How to Sew Thick Material and Multiple Layers by TuffSew

how to sew thick material

TuffSew here, your heavy duty sewing machine supplier. Whether you sew because it’s your hobby or your livelihood, it’s important to continue to learn different concepts and techniques along the way. 

Sewing begins to be a challenge when you decide to start tackling multiple layers of material underneath your presser foot. After reading this article, you should be better suited to handle situations when you must sew thick materials.

First you need to ask yourself “What type of sewing machine am I working with?” This is extremely important because every sewing machine has its limitations. If you are using a regular household sewing machine, the following 3 tips will help you:

1)      Do you need all that additional layer lining? Probably not. Cut off the excess (especially for side seams) but make sure not to break the actual stitching.

2)      Use the largest size needle acceptable for your sewing machine. Usually a size 18 or 19 needle will allow you to penetrate the multiple layers more effectively.

3)      In situations when you are breaking needles –maybe you are sewing a strap for a purse- use the hand wheel alone.

Those tips didn’t help? Still breaking needles? The problem is not you or your domestic sewing machine-it’s the capabilities of the machine. It’s time for you to start looking into more of an industrial grade sewing machine. 

Portable walking foot industrial strength sewing machines will stand a much better chance of completing your thick sewing projects. 

We recommend our TuffSew Straight Stitch machine, you can view it here http://www.tuffsew.com/straight-stitch-industrial-walking-foot-sewing-machine. Here is a video with more information on this type of sewing machine:

To go over the details of the above video. Walking foot industrial strength sewing machines will help you sew thicker fabrics because:

1)      You can use larger needles- up to 22 or 23
2)      There are “grips” on the walking foot and feed dogs, which help pull the heavy fabric through the sewing process
3)      You can use nylon thread and thicker weighted thread in general- giving the stitching in your final project much better strength and life duration
4)      More power- more RPM’s and torque equals better results when sewing heavy fabric
5)      More durability- all metal parts and cast iron construction will give you a machine that lasts much longer than plastic parts and construction
If you are interested in understanding more about sewing thicker materials, feel free to stop by our website at www.tuffsew.com.

Seven Important Tips when Sewing Leather by TuffSew

sewing thick leather

TuffSew here, your heavy duty sewing machine supplier. 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. 

7 Tips When Sewing Leather

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.

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.

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.

If you’re sewing leather products over 1/8” thickness, you are going to need a portable walking foot 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.

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. Here is another article you can reference if you need information on a sewing machine for leather.
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 TuffSew Industrial Walking Foot Straight Stitch Sewing Machine

threading your tuffsew

Tuffsew here, your heavy duty sewing machine manufacturer. So you got yourself a TuffSew Straight Stitch…or perhaps another type of portable industrial walking foot sewing machine. Now you are wondering how you are going to thread your new beast of a sewing machine.


You’ll notice when you first receive your TuffSew Straight Stitch that it will be all threaded and ready to go. But what happens 2 weeks later when you want to change the thread color? Now it’s time to do it yourself. But don’t worry, we have the steps right here…along we a handy video.

 

Steps to Threading Your TuffSew Walking Foot Sewing Machine:

BOBBIN SPINDLE

Take the thread off the bobbin spindle.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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 need some visual assistance, below is a video to help you with threading the TuffSew Straight Stitch:
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYQwf-QTMjU
 
If you have any further questions on maintaining your sewing machine, feel free to email us at [email protected]
If you are interested in learning more, go here: industrial portable walking foot sewing machines and check the Stitch and Sew’s beginners guide to sewing if you just begin.
-The TuffSew Team-
 

How to Maintain Your Portable Walking Foot Straight Stitch Sewing Machine by TuffSew

So you just purchased a walking foot sewing machine, maybe even our TuffSew Straight Stitch. Congratulations!!  If you did in fact order our TuffSew Straight Stitch, you will notice that your 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?”

The first item we’d like to discuss is oiling the machine. This TuffSew Straight Stitch machine is a portable walking foot sewing machine. It does not sit in a bed of oil like full sized industrial sewing machines do. 

Therefore the Straight Stitch needs to be manually 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 email us at [email protected]

If you are still on the fence about ordering a TuffSew Straight Stitch, see our TuffSew Reviews page.

 

What is a Built-In Walking Foot Sewing Machine

Tuffsew here, your Heavy Duty Sewing Machine supplier. 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 iPad.” 

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 portable walking foot sewing machine. 

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!
 
TuffSew Straight Stitch Sewing Machine
 
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. Here is an image of a walking foot in action:
 
Portable Walking Foot Sewing Machine
 

Two benefits of using portable industrial walking foot sewing machine: 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. Here is a YouTube video so you can see this walking foot in action: 


 
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