In Related News

This was in my mailbox today. I don't know how much use I have for this, but I just like to look at these. It goes on similarly to the ruffler and since the needle can only go up and down, it moves the work piece instead. Might have to take a video of this one. This isn't really for my dress projects, but come on, look at this thing!

Whenever I saw these online, I always thought it looked like they were engine turned on the sides. Turns out it's just this basketweavish look, which is nice too, but if it was engine turned, I would put a little shelf up on the wall just so I could look at it every day.

Try, try again

The continued testing of the scroll hemmer feet got off to a poor start once I decided to go down from 1/4". I've just been tearing off pieces of muslin, pulling off any stray raveling threads and going at it. The fringey edge seems to have trouble getting along with the scroll, and maybe it's operator error, but the thing keeps wanting to turn back in the wrong direction. At best, this gives a twice folded edge with the raw edge showing. Not as messy looking as you would think, but of course, not acceptable.

I took my sample strips and cut them longways with the 12" shears. The cut edges were much more cooperative and that let me focus more on how to hold and feed the fabric. The 1/8" foot now seems possible, though the verdict is still out on the 1/16". However, if I decide to use this method, I'll have to practice every day until I can think this won't turn out to be a waste of some 4-ply silk crepe.

1/4" top, 1/8" as noted

Feel Good Hit of the Summer

Mark your calendar for 5/31, the trailer for Shinkai's next movie is out and it looks like some 5 Centimeter style goodness. What I really need to know is when the blu-ray will be out and whether it will be subtitled by whomever did Children Who Chase Lost Voices from Deep Below (good) or the global edition 5 Centimeters Per Second (made me learn how to create custom subtitles and transcribe the DVD).

If at first you don't succeed

I've been interested in the 1/16" hemmer foot since I want to make keep things as less visible as possible, but I decided to start with the 1/8" foot just to make testing easy.

Uh...

Okay, how about a 1/4" foot? That's starting to look more like it. This may be why I've heard it suggested to press a hem appropriate section at the start to feed first. I'll have to practice just a little more and think about a presentable way to start and end these sections. Fortunately, the bobbin thread finally gave out.

The nice thing about the industrial machine is the affordable thread. I may or may not have a dozen cones in a box that I may or may not get to use too soon.

While we're rethreading, maybe we should have more than one of these on standby...

So I only did four, the black one was already there.

I also learned how to set the motor to run in the opposite direction. I had to crank it back up from the ruffler speed to wind the bobbins in a timely manner and when I had to go to the FM, I learned what some more of the codes and settings are on here.

This is not a picture of the motor.

Ribbon

So I ended up spending way more time than I thought I would working on a spare parts computer for someone. I did get to make one run at ruffling on ribbon, which went about as expected. The main thing I learned was, it works a lot better when you put the presser foot lever back down before you hit the gas. Tomorrow maybe we'll get the attachment back off and set up for regular feet again and try the hemmers.

Okay, I didn't want to have to say I accomplished nothing all weekend...

Did I say this weekend?

Yeah, this weekend. I got a list here, didn't find or get new ribbon, power went out, blah blah blah. This weekend I guess I will take the ruffler back off and see if the hemmer feet work as seen on TV.

This just in

Not sure what became of my petersham stash, but I did get these in the mail today to try out. Scroll hemmer feet in 1/16" - 5/16" sizes. It came as a set of 5, so I'll just be testing with the 1/16" and 1/8" feet for now.

Attachments

Looks like I will spend the week thinking about stuff I might try over the weekend. For the attachment of the tiers, two things came to mind to consider. One, my sewing machine is in a flat table, so no free arm but then two, it's not like you can baste down the ruffled layer so I expect it will be easier to do that flat. I came up with a theory to test, and that is, to sew the tier sections to petersham/grosgrain ribbon (pick your favorite term, the formable one) then pressing up and over. The ribbon would then be sewn to the corset/underskirt.

This seems like it will be easier to apply and provide some support to the tiers. The long center back opening construction is then independent of the ruffling, more or less. Getting back to the snap on layer of the Grace Kelly, I have the possibly stupid thought that the fourth tier can have some sort of removable attachment to the underskirt for when Akari gets divorced and wants to get some use out of it as a party dress.

Construction

In order to make this carry over to the other project, rather than making the skirt section separate, I've been thinking about good ways to make it of a piece. The old make a bodice, pull a skirt over it and sew right sides together isn't going to get it here though. I've considered making the skirt attachable like the outer layer of the Grace Kelly, which would require matching up the openings on the back carefully to make them look like one piece. I'd have to think of an alternate closure method, since I wouldn't be able to have a common zipper.

