What stitch is "S.S."?
May 31, 2010 9:09 PM Subscribe
My new old sewing machine has a blind stitch lever with three settings: "B.S.", "M", and "S.S.". What is "M", and especially what is "S.S."?
The machine is a Universal UN50 which I bought at a yard sale this weekend. Nice solid all-metal no-electronics machine with the basics.
The manual that I found online doesn't admit to anything -- it calls it the blind stitch lever, but then only ever tells you to put it at "M" (except for blind stitching, of course).
The lever engages cams inside the machine. On "B.S." it engages the zigzag cam every sixth stitch which seems to be what I'd expect a machine blind stitch setting to do. On "M" no cams are engaged, so I guess that's "normal". But why "M"?
On "S.S.", it engages a cam which reverses the stitch direction (or stops or shortens the stitch length? I don't have everything cleaned and lubricated so I can't run the machine yet, so I'm judging by lever position) every 3rd stitch. That's the one I'm at a loss to explain!
(Also, what could I expect a general tuneup to cost assuming there's nothing significantly wrong, just needing a good cleaning, lube and checkup?)
The machine is a Universal UN50 which I bought at a yard sale this weekend. Nice solid all-metal no-electronics machine with the basics.
The manual that I found online doesn't admit to anything -- it calls it the blind stitch lever, but then only ever tells you to put it at "M" (except for blind stitching, of course).
The lever engages cams inside the machine. On "B.S." it engages the zigzag cam every sixth stitch which seems to be what I'd expect a machine blind stitch setting to do. On "M" no cams are engaged, so I guess that's "normal". But why "M"?
On "S.S.", it engages a cam which reverses the stitch direction (or stops or shortens the stitch length? I don't have everything cleaned and lubricated so I can't run the machine yet, so I'm judging by lever position) every 3rd stitch. That's the one I'm at a loss to explain!
(Also, what could I expect a general tuneup to cost assuming there's nothing significantly wrong, just needing a good cleaning, lube and checkup?)
Response by poster: halogen: But we know that "B.S." is blind stitch, so I don't think it's Bound Seam and Superimposed Seam. Or, if that's what it means, I don't understand how "Superimposed Seam" is a stitch setting or why it changes stitch length.
posted by mendel at 9:27 PM on May 31, 2010
posted by mendel at 9:27 PM on May 31, 2010
Response by poster: Also, I should note that in the manual, the blind stitch position is shown with the _/\_ symbol, so I must have a slightly older machine that used the initials. So I'm pretty sure that B.S. is blind stitch.
posted by mendel at 9:28 PM on May 31, 2010
posted by mendel at 9:28 PM on May 31, 2010
Possibly "Stretch stitch" per my mother (to sew together stretchy T-shirt-type material?), but she's not 100% sure and the brand name of your machine doesn't ring a bell with her.
posted by The Ardship of Cambry at 9:34 PM on May 31, 2010
posted by The Ardship of Cambry at 9:34 PM on May 31, 2010
My first knee-jerky response was 'Satin-Stitch', but I think jamaro has it with 'stretch blind stitch', as depicted here.
posted by metaphorical at 12:24 AM on June 1, 2010
posted by metaphorical at 12:24 AM on June 1, 2010
In the UN50 manual (link leads, after a captcha, to a PDF download), there are two phrases I've found that could be S.S.: Straight Stitch and Satin Stitch.
posted by zippy at 12:26 AM on June 1, 2010
posted by zippy at 12:26 AM on June 1, 2010
I hear"slip stitch" could be the S.S. setting- a stitch used to create invisible seams between two folded edges, or a folded edge and a flat edge (ie a hem).
Or so my resident expert seamstress tells me.
posted by Philby at 2:59 AM on June 1, 2010
Or so my resident expert seamstress tells me.
posted by Philby at 2:59 AM on June 1, 2010
Best answer: My rather elderly (circa 1984) Janome machine has an SS setting on one of the dials, and being curious (I use the machine regularly and I've never used the SS setting) I dragged out the manual and it says:
"when sewing stretch stitch, set the stitch length dial at SS".
