walking foot sewing machine

[gene]

Hello,

universal feed = feed dog, pressure foot, and needle pull the material along with each stitch

I have a Juki LU 562. It's new for me. Recently serviced.

I was sewing a boxed cushion cover today. 90" x 30" panel.

I made the welt cord. I sewed the welt cord on top of the fabric. The length and width of the panel lost several inches when I measured it on the cutting table.

I took the welt cord off. I sewed the panel of fabric on top of the welt cord. It took 11 extra inches of welt cord.

When I sewed the welt cord on top of the panel, I lost 11 inches in overall edge.

I thought the purpose of a universal feed was to take the material through at the same time? Am I doing something wrong? Is there something that I can adjust? Is this just the nature of this machine?

It seems like I actually may loose less dimension when I sew with my straight stitch machine.

Thank you for your help.

geene

[sofadoc]

There has to be something out of adjustment. I sewed on a 562 for 25 years. I never had that kind of problem. But I always did "pull" the fabric a little with my left hand as it fed.

[Cheryl]

Gene,

I have a Juki 562, bought it new in '83 and its never been professionally serviced.  It creeps alot but not 11", over a 75" span I might lose a half inch.    I have found that adjusting the the 2 screw knobs on the top I can adjust it quite a bit,

I don't know the proper names of the screws I turn but one is right on top of the needle bar  - it adjusts the pressure on the center foot... the second  one (look over the center of the machine and it in the back) adjusts the pressure of the  foot.. at least - in practice .. I think that is what it adjusts...   never got brave enough to play with the feed dogs themselves.

I am betting a more mechanically inclined  person will have a better answer..  :)

[scottymc]

It is a natural instinct to stretch the top fabric when you start out sewing, be aware of that. Try placing your hand on the bottom material to tension it as it feeds in and push the top material under the foot to help feed it in, that could even it up a bit' it probably needs machine and operator adjustment.

[gene]

Thank you for your replys.

I've been sewing boxed cushions with this machine for a few months now. I liked how it was sewing, so, I thought I would use it more.

A third boxed cushion yesterday gave me fits. 65" long, but 63" when the welt cord was sewn on the bottom of the fabric, and 61" when the welt cord was sewn on the top of the fabric. And the welt cord was wavy.

I'm wondering if something changed on the machine?

I"m familiar with the two knobs that Cheryl is talking about, but how are they adjusted for different fabrics and vinyls and leather? Is it just a matter of trial and error?

I sew perfect boxed cushions on my straight stitch machine. This is why I can't understand why this Juki is giving me fits.

PEBSMAC is certainly a possibility. (Problem Exists Between the Sewing Machine and the Chair.)

Thanks again,

Gene

[baileyuph]

Gene, let me get you thinking:

Do this:  Remove all the thread out of the machine, sew the welt cord on (don't say it, I know) and then check the length, it will be whatever you cut.

Then, put the thread back in the machine, but loosen the tension, both, a lot, and sew the seam again.  Depending on how loose or tight, say it either way, the 90 inches may be just slightly less, if the tension is set to where it is obviously too loose.

Then, tighten the thread tensions a small bit but not to the tightness you normall run and resew the 90 inches.  This time, is is predicted you will see the 90 inches shrink again but not to the extent you experienced from the get go of all this.

Conclusion:  Assuming this series of test went the way surmised, then you have discovered one of the contributors to your problem and it likely is the greatest contributor.

Thread tension can be a major contributor to seam gathering; that, plus all the the other varibles that have been discussed should address this problem very well.

I did this test in the long past and it proved to me that with some fabrics, they will gather significantly with a nice tight tension.  Watch your tension and how you pull or don't pull the fabric as it flows through the walking feet.
That is what I have learned to do and it is quite revealing.

Of course if the 90 inches shortens with no thread in the machine, just call it a day and me stupid.

Doyle

[sofadoc]

I"m familiar with the two knobs that Cheryl is talking about, but how are they adjusted for different fabrics and vinyls and leather? Is it just a matter of trial and error?

I've never been able to tell much difference. I've screwed them all the way in both directions. I usually turn the one at the center/rear of head just until the clanking stops (when sewing). As for the one on top of the needle bar area, I slip a piece of paper under the welt foot, and adjust the knob until the welt foot just barely grabs the paper. Have you tried changing the stitch lenght a little? Take a test run with the stitch length set at the widest. See how that affects the problem. Better? Worse? No different?

