[NFB-Krafters-Korner] Sewing on buttons and sewing machine questions.

Mon May 11 18:06:42 UTC 2020

I'd just like to say thank you to everyone who responded. I'm afraid I'm kind of swamped with school at the moment, which is why I haven't responded until now. I've a paper to write and a final to complete, and I'm trying to get them done and not procrastinate too much. Ugh. Anyhow, I should have time to practice sewing on buttons and looking for seam guides for my machine after school is over.

Thanks,
Ari

> On May 8, 2020, at 2:53 PM, Suzette May via NFB-Krafters-Korner <nfb-krafters-korner at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi Ari,
> 
> I’m fairly new to the list but I was an experienced seamstress before my
> vision loss.  I’ll try to do your questions in order.
> 
> 1. On button sewing: I just purchased the WayAround starter kit myself but
> I havne’t had a chance to look at it closely. Invisible thread isn’t
> totally invisible but it is a thread made from almost clear plastic, almost
> like fishing line. It doesn’t show up against the fabric and is usually
> very strong.  My sons often just use fishing line to sew buttons on with
> although I think it can get more twisted and tangled than invisible
> thread.  It’s a little thicker too.
> 
> The instructions on how to thread the thread through the needle is how I do
> all my hand sewing. It prevents your needle from becoming unthreaded
> accidentally.  You get your sewing done with half the stitches since the
> thread is doubled, at least for something  like buttons.  You can also make
> a very sturdy knotted beginning stitch that won’t pull out.  I measure out
> how long of thread I want to work with.  If I’m holding the spool in my
> right hand and the end of the thread in my left, I extend my right hand and
> arm out to the right fully while holding the thread end at my right
> shoulder or nose or however long I want it.  If you get it too long, it
> will tangle easily.  I cut it and thread my needle, matching the two ends
> together and letting the needle dangle.  I keep the two ends together as
> one thread and wrap it around my finger and bring it back through the loop
> on my finger in a half hitch.  I usually knot it again and try to line up
> the knots one on top of the other for a larger knot but that it optional.
> I start at the underside of the fabric where I want the button placed and
> push the needle up through the fabric and buttonhole.  Don’t pull the
> thread all the way tight against the knot.  Leave about an inch or two.
> Push the needle down through the opposite hole and through the fabric. Turn
> your fabric over to the underside for the moment and separate the two
> threads you knotted together, threading the needle through the loop between
> them. Pull this snug so that the knot against the fabric.  This secures
> your knot and prevents it from pulling through the fabric.  You may want to
> put a toothpick between the thread on the right side of the fabric
> underneath the button to make it easier to button and unbutton.  Push your
> needle back up through the fabric, through the first hole  and down through
> the second hole.  Repeat this three to four more times but you shouldn’t
> have to do a whole lot since the thread is doubled.  To tie it off, push
> the needle to the underside of the fabric and push it through one of the
> threads on the underside to make a loop.  Don’t pull it tight yet.  Thread
> your needle through the loop and pull it tight to make a half hitch. Come
> around again and go through same thread on the underside again to make a
> loop and thread the needle through it again and pull tight to make a second
> half hitch. Clip your thread and youre done.
> 
> 2. I don’t have a Brother but each of those notches sound like the dial
> selector for different stitches.  I would mark the ones for straight stitch
> and zig-zag stitch since those are the most commonly used.  Other common
> feature you will want to mark are the stitch length selector, and the
> reverse button.
> 
> 3. You can get several different types of seam guides.  I have several from
> Madam Sew dot com.  The Brother machines do require a low shank adaptor for
> some feet which Madam Sew dot com has as well and you can email or call
> them about your particular machine. The seam guides I have used snap in
> like presser feet and usually have the seam guide built into a presser foot
> for ease of use. There are snap on plastic seam guide feet that are a clear
> plate around the foot with red lines on it to match the seam up with  which
> is helpful if you have low vision and another seam guide that snaps on that
> sits more to the right of the presser foot at the edge of the fabric to
> help you keep the seam allowance at the right width which might be helpful
> for no vision. I’ve seen the magnetic seam guides at Madam Sew dot com but
> I don’t have one. I haven’t seen a screw-in one either, only the snap-on
> feet with guides built in. After some practice, you will likely be able to
> feel in your right hand when the fabric edge is against the seam guide
> without having to check it.  It will take some practice.
> 
> 4. I have never used a needle guard and don’t feel like they would be
> particularly useful.  If you feed the fabric correctly and keep your hands
> away from around the front of the presser foot, its not an issue.  Your
> left hand should be flat to the  left of the presser foot with couple of
> inches space between it an d the presser foot.  It steadies the fabric.
> Your right hand lines up the fabric with the presser foot about 4 inches in
> front of the presser foot at the edge of the bed.  I never go much closer
> than that. However, I still have blurry vision.  If I had no vision, I
> might use my right hand closer to the seam guide but not in directly in
> front of the presser foot.  You may have to experiment with that hand
> placement to find what works best for you after you get comfortable with
> the machine. I don’t let my pins get under the presser foot either.  I stop
