The myth is over-right here and right now. Sewing upholstery is no different than sewing regular fabrics. The only difference is with the equipment and consumables you will use to tackle your thick upholstery projects. Thicker upholstery fabrics require you to use heavy duty thread such as 69 nylon bonded thread. Why? Heavier material needs to be held together by heavier thread. You will also need industrial grade sewing needles when working with upholstery. Normal needles will bend or break when trying to penetrate upholstery. Make sure and use sharp scissors to cut through your thick material.
Also when sewing upholstery you will also need to include backing, which requires you to use a portable walking foot sewing machine to handle this weight. You can’t use a heavy duty thread and an industrial grade needle on a regular household sewing machine. Make sure and use the correct machine for your sewing needs-otherwise your project will look inconsistent. You need this type of sewing machine to create “tight” stitches-so your project lasts for 10+ years. There will be a link at the end of this article to an example walking foot sewing machine. Now on to how to sew upholstery:
- Inspection. First examine your material. Take your sharp pair of 6-7 inch scissors and trim all the worn out or frayed edges of your material. Make sure and cut just enough. There is no reason to cut excess material that is in good shape.
- Sewing Machine Setup. Medium Stitch Length. Mid-Range Tension.
- Pattern Pile or Nap. You want to determine if your material pieces have a nap. Don’t know what a nap is? Imagine brushing your dog’s hair down, when it’s neat and shiny. And then imagine brushing it the other way and you’ll feel and see the resistance. Make sure all your upholstery pieces are facing the same way-nice and shiny. This will affect your end esthetic result.
- Double Check Equipment. Make sure you are using a portable walking foot machine. Make sure and use a size 18,20, or 22 needle depending on thickness of fabric and sewing machine recommendation. Make sure you are using nylon bonded 69 thread.
- Upholstery Placement. Most built-in walking foot sewing machines have a 3/8” lift which allows you to put more material under the presser foot. You always want to leave a little seam allowance. Make sure and place the raw edges right on top of eachother while the right sides together.
- Sewing. Start sewing normally as you would with a regular household sewing machine. If you have some loosely woven fabric that might unravel, finish the raw edges with a serger. If your project doesn’t have backing, you’ll need an extra seem so it doesn’t unravel.
Whether you are a sailor, upholster, or leather shop owner- it’s important that you understand the importance of using the right sewing machine for your heavy duty projects. One example is a sailor and understanding most new boats are going to need a ton of canvas or brightwork done initially and also throughout many years of boating. It’s important for you to use a quality walking foot sewing machine that is easy to use, reasonably priced, durable, rugged, dependable, and has years of success. Here are the most important benefits to a walking foot sewing machine when sewing heavy duty fabrics such as leather, canvas, sailcloth, upholstery materials, strapping and more:
- The Walking Foot. When you use a heavy duty industrial walking foot sewing machine- it comes with a built-in walking foot mechanism. This is very different that most walking foot attachments that only snap-on regular household sewing machines. This built-in walking foot will evenly feed your material as it grabs (with its traction like grip) the top of your material. This built in walking foot works in conjunction with the feed dogs which pull the bottom piece of the material through the sewing process
- Higher Foot Lift. Most built-in walking foot sewing machines have a 3/8” lift which allows you to put more material under the presser foot. You can comfortably sew most heavy duty materials under the presser foot because of the walking foot assembly.
- DVD. Who actually reads instruction manuals? Maybe 10% of folks. You want to order a walking foot sewing machine that comes with a DVD. Learning visually is much easier for the majority of the population. You can pop this DVD in while you open up the sewing machine and feel more comfortable with your purchase.
- Portability. This is a huge concept for sailors or anyone who needs to transfer their sewing machine from place to place. Most walking foot machines are roughly 35-40 pounds, depending on the size (7” or 9” gate) of the machine. Feel free to take your walking foot sewing machine anywhere as it’s easy to grip underneath the head of the machine. There are many cases available for this type of sewing machine as well.
- Cast Iron Body and Metal Parts. All walking foot sewing machines come with a cast iron finish and all metal working parts. Metal gears and parts will last much longer than any sewing machine with plastic gears and parts. Plastic gears and parts crack and break down quickly. Having a cast iron body proves to be much more durable than plastic bodies. If the machine drops, it will not shatter into 100 pieces. Durability is much higher with a walking foot sewing machine.
- Electronic Foot Control. All walking foot sewing machines come with an electronic foot controller. You can control your speed better with this type of foot controller. You want to use a long foot controller cord, if possible. Most walking foot sewing machines come with a longer cord.
