Wednesday, January 27, 2010

#3. Twin Needles

I thought I would talk about using a twin needle. I sometimes talk to customers at Fabricville, where I work part time,who don't know that you don't need a special attachment to use this very useful notion. All you need is a zigzag foot, the extra spool pin that usually comes with a sewing machine ,an extra spool of the same colour thread you are using and a little info.Here is what I do:

(a).Instead of a second spool of thread ,I usually fill an extra bobbin.

(b).I use Wooly nylon, which I wind by hand, in the bobbin because it has a little stretch and it helps to avoid the ridge that forms between the two rows of stitches.

(c). I loosen the top tension. This also helps to create a nice flat double seam.

(d). I use a bias strip of fusible interfacing along and a little over the hem allowance.
      (Edited Oct, 2014) or I use Steam a Seam to fuse the hem and this acts as a stabilizer for the twin needle stitching.

(e).I  baste the hem by hand first with a different color thread. This serves as a guide for the double hem.

(f) I set my stitch length to about 3.5 or so as I would when top-stitching and my speed to quite slow.
To see photos of this procedure click here.


So that's it. Now why don't you give a double needle a try? You'll love the results!

1 comment:

  1. i have been lurking and loving your blog for awhile. having a bit of time, i thot i'd look at some of your back posts. i clicked on dianna's sewing lessons and am so glad i did! i'm just returning to sewing after a long, long hiatus. i love that your goal is to help new or returning sewers and teach us. what a gift!

    this post on using a double needle is something i've wondered for a long time. i love the double stitch look on completed garments but never knew how to achieve that. thanks for making it simple enough for us to understand.

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