30 April 2010

New Presser Foots

So I haven't been doing any sewing for awhile now. Mostly minor stitching and repairs on my brother's school pants and some re-stitching on some unraveled stitches on my own clothes. I've been pretty swamped with a lot of things lately and majorly pre-occupied.

Anyways, recently, I purchased a few presser foots online for my sewing machine. I'd tried searching locally (in town) for them but they only had the regular presser foot. What was even more annoying is the fact that the sales person didn't seem well versed in the machines and accessories. They didn't even know there's a slant shank machine. It was annoying when the sales person kept looking at me like I didn't know what I was saying and kept asking whether my machine had a low shank or a high shank. Ggrrr. After wasting my time, turned out they didn't even have the things I wanted. Even the Singer outlet didn't have those parts. *sigh*

Fortunately, there was eBay. After going through the items, one store caught my attention. They had a variety of presser foots and other sewing accessories for a host of brands. The ratings were impressive and quite favourable so I was pretty confident to purchase from them. These presser foots aren't a necessity to sewing but it definitely makes it a lot easier and saves time. For someone who squeezes time, these were perfect for me.

Ruffler

I've been meaning to get a ruffler for the longest time since I started sewing. It makes creating gathers and pleats incredible fast and easy. Of course there are manual methods to create gathers and pleats but they are quite time consuming and some requires double work in terms of stitching. A lot of patience involved. Let's just say I prefer it done automatically.

Invisible Zipper Foot

Next, the invisible zipper foot. Since I started sewing, I've gotten pretty good at sewing invisible zippers with a regular presser foot but it is a very careful process and I'm proud to say that I did a better job than my mum's tailor at sewing invisible zippers. *beams* Still, it does take up time and it needed a lot of focus to make sure the stitches fall where they're supposed to. I'd have to carefully align the zipper, roll out the zip teeth edges for a close stitch. With this foot, I can just run the fabric and zipper normally because the zip teeth are rolled out automatically.

Bias Edge Foot

Another foot I got is the bias edge foot. This one is the adjustable one so I can have varying widths of customized bias tape to sew onto my pieces. Of course you can get ready made bias tapes in sewing supplies stores, but sometimes you want to use the same fabric as a bias tape and that you'll have to make manually. Again, it can get rather time consuming since you'll have to iron out the folds of the tape after cutting out strips of the fabric in the bias and ironing them flat. Manual measurements as always, can give varying widths no matter how careful you are.

Knit Presser Foot

This one is very much optional, the knit presser foot. It's mainly used to stitch knit fabrics like t-shirts. Since I will be doing a bit of sewing with t-shirts and have tried previously with my sewing machine and encounter uneven stitching because the fabric doesn't feed through smoothly.

Like I've mentioned before, these presser foots are optional. You don't need them all to begin or enjoy sewing. They cost about USD13-USD17 each and can be purchasd from Gone Sewing eBay store. The seller is very helpful and shipping is quite reasonably priced. International shipping is USD3 for the first item and USD0.25 for all subsequent items. They've got a lost of sewing supplies and I would definitely suggest checking them out if you're interested or are looking for parts.

Also, I'm thinking of making the page much more than my sewing project gallery. I'll put up other things like sewing tips or techniques as I learn more along the way. And since I do also plan to put up fashion posts here as well, I think my sewing project will evolve into a sewing and fashion blog for me. Just a heads up for my readers.

Til my next post/project!

2 comments:

  1. Hello!
    I am from Kota Kinabalu too.
    May I know which model of sewing machine do you use and where did you buy it and the price?

    I used to sew for my dollies:
    http://sertyan.blogspot.com

    but have stopped for a while having my baby. Wanting to start sewing again! But need a new sewing machine

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  2. Hi there.

    I'm using a really old sewing machine from Singer. I believe the model has been discontinued a long while back. It's the Singer 6235. I love that the bobbin is wound under the presser foot just like regular sewing instead of having to take it out and wind it externally.

    There are lots of sewing machines you can choose from and can be catered to suit your needs. I prefer Singer though. You can check out the showroom at Jln Kolombong or the retailer at Segama and Jalan Gaya for options. :)

    What was wrong with your previous sewing machine anyways? Maybe it just needs servicing? :)

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