Most of the clothing alterations I do, I do on my domestic sewing machine. I believe that most people who would be subscribing to this newsletter will also use domestic sewing machines and domestic over lockers (sergers).
In fact in all six shops that I have operated, we only used domestic sewing machines. In one of those shops we were doing over $6,000 per week in work. So you can imagine the machines got a hammering, but they held up to the workload. You don’t have to have industrial machines to be good at clothing alterations.
However, what is important is that you have the right needles for the job. If the machine is not stitching properly it will more than likely be one of two things
- The needle is blunt.
- Using the wrong needle for the fabric being sewn
I use a brand called Schmetz and they have a large variety of needles to choose from, however I only ever used the following. I have listed them, because I believe you should get yourself these needles, and always have them on hand. There are five needles in a packet. Look after your needles, by returned them to the packet after you use them. I use a black permanent marker and put a dot on the plastic above the needle I have used, so I am always reusing the same needle. When that gets blunt or breaks then I move on to the next needle.
For regular use I have a pin cushion next to my machine, and I put those needles in the pin cushion for easy access.
- Size 60/8 Microtex – delicate fabrics such as chiffons
- Size 70/10 Universal – light weight fabrics
- Size 75/11 Stretch – As the name implies it’s for sewing stretch fabrics
- Size 80/12 Universal – Medium weight fabric such as cotton, linen
- Size 90/14 Denim – Heavy fabrics such as denim
- Size 100/14 Leather – Specifically for leather
Happy sewing
Judith aka genie