[bobbin]

I know I've posted this before, but I am right behind Doyle on this one.  Thread tension is the likely culprit in the your "shrinkage issue", Gene   ;)

I know that over time the cumulative effect of however many tension "tweaks" results in thread tension that is entirely too tight.  I periodically back the thread tension way off and then basically do the same thing to the bobbin tension.  I begin adjusting them both by stitching on the bias of a single layer of cloth (something representative of the goods you generally use, ditto thread and needle size).  Once I have a decent stitch that doesn't pucker or pull the bias I know I'm on my way to smoother, flatter seams.  I use a single layer of bias for the stitch test because the thread tension should be able to move with the bias of the goods, not snapping at the slightest tension on it.  "Give" is important and it's what gives a seam its strength.  You shouldn't have to manually pull the goods to get a nice smooth, flat seam, though if you're using a machine that is at the reaches of its capacity for the job at hand this may become necessary.  This particular issue is so important and so many people spend next to no time on it; I think because the entire "tension" issue is too often made more difficult than  it really has to be.  It's not hard to get the needle tension and bobbin tension in good synch. but it does take time to get it right.   "Heavy fiddle factor"!

I know that the amount of "step" the center foot takes can be important.  If that foot steps too high and too much fabric is fed under the presser feet the seam will be puckered.  Minimizing the height of the step and the length of the stitch can make a big difference in the overall quality of the seaming.   In conjunction with even thread tension this is what produces a nice seam. 

This problem is something I deal with routinely in my own shop because the work I do ranges from pretty beefy repairs to marine canvas to finer, cushion and slipcover work.  This is another reason Scarab's  suggestion to have another bobbin case adjusted for really heavy thread appealed to me.   There is a big difference in the way #69 and #138 thread feeds through the machine head and the out of the bobbin case!!

[gene]

Thank you, thank you, thank you one and all.

Thread tension was the culprit. I didn't even think of that. I am so new to this walking foot machine that I think I may be expecting it to do the sewing for me.

I printed this topic out and have it at the shop. I sew a lot of different weighted materials, and I will endevour to get better at maintaining proper thread and foot tensions.

gene

[gene]

I wonder how many sewing problems asked about on this forum are thread tension related.

I feel like I have learned a whole new aspect of sewing after going through the replys while sitting at my sewing machine.

Thanks again,

gene

[baileyuph]

Gene,

Sewing has been an experience for me, it isn't as a lot of people think :  "isn't all you do is just sew"!  There is very little in this business that is "just".  I know, looking and wondering about the dynamics of this business that I will never know it all.

It is interesting to hear many in our business talk that they never touch tension adjustments, but seem to be doing fine.  I find that amazing and I believe them.

When a tension issue seems to be at hand, there can be other contributors  than tension adjustment.  For discussion, threads we use today, more synthetic than ever and getting larger can be tough on a machine.  Much tougher on a machine than the softer cotton threads were in the longer past.  This fact, over time, induces wear on all the machine parts, including those that manage delivery of the thread to the needle.  This should encourage an operator to go beyond the adjustment devices if tension problems persist.  Check all the parts for thread groovesand of course debris buildup, etc.

It all keeps us on our toes.  Just yesterday it was noticed one of my machines, during start up, thread was knotting which required holding threads on startup again.  Something that wasn't required just a few days ago.  On inspection, it was noted that the upper thread appeared too tight.  So, tension adjustments were applied there and in the bobbin, the problem went away, no holding required and no knotting.  I didn't have time to inspect thread path hardware, so don't know if there is something developing there.  The only variables during the past week on that machine was changing thread colors but the type and size continued to be the same. I have changed spools of # 69 several times.  Is that the difference?  Are threads assumed to be the same, possibly different in some way?

Like I say, perhaps nothing is simple even if we size it to that. ::)

Keeping a machine in good shape is important and finding a good machine mechanic isn't as easy as one would wish.

Doyle

[papasage]

i never had a mechanic to work on my  machine  . if  anyone sayes they  don`t touch the tinson they don`t  use the machine .anytime you  change size thread  you  need to ajust the  tinson.you git a build up of  lint  in the tinshon disk it  has to be taken apart and cleaned . i  sublet a  sewing  job  several years ago  and the shop that did it  sisn`t didn`t check the  stitches and they  wer not  tight and had to reswe  all  over again . i check mine  on every type of material  and all the time i am sewing .you never know  when the tinson  spring might slip.