I was lucky to have birthday money to spend, and I spend all of it (and a bit more!) on some accessories for my Coverstitch machine. I've got a new Coverstitch coming in January, but the "feet" I bought also work on my current one.
The lovely Jane White (from Jane White Tuition in Barton upon Humber, who runs babylockshop.co.uk) was kind enough to spend some time with me via Zoom, showing me some of the feet. I also took part in a fab Foot Fetish Zoom she ran with Katy from Babylock demonstrating, and those Zooms helped me decide what to get.
I tried out one of the "Downturn Feller" attachments almost as soon as my package arrived, and it was very easy to get working. . I don't have any pictures. I can do that in a straight line, but I need to practice to see if I can use it "in the round", which means where the seam I'm hemming forms a circle (like the hem of a skirt, or a closed neck, or a closed armhole). It's meant to be possible... but I need to practice.
I had to psyche myself up to try the more meaty purchases, and I finally did so today. These ones all require strips of fabric. I asked DH to make me some acrylic templates so I could easily cut strips of fabric the correct width (so I don't have to mark and measure), and he has made 4 so far.
The ones I've put yellow labels on are 2 different sized "double fold binding" accessories.
The ones with blue labels on are "Belt Loop Folders", which is a very unattractive name. I don't think I'll ever make belt loops, but these attachments make it super fast to make straps (for bags, or sundresses) or hanging loops, or pull cords for shorts, or whatever. I'm going to use them to make ties for some gift bags.
I tested the templates for the two "belt loopers" today. I just used some random bits of fabric, and I used whatever thread my machine had on it. The results are beautiful!
Without the attachment, I'd have to: (a) press my strip of fabric in half (b) open it out, then press the two edges in to the middle, (c) stitch. Trying to fold such a small amount and press it, is a real pain in the b*m. It's usually a pain in the fingers, as well, as I invariably burn myself. It is possible to do it withough an iron, but it's a lot of effort.
It's so easy!
This isn't a particularly great example - I just picked up a scrap of woven fabric, and cut a scrap of jersey for the binding. Again, I didn't change the threads on my machine, and I didn't change the needle positions (I had left and righ needles in, , and if I was doing this for real I'd probably have used the centre needle instead of one of the outside needles).
The right (top) side of the fabric is the darker blue, and you can see how beautiful and even the binding is. On the wrong (back) side of the fabric, you can see the beautful looper stitching.
I've got a larger sized double fold binder to try, and a single fold binder. I'll wait until DH has done the templates for me before I give those a test run.
Who knows? I might even get round to making something! :-)
