that they don't just do loop stitch. You can use one to perform lock stitches, chain stitches, and basically just about any stitch that would normally be done by hand.

Want more secrets and helpful information on sewing machines to include sewing machines for sale, heavy duty sewing machines and sewing machine parts visit ShoppingForSewingMachines.info located at http://www.shoppingforsewingmachines.info

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Sunday, March 23, 2008

Sewing Machines - Quick and Easy Sewing One Stitch At A Time

Years ago, many of our ancestors spent many hours hand sewing clothes, quilts and other home accessories. Today, most hand sewn items are very expensive and that is because they are so rare. Through the years, more and more people began to look for an easier approach to sewing and that is where sewing machines come in. Gone are the days when, to sew a quilt, hours of time and fingers full of pin holes were the only way to finish a product.

Sewing machines are used by individuals, as well as businesses. Many homemakers use these time savers to mend problem areas in clothing or to create their own designs as a hobby. Businesses use sewing machines to increase the production of clothing and other accessories, while minimizing the cost to consumers. Hand sewn items take much more labor, and involve much more cost, than a modern machine-stitched garment. Clothing designers, both professional and amateur, also find great uses for sewing machines to increase their product line. Rather than spending hours, days and weeks sewing one garment by hand, designers are able to spend more time designing and less time sewing thanks to the convenience of sewing machines.

The efficiency of sewing machines are one of their best selling points. The speed at which a job can be completed is extremely appealing to the person on the go. With little time to spare, a sewing machine can do repairs within minutes.

Selection of a sewing machine is the most important decision. The unit that you purchase should ultimately reflect the type of work that you intend to do. If you plan on making general clothing repairs, such as fixing tears, mending holes, hemming pants, etc., then a basic sewing machine will probably work fine for your purpose. If you intend to sew quilts, design clothing or produce large quantities, a more advanced machine with a variety of options will likely suit you better than a basic model. You can purchase sewing machines almost anywhere, including retail stores, online shops and specialty craft centers. The internet is a terrific source for information and a local store is a wonderful outlet for viewing various models in person.

It is important to keep your sewing machine operating properly, which includes regular maintenance and immediate repair of any problems. By following the instruction manual, which was provided by the manufacturer, you should be able to understand how the individual machine works, its troubleshooting options and how to detect a problem. Generally, some obvious signs of a problem would be the sewing machine overheating, incorrect stitching or frequent stops or dragging while attempting to use the product. If you are unable to diagnose the problem using the owner?s manual, check the back of the book to see if there is a telephone number for the manufacturers customer service. If there is a warranty on the machine, make sure that you have it handy when making the call. If a problem cannot be fixed, the entire unit may require shipment to the manufacturer where it can be repaired on site.

Peter Bishop

Entrepreneur and Sewing Machine Online-Business owner from Colorado. Visit also his Genealogy Directory

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Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Preparing Your New Sewing Machine to Sew

A few weeks ago I wrote a column on how to choose your sewing machine. If you have made your choice, we will continue on with getting your machine ready to sew.

Threading the machine is something that is pretty basic, yet a little different on every machine. It is VERY important to refer to your manual when first learning the procedure. If the threading isn't correct, nothing else will work either.

Here is a basic rundown of threading a sewing machine. Remember, each machine is different. This is just the general idea.

1. Put your spool of thread on the spindle on top of the machine.

1a. A vertical spindle or post - position the spool so that the thread runs clockwise as you sew.

1b. A horizontal spindle - the spool is held in place by an end cap. If your spool has a small cut in it, be sure to have the cut to the right.

NEWBIE TIP: If your spool is brand new and there are labels covering the holes, uncover yhour holes completely to allow the spool to turn easily.

2. Pull thread to the left of the spindle and thru your first thread guide.

3. Draw thread down thru your tension guide. (It is extremely important to have your presser foot UP when threading your machine.)

4. Draw thread thru the next thread guide.

5. Insert thread thru the take up lever.

6. Bring thread thru next thread guide.

7. Finally! - thread your needle. Most needles are threaded from front to back, some from left to right.

Practise threading your machine. It is no small chore if you are a beginner, but after a while you will be able to do this with your eyes closed.