- Warranty. You want to make sure you are buying your walking foot sewing machine from a trusted source. You want to buy from a company who has been in business for several years. Usually a warranty or a store credit is what you should be looking for. You want to find a machine with a 1 year parts warranty in case you drop your machine. You want to look for a supplier with a 3 month labor warranty. You also want to find a warranty with a credit in case you accidently needed a household sewing machine.
It’s important to find a heavy duty walking foot sewing machine with all 7 of the above bullets check-marked. There are other benefits for a <a href=http://www.tuffsew.com/straight-stitch-industrial-walking-foot-sewing-machine> walking foot sewing machine</a>. Follow the links for an <a href=http://www.tuffsew.com>industrial sewing machine</a>.
Sewing with leather can be very difficult and unforgiving if you make any mistakes. Many people ask us for sewing tips when working with leather products. Here are seven basic suggestions which will help you when sewing a type of material unlike any other.
1) Make sure and examine your leather before you actually mark out your pattern. Sometimes there may be a small hole or slight imperfection in the hide. You certainly do not want to get to the end of your project and then see a small tear in your new leather purse. Imperfections are normal because the hide was once on animals who lived in the wild where scarring is a normal occurrence.
2) You can’t really pin leather-use pattern-weights. These weights will keep your material locked in place like a pin would. We recommend cutting leather with a sharp pair of heavy duty scissors or a sharp rotary cutter. That’s the safest way.
3) Use the correct sewing machine for your needs. A normal domestic sewing machine will sew lightweight garment leather. Usually you can sew up to 1/8” thickness on this domestic machine. Using a walking foot attachment or Teflon presser foot will help.
4) If you’re sewing leather products over 1/8” thickness, you are going to need a sewing machine that can actually handle what you are trying to accomplish. Your best bet is a walking foot industrial sewing machine. We recommend our TuffSew Straight Stitch machine, you can view it here http://www.tuffsew.com/straight-stitch-industrial-walking-foot-sewing-machine.
5) You need to use a size 20 or 22 needle to penetrate thick and coarse leather. A domestic sewing machine can only take up to a 19 needle. These special leather needles will be the difference in an “A+” result versus a “C” result.
6) Make sure and use nylon weighted thread, not cotton. It’s stronger and will last much longer.
7) Skipping stitches is always an issue when sewing leather. Why? Well, first off, are you using the correct sewing machine? Look at tip number 4 above. You might be encountering uneven bulk under the presser foot or seems coming together. Make sure you are using a brand new sharp size 22 needle with your built in walking foot sewing machine. The sharpness of the needle will penetrate properly, and the built-in motorized walking foot will help feed the fabric properly.
Remember, if you are sewing thick leather-look into a walking foot sewing machine. For more info on these machines, please read the following blog http://tuffsew.com/blog/?p=31.
If you are interested in understanding more about sewing with leather, feel free to stop by our website at www.tuffsew.com.
7 Steps to Threading your Industrial Walking foot Sewing Machine by TuffSew
The old sewing machine just isn’t cutting it- broken needles, continuous breakage of thread, inconsistent stitching, and lack of capability-drove you to Google to figure out which sewing machine might be able to handle your heavy duty projects. Maybe you read this article on our TuffSew blog http://tuffsew.com/blog/?p=31. So you did it!! You purchased a TuffSew Straight Stitch Walking Foot Machine. This article will explain to you how to thread your new machine- since it’s one of the most important tasks to getting the results you want.
You notice when you get your machine that it’s all threaded and ready to go. But what happens 2 weeks later when you want to change the thread color? Well, now it’s time to do it yourself. Here are the steps in properly threading your machine:
1) BOBBIN SPINDLE: Take the thread off the bobbin spindle.
2) WRAP AROUND THREAD GUIDE: Put the thread on the front thread guide (wrap it around in the natural form. You might need to watch our YouTube video for this step. The video is attached to the bottom of this article).
3) 3 HOLE THREAD GUIDE: Take the thread and go DOWN the right hold of the thread guide. Then take the thread DOWN the left hole.
Before the next 2 steps, make sure the presser foot is UP. That is the black assembly on the left side of the ceiling of the machine.
4) TENSION DISC: Take the thread down near the tension disc. You want to make sure you go IN BETWEEN the metal tension discs. There’s one tension disc with a tongue on it. You want to put the thread right in front of this tension disc. Floss the thread through the tension disc from right to left.
5) TAKE UP BAR: You’ll notice when you floss the thread through the tension disc that the thread pulls up the spring. It will click! You will then thread the take up bar from RIGHT to LEFT.
