Good questions: sewing machines for beginners

Adjusting a Janome 8900 on the set of my Craftsy class

A visitor to my website recently asked me to recommend a good beginner sewing machine, and she specifically was interested in appliqué. In case anybody else has similar questions, I thought I’d share some of my experience with machines here.

My first advice would be to talk with an independent dealer (preferably one who stocks multiple brands), who will help you figure out the right machine for your plans and budget. I use a Janome these days, and I’ve heard good things about their entry-level machines, but there are plenty of other good makes out there. To some extent, you get what you pay for: the sub-$100 models in discount stores probably aren’t going to get you very far, though you needn’t start with one of the $10,000 numbers that has more in common with R2-D2 than with Grandma’s Singer. And keep in mind that you never know what you might find secondhand, though in my experience the best deals come when you aren’t looking.

In my ten years sewing, I’m on my third main machine:

1. White 2037: an all-mechanical model with a good range of functions. The Mother bought it for me with the idea I’d sew some curtains and pillows, for which it was well suited. Had we had any idea I’d get into quilting, she might have picked a different machine, but the White did have a quarter-inch piecing foot standard, so it was easy for me to start piecing without extra accessories. I pushed the limits of the machine with appliqué, for which it was perfectly capable but lacking the bells and whistles to make things easier (see below).
2. Pfaff 1171: I scored an incredible deal at a thrift store on this machine from 1986. At the time, sewing and quilting had become the better part of my job, so this workhorse machine was a godsend. The built-in dual feed was a major upgrade over a walking foot, and the needle-down function was a big help with appliqué. This machine hardly ever met a seam it couldn’t sew, and at the risk of sounding like a grumpy old man, they just don’t build them like that anymore. Sadly, a dodgy repair fried its motherboard.
3. Janome 8900: this, my current machine, was the first one I carefully chose knowing the kind of sewing I do. I wanted to retain the Pfaff’s the power and reliability (reliable until it wasn’t, that is!), which led the dealer to recommend this machine. I spent several hours in the showroom with a very patient and knowledgeable dealer, who really listened to what I needed from the machine—my top advice is to find a dealer who wants you to be happy with your machine, not just a dealer who wants to sell you something. You’ll be able to tell the difference. While I’d never suggest choosing a machine because of how many decorative stitches it has, I was looking for an updated stitch selection, including the blanket stitch and appliqué blind hem that were missing from my Pfaff. This Janome came with a dual feed that was arguably more flexible than the Pfaff’s, it had a nice wide throat for quilting (most of which I do myself), and it feels cosmically in tune with me when free-motion quilting.

I used each of these machines for raw-edge and prepared-edge machine appliqué techniques. All the projects in my book were sewn on the Pfaff, and the Janome is what I now use at home and on camera in my Craftsy class.

An adjustable zigzag is really the bare minimum you need to do all kinds of machine appliqué. For a list of features that can make appliqué easier, take a look at this free excerpt from my book, The Quilter’s Appliqué Workshop. What machine features do you appreciate for appliqué?

Tips for appliqué with monofilament thread

My Craftsy class, Start Appliqué, launched this week! The student questions have started rolling in, and I’m not at all surprised to see that questions about monofilament thread were some of the first.

Often known as invisible thread, monofilament is a very fine, clear thread that’s, well, virtually invisible. Stitch down the edges of an appliqué shape with it, and you’ll pretty much never know the thread is there. Perfect!

Except when it’s not. Monofilament behaves differently from conventional threads because it’s made by a different process. Most threads are made from fibers twisted together into a thread with multiple plies, whereas monofilament is (literally) one long strand of extruded plastic. So the monofilament is usually springier and can be frustrating to work with when you’re used to conventional threads. Here are some tips for taming monofilament.

Use quality thread.

Bargain-basement brands can be stiff, thick, and harder to work with. This is one place where pinching pennies isn’t worth it. I use Sulky Invisible Thread—even the smallest spool has 440 yards, which will last a long, long time.

