Newbie questions and additional ZZ patterns?

Yes, always! There's nothing worse than putting your heart and soul into a sewing project only to have it unwearable after the first time it's washed.

Pinking shears are good. Serging/overlocking is better. If you don't have a serger, use a three-step zig-zag on the raw edges before washing and drying. (Always dry the fabric the same way you will treat the finished garment.)

For a finished 12" pillow, the squares would be 13 1/4" including two 5/8" seam allowances. So yes, 14" would be fine provided that they are cut on-grain. If you have to straighten the grain allow a little extra for that.

Singer made buttonholers with metal cams, and later another one which used plastic cams. Be sure you buy the correct cams for your buttonholer. I have 8 or 10 cams for my original buttonholer, including several keyhole cams. I also have the later model which used plastic cams, and uses the swing of the needle instead of moving the fabric back and forth, I like it better for some projects.

I'll leave that one for Ron, the sewing machine expert.

Beverly

Every piece of fabric I bring into this house is (1) taken to the sewing machine, and has a line of stitching as close to the cut edges as I can manage, then (2) taken to the washing machine and washed and dried as I will treat the final product. If it is cotton or linen I might wash and dry it two or three times to make sure it is fully shrunk. OTOH, if is is a blend with some synthetic fibers in it, I only wash it once to remove the factory sizing as it is unlikely to shrink. Yes, I even wash wool and silk, but then I know what I am doing. If you need to deal with either of these, come back and we will give you precise instructions.

Give yourself plenty of room at first. In any case, you will be unlikely to be able to buy a piece smaller than 18" x 22" - a "fat quarter" is what the quilters call it - otherwise you have to buy in fractions of a yard or meter depending on where you live.

I'm sorry, I know nothing about the 404. Glad you got your cord and can start to play.

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.

I *Always* wash everything fabric or RTW before it goes on my body! This world is too filled with chemicals and I'm way too sensitive! But even before becoming sensitive I washed everything before sewing with it. There was something I read a couple of days ago that it was easier to handle if it were not washed first but I've forgotten already.

I usually only allow 1/4 yard extra as a 'just in case'. But then I usually preplan everything. Check and recheck before cutting. As carpenters usually say, 'measure twice cut once'.

AK in PA

If Ron is taking the day off, I might be able to answer. The different sets of cams have different colors on the tops. They come in boxes of four cams. The cams themselves are like the buttonholer cams, they'll fit either the slant-needle or the straight-needle attachment. So if you have the regular set of red tops, and another set with white or yellow, they will fit your attachment, just give you a few different patterns. The attachment is rather clunky, both in size and in operation, but it makes it possible to have zig-zag patterns on a straight-stitch machine. The 401 and 403 use cams in the machine itself, and is much more elegant in operation.

If the fabric is NOT pre-shrunk and is intended for washing, then was it as you will the finished garment.

I allow 10%-15% for shrinkage, but that is all, unless I want a little extra for experimenting. Pattern and fitting problems are ironed out with toiles before cutting the 'good' fabric.

They produced similar ones for different models, and as time went on. They did both straight sided and keyhole type buttonhole templates, and some eyelets. Rather than ones specifically for the machine, you need to look for those made for the model of buttonholer.

They are specific to a certain range of zz or buttonhole making attachments. You may find that those made for earlier attachments don't fit the one you have.

Whoo hoo! Have fun! :)

Ariel,

Your buttonholer most likely has another cam inside and will give you a total of 5 cams instead of 4. There is almost always a cam inside the attachment itself.

Have fun playing with your new machine!

Judie

Epodunk wrote:

I may pink seams that I'm going to press open and leave plain, or enclosed edges that might show through, but pinking isn't a good way to keep yard goods from raveling in the washer.

I usually overcast the edges of new fabric with my longest and widest zig-zag, and a strong or double thread in the bobbin in case I want to remove the stitching later. (The stitching is usually cut off when I straighten the ends, but sometimes the ends are straight to start with.)

Once, when a washing machine was available and a sewing machine wasn't, I basted the raw ends together in a french seam.

Joy Beeson

On Mar 23, 2:49=A0pm, "AK&DStrohl" wrote: There was something I read a couple of days ago that it was easier to

Tricot and some other nylons. It rolls up on the edges if you wash it before sewing.

Trisha in MO