WINDING YOUR BOBBIN - THE NEXT STEP

Follow the instructions from your manual carefully when winding your bobbin.

If your bobbin case is built in, the bobbin will be wound in place with the machine fully threaded.

Removable bobbins are wound on the top or side of the machine. Your machine must be threaded before bobbin filling.

Your bobbin thread must be drawn thru the tension spring. For wind in place bobbins, this is already taken care of. You MUST make sure this is done if you are using a bobbin that already has thread in it.

BALANCING THE TENSION:

Balancing your tension is a huge issue when you first start to learn about your sewing machine. There is nothing that will cause you more grief than your tension.

Your stitch is formed by interlocking the bobbin and needle thread. Every time the needle goes down, a hook catches the needle thread and wraps the bobbin thread around it. It is a tug of war that must be synchronized for a good stitch result.

If your needle thread tension is stronger, your bobbin thread will be pulled to the top of your fabric. If your bobbin thread tension is stronger, the needle thread will be visible on the underside of your fabric. When the tension is just right and evenly balanced, the stitch will lock in the middle, halfway between the top and bottom of your fabric. This is what you want and have to find. It might take some playing around with your tension guide, but worth the extra bit of time it takes.

TEST - TEST- TEST

The easiest way to test your tension is to thread your machine and put one colour thread in your machine with a totally different colour in your bobbin. Neither one should match your fabric. You need to examine your stitches.

If your tension is too tight, you will see your bobbin thread on top.

If your tension is too loose, you will see your top thread on the bottom of the fabric.

If your tension is correct, you will see machine thread only on the top of the fabric and bobbin thread only on the underside of the fabric.

MAKING ADJUSTMENTS:

BEFORE you start adjusting your tension, make these three checks. This is very important.

1. Be certain your machine is threaded properly. Even long time sew-ers can miss a thread guide.

2. Be sure your bobbin is properly installed.

3. Make sure your needle is inserted properly.

After going thru the three checks, you may have to adjust the tension in order to sew a good stitch. Check your manual to see how this is done. Each time you have adjusted, sew a line of stitching. You should only have to make small, slight adjustments to correct your stitch.

If after what seems like an eternity of changes, you still don't have a balanced stitch, leave your machine. Don't even look at it for a few hours, maybe a day or so. Then go back and try again. It could be you are tired, frustrated or distracted. It happens to all of us.

Or, it could be that your bobbin needs adjusting. Most sewing machine manufacturers don't want you to adjust your bobbin tension. If your manual doesn't cover this area, then it is best to take your sewing machine in to a dealer or reputable repair man.

Happy Sewing!

Mary is the mother of three grown children and grandmother to six perfect grandchildren. She is also owner/editor of http://sew-whats-new.

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Monday, March 3, 2008

Are You Are Looking For Clip Art Ready To Digitize For Embroidery And Screen Printing?

You are looking for clip art and you are becoming dissatisfied with your search on the Internet. You find numerous sites that offer clipart, but the quality is poor and the prices astronomical. If you face this problem, look no further than DesignStitch.

You can find hand drawn clip art images that are delivered to you instantly through e-mail. You can use these original sets to create and sell numerous projects without the worry of paying royalties. To start shopping for designs, you search through their web pages to find the images that best suit your needs. You can choose from pre-made custom sets, classic clip art images or exclusive sets. Once your chosen products are in your shopping cart, checkout is a simple process. You can at this point change the format that you want the clipart delivered by e-mail to you. They offers their images in CDR, JPG, GIF, EPS or WMF format. When delivered in CDR format, you can do nearly limitless tasks with the clipart. You will be able to ungroup the images, make the images bigger or smaller, and make them as your own designs using the program CorelDRAW 9 or above.

If you desire, you can request delivery in CMX format. DesignStitch offers the convenience of having the image delivery in vectors and bmp. One of the best things that you will find out about DesignStitch is that their clip art is ready to digitize for embroidery and screen printing immediately. There are numerous other things that you can do with the clipart that you purchase as well. You can use the images for your website or T-shirt printing among other things. Furthermore, you can find , artwork to digitize and sell like embroidery machine format.

