"Joy Beeson" wrote in message
...

A poster on the Creative Machine mailing list said that
it's very
important to her that her machine do a good keyhole
buttonhole, which
reminds me that I should have mentioned stitch variety.

Decide which stitches are vital and which are useful, and
don't be
snowed by advertisements touting vast numbers of stitches.
Which
stitches matters; total number doesn't. (Unless the
total is smaller
than your list of must-haves.)

I do most of my work on an old straight-stitch treadle
machine I
ransomed about ten years after I bought my electric
machine, but when
I carry a job into the room where the zig-zag machine is,
I'm very
glad that I've got it. I've forgotten how to make the
Necchi do other
stitches, but the book and stitch chart are very clear; it
wouldn't
take long to look up a fancy stitch if I wanted one.

Some folks are hipped on having a blind-hemming stitch,
which sews a
few stitches straight, then makes one zig to the left to
catch the
fold of the fabric. When I don't care enough to sew a hem
by hand, I
top-stitch it. It's easier and more secure than the blind
stitch, and
looks just as good. I might use my blind-hem stitch to
make a shell
hem some day. (For that, you adjust the zig to fall off
the fabric
entirely, which pulls the edge into a series of scallops.)

There are times when I wish that I had a three-step
zig-zag: the
machine makes three straight stitches angling to the left,
then three
angling to the right. The Necchi would do it if I put in
the right
cams, but as far as I know, they stopped making new cams
for this
machine before the three-step was invented.

If you have access to alt.sewing, it would probably be
best to
continue this discussion there. (On the other hand, there
isn't much
traffic on this channel, and this sub-thread is easy to
skip.) (And
saying "what do you want in your new machine?" might stir
up more
information than you wanted.)

I for one find this fascinating. I had an aunt who was
a whiz with a sewing machine.
I think wax is often very hard to clean off because not
much dissolves it, particularly petroleum wax. Naphtha,
which is similar to white gasoline, may do it but I think
other solvents may need to be used. I had some luck recently
using disc brake cleaner. This is a mixture of solvents and
comes in spray cans. You can get it at automotive supply
stores. One must be careful because many solvents will
attack paint. Certainly xylol (AKA xylene) and acetone
will. You might even try kerosene or turpentine, both will
dissolve certain waxes.

--
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles
WB6KBL