Sewing Machine (1960s)

[Music] This is how a needle used to be worked into cloth slowly by hand. But when a machine drives that needle, it can sew 30 times as fast. No wonder girls everywhere want to use a sewing machine. How does a machine make stitches so fast? Basically, what the sewing machine does is interlace two continuous threads to form a line of stitching. The spool supplies the upper thread and the bobin supplies the lower thread. For a smooth, even stitch, both spool and bobin threads must be kept at the same tension and fed at the same speed. How will I know if these are right? This is what happens if the spool thread is too loose. And this is what happens if the bobbin thread is too loose. This is the basic design of all sewing machines. All the working parts are contained in the head. Are all the machines alike? No. There are more than 4,000 makes, but all of them use the same principles. The bed covers the lower part of the machine's mechanism. The throat plate has a hole in it for the needle and a gauge to measure the distance from it. The bed slide covers the bobin case and the bobin. Feed dogs are teeth that grip the cloth against the presser foot and move it along at each stitch. This is the arm. It contains the parts which control the needle as the upper part of the stitch is formed. The stop motion screw disengages the needle mechanism and keeps the needle from going up and down needlessly when filling the bobin. Before starting to sew again, it has to be tightened. The balance or hand wheel is used to help the machine stop and start smoothly. Some wheels turn toward you and some turn away from you depending upon the machine. Sewing machines have three tensions. They keep the thread even and tight. The lower tension controls the bobin thread. Another tension holds the thread while it's being spooled on the bobin. The upper tension controls the thread going to the needle. Should we adjust these? No, they have been preset for you. The thread takeup lever goes up and down with the needle. It pulls the thread from the upper tension and gives just enough thread to the needle for each stitch. It must be all the way up when threading. Why up? Otherwise, it would pull the thread right out of the needle when you start to sew. The pressure foot holds the fabric against the feed dogs. They work together to feed the cloth through the machine. The pressure bar lever raises and lowers the pressure foot. The stitch regulator controls the size of the stitch. On most machines, the stitches vary between six per inch and a tiny 30 per inch. The stitch regulator actually makes the feed dogs feed faster or slower. The faster they feed, the fewer times per inch the needle goes in, making the stitches larger. The stitch regulator also makes the machine sew in reverse by making the feed dogs go in reverse. When would you sew in reverse? For darning and also as one way of knotting. On this paper sample, you can see what the various stitch sizes actually look like. Try out the different settings for yourself on a sample of cloth. Needles have a groove on one side running the length of the needle. You must insert the needle so that the groove is on the same side as the thread guide because the thread fits into this groove as it goes from the last thread guide to the eye. If the needle is not correctly in place or if the thread isn't in right, the machine won't stitch. All the parts of the sewing machine have been introduced. Can you name them? The head bed arm stitch control or regulator balance wheel. Stop motion screw. Bobin winder. Thread guides. Thread takeup. Upper tension or needle tension. Pressor bar lifter behind the arm. Needle. Presser foot. Throat plate. Feed dogs. Bed slide. Bobin. lower tension or bobin tension. A sewing machine should give many years of service if handled properly. Return the head to its cabinet carefully and gently. Use the same care when lifting it out. To clean and oil the machine, remove the throat plate. Some throat plates lift up by means of a lever, and some require a screwdriver. Brush or blow out the lint that collects around the feed dogs. A drop of oil in each of the oil holes will keep your machine running smoothly. When can we start sewing? Just as soon as you learn to fill the bobin and thread the machine. Most bobbins are filled by pressing the bobbin winding mechanism against the balance wheel. Can I use a bobin from home? Not usually. A bobin is actually a part of the machine and you must have the right one. The thread goes on evenly. This is the action of the bobin winding tension. On this machine, the bobbin is threaded directly from the needle. while this machine threads the bobin on top. How full should the bobin be? Fill it with as much thread as you need. It will automatically stop when it's full enough. Where do you put the filled bobin? Some machines have the case built into the machine. Others have removable bobin cases. The bobin or case must be put in the machine the right way for that particular machine. Then the thread is pulled through the bobin tension hook. Which is the right way? All bobin cases have slots that act as a hook for the thread. The bobin has to be put in so that the thread can be pulled back to snap in that hook. The balance or hand wheel is used to send the needle thread down after the bobin thread. Hold the needle thread as it goes down. Then pull it up so that the loop of the bobbin thread comes up through the hole. Then both threads are drawn under and behind the pressure foot. What happens if you don't draw out the threads? When you start sewing, the machine will make knots in the thread and jam. How do you thread the top part of the machine? Place the spool on its pin. Leave about 18 in of thread hanging. Put the thread through the first guides. Then between the correct plates of the needle tension. What's that little wire? That's a tension spring. The thread must be under it. Then through the takeup lever and down through the guides to the needle. Are all machines threaded the same way? They may look different, but the threading sequence is always the same. Spool, guides, tension plates. The takeup lever always in its highest position. other guides. Finally, through the needle and out the back. Although it is a must to do it right, it is easy to do. The sequence is always the same. Now before sewing check stop motion screw tight, pressure foot tight, threads out the back, pressure foot down, stitch regulator set, sew a few inches on a sample to see if the stitch is even and firm, both top and bottom. What would happen if we run the machine without any cloth? All the threads would jam up under the throat plate. Cut the thread with scissors or like this. After a few practice periods with a machine, you can have as much confidence and skill as this student. She is making the neck facing for her own dress. In our sewing classes, we learn which styles suit us best, how to select patterns, how to buy fabrics, and many other skills related to sewing. Learning how to sew skillfully will give you much pleasure. Besides making beautiful clothes, you can add your own touch of genius to your home. [Music]