question about sewing with denim and faux furs.

good morning everyone,
I am not an advid sewer, however, I have completed a few projects but I
really don't know much about sewing. What I have completed as been
through determination, tenacity, and the help of my mother. My
question is, what size needle and what tension are you suppose to use
when you are stitching denim, stitching faux furs to denim and what
have you? I ask because I broke a needle last night and rather than
learning the hard way, I wanted to know some basics on sewing.

Can anyone give me a heads-up on the size needle I want for different
types of fabrics and the tensions I want to sew with?

I have missplaced my book that comes with my Singer 2175 so, I am going
to ask the manufacturer for another. It did have some guide in it
however, as I mentioned, I don't have much sewing experience at all.
Thanks,
Monica

I don't sew myself but I know when Mom started doing commercial sewing
with denim she had to get a more powerful machine because she kept
breaking needles. She had the recommended needles for denim but the
sewing machine's motor couldn't drive them through the denim so they
broke. Of course she later started sewing on heavy vinyl to make
amplifier covers and keyboard cases so it paid off. Prior to the new
machine, she really had to baby the old one along if she was trying to
patch the knees of my jeans. Eventually she gave up and got the iron-on
patches.

wrote:
good morning everyone,
I am not an advid sewer, however, I have completed a few projects but I
really don't know much about sewing. What I have completed as been
through determination, tenacity, and the help of my mother. My
question is, what size needle and what tension are you suppose to use
when you are stitching denim, stitching faux furs to denim and what
have you? I ask because I broke a needle last night and rather than
learning the hard way, I wanted to know some basics on sewing.

Can anyone give me a heads-up on the size needle I want for different
types of fabrics and the tensions I want to sew with?

I have missplaced my book that comes with my Singer 2175 so, I am going
to ask the manufacturer for another. It did have some guide in it
however, as I mentioned, I don't have much sewing experience at all.

--
Brenda

In addition to Brenda's pertinent post:
When you purchase needles, the package will tell you whether it's for
"heavy" or "light".

Here's an excellent site about sewing machine needles:
http://www.ehow.com/how_15071_choose...e-machine.html

Dianne

Brenda wrote:

I don't sew myself but I know when Mom started doing commercial sewing
with denim she had to get a more powerful machine because she kept
breaking needles. She had the recommended needles for denim but the
sewing machine's motor couldn't drive them through the denim so they
broke. Of course she later started sewing on heavy vinyl to make
amplifier covers and keyboard cases so it paid off. Prior to the new
machine, she really had to baby the old one along if she was trying to
patch the knees of my jeans. Eventually she gave up and got the iron-on
patches.

wrote:

good morning everyone,
I am not an advid sewer, however, I have completed a few projects but I
really don't know much about sewing. What I have completed as been
through determination, tenacity, and the help of my mother. My
question is, what size needle and what tension are you suppose to use
when you are stitching denim, stitching faux furs to denim and what
have you? I ask because I broke a needle last night and rather than
learning the hard way, I wanted to know some basics on sewing.

Can anyone give me a heads-up on the size needle I want for different
types of fabrics and the tensions I want to sew with?

I have missplaced my book that comes with my Singer 2175 so, I am going
to ask the manufacturer for another. It did have some guide in it
however, as I mentioned, I don't have much sewing experience at all.


--
Brenda

--
"The Journal of Needlework" - The E-zine for All Needleworkers
http://journal.heritageshoppe.com

On 11 Jan 2005 07:16:26 -0800, wrote:

good morning everyone,
I am not an advid sewer, however, I have completed a few projects but I
really don't know much about sewing. What I have completed as been
through determination, tenacity, and the help of my mother. My
question is, what size needle and what tension are you suppose to use
when you are stitching denim, stitching faux furs to denim and what
have you? I ask because I broke a needle last night and rather than
learning the hard way, I wanted to know some basics on sewing.

Can anyone give me a heads-up on the size needle I want for different
types of fabrics and the tensions I want to sew with?

I have missplaced my book that comes with my Singer 2175 so, I am going
to ask the manufacturer for another. It did have some guide in it
however, as I mentioned, I don't have much sewing experience at all.
Thanks,
Monica

You would probably get better answers from the news group
rec.crafts.textiles.sewing but I will give it a try.

Getting a new manual for your machine is a great first step for you.
I've got to send off for one myself. I plan to make a photocopy of it
and store the copy with the manuals of other appliances so I will have
it if I lose the one that is supposed to stay with the machine.

For sewing machine needles look for the Singer needles. The needle
packs have a list on the back that will let you know the right needle
for your denim as well as other fabrics. Also there is at least one
needle manufacturer that sells one size in packs called denim needles.
I believe it's Smetz or Shmetz Denim Needles and I saw them at a
Walmart so they are probably easy to find in other stores too.

Now as to your needle breaking, there are several possible reasons for
that to happen. If the needle gets bent it will hit the metal rather
than the hole of the throat plate and it will break. If you sew over
pins you can bend or break the needle. If you try to push the fabric
through the machine too fast it may bend or break the needle. Cheap
thread often has thicker bits called slubs that will not fit through
the eye of the needle and that will make the needle break. If you
wrap the foot pedal around the needle for storage purposes of a
portable machine it may bend the needle. Also as a needle wears out
it will be easier to break. Those are some of the reasons for bent
and broken needles and sometimes you never know why one broke. It's
easy to check for a bent needle before starting to sew individual
seams, just raise and lower the needle while watching to see if it
hits the hole in the throat plate correctly. Needles are cheap so
replace them fairly often to always have a sharp one in the machine.
Also it is a good idea to check to see if the needle is raising up
high enough to clear the fabric if you are sewing something really
thick. If it's not you need a machine that will raise the needle
higher, or get thinner material that your machine can process.

Tension is more likely to cause thread to break rather than the needle
and it is different for every machine. Your best bet is to sew a
spare bit of your intended project as a practice piece and see if
there are loops on either the top or bottom of the seam and then make
adjustments to eliminate the loops.

Since you are fairly new to sewing you might want to look in your
local library for a book (or search online) on sewing basics that you
might want to learn to help you sew better and easier.

Debra in VA