I use the clear thread for appliqué, but the smoke thread is shown in the photos below so you can see it better.

I recommend a polyester monofilament, mainly because it’s more heat resistant than nylon. It seems to me to be softer too, and it’s not supposed to yellow over time. But other teachers swear by nylon monofilament. See what you like best.

Pair it with the right needle and bobbin thread.

For the extremely fine thread, use an extremely fine needle: my machine likes a size 60/8 microtex (sharps) needle with the monofilament I use, but some students find better success with a 70/10. In the bobbin, use a lightweight cotton, around 60 weight. The texture of the cotton fibers can help grab the slick monofilament (or so I’ve been told!).

Aurifil’s 50-weight thread is 2-ply, so it’s similar in fineness to Mettler’s 60-weight fine machine embroidery thread.

Orient your spool properly.

The way thread is wound onto a spool determines which spool pin you should use: stacked spools on the vertical pin, cross-wound spools on the horizontal pin. Many threads will cooperate with either pin, but getting the orientation right for monofilament can vastly reduce tension and breakage issues. I made an infographic to explain this better and help you remember what spool goes where.

Click the image for a printable, high-resolution version you can keep near your sewing machine.

Read your manual and use your accessories.

Make sure you’re using the right spool caps, cups, platforms, pads, or whatever came with your machine to help thread feed properly. One of the most common problems I notice when teaching machine appliqué is students not using the right accessories to mount their spools. This especially happens with vertical spool pins, where manufacturers often provide some sort of base for the thread to rest on. If you don’t use it, monofilament will almost certainly wind itself around the bottom of the pin, increasing the tension until the thread breaks.

As the thread feeds, it’s winding around the spool pin below the spool.

The lip of the spool cup lifts the thread away from the bottom of the spool.

Every machine is different, so check your manual for the right accessories and threading details.

Watch for snag spots.

The bounciness of the thread makes it prone to catching on any protruding piece of the machine. Even with the right mounting accessories, monofilament may get wound up on the base or tip of a spool pin, or snag on a threading guide—I’ve even seen it catch on part of a machine’s handle.

See how the thread’s wanting to coil around the tip of the spool pin? When sewing at speed, this can cause a royal tangle.

Make sure there’s a clear path from the spool to the threading and tension devices. As you’re sewing, if the thread starts to feel like it’s resisting and getting tighter, stop and check if it’s caught on something on the top of the machine. Because the thread’s meant to be invisible, it’s hard to spot when this happens, but you can usually feel it and sometimes correct it before the thread breaks.

 

Try a thread stand.

If your machine isn’t equipped with the right spool pin, or if the right spool pin still isn’t preventing snags, an external thread stand can guide the thread to the machine in a clearer, smoother path, and the extra distance between spool and threading device gives the monofilament space to relax a bit. I bought a thread stand that screws onto the back of my Janome 8900, and it’s usually the best place to feed my monofilament from.

If you look closely, you can see the kinks in the monofilament as it comes off the spool. See how much straighter it is when it comes back down to the machine (in front of the white spool)?

My machine uses a secondary threading guide with the thread stand, which helps keep the thread away from anything it could catch around.

 

Adjust your tension.

Monofilament is a different beast, so you’ll need to adjust your top tension. I usually lower mine to about 1; the goal is to not see any bobbin thread on the top. Don’t be deceived by machines claiming to make “automatic” tension adjustments—it might sometimes feel like your machine is smarter than you, but I assure you it’s not! The auto tension can’t tell that you’re using funky, nonstandard thread.

“I’m your tension dial, and I’m made to be adjusted!”

Monofilament makes appliqué easy and fast if know these secrets to making the thread behave. And that behavior is all about cooperation: your thread, your machine, your fabrics, and you yourself should be working together, and with all those variables, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. Just be willing to experiment, and make a note when you find the settings and supplies that work best.

For more appliqué tips and a detailed lesson in how to sew invisible prepared-edge appliqué using monofilament thread, enroll in my Craftsy class, now with $10 off for blog readers!