anyway old

Figured I’d say it before someone else did.

Singer Featherweight, year 1948. Not fancy but does what I need it to.

... sergers are not hard to use, but they are extremely difficult to thread.

I've got it correctly threaded, and it produces a nice chain, seam and seam finish. I cheated on the lower looper. I could figure out the other looper and the needle threads, but there were instructions that didn't make any sense, or I couldn't see what they were referring to. It had been a floor model, so it came already threaded with 4 different color threads - I finally tied my new thread to the old one and just pulled it all the way through. I'll figure it out later.

So I'm playing around with it and some scrap knit fabric. It looks good. I've cut out a t-shirt using an old knit sheet and I'm starting to get ready to sew (serge?). Then I realized - this machine doesn't have a stretch stitch. Since the shirt has a jewel neck, some stretch is going to be needed if I want to get my head through it. I looked through the instructions, went on the internet, played around with the settings - nothing.

It's not a deal breaker - I'll just turn around to the Bernina and sew the neck the way I always do, with a narrow zig-zag. I'm going to have to use that machine anyway to ease the side seam. There's one area just where the sleeve ends and the side begins, where I have to ease 4 inches of front into 3 inches of back. It's subtle, but it makes a little extra three-dimensional space for boobage. I can't figure out a way to do that on the serger, either.

I'm still looking forward to not having to do a seam and a seam finish in 2 different steps.

Apparently I have to use a 3 thread stitch, not using one of the upper needles. I'll start practicing with that now.

I'm not that excited about the manual that came with the machine. I'm sure the info is in there somewhere, but it's not that easy to find; it doesn't seem to be for real beginners. However, I frequent my local used bookstores and got a couple of books - one is for beginners and one claims to have more advanced 'couture' techniques. (I haven't fully explored that one yet.)

You often find things in used books, as well as written-in notes from previous owners. It's one of the things I like about them. The beginner's book contained a yellowed folded paper sheet from Butterick, of all places, that was a handy quick reference even though it isn't about my machine. (It actually doesn't say what machine it does refer to, and the internet doesn't mention a serger/overlock made by Butterick, although they do seem to make sewing machines that may also serge.) This, and the book itself, supplied better guidance about what/where to explore.

So, more fun. I know I'm being ridiculous about not wanting the first trial to fail. It's not really fabric for a garment I could wear for anything but a work shirt. But I don't like to do 'muslin' trial garments that just get thrown away. I usually do something from fabric that isn't as special as the one I plan to end up using but still makes something I can use. It's just something that wouldn't break my heart if I did have to throw it away.

If I ruin the two fabrics that I plan to use eventually, I'm going to be 'sum pissed'. Old knit sheet, not so much. Just keep thinking that.