But what I'm thinking about trying is the fact that while the bodice is corsetish, it's still underneath the skirt on the bottom. So I'll extend the bodice draft down into an underskirt section that the tiers can be built on. Below the ruffle line, I guess it can be made of something else, but I need to make some decisions about what each part is going to be made of. The top section will be 4 ply crepe, seeing as that's what I bought five yards of cause it was the same as the Grace Kelly. If I had been able to find more of the taffeta from the other dress, I probably wouldn't be making this one, so I can't assume just yet that I'll be able to get more of the same crepe either.

I have some other 4 ply crepe that I bought somewhere on clearance. I should try that out to see how it likes hanging 4 tiers of ruffles off it plus whatever I use to puff the layers. (Looking at pictures, I'm guessing it will be four tiers). Tier 1, probably Tier 2, will likely be attached to the part of the top that has the most underlying structure so the underskirt wouldn't have to support as much weight as what rests on the hips, bones, and all that, or so I think.

Hemming

It occurred to me that the tiers of this skirt, contrarily to the petticoats of the Grace Kelly, will be the outermost layer, and thus visible. My first thought it to use the scroll hemmer foot to make some narrow rolled hems on the sections, before they get ruffled onto the skirt base. I think I can go down to 1/16" hem with those, and if the silk thread for the real garment blends in like "they" claim, maybe that will be okay. Ideally though, I want something that can't be seen from the right side of the garment.

If the tiers are underlined with silk organza, like they probably will, then it becomes easier to turn up something light and stitch to the underlining. I haven't decided on the whole underlying structure of the skirt so I don't know how relatively stiff I want in the tiers. My first reaction is I want to keep these light and puff them up with layers underneath, but then since it's the visible layer, I think the smoother, more polished look of the underlined and somewhat controlled sections will look better in the end. I'm sure I'll think of ten ways to do it twice before I get around to having to do it for real in silk.

Testing, testing

"Contrarily, the pull will be minished." I knew what they meant, and now I see how it minishes. The screw at A locks the knob at B in place, which is connected to C by a spring.

Turning B while A is loose adjusts the tension on the spring. The spring then drives the blade when it falls.

I couldn't get much change from trying to turn it in the unminishing direction, but without the minimum tension on it, all you get is this.

Another adjustment for the kilted is the screw at A below. Loosen it up and depending on where you lock it back down in that curved slot, you allow the blade to push that much farther. At one end, you get minimal kilted, like on the left end of the sample above. At the other end, I got a mess when it tried to push to much, or maybe too far, or both. Translating the instructions, I think this thin muslin needs less pull and if I tried heavier fabrics, then I would want to set it back to the unminished end.

Photo crop

Got a couple passes through the machine today with some muslin and got a feel for a few things. First, turn the speed way down. I think I tried starting with a "20" and then went down to "10" when it looked like that was still a little fast for it. Second, unlike normal sewing, you can't hold both layers since every fourth stitch, that metal blade drops and pulls the top layer with it. Of course, I knew that going in, but industrial motor plus duh equals let's not photograph that.

 With the width of the area actively being pleated by the machine, I think that once I set it up for wider pleat sections and get it all attached, that visually it will have the same effect as flared tiers. That is, a puffed up effect, but without the real obvious pleats I don't want this to have.

It's on!

Only took a few tries to get all the pieces attached in the right places. The fabric was a small pleated section and I put it underneath for now since I was reminded that the toothed blade is released every four stitches with this cam. Not 100% certain I won't have to thread the needle, then install it, but it's in place for now.

Do the math

The instructions for the ruffler call for the machine to run at 600-900 stitches per minute. With the motor on my DDL-8700, I had to read the manuals to see if I could get that low. For a minute I thought I might have to do calculus, since the documentation shows everything in RPM. But then a pencil mark on the hand wheel and belt cover said, hey dummy, it's 1:1.

The motor manual says "34" = 4500 RPM and each step down on the speed setting is 100 RPM less. Starting from 34, that sounds like a problem. I happened to look at the motor and when I couldn't see the pulley inside the guard, I remembered I had put on the smaller 50mm pulley. The 4500 RPM being based on a 90mm pulley, I should now have plenty of room to go down to 900 or less.

It's almost Friday so I guess my weekend will include setting this thing up for the first time and running some samples with the various cams and knobs to see what it really does on fabric. The instructions are like poetry. "Up and down to adjust the firmly screw, you will find the different deepness of kilted." I shall meditate upon it.