> with the needle down to secure the fabric and remove the pin.  The machine
> feeds the fabric most of the time.  You just have to guide it.  If I run
> into a bulky spot, I will use my closed scissor tips to help it along but
> not get under the presser foot. I have never run over a finger with a
> needle, even with vision loss,  but I’m super careful about where my hands
> are and I go slow. My mother, on the other hand, Is an excellent
> seamstress, fully sighted but she had sloppy hand technique, goes fast, and
> ran over her fingers several times.  About the only time I get stuck with a
> sewing machine needle is if I’m using a needle that has gone through
> several projects and is dull and bends or breaks.  If you change out your
> needle with every project, that shouldn’t be an issue.  Occasionally with
> heavy fabric or thick layers, your needle may hit the stitch plate instead
> of going down through the hole and break that way but that’s rare for
> starting out.
> 
> 5. The pins just hold the fabric together while you sew.  Some people use
> small clips  or nothing at all. The pins go in perpendicular to the edge of
> the fabric and not in line with the seam.  What determines your seam width
> (quarter inch, half inch, etc.) is the distance the needle is from the edge
> of the fabric.  You just line up the edges of fabric and put the pins in
> perpendicular about every three to four inches.  I don’t put a lot of pins
> in and I actually prefer clips.
> 
> 
> I hope that helps and let me know if something was unclear or confusing.
> 
> Suzette May
> PS139.13 at gmail.com
> 
>> On Fri, May 8, 2020 at 6:56 AM Ari via NFB-Krafters-Korner <
>> nfb-krafters-korner at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> 
>> Hello, everyone,
>> 
>> 
>> I've been tryingt to find tutorials for sewing on two-hole buttons. I
>> purchased the starter kit from WayAround some time ago, which includes some
>> two-hole buttons. I also had a button on a pajama top come off last night.
>> So, I'd like to be able to learn how to fix my pajama top, and also be able
>> to add WayTags to my clothes. I could use the oval-hole buttons that you
>> use a safety pin for attaching them to your clothing, but I'd like a more
>> permenant solution. Not that the pins aren't permenant, exactly, but I have
>> had one time where the pin came out of a work shirt of mine (which had one
>> of those aluminum Braille tag attached) and both the pin and tag came off.
>> Luckily, I was able to find both, but this is why I'd like to attach tags
>> by sewing them on. Besides, knowing how to sew on a button is just
>> something good to learn.
>> 
>> Anyhow, I've read some tutorials on-line, and I'm still confused. I'm
>> planning on buying the sewing kit from WayAround, which comes with thread
>> that's invisible (I wonder how that works), 25 two-hole buttons, a needle
>> with a hole in the eye to make threading easier, and a cork to stick the
>> needle into. The instructions say to cut a piece of thread, bring it down
>> through the eye, and then double it and knot the ends together. Why do
>> this? Does it make things stronger when you sew on the button?
>> 
>> The other questions I have are about sewing with a sewing machine. I have
>> a Brother XM2701. We purchased it before I really considered what features
>> might or might not be useful for a blind sewer. It's not computerized, and
>> has a dial on it, but the knotches that it clicks into are pretty small.
>> I'm hoping each knotch on the dial corresponds to a setting, or I'm going
>> to be in trouble. Anyhow, I've heard of screw-in seam guides, and I've been
>> trying to figure out if this machine can use one, but either it can't, or
>> I'm having a really hard time searching Google. So, does anyone who has
>> this machine know if there is a screw-in seam guide? If not, could a
>> magnetic guide work, if one is available for the machine? How do you like
>> the magnetic guides? I'm worrying about the possibility of a magnetic one
>> sliding, which is why I thought a screw-in type might be better.
>> 
>> Also, I'm trying to figure out if this machine has a needle guide, since I
>> think that would be safer for someone who's totally blind. I mean, I can't
>> see to guide the fabric, so I'm going to have to really touch it, not just
>> hold it, which means getting rather chummy with that needle, which is
>> wicked sharp. If their isn't a needle guide, could one be added? Could I
>> just use a thimble?
>> 
>> Okay, so now for my last set of questions. This is about seams again. I
>> know that you pin fabric together to keep it together while you sew. Do you
>> pin along the entire length of the seam, leaving, say,  an inch or two
>> between pins? I know the point of the pins is to keep the fabric together
>> while sewing--but I'm worried about keeping the seam straight. Do I have
>> the right idea with the pinning? Also, how do you know where to put the
>> pins to make a specific seam, like, say, a 5/8-inch seam? How do you know
>> that as a blind sewer?
>> 
>> Sorry for the interminable questions, but I'd like to get started sewing.
>> It seems like such an exciting craft to get into. Besides, we've had our
>> machine for months, and I haven't done a thing with it. This is primarily
>> because the Brother video that shows you how to set things up is shot in
>> 2D, and my husband is having a hard time figuring out how to use the needle
>> threader. We're going to see my mother in-law tomorrow for Mother's Day,
>> complete with carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, which I have to bake
>> today, and we're taking the sewing machine with us. She has some experience
>> with sewing machines, to see if she can help us with that.
>> 
>> 
>> Thanks,
>> Ari
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> -- 
> Suzette May PS139.13 at gmail.com Suzette May Proofreading for Court Reporters
> and Authors suzette at esssentialproofing.com http://www.essentialproofing.com
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