Finished Chemise

I finished this last week and have finally taken some photos. This is my vintage inspired chemise using Folkwear pattern #223.

A chemise, as you probably know, was what women wore under their corsets. I made mine just for a fun project and perhaps a new nightgown.

I made it out of 100% cotton lawn. And...I just noticed in the photo and checked the real thing to see...I forgot to sew my lace ends together on the bottom of the sleeves (they're sticking out)! I'll take care of that immediately. I made version B from the pattern but with a little modification. Instead of the fabric ruffle around the neck and sleeves I used lace. I have that whole bin of English and French laces in the hall closet; I might as well use them on something!

The pattern was very easy to use. The only problem I noticed was the line drawing shows a line of stitches across the pleats that isn't in the directions. The basting that was there has to be pulled out. Plus, if there was stitching there, it would pull the top in too much. I think that was just an accident in the drawing.

I was halfway through this pattern when I realized what it reminded me of --a peasant blouse. So if you want to make a slightly more simplified chemise for yourself, check your pattern collection for a peasant blouse and make it longer. You can add ruffles and lace to your liking. And you can either run elastic through the casing or sew a buttonhole in the outer casing piece before stitching it together to run a ribbon through.

I discovered my chemise doesn't work well as a nightgown for me. I ended up twisted all up. That's alright; I'll add it to my loungewear collection. Instead of just having 1930's looking gowns to sit around in during the evenings I'll have something Victorian too.

Using A Vintage Sewing Machine: The Hemstitcher

I've managed to get one of my vintage Hemstitchers working enough to give you an idea of what this attachment is supposed to do even if it's not one of my better tutorials.

First of all --What is hemstitching? It doesn't have much to do with hemming; it's a decorative stitch. If you've ever looked at vintage linens you've probably seen hemstitching. In the next photo is a vintage linen table napkin with a hemstitched edge --it's the line of holes with stitching on each side. Hand sewn hemstitching (and some machine hemstitching) can involve drawing several threads out of the fabric and a more elaborate design. The example shows the kind of hemstitching that the Hemstitcher attachment is supposed to do.

A manual for the Hemstitcher is available here. --Ok, this refuses to link at the moment --I'll try again later for you. Still not working--the ISMACS site had the manual but it's disappeared.


In the Hemstitcher box should be the Hemstitcher, a slotted screw, and a special throat plate. You must have the throat plate that goes with your particular sewing machine. In the manual I linked to above is a chart that will have the Singer machine numbers and the number of the throat plate that goes with that machine. If you don't have a Singer, I'm sorry --I can't help you there (some of the generic Hemstitchers did specify "only for rotary machines").
Around the outer feet fingers (yes, they are called that!) of the attachment are some rubber pieces. On my Hemstitcher these pieces have dry rotted off one side and fallen off in the box --you can see them in the next photo -- one is still attached. The one that is still on the Hemstitcher fell off later as I was sewing. I'm just telling you this so you know. Your Hemstitcher may still have them or they may have rotted away years ago.


Take the regular throat plate off the sewing machine. Also remove the presser foot and screw. Look in the manual on how to attach the special throat plate for your particular machine.


For the 15 class (and 66, 99, and 101) have the needle bar at it's highest point. The throat plate will have a round projection underneath that fits into the back screw hole. Use one of the regular throat plate screws in the hole in the front to fasten the plate down. Notice how this throat plate sits up higher:

The reason for that is to accommodate the piercer on the attachment. You can see it in the next photo. This piercer is what makes the holes in the fabric which the needle will then stitch around.
Make sure that the fabric you hemstitch is not polyester. Polyester fibers have a memory and always want to return to their original position in the fabric --this doesn't work well for hemstitching. Use a natural fiber fabric. Traditionally linen is the best for hemstitching but other fabrics will work. Firm cotton does fine.

Before attaching the Hemstitcher to the machine move the operating lever (fork arm) up and down until the piercer is at its highest point. Hook the fork arm of the Hemstitcher over the needle clamp and using the slotted screw attach it to the presser bar using the lower hole in the Hemstitcher shank. (The upper one is for class 101 machines--all others use the lower). Tighten with a screwdriver. Check to make sure the needle comes down into the center of the needle hole in the throat plate.

Lower the presser bar some and push down on the piercer so that it's in the hole of the throat plate. See if the piercer point is centered on the notched line in the plate. Also make sure it doesn't touch the sides any. In the manual is a diagram of the four screws on the side that can be adjusted if the piercer isn't centered or touches one side of the throat plate. I had to loosen one of the screws, move the piercer over a tiny amount, and then tighten the screw back up. Once you get all these adjustments made you probably won't have to do them again.

