NSC LIVE! August 2016

By National Sewing Circle Editors

In this month’s live Q&A, Nicki LaFoille covered everything from what type of needles and thread to use when, and how to deal with and fix thread tangles, skipped stitches and other stitch quality issues. She also talked about sewing all sorts of projects from heirloom sewing to baby blankets, draperies to clothes.

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59 Responses to “NSC LIVE! August 2016”

  1. Gmakittycrosstit

    having problem making “bows” for a mini quit…. any suggestions would be appreciated..

    Reply
    • Customer Service

      Do you mean you are trying to tie bows to add to a quilt or you are wanting to piece a ‘bow’ quilt block?

      Reply
    • Customer Service

      Hi, Della. This is sort of a matter of preference in my opinion. If you treat your machine well, use it correctly, clean and oil it occasionally- you may never need to have your machine serviced if you don’t have any problems. I personally have a Brother that I have been using for almost 10 years and have never had it serviced and have had no issues. If you find that you are having issues or you machine seems louder or seems to be having problems that you didn’t used to have, then you might consider taking it in.

      Reply
    • Customer Service

      Hi, Tina. Depending on the type of sequin, I actually recommend removing the sequins from the seam allowances as hitting them with a needle can cause the needle to break. Once you remove the sequins from the areas being stitched, simply use a needle that corresponds to the type of fabric the sequins are on.

      Reply
  5. Candis

    How can you keep a 1/4″ right to the edge when sewing triangles or anything for that matter. Fabric always seems to move to an 1/8″even when holding it

    Reply
    • Customer Service

      Hi, Candis. I recommend using a 1/4″ foot to help you keep your fabric lined up while stitching. If you are still having issues, I would draw your stitching line on your fabric so you have a line to follow and can ensure you are stitching at an accurate 1/4″.

      Reply
  6. lois willingham

    run a pipe cleaning cheele rod through the tension disk. it will pick up all of the lint in there,

    Reply
  8. Judy Carter

    i am thinking about going in to sewing quilt business , do you have any ideals how i should decide the pricing on them

    Reply
    • Customer Service

      Hi, Judy. Pricing can vary depending on the type of project you are making and how easy or difficult it may be. In general, when determining pricing you want to first decide how much you feel your time is worth to sew and quilt- meaning how much per hour you charge. From there, you would add on a materials cost. It is always a good idea to take the cost you paid for materials and at least double it, meaning if you spend $20 on materials you charge $40. This helps account for you time getting the supplies and your transportation to and from the store.

      Reply
    • Customer Service

      Hi, Fay. We would be happy to assist you; we just need some more information. What is the title of the lesson you are referring to?

      Reply
    • Sheila

      YouTube, Silhouette Patterns. She has some wonderful videos, good patterns as well

      Reply
  14. Lisa Lin

    I am trying to stitch with a twin needle on a very thin rayon-like stretch fabric. I tried using it to hem a skirt, but the stitches keep skipping or no stitch appears at all. I tried using Steam-a-Seam fusible tape to give it more firmness, but it still skips stitches or not at all. Can you help me troubleshoot what the problem might be? Also, what stitch length and tension should I be using? I tried using a small stitch and set the tension at 4.

    Reply
    • Sheila

      There is no “SET” tension, it is a matter of trial and error. That’s why you need to test test test. Until it’s right

      Reply
  17. Marlene

    To earlier question…quilt cuts should be on grain..if on bias it will stretch..and may cause stretched or crooked seems

    Reply
    • Sheila

      Bias grain pieces also creates some issues if you have a “professional” do the quilting. A bias piece in the quilt will sort of bubble a bit on the quilt frame and require a little “manipulation” to get stitched properly

      Reply
  20. Terina Carter

    Do you free embroider or is everything computerized? I have free stitched, but it is not very easy with my machine. I have the same machine that is behind you. I have resorted back to hand embroidery.

    Reply
    • Sheila

      Trina, its almost impossible to create freehand machine embroidery. Much easier to do free hand quilting such as stippling, mctavishing, itc

      Reply
  23. Sheila

    Why would you want to put a straight seam in a binding. I would suggest that a diagonal looks much nicer. There are great YouTubes for binding especially Sharon Schamber who is an award winning quilter

    Reply
  24. Cindy

    I want to make a purse out of a sweat shirt( no hood) that has letters across the chest, I want to keep that in the purse design, but not sure how to get started on making it. How do I do that. Just something simple. Maybe a shoulder strap purse.

    Reply
    • Sheila

      Find the pattern you like and simply “fussy cut” around the lettering for the particular pattern piece. Just put pattern piece on top of the letters so that the letters are exactly where you want them to be on the purse. Make sure you get some really good stabilizer so that the letters remain flat rather than hanging down. Hope I explained that ok for you. FYI, Bosal has a really nice stabilizer for making bags. Check out their site

      Reply
    • Sheila

      You might want to give a Brother machine a try instead of Pfaff/Viking. The feed dogs are far better and stitching much more even.
      Janome is also a good stitching machine, but embroidery is not quite as easy as the Brother.

      Reply
  30. Jaqi Briggs

    I just bought a new pattern, and one of the suggested fabrics is Sandwashed Silk. I’m not familiar with that fabric. Can you describe it or compare it to another fabric?

    Reply
    • Mary

      Sandwashed silk is a lightweight, very drapey silk, suitable for blouses and lightweight summer dresses, and one side of the fabric has a texture much like suede, it also tends to be more of a matte finish than the shiny finish of a charmeuse or the nubbly texture of a noil or tussah. At least that has been my experience of fabrics labeled as sandwashed silk.

      Reply
  31. Sheila

    I often seal my seams on vinyl or oil cloth
    with clear fabric glue. Especially if its a rain coat, or used for food

    Reply
  37. Eileen Parker

    how do you sew with plastic. I have made a pouch for crochet items and want to line it

    Reply
  38. Carole

    This is my first time and I am look forward to learning new ideas. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this wonderful program.

    Reply
  40. Patti

    pants plackets are to difficult to understand on the pattern sheet, so I have yet to make a pair of jeans.

    Reply