Hey Doyle, check this gadget out

[sofadoc]

Doyle:

You and I have talked before about how factories achieve a uniform consistency on gathered seams. Or more specifically, how can us small shops duplicate it.

I got this foot in today:


It only works on a straight stitch machine, but it looks like you could sew consistent gathers with it. You can adjust the tension on the elastic to a desired gather.



I don't have any gathered jobs going right now, but I'm going to give it a try when I do.

[baileyuph]

Let us know how it works out. 

My requirement is with auto leather seats, a lot of the luxury cars required certain amount of gathering at specific locations, no consistantly across a seam. 

Factories have invested considerable money in equipment to do the auto interiors, my volume will not support that and it is hard to buy pre mades, the problem.

Factories, needless to say to those who understand, have computer control interfaced with machines with the calculus programmed in to do the differential feeding, very efficient, perfect, and costly.


Thanks,

Doyle

[baileyuph]

Hey Dennis,

How is the gathering foot working?  Had a chance to use it?  By working only with a straight stitch, meaning a drop feed or walking foot either?

That could be important to know because with two passes, one for each layer being gathered, you have a simple differential feed. 

Or one pass if only one layer is being gathered. 

Check that think out on vinyl and pliable leather, in thinking there are applications with potential.  We face differential requirements in auto like stated before, as well as some furniture work.  I wouldn't doubt there are a few marine interior applications, along the coast where all the money is, there are some flousy looking interiors.  Smile.

What machine will or do you use it on.  Is it a foot or a tension gage?  Or both? 

I guess that reduces the discussion down to those two questions, a foot with a guage and does it work on a walker?

I lied, what did you google to find it?
Doyle

[sofadoc]

I haven't had a chance to try it on anything meaningful yet. It doesn't work on a WF machine.

I found it at Sharp's Sewing Supplies on E-bay.   

[baileyuph]

Works on drop feed only, Consew 30 or Singer 31-15, got ya.

Well, if one gets into reupholstery or doing slips on some of newer furniture, that is relative I know, but some have gathers to reduce fitting time.  Given those situations then yes, it would save time and better enable one to duplicate newer tech furniture work.  I am a bit shy of projecting it into my auto interior work, leather and vinyl shirring or gathering is a different animal.  Factories do it with differential feeds all interfaced with computer where calculus is programmed to control the feed of each layer being sewed at a different rate as well as the more routine, both layers at the same rate.

If I was going further in that direction on auto and furniture to match the state of the art gathering  capabilities of factories, then it would be worth the investment to implement their equal capaility.

Presently I am going in some other directions which are being very good for me.

But, that doesn't mean I have a closed mind, part of living and working is a continued learning curve of higher technologies.  At the end of the day, we will never know it all.
I do thank you for sharing, mentally I do see applications for the foot and adjustable tension system.  Very neat.

Doyle