You may be wondering what type of images that they offers. You can find animal images, drawings of children and holiday themed clip art. This is just to name a few, check out the site to see more of their offerings. The images are full of vibrant colors and expertly drawn. DesignStitch stands apart from other clip art sites due to the great deals that its offers its customers. For instance, they offer members of their Yahoo group, access to free clip art. It is simple to join, merely type in your e-mail address found in the free samples tab and then you are able to subscribe to the group. This is a great way to test out their products before you make a purchase. Once you see the high quality of their work, you will want to return time and time again to acquire their unique designs. There are also sales events from time to time that allow you to buy clip art sets at a mere fraction of its original price.

Design Stitch offers their custom sets to a limited number of buyers. Limited quantities promise a guarantee of originality. These sets are usually sold to only six customers before they are listed as sold out. Be sure to check back often for new updates every week. Every Tuesday and Friday, they offer new pre-made custom clip art that you will not be able to find anywhere else. DesignStitch is an easy to use and affordable site that can satisfy all of your clip art needs. You will not find this many original and fun images anywhere else.

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Monday, December 17, 2007

Different Embroidery Frames

There are different types of embroidery frames. Sometimes, the mere choosing of the most proper embroidery frame for your canvas can be as exasperating as the stitching itself. That is why you should be presented with the various opportunities that different embroidery frames offer. The first opportunity is not to pick up any embroidery frame. In some cases frames are not necessary, as in canvas work, like painted canvas kits, tassels and Hapsberg lace samples.

Another thing to have in mind is that embroidery frames differ in their price. The inexpensive frames are suitable in some cases, but can be inappropriate in more sophisticated embroidery projects. The inexpensive frames are Ring frames, Q-snaps and Stretcher bar frames. For more information click Embroidery Frames

1)Ring frames are best when the frame is 1 inch deep. If the slot is narrower, the fabric can easily slip. The frames can be wooden or plastic, wooden are the better. The fabric must be kept tight in the frame, but with ring frames several difficulties occur. With smaller fabrics, narrower frames are sufficient to keep the cloth taut. But when the fabric is bigger and the embroidery work more complicated, ring frames are easy to let the canvas slip, they cannot hold it tight enough. Plastic frames are easier to let go of the fabric than wooden ones.

2)Q-snaps are another inexpensive type of embroidery frames. Plastic bars are slotted together and the fabric is clipped on a plastic frame. Another piece of plastic is also slotted over the fabric. But the cloth is not taut enough and can easily slip, compared to the scroll bars, stretcher bars and slate frames used in stitching.

3) Stretcher bars are fairly inexpensive and can be the best possible solution for any kind of embroidery. The stretcher bar frames are wooden and the fabric is kept perfectly taut. The bars are sold in pairs, and every bar has dog teeth that keep the tightness of the fabric. Pairs of stretcher bars can be combined together for bigger fabrics. You can form a rectangular shape for the frames by using two pairs. This type of embroidery frames is perfect for Goldwork kits, Shadow embroidery, Whitework kits, Needle painting kits and modern Jacobean kits.

Then come the more expensive types of embroidery frames used on special projects. They are the following:

1) Scroll frames. They have two pairs of bars screwed to one another so that a rectangular shape is acquired. The only drawback is that sometimes the screws get loose and the fabric is not kept tight. But if this is neglected, scroll bars are perfect, as they can be left on a floor or a table, on virtually any kind of surface, and leave your hands free: you don't need to hold the frames all the time. The side bars that fit into holes with the main top and bottom bars can sometimes be too short for your fabric, so you must be careful when choosing the size of the frame. Being too short, the side bars can influence the smoothness of the fabric and can leave creases.

2) The second embroidery frame is slate frames. The main bars have tape staples onto which you fit the fabric. Slate frames also have trestles, with which they stand on stable surface. They are extremely comfortable. The side arms are slightly longer than the scroll frames, so that the fabric is protected from creasing.

3) Lacing. It is an improved version of the scroll frames. Scroll frames use only the main bars for tension over the fabric. With lacing, the fabric is sewn on the four sides, on the side bars as well, to ensure better tension so that the canvas is better stretched. If the fabric is soft and tears easily, sew a tape of curtain cloth on the edges and then attach them to the bars.- an article writer who writes on a wide variety of subjects. For more information click Embroidery Frames

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