6) NEEDLE MECHANISM GUIDE: Snip your thread first, it will make it easier. This is the last thread guide before you thread your needle. This thread guide is right above your needle. You want to thread this guide from RIGHT to LEFT only.
7) THREAD YOUR NEEDLE: First drop the presser foot down which will give you more room. Always thread the needle from LEFT to RIGHT only. Bring the presser foot back up. Next turn the handwheel 1 complete turn counter clock wise. This will pick the thread up automatically so that you have both threads to the top! Now you are ready to sew.
If you have any further questions on maintaining your sewing machine, feel free to Contact TuffSew by visiting http://www.tuffsew.com/contact
If you’d like some visual help with threading your new TuffSew Walking Foot Sewing Machine, please click here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYQwf-QTMjU
More TuffSew Information:
www.tuffsew.com/straightStitch.php
So you just purchased a TuffSew Straight Stitch Industrial Walking Foot Sewing Machine. Congratulations!! You will notice that your new TuffSew machine will be all stitched in, ready to go upon arrival. The tension is set, the needle is placed, and a sample material has been sewn already. So you crank out all your initial sewing projects- but now might be wondering “how do I maintain this machine now?”
Well the first item we’d like to discuss is oiling the machine. This TuffSew Straight Stitch machine is a portable sewing machine. This means that it’s not a full size industrial machine. Full sized industrial sewing machines sit in a bed of oil. The TuffSew portable machine is not a full size industrial-therefore only needs to be self-oiled every month. Just like in the YouTube video below, simply tilt the machine on its back (careful it’s heavy) and oil all the moving joints. You can use the oiling tube that came with the machine. As you turn the hand wheel you can see all of these moving joints-simple as that.
Tension is another issue we combat. You’ll see the circular tension knob on the machine with numbers on it. Before we shipped your new TuffSew machine out to you-we calibrated the machine and set the tension to 5. Always make sure you have the tension set to 5. If you are deciding to sew light-weight materials on our Straight Stitch machine-feel free to lower the tension a little bit. However, when you are done sewing the light weight materials make sure and reset the tension knob to 5.
We also get a lot of questions on needle insertion. So you want to change the needle or take it out-no problem. Simply loosen the black set screw on the side needle mechanism 1/2 turn. Then you can drop the needle down and take it out. Make sure when you replace the needle that you notice there are 2 sides to our needles. One side has a long 1” groove on the side of the needle. The other side of the needle has a little scarf on it. When you put the needle in the machine you ALWAYS want to make sure the long 1” groove is facing the left side of the machine. You can feel the groove with your fingernail. Remember if you put the needle in backwards-the machine won’t sew L.
If you have any further questions on maintaining your sewing machine, feel free to Contact TuffSew by visiting http://www.tuffsew.com/contact
If you’d like to watch the video on how to maintain your sewing machine by Tuffsew, please click here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arhXK4-fXyA
So your passion for sewing plus some newfound free time got you thinking. “I’m going to start a business sewing up some cowhide to make cases for the new iPad2.” Or “I love animals-so why don’t I make some unique dog collars.” Then I’m going to sell three of these a day on my website. So you went down to the leather shop and picked out the material. You arrived back home, took out your household sewing machine and started your dream-home business.
However you immediately run into a huge problem! You kept bending and breaking the needle and the stitch quality just wasn’t creating what you imagined. Darn! What do you do now? You start asking your friends who also sew-and they say you need a machine with a built-in walking foot. So you do some research online and you figure out the details of the machine your friends told you to look for. The light bulb goes off in your head!
A sewing machine with a built-in walking foot mechanism helps feed your thick fabric through the sewing zone. This mechanism is a 2 piece foot which appears to actually “walk.” The inner side of the walking foot stay put on the fabric, while the outside part of the walking foot helps feed the thick fabric through the sewing zone. There is very little slippage due to the grips on the bottom of the walking foot. So not only the feed dogs, but now this special walking foot mechanism has a GRIP to grab your thick material and pull it through with absolutely no slippage. Below you can view our Youtube video to actually see this for yourself! Two benefits of this: you can sew more thicknesses and your materials feed evenly with the highest quality stitches. If you are going to be sewing canvas, leather, boating materials, bags, luggage, handbags, camping equipment, etc-look into purchasing an industrial strength built in WF sewing machine.
One more idea we want to touch on is:
It’s important that you understand a household sewing machine with a walking foot attachment is not going to provide the same results as an industrial strength sewing machine with a built-in walking foot. Most domestic household sewing machines come with a walking foot attachment-just remember this will not duplicate the motion of a true built-in walking foot thus will not sew as many layers or thicknesses.