This would probably explain why my attempts at stretch sewing have been less than successful.
posted by the.carol.baxter.experience at 4:05 AM on June 1, 2010
"when sewing stretch stitch, set the stitch length dial at SS".
This would probably explain why my attempts at stretch sewing have been less than successful.
posted by the.carol.baxter.experience at 4:05 AM on June 1, 2010
Best answer: On most of these old machines, the blind stitch was the first extra bonus stitch to be offered.
My experience with old machines generally and Universals specifically tells me that you have four choices:
-Straight stitch with a centered needle:
Use the straight setting on the upper dial and adjust your length accordingly with the lower one.
-Zig-zag stitch:
Use the upper dial to determine width and lower dial to determine length.
-Blind hem stitch:
Flip the lever to BS and adjust your width using the upper dial. You will need to make sure the width isn't taking too big of a bite.
-Stretch stitch (this is your SS setting and a bit of a luxury on old machines):
Flip the lever to SS. Choose the straight stitch on the upper dial first. On older machines, it may give you both a stretch straight stitch and a stretch zig-zag. In either case, what it is doing is taking two stitches forward and one (or two) stitch(es) back. This allows you to make a line of stitches (straight or zig-zag) that has some give. The stitches will look doubled.
Make sure that your take-up lever is at its highest position when you change the settings - that way you know that the gears are in the proper place and you will be less likely to jam things.
A satin stitch is just a zig-zag stitch with little to no length. It is used mostly with machine embroidery - you will find that dropping your feed dogs will make it easier.
A slip stitch is almost always done by hand unless you have some kind of adapted blind hemming machine that doesn't go through to the face of the fabric.
As far as tune-ups go, it depends on where you are. In a large city you could expect around $50-$80 as the going rate. In smaller cities and towns, I have found the rate to be more like $30-$40. If the machine seems to be in order otherwise and the bobbin shuttle and casing isn't caked with lint, you can easily do the tune-up yourself with a vacuum cleaner and bottle of machine oil. Most of the time, unless something is really out of place, this is all the repair shops have to do when you take it in, anyway.
If you need help, email me and I can walk you through it!
posted by Tchad at 4:08 AM on June 1, 2010 [3 favorites]
My experience with old machines generally and Universals specifically tells me that you have four choices:
-Straight stitch with a centered needle:
Use the straight setting on the upper dial and adjust your length accordingly with the lower one.
-Zig-zag stitch:
Use the upper dial to determine width and lower dial to determine length.
-Blind hem stitch:
Flip the lever to BS and adjust your width using the upper dial. You will need to make sure the width isn't taking too big of a bite.
-Stretch stitch (this is your SS setting and a bit of a luxury on old machines):
Flip the lever to SS. Choose the straight stitch on the upper dial first. On older machines, it may give you both a stretch straight stitch and a stretch zig-zag. In either case, what it is doing is taking two stitches forward and one (or two) stitch(es) back. This allows you to make a line of stitches (straight or zig-zag) that has some give. The stitches will look doubled.
Make sure that your take-up lever is at its highest position when you change the settings - that way you know that the gears are in the proper place and you will be less likely to jam things.
A satin stitch is just a zig-zag stitch with little to no length. It is used mostly with machine embroidery - you will find that dropping your feed dogs will make it easier.
A slip stitch is almost always done by hand unless you have some kind of adapted blind hemming machine that doesn't go through to the face of the fabric.
As far as tune-ups go, it depends on where you are. In a large city you could expect around $50-$80 as the going rate. In smaller cities and towns, I have found the rate to be more like $30-$40. If the machine seems to be in order otherwise and the bobbin shuttle and casing isn't caked with lint, you can easily do the tune-up yourself with a vacuum cleaner and bottle of machine oil. Most of the time, unless something is really out of place, this is all the repair shops have to do when you take it in, anyway.
If you need help, email me and I can walk you through it!
posted by Tchad at 4:08 AM on June 1, 2010 [3 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by halogen at 9:19 PM on May 31, 2010