Finally ready to sew. The bobbin thread has been pulled up, of course.

I'm using a strip of tear-away stabilizer under a piece of muslin that still has sizing in it. You will need some kind of stabilizer. I've heard paper works well, including plain typing paper.

Before starting and stopping always make sure both the needle and piercer are out of the fabric. Put the fabric under the attachment and lower the presser bar. Sew slowly and steadily.

Here you can kind of see the first half of the stitching coming out the back. I'm using brown thread so you can see it better. (If you only sew one side you can cut away the excess fabric on the unstitched side and have picoting.)

For hemstitching you must make two rows of stitching. When you reach the end of the first row smooth out the fabric since there might be a slight gather to it. Now have the fabric so the stitching will be down the other side and put it under the foot. Press the piercer so that it is in one of the holes that the hemstitcher made on its first pass. Lower the presser bar while you have the piercer pressed down. You want the piercer to be re-entering these holes as it makes its second pass. Sew. Stop and realign the piercer if it's not accurate.

Here is the finished hemstitching with the brown thread. It's not very good but I did warn you that my Hemstitcher hasn't been working well. You can at least get an idea of the stitch it makes. The manual says a heavier upper tension works well, but I couldn't get any better results with several tension adjustments.

Traditionally hemstitching is done with white thread on white fabric, so I gave that a try.
Again the results are less than what I had hoped for. Part of the problem with mine is the stabilizer I used has left little lint bits clogging up the holes.

Closer view. Yes, I had trouble with getting the attachment started on one side, hence the gathered up edge.
If you want to hem with a Hemstitcher, fold and press the hem up then guide the stitching so the piercer is in the single thickness of the fabric and the stitching catches the hem edge.

Would I buy a Hemstitcher if I didn't have one? No. I love hemstitching but this attachment isn't working for me. I don't think I will ever put it on my sewing machine again --it seemed to be actually putting a strain on my 15-91. No attachment is worth that. Also you can do a hemstitch or a modified hemstitch on machines that have lots of built in stitches or cams along with a wing needle.

Summer Wardrobe

A nice summery wardrobe pattern. Nothing ever stood out for me on this envelope, so even though I've had the pattern for twenty years I've never made anything from it. I do like the slim skirt, but I have lots of those patterns. Now I wouldn't mind having the blue and green flowered fabric or that paticular shade of solid blue --or the shoes for that matter.

This Is Hot

A lovely hand painted vintage fan.

It's been hot, humid, and sultry lately. Walk outside and the air feels heavy. I have no idea how the Southern ladies in the old days managed with all those layers of clothes. I would have had to peel myself out of a wet corset every night.

Luckily times changed -- silver screen actress, Lily Damita, was clever in simply getting a larger fan:

Tension and The 301

The Singer 301 has been sitting on a shelf for the past two weeks. I've had so much to do and the 301's tension knob was giving me a tension headache. Here it is partially taken apart and sitting by a new one:

The tension worked --it was just missing the number dial and the nut. I took the whole thing off the machine easily but the new one won't go on. I even called in my husband to help and we couldn't get it to work. The old one will pop back on easily. I took the number dial and nut off the new one and put it on the old one but it won't stay on --even with opening the post more (it has a groove for that). I wanted to try a regular nut from the workshop but couldn't find one to fit. It's a setback, but I will get the 301 to work-- just not this week.

On the good side, I did clean it up nicely. I tried GoJo Hand Cleaner without pumice as some people had recommended. You can buy it at auto shops. It worked great! Also it didn't have a terrible smell like some cleaners. The 301 has nice clean gleam to it with all the decals still intact (a couple of nicks in the paint though).

Chemise Progress

I've been working on my chemise using Folkwear Pattern #223. No, I don't really need a chemise --it's just fun sewing.

I consider this pattern an advanced beginner's level. (Actually I always figure that if I can make it, then anyone can).

The reason I put this at that level is because of the neck treatment. This is one of those patterns where you cut to the pattern, prep the fabric as told, and then cut again. In the above photo I've hand basted all the pleats across the front as the directions said. Then I folded and pinned --again following the directions.

Pinned the neckline template down on the piece. And cut off half those pleats I put in.

This is done on both the front and back. It works. All I need to do is hem it --then photos.

Using A Vintage Sewing Machine: The ZigZagger

The ZigZagger was created to attach to straight stitch sewing machines and expand their stitch capabilities.

