Adventures in Sewing

This is a ranty/jargony blog post. You have been warned!

So, my sewing machine can't handle leather. It just can't. I thought maybe only industrial machines could do it but after watching some YouTube tutorials featuring dudes sewing leather no problem with domestic machines, I knew I must be missing something. Turns out that something was a walking foot--an attachment that has feed dogs that sit on top of your fabric, allowing all kinds of material to pass through smoothly. Whenever I tried to sew leather before, my machine would shake, sew in one place, or in crazy zigzags. It just couldn't handle it.

My mom lent me a walking foot a while ago but I put off trying it out because I was nervous that it wouldn't work and then where would I be? Well, it didn't work, but for a reason I couldn't have predicted. It didn't fit!

Nooooooo!

It hovered about half an inch over the plate, holding nothing in place. I started investigating and discovered there were different levels of shanks--the distance between the bottom of the presser foot and the screw that holds your foot in place. The walking foot my mom lent me is a low shank which fits her machine no problem. I thought I needed a high shank. Seems simple enough, right?

From here.

Nope. I found a forum post from a girl who had my exact Singer sewing machine (model 6233) and was confused as to why her walking foot didn't go all the way down to the plate. My exact problem! I hit the jackpot. Reading on, I was surprised to see her machine had a slanted needle.

Wait, what?

My machine has a slanted needle? No way. That's weird. I called my mom (I was at work at the time, driven mad by the fact that I couldn't just look at my machine for answers) and asked her if she remembered the machine's needle being slanted, as it was her machine years before it was ever mine. She was as shocked by the prospect as I was and we both felt we would know if the needle was slanted.

Oh, so wrong. I got home and saw this:

Whaaaaat. Upon further investigation, it seems that the slanted nature of the needle is probably the reason why my mom and I prefer this machine. Having the needle slanted towards you actually increases visibility while sewing, as the light hits the needle full on.

Okay. So I needed a walking foot for a slant needle.

I called my go-to supply store to see if they had what I needed. The owner hadn't heard of a slant sewing machine but he said he would contact his supplier. He called me back a few minutes later saying the supplier hadn't heard of slant, either. Only high and low shanks. I see... I called one more place and was met with a "WHAT??" I didn't understand. The slant needle is definitely a thing, albeit rare. When I told friends about the slant they reacted with concern, as if my machine was in need of repairs. It's not common, but sewing supply stores really should know about it. I did eventually find a ton of slant needle attachments here including this walking foot that specifically said it was compatible with my Singer model, 6233.

Turns out, finding this website was a dream come true. Quickly giving up on the idea of buying the part in stores, I ordered the foot. They processed and shipped my order within hours of placing it, responded to my email queries promptly, and I received my part not even a week later. Not to mention the walking foot is perfect. It fits like a glove and sews leather with ease. Game changer!

Now that I can work with leather, my to-sew list has increased dramatically in preparation for holiday craft shows!

A sneak peek!