Is a knee lift essential?

Polly Esther wrote:
Some SMs have to be unthreaded to wind a bobbin.

I don't think there are many that have to be completely unthreaded if
you use another spool of thread to wind your bobbin. If you have a
second spool pin, you can usually put another spool on there and thread
your bobbin without disturbing the thread that goes to the needle. I
have also taken the spool off the spool pin without taking the thread
out of the thread guides, tension, and needle; set it aside; and used
another spool to wind the bobbin.

I have an Elna so I don't have the knee lift; I've never used one, so I
don't miss it. I have found that when I am chain piecing, I don't have
to lift the presser foot for each piece; I can put it far enough under
the toes of the quarter inch foot that the feed dogs catch it when I
start the machine. I also don't have any bobbin warning, though I
suspect that I would be likely to ignore it until I actually ran out of
thread. I have a drop-in bobbin and a clear plastic plate over the
bobbin, so when I use the clear plastic bobbins, I can see (if I bother
to look) that my bobbin is getting low.

Julia in MN

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Bobbin thread is probably still going to run out in the wrong
spot, you'll just know it! G
Taria

Well, it wouldn't be _just_ for that. It also has lots of other good
features :-) However, when stippling large spaces I always seem to run
out of bobbin thread in just the wrong spots... For piecing, I don't
think it would make any difference for me at all.

Hanne

I am lucky - I always seem to run out in a good spot if I'm piecing - at the
very end of a seam. Handy, this luck.

My Bernina also changes noises when the bobbin is low. If I'm piecing, I
don't pay attention. I do if I'm quilting.

--
Teresa in Colorado

http://home.comcast.net/~treesaquilts
The Presser Foot
Sewing Machine Sales, Service, Supplies, and More
www.thepresserfoot.com
--
"Taria" wrote in message
...
Bobbin thread is probably still going to run out in the wrong
spot, you'll just know it! G
Taria

Well, it wouldn't be _just_ for that. It also has lots of other good
features :-) However, when stippling large spaces I always seem to run
out of bobbin thread in just the wrong spots... For piecing, I don't
think it would make any difference for me at all.

Hanne

"Polly Esther" wrote in message
k.net...
I dearly love to hear about who's sewing on what. Thank you, Heidi,
for
asking. I was particularly interested in the response to low bobbin
indicator. I'm with Sandy. My Bernie and I are so in tune that I can hear
when her bobbin is getting low.

Yes, this is true!! I have a Bernina and you definitely can hear when the
bobbin thread runs out!!

Iris

probably like driving, uh? I learnt in an auto, and I use same foot for
gas and break. DH learnt on a stick, and uses in the automatic one foot
for each.. when we bought the manual after 10 years of driving only the
auto he had trouble with the clutch in the begginning - I am still
learning how to use the manual, but having one free leg available to use
for the clutch exclusively, I did not get confused! )

...Mickie Swall.. wrote:

It's been suggested that the confusion abates if one uses the left
foot for the go-pedal and the right knee for the lift. Never had a
machine to test this, but a body could probably re-adjust the
mind set with a little practice.
--
Dr. Quilter
Ambassador of Extraordinary Aliens
http://community.webshots.com/user/mvignali
(take the dog out before replying)

some SM? I have not met one that doesn't need that! my old singer
fashionmate from the 70s, my featherweight and my new brother all have
to be unthreaded to wind the bobbin! I was actually surprised to read in
this very thread that there are some that don't require that!!!

Polly Esther wrote:

I dearly love to hear about who's sewing on what. Thank you, Heidi, for
asking. I was particularly interested in the response to low bobbin
indicator. I'm with Sandy. My Bernie and I are so in tune that I can hear
when her bobbin is getting low.
Something you may not have picked up on: Some SMs have to be unthreaded
to wind a bobbin. Now that would really be annoying. Be sure you don't get
one of those. Grrrrr. Polly





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Dr. Quilter
Ambassador of Extraordinary Aliens
http://community.webshots.com/user/mvignali
(take the dog out before replying)

And, strangely enough, the knee I have the most problems with is the
right......... which is used for the lift on those commercial machines.
(Worked on them for several years doing alterations in a tailor shop and
various dry cleaning establishments.)

Pati, in Phx. , who really doesn't want a knee lift.

Michelle Anglin wrote:

I had that same problem Wendy. I went to work in a sewing factory
briefly and the industrial machines there had knee lifts and I'd never sewn
on anything but a knee lever operated machine. It nearly drove me nuts. lol
Shelly

"I.E.Z." wrote in message
...

"Polly Esther" wrote in message
k.net...
I dearly love to hear about who's sewing on what. Thank you, Heidi,
for
asking. I was particularly interested in the response to low bobbin
indicator. I'm with Sandy. My Bernie and I are so in tune that I can
hear
when her bobbin is getting low.

Yes, this is true!! I have a Bernina and you definitely can hear when the
bobbin thread runs out!!

Iris

You know? You are right!
Probably why I do not miss a 'bobbin low' indicator.

Lisa Chambers wrote:


You know? You are right!
Probably why I do not miss a 'bobbin low' indicator.

Never having had either, I miss neither!

I probably wouldn't ever bother with the knee lift as the side of my
knees is a fibro 'hot spot' - a real pain trigger point. I'm sure they
are very useful to those who can use them, but they are not for me. As
for low bobbin, I have a see-through bobbin cover and bobbins, so I can
see how low the thread is getting without taking it out...
--
Kate XXXXXX
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

My Viking(s) actually wind the bobbins better when the machine is threaded. One
of the things that I think is great about the machines. That and the no
oiling.......... no drips of oil on fabric to worry about.

Pati, in Phx.


"Dr. Quilter" wrote:

some SM? I have not met one that doesn't need that! my old singer
fashionmate from the 70s, my featherweight and my new brother all have
to be unthreaded to wind the bobbin! I was actually surprised to read in
this very thread that there are some that don't require that!!!

Polly Esther wrote:

I dearly love to hear about who's sewing on what. Thank you, Heidi, for
asking. I was particularly interested in the response to low bobbin
indicator. I'm with Sandy. My Bernie and I are so in tune that I can hear
when her bobbin is getting low.
Something you may not have picked up on: Some SMs have to be unthreaded
to wind a bobbin. Now that would really be annoying. Be sure you don't get
one of those. Grrrrr. Polly





--
Dr. Quilter
Ambassador of Extraordinary Aliens
http://community.webshots.com/user/mvignali
(take the dog out before replying)