Is the coat lined ? You could mend it through both layers or unstitch the lining and mend only the top layer. It is a tiny rip, but also a opportunity to practice adding a patch at the back of the fabric.
Satin stitch, fishbone stitch or buttonhole stitch could be an option to cover the repair. A little flower could also work, there are lot’s of video tutorials that explain it well !
It is a down bomber jacket. So it consists of a shell, down filling, and interior liner. It is fairly loose so I can manipulate a needle under the shell without unstitching the interior liner, especially if I add a satin leaf or flower.
There are some embroidery reinforcement stitches that might look good in there. There’s a bunch of tutorials on YouTube, see if some of those catches your eye.
Edit: a quick search in YouTube did not give me what I was thinking of. The term the you should use is “embroidery mending stitches”
Not sure what level of expertise you’re looking for, so sorry if you already know all this!
Edit: just realized I’m illiterate and that your post says INSTEAD OF a simple patch, not that you want to do a patch. 🤦♂️ Leaving this up in case the unnecessary spiel about how to do a patch in this situation helps someone else, lol. Although you can definitely incorporate a patch into a visible mend as well!
Are you set on the patch, or are you open to doing just decorative stitches over it? At that size something like a satin stitch or long and short stitch should hold it together well. Just be sure to give a bit of room between the edge of the hole and your stitches so that the fraying doesn’t extend into the stitching and undo it.
If you want to do the patch instead, probably the fussiest part is going to be getting the patch up to the edge of the pocket without awkwardly covering or stitching over the pocket, while also taking your stitching far enough away from the tear to keep it from fraying further. Probably all there is to do about that is pin the hell out of it while you’re sewing so that it lies nice and flush and navigate your needle under just the bottom layer of fabric under the pocket as best you can, if that makes sense.
For stitches to use with patches, I like to keep it simple and use running stitches, whip stitches, or backstitches. Backstitching takes more time but is really secure, running stitches are quicker and not quite as secure but I’ve never had them fall off in the wash or anything like that. Whip stitches are a nice medium of quick but secure and prevent fraying.
There’s a lot of really good channels on YouTube by people who are a lot more knowledgeable than me! The one I watch the most is more embroidery focused, but Sarah Homfray has YEARS of videos on stitching techniques that are pretty well categorized in playlists.
At that size something like a satin stitch or long and short stitch should hold it together well.
I think this is the direction I want to go (maybe even add a lil satin leaf). My biggest concern is that there isn’t really any space right at the stitching that connects the pocket to the coat. I might cut the threads holding the pocket flap corner, add the satin sitch, then reattach the pocket flap corner.
Taking the pocket corner off will definitely let you make tidier stitches near the tear! Since the rest of the pocket will be attached you shouldn’t have too much trouble restitching everything back up. Please update when you’re finished, I love seeing other people’s visible mends 👍
I use this all the time to fix my electronics :) great resource and their tools are good too. A bit expensive but at least you know you’re supporting a good cause.
This sounds like a timing issue to me. The thread bunching up may be due to the hook not grabbing the thread or the take-up lever not taking up the slack at the correct time. If it’s missing stitches in zig-zag mode then that would also be due to either hook timing or possibly needle bar alignment.
Simple things to check:
Make sure that the needle is installed correctly, especially that it is oriented the right way and inserted all the way in
Make sure that the take-up lever is threaded correctly
Assuming these are both correct, you can try the following:
If possible, insert a fresh needle (at least, you will need a needle that is undamaged and not bent from the shank up to the eye)
Remove the plate, leave the machine unthreaded
On the straight stitch setting, turn the hand wheel slowly and check that the eye of the needle is exactly level with the hook as they pass each other (this should happen close to the bottom of the needle’s stroke but may not be exactly at the bottom)
On the widest zig-zag stitch setting, again turn the hand wheel slowly and check that the eye of the needle passes closely to the hook (it won’t be exact because the needle has moved, but it should be just slightly early on one side and just slightly late on the other, not noticeably early or late on one side) and also check that the needle is not colliding with any solid parts of the machine on either side
If the eye and the hook are not aligned as they pass each other, then you have either a timing or a needle height alignment issue. If they pass correctly on the straight stitch but the needle is noticeably early or late on one side of the zig-zag stitch (and fine on the other side) then you have an issue with the horizontal alignment of the zig-zag stitch.
The shuttle hook is a bit higher than the needle eye when they cross. This seems necessary for this machine so the hook can grab the thread. If I understand the service manual correctly, the shuttle hook should be ~⅛ inch above the needle eye. I can only eye-ball it because it’s quite hard to measure.
I don’t see an early/late difference between left and right. Left right and center appear the same as far as I can tell.
The presser foot was loose so I hope that explains how I broke a needle.
