That's a very good tip. If you like, you can pair that with another one I've picked up along the way: backstitching. When you start off a line of stitching, run forward like normal for several stitches, but then stop and hold your quick-reverse switch for several stitches, so that you backtrack over some of those initial stitches. Stop and release the reverse switch, and continue forward as normal. The extra stitches provide some reinforcement, and can be repeated once or twice if you want, but don't count on being able to unpick multiple passes. When you are within a few stitches of the end of your line, stop and reverse for a few stitches the same way before continuing off the end. I also like to do this for reinforcement immediately before and after turning sharp corners, when crossing other seams, or anywhere that's likely to be a strain point.
If you need to start off farther in from the edge of a delicate fabric, as lyahdan suggested, then you can skip the initial forward stitches and just start off in reverse, so you end up only double-stitching instead of triple stitching that short stretch. Or you could start forward like normal but then when you reverse, stitch beyond your starting point and out toward the edge before returning to normal forward stitching. Your machine should be able to handle approaching that edge in reverse more easily than it could launch forward from it, and the reinforcement of the reverse stitches should help it get going forward from there without misbehaving. This has worked well for me in the past.
One thing to watch out for with backstitching--and this might be a show stopper if your machine continues to have so much trouble tracking straight--is that if you can't manage to stitch exactly over your previous stitches, you'll want to try to keep any stray stitches falling toward the seam allowance rather than the body of the piece. Having a little sideways jog into the allowance on a seam that needs to be pressed open can be a nuisance, but pressing open isn't always even called for, whereas erring to the other side may well result in a visible exterior flaw.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2009-09-27 11:02 pm (UTC)That's a very good tip. If you like, you can pair that with another one I've picked up along the way: backstitching. When you start off a line of stitching, run forward like normal for several stitches, but then stop and hold your quick-reverse switch for several stitches, so that you backtrack over some of those initial stitches. Stop and release the reverse switch, and continue forward as normal. The extra stitches provide some reinforcement, and can be repeated once or twice if you want, but don't count on being able to unpick multiple passes. When you are within a few stitches of the end of your line, stop and reverse for a few stitches the same way before continuing off the end. I also like to do this for reinforcement immediately before and after turning sharp corners, when crossing other seams, or anywhere that's likely to be a strain point.
If you need to start off farther in from the edge of a delicate fabric, as
One thing to watch out for with backstitching--and this might be a show stopper if your machine continues to have so much trouble tracking straight--is that if you can't manage to stitch exactly over your previous stitches, you'll want to try to keep any stray stitches falling toward the seam allowance rather than the body of the piece. Having a little sideways jog into the allowance on a seam that needs to be pressed open can be a nuisance, but pressing open isn't always even called for, whereas erring to the other side may well result in a visible exterior flaw.