Hi,
I’m a very amateur sewer, so not sure on where to look for the fabric that I need for this project. I have a pair of excellent quality skinny “jeans” that I want  to widen to straight-legs. They aren’t really jeans, just made like them, and are a lightweight Cotton/polyester/elastane mix. Can you advise me on what search terms to use when shopping for this kind of fabric online?

Also, does it have to be exactly that mix of fibres? I imagine it’s the weight, and having a little stretch in it that matters most?

 I’m nowhere near a fabric warehouse, so can’t really shop in person, which would be the ideal.   

Can anyone recommend a good thermal fleece for homemade oven mitts or a tea cosy? I wanted to use some old towelling, but have decided that a double layer of that would be too bulky in oven mitts. So then I wanted to buy some cotton fleece, but no one seems to sell it. I would rather not buy polyester, but it’s looking like that’s the only option.

I’ve had to unpick and start again on a curtain hem quite a few times now.  I’ve tried on my Singer 99k and Brother XL711. At first glance it looks like tension, because there is one line of thread lying flat top of the fabric. But on closer inspection, there are no loops coming up from below at all, so the stitches are not forming. If I lift the thread up, it comes away cleanly with no thread on it from the bobbin at all. It will go OK for a bit and then miss stitches again with no apparent cause. The only thing that I’m doing differently is that I’m using basting tape instead of pins. I have noticed that the needle shaft gets a bit gummy every now and then. When I tested for tension on a scrap of the same fabric (without basting tape), it was working OK, although admittedly I only sewed a few inches. Surely if basting tape caused this problem routinely, they wouldn’t be selling basting tape anymore, would they? Any thoughts?

Hello,
I’m hoping someone point me in the direction of help for a problem with my Singer 99k’s feed regulator. If I set it to 10 stitches per inch, it’s doing 20 per inch, etc. So the very biggest stitch that I can do is still pretty small. Apart from this issue, it’s working fine.  My normal source of help with machine problems is YouTube, but not this time, no one seems to cover this problem. I would take it into a Singer specialist that I know, but I’m not able to get out and about at the moment. Any suggestions please?

Hello,
A bottle of oil that I just bought for my 99k was faulty. The nib was solid plastic too far down, so that the hole was much too wide when I cut it. I’ve already lost a third of the oil, when I knocked the bottle over, so I’m giving up on it.  It was from a quality Singer shop, so I expect this is just bad luck. I’m wondering about those oil pens. Gunold or Prym. Are they as good or better for oiling an 99k machine? I’m hoping they won’t have this faulty nib problem at least.

I have bought some woven 100% cotton upholstery fabric, which was advertised as washable - one of my reasons for choosing it. It hasn’t been prewashed. I asked the seller if I should prewash it and she then said that they recommend dry clean only, although I could, at my own risk, wash it very gently & coolly. I know that fabric sellers sometimes say this about dry cleaning to cover themselves rather than because it’s really necessary. Do you think this type of fabric could and/or should be prewashed? I gather that prewashing is done because of shrinkage. Does woven cotton shrink? Obviously I’d rather not bother ( worried about unravelling and lazy!), but as it needs to fit snugly, I couldn’t afford shrinkage at a later date.

Good morning,
I have an old hand-cranked Singer, which does straight stitches only, and I love it. I find that sewing advice online, for example on YouTube, assumes that you have a modern machine, which can do all the fancy stitches. This is understandable of course. I muddle through, using my tiny user manual and adapting what I see online as best I can. But as a beginner, it would be great to have a thorough guide to what can be done, and how. YouTube has a few basic “how to operate” videos for old machines, but I haven’t found anything more detailed.  I’m hoping someone on this forum might be able to recommend a resource for older machines, like an old but still available book, or specialist forum. Any ideas?

Hello, I’ve got a gorgeously soft, thick, long-pile fleece dressing gown that makes me look like a barrage balloon, so I don’t wear it. I’m wondering if I could make a cosy winter hat and/or welly socks from it? My skills are very basic, and I’ve got an old fashioned Singer machine, so I can’t use it to sew stretch fabrics. I’m maybe getting a newer machine just to sew stretch fabrics if my new sewing hobby lasts, but in the meantime, I’m happy to hand sew if that would work better. Any ideas, or should I donate the robe to a charity shop instead?