Will these household machines sew leather? Do you really need to invest in another machine? The answer is yes these household machines will sew leather, but a minimum amount of layers. If you plan on sewing over 1/8″ thickness of the materials listed above-you are going to want to look into an industrial strength built in WF sewing machine. For more details on built in walking foot sewing machines, feel free to browse through our website at http://www.tuffsew.com
Tuffsew Industrial Strength Built in Walking Foot Machine
http://www.tuffsew.com/straight-stitch
Feel free to read this article by clicking here:
http://goarticles.com/article/What-is-a-built-in-walking-foot-sewing-machine/5604593/
Feel Free to learn more about our walking foot mechanism here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HN-ewDgw8V4
Creating A Second Income By TuffSew
Currently it’s November 1st 2011. There are 14 million unemployed Americans- as our country is facing a 9.1% unemployment rate. Many of the 90.9% of us lucky enough to have a job have seen waves of wage reductions, slashed hours, or cut commissions. What does a person do? First a person must ask themselves: what skills do I have to make a second income? Well I remember taking sewing classes and I know how to run and promote a business.
At TuffSew – we get questions and inquiries coming from small business owners around the world. They state: “I am currently setting up my own business. I am going to make dog collars and I need a sewing machine that will handle multiple layers of material. I need a machine with a larger needle and the ability to use thick thread. What sewing machine should I purchase?”
In a recent meeting here at TuffSew, we came to the conclusion that purchasing any type of sewing machine in 2011 can be rather confusing. Every sewing machine retail outlet out there will try and make a sale, even if your best interests are not at hand. There are hundreds of different models out there- rotaries, oscillators, walking foot machines, built-in walking foot machines, free-arm machines, etc. How does a person to figure out which machine to buy?
If you are going to be using your sewing machine daily, you might want to consider purchasing a machine with metal gears and all metal parts. These components will outlast plastic parts by years. If you are going to be sewing layers of material over 1/8” to 3/8”, you need a built-in walking foot (not a walking foot attachment). A built in walking foot grabs your material not only from the top of the fabric, but the bottom as well. Therefore you have 2 forces pulling your material through the sewing zone. This also lowers the pressure on the needle assembly.
If you were to use a normal every day household sewing machine and try to sew, for example, ¼” thickness of cowhide leather, you might as well plan on buying another regular household sewing machine in about 6-12 months. They just won’t work for a very long duration-period.
In conclusion, if you are looking to add extra income, create a new business , or for someone who just wants a sewing machine with a little more oomph- look into purchasing a semi-industrial portable walking foot sewing machine. Ours is the TuffSew Straight Stitch machine.
www.tuffsew.com
Welcome to TuffSew’s first ever blog post. Yes, we know…we are WAY behind the times. We should have started this blog about 5 years ago 
. We’d like to start this blog off by thanking you for spending some time reading this post. If you are a past customer or a potential customer, this blog will give you a little insight on who we are and what we can offer you.
TuffSew was founded near Silicon Valley, California, in the year 2003. We are currently in our 8th year in the sewing machine distribution industry. Prior to 2003 and the start of TuffSew, our owners had over 30 years of “retail” sewing machine experience. We started this company with the idea of selling heavy duty sewing machines which would out-perform normal household sewing machines. There were too many of our retail customers who purchased regular household sewing machines- and were not happy with their performance or efficiency.
Some of the differences include the built-in walking foot on our TuffSew Straight Stitch Machine: http://www.tuffsew.com/straightStitch.php .
All of our machines have metal gears which last substantially longer than plastic geared sewing machines. Also- cleated positraction belts and geared pulley drives set TuffSew heavy duty sewing machines apart from every day machines.
We hope to post a new blog every week. Blogs will range from how to use each machine, to trends in the market, or upcoming changes here at TuffSew. You might want to look out for a new TuffSew website design before the end of the year!!! Now you can also LIKE US on Facebook or FOLLOW us on Twitter. Feel free to POST pictures of your projects on those accounts. Our home page can direct you to our Facebook and Twitter accounts: http://www.tuffsew.com/about.php.You might even get a chance to have your product featured on our home page just like Lou Minton.
For any product questions or concerns please email us at customerservice@tuffsew.com. We usually get back to you the same day, sometimes within the hour. You can email us on our contact page: http://www.tuffsew.com/contact.php.
We appreciate you stopping by our blog and please don’t hesitate to reach out to us for anything!
Warmest Regards,
The TuffSew Team