satin stitch

[JLav]

Is there a trick to an attractive satin stitch? I'm making some Christmas presents for my friends (McCall's pattern 4797) and I can't get my satin stitch looking nice, especially on corners and turns. My bobbin throws up and I end up with big wads of thread and then my machine eats my corners.
Anyway, I just want to be sure I'm doing everything right before I completely blame my machine!
Thanks!

[mystic~mama]

bump...

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[Yooper]

I am so out of my element here....but I saw the title of your post on the main board so I jumped in. I had this problem too and my bobbin loves to spit-up (WHY WHY WHY?????????). Anyway, I did a few "embroidered" tote bags for Christams projects and had this problem in the past and was worried. I practiced for a bit and here is what I learned. First, make sure bobbin is full. Second go slow slow slow but you might have to tug on the piece a little to keep it moving. When it stalls, that is when the bobbin goes in for the kill. To help the corners, sew a little past the corner then stop and turn to get a full angle. Good luck and hopefully you will get more posts. I may be wayyyyy off base since I am pretty inexperienced.

[Hera]

Hmm. I use satin stitch a lot, so I might be able to help. I'm not exactly sure what the pattern asks you to do. Are you doing applique on the fabric before you fuse it together, is that the idea? What is your machine like?

Some general satin stitch suggestions, if you are doing applique:
1. Loosten your needle tension. The bobbin thread should be almost a line on the backside, not a matching zig-zag.

2. If you are satin stitching through fusible web, you will want to fuse it first. For some reason the whole works gets gummed up when I try to sew first.

Otherwise, maybe you need some kind of stabilizer to help keep the fabric from being sucked down under the needleplate? Is this a satin stitch around the edge of the bowl?

ETA where in Oregon are you? I'm in Eugene and could potentially help in person?

[JLav]

Thanks for all the help. My machine kind of sucks...it's a newer Singer and it has no power. Not that that is my problem here. It looks more like a zig-zag than a satin (I know that it is a zig-zag, I just don't want it to look that way), I have to forcibly hold it in place to get the stitches closer together. I'll try loosening my tension and see if that helps. The edges are supposed to be an overlock stitch or a satin stitch letting the needle drop slightly over the edge of the fabric, but it just looks messy. I should just use my serger, but I'm determined to get this to work!
Hera...I'm just down I-5 in Cottage Grove! Not very far away at all! I'm looking at your webpage right now...I love your Mei Tais and the bags are amazing! I'll have to get a look at them sometime in person! I make slings and diapers...but don't sell much...I mainly make them for friends. It'd be fun to get together sometime!

[Hera]

Yeah, that would be fun! I like Cottage Grove. I don't get down there very often, but my mom and I usually make a territorial seeds run in the spring. There are some nice hiking areas nearby as well.

That sounds like a strange use of a zig-sag stitch. It's supposed to be a mock overlock or something? Do you have a mock overlock stitch on your machine?

Are those bowls two layers of fabric fused together with interfacing? What if you used a straight stitch and then painted acrylic paint just on the very edge of the bowl?

If the satin st is supposed to be decorative with both the bobbin and needle thread, I'm not sure if loostening the thread tension would work, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to try.

[JLav]

Yeah, I think it's supposed to be a mock overlock. It's also used to create the shape of the bowl. There is a dart on each side of the bowl and you ease it together and sew it shut with a satin stitch. It looks good there so far, as long as I make sure it doesn't feed through too fast and I stop before the edges get sucked down into the bobbin hole. I think I'm just going to figure out how to do some self-binding on the edges and do away with it all together!
Thanks for your suggestions!