Troubleshooting a stitching problem on a Singer Hemstitcher 72w-19

I have previously blogged about my hemstitcher and how temperamental it can be. I would blame most of its stitching problems on its "personality" and just try to deal with it. The primary problem I have experienced is skipped stitches. Skipped stitches are very bad because that extra thread can get caught around or under the piercers where they are cut. Usually, I would experience skipped stitches with either the left needle or the right needle, and occasionally both.

In the past, I would work through the most "obvious" and possible solutions to prevent skipped stitches. Most how-to guides suggest rotating the needles out ever so slightly. I would thoroughly clean, oil, and lube. I would check the threading. I would replace and reset the needles. Often, I could solve the problem enough that I would experience little thread breakage. That was until I worked on a blanket order that consisted of flannel fabric that came from H - E - double hockey-sticks L. If you heard a scream, followed by head banging 2 weeks ago, it might have been me.




The picture on the left shows the stitching along the long grain (the grain parallel to the selvedge edge, also called the warp). You can see the frequent skipped stitches. In fact it skipped so often that I was experiencing thread breaking and thread fraying every 2 inches of stitching. The picture on the right shows the stitching along the cross grain or weft. The stitching would be absolutely perfect - no skips or thread breakage.

My initial thought was there was something wrong with the fabric. It either was a blend or had too much sizing. My hemstitcher will not stitch reliably on polyester fabric blends, but a burn test confirmed it was cotton. I couldn't wash the blanket to rid it of the sizing. Some flannels do not look the greatest after washing, and usually the sizing does help with the stitching. Too much sizing is an indication that the fabric is of lesser quality, although not always. This order was a 45" x 45" blanket consisting of a panel print on the front and a coordinating print on the back. I had very little scrap left over to do any testing to see if it was indeed the fabric. Stitching on other softer flannels was easier, although I was still getting thread breakage.

It took me a while to finally figure out what the problem was. One significant clue is the stitching difference between the long and cross grains. There are distinct properties to these two grains that affect how fabric behaves and also how it behaves as it is stitched. The long grain (warp) consists of yarn that is pulled taut. The cross grain (weft) consists of yarn that interlaces with the long grain. It goes over and under the long grain yarns. If you fray out fabric, you will notice that the cross grain yarn has a wave and the long grain is straight. You can pull the cross grain yarn like a spring, but the long grain will snap. Because of this, the cross grain of a plain weave fabric has a natural, built in stretch.

While stitching, a hemstitcher inserts two needles into a pierced hole. As the needles come up, they swing out pulling the yarns of the fabric apart. The next stitch will hold the hole open. Each hole requires three stitches. The machine has to work harder along the long grain of the fabric because of the inherent nature of that grain. The machine works less hard on the cross grain because of the natural stretch built in.

Ok. So now I knew the problem, but I didn't know how to solve the problem. I have to stitch around all four sides of my blankets, so there had to be a way to adjust the machine so I could stitch and not get anymore skipped stitches. I pulled out my usual help guide in diagnosing stitching problems. The Coats & Clark pamphlet titled The Basics of Hand & Machine Sewing, published in 1995. This is a fantastic pamphlet that covers many aspects of needles, thread, proper tension, etc. I don't know if this is available anymore, as I acquired the full set of Coat & Clark pamphlets in college. The best part of this particular pamphlet is a Checklist in Case of Trouble. Every possible stitching scenario is covered.

At the top of the list for skipped stitches was Wrong size or type of needle for the fabric. But I skipped that because I assumed I had the right type and size of needle. Other solutions suggested:

Timing of machine - check
Lint - check
Threading - check
Damaged needle - check
Sewing at a steady, even pace - check
Fabric with excess finish - ? possibly
Hold fabric taut while sewing - check

Nothing seemed to make a difference. I think the excess fabric finish contributed to the problem, but was not the root cause. Stitching on other fabrics showed the problem still existed. So I finally decided to cave and try the next needle size up. It couldn't be that simple, but why not try.

In a true, head smacking moment, the machine stitched absolutely perfect on both grains. And it makes sense too. A larger size needle is stronger and can pull the yarns of the fabric apart easier. Since I have to stitch through two layers of flannel, a larger size needle is necessary. Now I have to decide what to do with 100 size 12 130x3 needles, while I wait for an order of size 14 needles.

One thing I am not sure about. I had some Singer brand size 14, 130x3's laying around loose in the table drawer, which work great. The Singer brands are known to be the best, but also the most expensive. I am ordering the Organ brand (which is what my size 12's are) in the size 14. Hopefully, there isn't too much of a quality difference.

Country of Origin labeling examples

One comment from a reader on my Designers hate care/content labeling blog made a good point. Labels can be very irritating to the end user. Rest assured, it is perfectly legal to remove labels after purchase. The size and placement of labels should concern designers because it is all related to your brand. I searched through my stash to find examples of how other designers deal with US labeling requirements. I could not find any pieces that did not comply with labeling requirements. I guess I tend to buy product that is honest in their labeling. Clothing that leave off labels or fail to place them properly says something about your company (and it isn't good IMO). All of these examples have the labels correctly placed near the back neck with the country of origin prominently displayed.