When manually cranking a straight stitch, it seems to miss ~1 in 10 stitches. When manually cranking the widest zig-zag, the left misses most of the time. Probably ~7-9 out of 10 stitches miss on the left, while on the right probably 1 out of 10 miss. So without fabric and with the machine on its side, it appears to work correctly most of the time on the left and right. That is, it grabs the top thread, drags it in a circle and then it wraps the lower thread. Effectively each cycle adds a twist to the threads. It seems to be a hindenbug (the kind of bug that hides when you’re looking closely at it). I could really use a tiny camera to record what happens underneath when sewing fabric.
Before today I’ve been inserting the bobbin so it spins counter-clockwise (a Youtuber said that’s the correct way) but I just noticed the manual shows a clockwise insertion. So I switched to clockwise. I’ve noticed no difference in that regard at least when hand cranking.
You are correct, page 10 does say that the hook point should meet 1/8 inch above the needle eye, at the bottom of the needle’s stroke.
Missing stitches only when the fabric is in place suggests that your thread tension may be too high. Check the top thread tension, make sure that you can pull the thread through with only a slight pull at the “0” position (check page 9 of the service manual).
I’m definitely no expert, but being an old machine I think the best thing to do is to get it serviced by a professional (sorry I don’t know how many big Mac’s that will cost), but it should be a good investment. From what I understand those old Singer sewing machines are great workhorses. Hopefully others will comment who know more than I do, but personally I’d get it serviced. Good luck!!
I want to be self-sufficient enough to “own” my machine (i.e. to be able to repair it myself). OTOH, I see lots of room for user error judging from the service manual steps with difficult measurements. It seems I have a good chance of making it worse by adjusting something that doesn’t need it. I doubt I’ll be able to find a pro who I can watch over the shoulder on in my area, so the risk of making it worse might be my best option.
I haven’t come across any significant discussion surrounding this before and I wouldn’t recommend choosing a machine on this basis.
A front-loading bobbin is only an advantage for changing mid-task if you catch it before the thread runs out, otherwise you’ll be backtracking and starting again anyway once you’ve replaced it. I suppose if there is a viewing window and you can see when it is about to run out then this is an advantage, otherwise you won’t know when to stop and change it anyway until you notice that it has already run out.
In terms of speed I doubt you will find any typical sewing machine “too slow” unless you plan to sew a lot and you want it finished quickly. For a few repairs or alterations and the occasional custom piece speed is not a priority, most of the time you will want to go slower anyway for more control/accuracy.
I think you need to put less thought into what machine you get and more thought into getting some machine and start sewing without thinking so much about details like how the bobbin is loaded. As a beginner these things don’t matter, and by the time you are non-beginner enough for them to matter then you will know what aspects are important to you and if you want to upgrade. As it is, you can’t really jump to making “expert-level” choices because you don’t have the experience to know, for example, if speed is even a priority to you.
I just went to a street market and lifted¹ a dozen or so machines. I bought the heaviest one figuring it has the fewest plastic parts. It’s a Singer from the late '60’s. Front-load bobbin. Found the user manual and service manual online.
The one job I’m uncertain of is whether it can hem denim. The user manual says it can sew denim with a size 16 needle and canvas with a size 18 needle, but if I’m hemming denim then I think it must be able to penetrate 6 layers of denim (where the vertical seam gets folded). The manual makes no mention of layers. Motor is 85 watts.
I realized well after buying that there is no “arm”. I suspect that will be quite inconvenient with hemming in my case because I was planning to do non-destructive technique: undo the original hem and without cutting fold it up as high up the leg as needed. That will be a pain when the cuff can’t wrap around the base.
You might have to help the motor along through the thickest parts by turning the hand wheel. No big deal, since it’s only for a handful of stitches.
Yes, a free arm is of course helpful, but if you had to shorten the legs so far up that it wouldn’t fit, you would need to cut it off anyway. You can’t keep 15 or 20 cm of fabric inside the pant legs.
That machine is a pretty solid choice if it works, and a worthwhile repair project if it doesn’t (it may have seized up if not maintained recently or it may have timing or alignment issues from age).
Machines like that are quite solidly built compared to modern machines, I would be surprised if it can’t get through a few layers of denim for a few stitches (I wouldn’t recommend doing 6 layers continuously, but crossing over the side seam should be OK). If you’re concerned you can always hand crank it for that part.
The lack of a free arm may be somewhat limiting for hems. The “stupid” solution would be to stand the machine up on top of a crate or similar, as long as the circumference of the leg/other fabric is large enough to fit around the bottom metal “plate” of the machine. (These machines have a metal body designed to be built into a cabinet or shelf top. I’m not sure if yours includes a wooden box around the bottom or if it is just the machine itself, but if there is any wood then the machine can be removed from this leaving just the metal body of the machine itself which may provide more flexibility in this regard.)
I have machines with both types, and prefer the front loading bobbins. But that’s probably just because that’s what I have been used to. I have had tangling and jamming on both, but only very sporadically, mostly due to low quality thread (especially cotton can be tricky if you get the wrong stuff. Polyester thread is more forgiving but shouldn’t be too old)
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