trouble with flat-felled seams ?

Ignore last two posts: having trouble with computer today...

I have NO problem with Mr Coffins book. I have owned and used it for years. YOU have a problem misinterpreting what I have said.

If Robb *IS* having a problem with mastering the foot (and clearly he is, or there wouldn't be a corkscrew effect: therfore this foot and this method method are NOT working - for Robb. He is after all, perfectly at libery to keep trying until it does or he gives it up as a waste of his time, as I did) and/or the method of using it, what is your problem with my offering an alternative?

My take on this, as with many other methods, is there is no one way of doing this, and it pays to explore all the methods you can and use the ones that suit. If I can get perfect fast results using an ordinary foot or a walking foot on all the different fabrics I use, why should I invest time and money doing something that gives me crap results and will take valuable time to master? I could be doing it better and being paid for the time.

There's more than one road to Rome. ;-) Some of us sew for results, others sew for process. Personally, I am a fan of the "man on horseback" rule, but then I would never, ever hand quilt, or do any one of a number of things that requires lots of time and patience to achieve the same result (or reasonable facsimile) that a few minutes with my trusty sewing machine will accomplish. Challenges are great, I suppose, but I've never been a fan of making things more difficult than they have to be.

Kate, if you review the posting history of the person you are replying to:

this little gem:'ll save yourself a lot of time and aggravation by invoking your killfile. Beverly

I 'spoze... Sometimes poking anthills is fun though. Yeah, I'm naughty! ;)

Oh, well as long as you're enjoying yourself, by all means poke away! PS seems unable to carry on a Usenet conversation without snarling and biting, so wear your gloves and facemask. ;->

Beverly

I've not misinterpreted a thing, Kate. I quoted you word for word as indicated in my last post. Of course you snipped all that again. One need not wonder why.

I've said what needed saying and given my best help to Robb. If you or anyone else in this NG, including that mentally disturbed, vicious old lying hag Beverly, don't like what I've said, that's just too bad. We all must suffer our disappointments. Have a pleasant day.

Phae

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Thanks Kate,

I appreciate all your time and effort to give helpful advice.

I did try your felling method just to try something different and it did help remove the twist although i would probably need to practice alot more to keep the seam edge even or maybe use a different foot to help me keep things lined up .

Though not wanting this felling foot to get the best of me ... i experimented more and it turns out the problem was due to fabric creeping or shifting but it was exactly the opposite of what i thought it was. I tried varying my fabric holding pressure fore/aft as you had mentioned and i stumbled upon how the creeping/shifting occured.

Seems the bottom fabric was slipping forward gradually. When the seam was finished I pulled the fabric and seam to test it. The bottom fabric would then shift the top seam down and the twist would become more prominent.

Anyways if i hold the fore fabric taught and let machine do work of pulling it then the shifting would stop and the twisting stopped.

thanks again for the help. I (like others) am very thankful to have a place to get great sewing help.

robb

After some 67+ years sewing, I've found just a tiny detail change sometimes works miracles in sewing. I am happy you solved the problem of the creeping/twisting fall-felled seam. Emily

Thanks Phae,

Thanks for all the great tips and info. I do appreciate the help,

You pretty much touched/addressed many of my amateur shortcut/mistakes.

Not pinning, nor preparing the seam enough etc ..

As it turns out the fabric was shifting/skewing. I experimented with various changes in my fabric feeding method. Creating a drag on the left fabric, (in direct line with foot) when machine was moving te fabric, seemed to give me the best results but i am not sure if that would be considered a proper solution.

Thanks again for help.

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I tried this and it and it did make a perfect and more consistent seam though did not appear the prevent the twisting.

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Thanks or all te help Kay,

I did try and experiment more with all the helpful info and ideas you and others provided.

The twisting was lessened by tensioning (creating a feed drag) of the left side fabric on second seam pass but i am not sure that is a solution.

Anyways i like putting these fancy feet to work

Thanks again, robb

All these techniques take a little practice. I tend to forget just how much some things take: this is one of those techniques I learned back in the Dark Ages (1960's!) when I was a kid. Mum didn't have a felling foot for her straight stitch only Singer 99K. This is the way the sewing books all taught it before felling feet were common, so I just stick with it.

The thing with using the 'taut sewing' technique is that it doesn't matter if the foot is holding back the tiop layers (which I suspect from your description) or pushing it forward, ahead of the bottom layer, it cures it most of the time. Magic! AND it works with almost any foot.

This is always the problem: people tend to be in a bit of a hurry and pull the fabric through the mechine using thius technique. The trick it to keep a light but ballanced pressure from fore and aft and let the feed dogs do the work. That IS what they are fore, after all.

You're very welcome. We love to help. And the great thing about a group like this is that we can offer different things for you to try, so you can pick the one most intuative to you and with which YOU get the best results. Ususally that works out as a mixture of different ideas from different places! :D

There may be some classic ways of doing things, but even in the best cotoure houses they can tell who sewed which seam by looking at the way the seamtress did it - especially with hand stitched seams! And those stitchers waste no time and effort, I'm telling you!

That's one reason I like the exchange of ideas in this group. There's such a wealth of experience here to learn from!

Ms Stonebridge,

Please do us all a favor and Go Away. Permanently.

Doreen in Alabama

Oh, I missed it is PS having a melt-down??? Thanks Doreen.

;-)

You and me, both. These filters are working perfectly.

For a long time I simply flagged her messages with a specific color, now all messages from that source disappear into the ether. What a waste of electrons.

Beverly

Dear Robb,

First, you're trimming off too much of the seam. Trim it to half its size, rather than 1/8 inch. Then, fold the remaining seam over and press. By doing it this way, the seam is supported by the trimmed one, and should stay straight. The pressed seam allowance should encase the trimmed one.

Teri

Dear Robb,

I also meant to tell you not to use the felling foot. It's awkward at best, and your regular straight-stitch foot will be easier to keep accurate stitching right next to the edge of the pressed seam allowance.

Teri