Country of origin as part of the brand label. This is also one of my rare Made in USA pieces.










A size tag/country of origin label stitched to the bottom of the brand label.









A separate size/country of origin label placed next to the brand label.










This is a typical example. The brand label is stacked on top of the care/content tag. The country of origin clearly shows below the brand tag.

Designers hate care/content labels

I was shopping a week ago or so in one of my favorite discount stores, Ross Dress for Less. As I was working my way through the blouse rack, I noticed a significant problem with most of the blouses on the rack. The blouses did not have a proper notification of country of origin (I would of counted how many were not in compliance, but DH was getting bored). According to FTC recommendations, items with a neckline must have a label stating the country of origin at or near the inside center back neck. These blouses only had a small brand label. A separate care label was attached to a side seam, with country of origin disclosed there.

I have read the FTC recommendations dozens of times and I am always surprised of the amount of non-compliance that exists in the marketplace. Some companies must be ignoring (or are ignorant) of the requirement. Further, many of the items in this store are imports. This means they had to pass custom inspections. I don't get it.

I follow the rules, and yet I have seen many designers insist they don't have to place a label at the back neck. After all, it is ugly and takes away from hanger appeal. If no one else is doing it, why should they. Children's clothing poses an additional challenge - there is only so much space in the back neck.

Here is a picture of an infant girl's dress. The label is correctly placed near the back neck. This placement requirement creates consistency across a broad range of products. Customers can know where to find basic product information. If I wanted to purchase Made in USA product, then it would be simple to find out.

It is only required that country of origin information be placed in a reasonable, accessible place (generally the back neck in items with a neck). Care information may be placed in a side seam, or elsewhere. Generally, children's items have the information combined on one tag. Think about your customers. Do you really want them to have to fish through an entire item of clothing to see where it was made and how it should be cleaned?

Thread color does matter!

Most of the time, manufacturers know to match the thread color to the body of your design. If you hand them a sample, then they will reproduce it down to the thread color. Most manufacturers are very good about this, so specifying the thread color is usually overlooked.

But every now and then, you will run across a rare manufacturer that is either color blind or will use whatever thread they have on the shelf. It may or may not match. If you specified the thread color, then you can go back to the manufacturer with a charge-back. If you didn't, well then you might be stuck. (I have seen this happen!)

Another reason to spec out a thread color is to match a screen print, embroidery, or coordinating piece. The thread color becomes an integral part of the design. Would you really want to leave the end color up to chance?

It's really simple. On your spec sheets state "Thread color: American & Efird [color name] [color number]. You may even want to go to the extreme of including a thread color swatch, just in case the manufacturer buys thread elsewhere. Wind off some thread onto your fingers and make a little, mini-hank of thread and tape it onto the page. You can buy thread swatch books from American & Efird (You'll have to talk to a sales rep about a swatch book). You can even get thread dyed to match!

Big Box Technical Designers

Several years ago (was it really that long ago), I learned a very important lesson. I was working on a private label program for a Big Box retailer, company X. The technical specs they sent us were fairly straight forward. There were a few wonky measurements, but we forced our samples to spec.

As a patternmaker/pseudo tech designer, working on a private label program for a large account, I worked under the assumption that the BIG company knew what it was doing. Their specs were gospel and they could not be adjusted. You meet spec or you risk losing the account. This was true for another private label program for company Y. However, company Y's specs were superior (in other words they worked out of the box).

With any private label program, you take a selected sample and adjust the patterns to meet spec. You re-sew the sample in production fabric and submit it to the company's technical design department. The technical designers will go over every measurment and construction detail. They have the power to cancel the order if you don't meet spec. Usually, the first sample is rejected and you have to submit a second with corrections. (This is especially true if this if the first time on a new private label program). Needless to say, there is a lot of pressure to meet spec the first or second time. There is a lot riding on these samples.

So we submit our sample (with forced spec conformity) to company X. We received back our audit reports with required corrections. The weird thing was that the technical designers changed some of the required specs (now some were really wonky) and they insisted on construction/pattern changes. The construction/pattern changes would have affected several things, especially allocations and labor costs. Private label programs operate on slim margins, and our in-house manufacturer would not agree to the changes. The measurement issues didn't make sense, proportionally.

What to do? Here was a high dollar order and we wouldn't be able to meet spec. The only way to solve the problem was to call the technical designer at Company X and explain the situation. I expected them to reply, "Meet spec or we cancel the order."

To my surprise, the technical designers agreed to allow some of our measurments and construction details to pass. I don't think I explained too much. It was more like, "It would be easier for us to do things this way."

I learned something very valuable that day. If something isn't working, present an alternative - it just might be acceptable. I also learned that the technical designers for Big Box retailers don't know everything.

The reason this experience came back to me is because I am facing a similar situation, except I am the technical designer on the other end. As part of my consulting, I am helping to develop a new style in China. It is a difficult style, so I expected the first samples to have a few problems. Unfortunately, the samples had more than a few problems (some minor, some not). I wish the Chinese factory understood that it would be ok to present an alternative. I could see they struggled to meet my spec, so they forced it (and didn't really succeed). Not sure how this will be resolved....