First of all, hello!

I'm new here. I came over from the Muppet Central puppet building forum - a year ago that was the place to go for puppet building.. Now it's.. sort of dead. So here's a thread that I transferred over here for some more help. If you'd like to see where some other people have.. sort of helped me, here's the original thread. http://www.muppetcentral.com/forum/threads/i-absolutely-hate-sewing.50961/

Every time I start a puppet, I complete the foam structure, then it comes time to cover it with fleece.

I cut the fleece perfectly.
I begin sewing using the basic whipstitch.
Although time-consuming, I have patience and complete sewing.
I flip it inside out and long-behold, the seam looks like total crap. I waste so much time doing seams over and over and it just never ends up looking good. It pops out and threads are showing, ugh it's terrible. I can never make a nice puppet if I can't get this down though!

Would I be better off machine-sewing? If so, where can I get a good, decently priced machine? I'm on a budget, so it'd need to be towards the lower end.

If not, I need some MAJOR tips about sewing. I mean the stitches look nice, but when turned inside out... ugh. Makes me frustrated just thinking about it.

Thanks guys, you're always a big help!

Kevin


I'm using Polar Fleece, but I don't think it's necessarily about hiding them, they just look gosh darn awful and puffed out. Here are some pictures to help you try to understand:

Welcome to Puppets and Stuff, sewing requires a great deal of skill and patience and I to have trouble sometimes with both. I use the ladder stitch when hand sewing..... this combined with machine stitching can be successful.I use a short wire dog brush to brush the seams and then a old tooth brush and trim with scissors. Everyone has there on technique.Others will be along shortly to give there tips.  

You can find basic sewing machines in the $99.00 range at walmart.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Singer-Sewing-Machine-2663/10992861?sourceid=1500000000000003260370&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=10992861

Here is a video

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https://youtu.be/5CjOXMuTFXo



http://www.mimidolls.com/DCC-Techniques/ladder/ladder.htm

http://www.projectpuppet.com/servlet/Page?template=useful-stitches-tutorial

Our member Daryl has some good tutorials on sewing

http://www.blogtv.com/stiqpuppetslive/Videos/viewAll/p/0/0

I happen to lack in both as well. I'll try the ladder stitch next time I get the chance to work on my Kermit test. I still have some questions about sewing machines. Is it worth investing in one? It's an extremely expensive purchase for someone like me on a budget, and with that money I could buy a lot of other puppet supplies. I don't do any sewing other than the occasional puppet.

Thanks,

Kevin

Try looking for a used sewing machine at a flea market, yard sale, consignment shops,thrift stores,salvation army,second time around shop,Craig's list or news paper. Check with family members like grandmothers,aunts, or friends and see if they have one in the basement or attic they are not using. I think you will Love having one once you get your hands on one you can afford. Maybe some one will read this thread and help you out.

Awesome! Thanks for the suggestions. I just bid on a sewing machine on the goodwill website. Hopefully I can snag it for really cheap, it looks nice, and it'd make puppet-making so much easier... phew!

I think you'll find once you have good tools, you find reasons to use them. A sewing machine is an amazing tool to have on hand, if nothing else, you'll get caught up on your mending!

If you end up winning the auction for the used machine, make sure to take it in to be serviced. They're precision machines, and neglect and shipping can do bad things to the mechanics.

Try calling a quilting store near you and ask who they would recommend in your area to service the machine. Quilters use their machines a lot, and get them serviced regularly. If anyone knows a genius mad scientist sewing machine repair guy, it's going to be a little old lady grandmother quilter.

And don't give up on the hand sewing yet! You might want to try brushing up the fleece around the seam with a soft bristled tooth brush. It fluffs up the fibers and helps to hide the seam.

Also, if you can't find an exact thread color match for your fabric, go for the shade that's a little darker than the fabric. It won't be as noticeable if the thread does show.

Good luck!

Actually I could not see that the seams looked bad in the photos, eyes will focus on the features of your puppet more than the seams. Don't give up, I used to be frustrated by bad machine but getting one that works right and taking sewing classes helped me love sewing. I like sewing machine more than hand sewing for a nice straight line.  Mouth pattern recommends starting at the corner of the mouth, or fold and sewing to the center front mid point.  Then sewing from the fold to the center on the other side.  That helped me do better on aligning the difficult mouth curve. I am a fan of lots of pinning, every quarter inch on tight curves. Be sure to pull pins out just before you sew over them or you could break your needle. I like the big glass head pins that are easier to grab out, and find in the carpet when you drop them. A cheap line marker is that sliver of soap from the shower. If you drew a nice straight line on the fabric underside it might help your hand sewing be straighter, but a machine will get you there faster.  It makes me sad to hear you say you hate sewing, I hope you find a way to make it fun.

I have four machines - three of which were from garage sales, the other an old knee operated Singer from my grandmother (I think about 60 years old). If you familarise yourself with machines (internet etc) and start hunting around, you'll be amazed by what you can find. My last machine was only two years old, had hardly been used, with user guide for $20 at a garage sale. If you persevere you will definitely score a deal. Like Dr Megan said, it's always worthwhile getting an older machine serviced. Then it's only a matter of playing round a bit to get to know it's features. If you were closer I'd give you one of mine. Good luck in the bid!

We have a 50s Husqvarna machine that sadly died on us. It's a beautiful machine, my grandmother's. Sadly we couldn't find a repairer.

The other day I saw a similar Husqvarana on sale, but on a proper sewing table, old wheel and foot underneath. I really wanted to buy it - $169 though!

I guess I'll have to make do with my new one, a Brother BM2600. I've had it for several years and has been wonderful. Easy to use, top-loading bobbin, easy-moderate difficulty in settings. I also got it cheaper during a sale, plus my members' discount card. Cost about $150 or thereabouts. The idea was that since we needed a new machine anyway, we'd share the cost and the machine.

To be honest though, I still love hand sewing everything.

Looks like you have gotten some good feedback to your questions. I prefer stitching the main part of my puppets with a machine. Just goes faster and there is no way I can reproduce the precision with hand sewing.  

One of the secrets to hand sewing is making the stitches both small and uniform.  Yours really don't look that bad really but I can see that in your whip stitch (which I do use and love along with the ladder stitch) that it lacks a bit of uniformity. As a rule I try to use the whip stitch in areas that are not as visible then the ladder stitch where it will be more noticeable, like on the face.  Puckering occurs when you pull the thread two tight or when you don't grab both sides of the fabric in even sections.  If you pull the thread two tight you can kind of release that by pulling on the fabric at each ends of the seam you are stitching. Works really well with stretch fabrics. Don't pull to hard or you'll break the thread.

Welcome to Puppets and Stuff!  Glad you decided to join us.