A manual is available here --scroll down the page to it. The oiling and greasing points are shown in it. Like any of these specialty attachments there are several of these. (Also someone last week in the comment section reminded me of a product called Kroil and some other similar ones that can help loosen up really stuck mechanisms in some attachments.)


The ZigZagger not only zigzags but also does various other decorative stitches. The red topped cams enable this. Four came with the ZigZagger and more were available.To open the ZigZagger just pull up on the lid that sticks out on the right.


Inside view:
You can pop out the cam that is in the attachment and put in whatever cam you want by putting it in and turning it in a clockwise direction until it drops in place. There is a tiny notch (that won't show up in photos) on the middle of the left side on the top. Turn the cam until the arrow on it lines up with the notch. This is the starting point.
There is a lever on the right that can disengage the ZigZagger so a straight stitch can be sewn while the attachment is still on the machine. To do this pull the lever towards you.
On the left side of the attachment is the Bight regulator. Bight is the width of stitch. Loosen the screw and slide the handle back and forth to whatever position you want. There is an N on the back for narrower and a W near the front for wider. Play around with the settings to get an idea of them. Also the manual has recommendations and examples for settings for each cam. After setting it tighten the screw.The length of stitch also affects the stitch that the ZigZagger makes.

The tensions settings are normal except when doing a solid design, such as a satin stitch, domino, or arrowhead stitch, the top tension might need to be lighter. Also since the fabric will be moving sideways, the pressure on the presser bar might need to be lightened too.

To put the ZigZagger on the machine hook the fork arm over the needle clamp and tighten the slotted screw in the presser bar. This screw doesn't come off the attachment--no chance of losing it.

Put the fabric under the foot and sew--slowly--while guiding the fabric through. Remember that the fabric is moving so hold it loosely. Here I've used the basic zigzag cam and made the three rows above it with a narrow bight and different stitch lengths--12, 30, and 6. Thirty makes a nice satin stitch. Now lets pause here while you are probably looking at those zigzags and thinking it is the worst zigzag you've ever seen. You are right, of course. It has long been known that the ZigZagger does not meet expectation. I've read that when the Singer salespeople demonstrated this attachment in the showroom they would use very heavily starched fabric. The stitches are just not that good unless they are on thicker fabrics. If you do want to try it out on lightweight fabric use a good stabilizer.

That said, I think my ZigZagger is acting particularly bad. The stitches are terrible in some sections. I'm using a fabric that feels like it still has sizing in it and a stabilizer. I tried other fabrics too but the results were about the same and sometimes worse.

Here I've done some samples. On the first line I started off with a narrow bight and the stitch setting on 30. In the middle of this row I changed to a wider bight --doesn't look as good. On the second line I again started with a narrow bight and then changed to wider but with the stitch length on 12. The middle of this row is quite bad --it didn't change over well. The last line is narrower then wider bight with stitch length at 6. The tiny satin stitch looks alright and the widest zigzag (once it got going).

The next sample is using the Blind Stitch cam. Some of the stitching is alright and some is awful. I tried to make sure I was guiding the fabric without pulling any. Most of the time the first few stitches were the worst then got better.
The other two cams that came with the ZigZagger were the Arrowhead and Domino stitch. The Arrowhead one is on top and came out poorly even after several attempts. The Domino one, on the other hand, came out better than most of the rest. I threw a ruler in to give you an idea of the size of these stitches.I have four additional cams that were available. The top one here is the Scallop stitch. The bottom one is the Multiple Stitch pattern. They did ok. The Multiple one looks crooked all through it.
This next one was the worst. It's the Icicle Stitch. The example is my fifth and final attempt and actually looks better than the previous tries. Pretty bad.


Last of all is the Walls of Troy Stitch (great name). This came out very nicely.
As I mentioned I did try out twill and different fabrics but the results were about the same as those I've shown--certainly not any better. If you have a ZigZagger that works better than mine leave me a note to let me know it's my particular attachment that isn't working so well. (But I've never heard much good about the ZigZagger).

Would I buy a ZigZagger if I didn't have one? No! If you collect vintage attachments you might want to have one of these. If I wanted to zigzag and didn't have a zigzag machine, I'd save my money and buy one. I could either get one with built in decorative stitches or one that takes cams.

Barbie's Sundress

This sundress pattern is so classic and nice that Barbie herself had the same dress. Hers was also blue and white striped like the model's. Truly timeless--this dress could have been worn in any of the past seven decades (just move the hemline up or down).