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Member since 9/29/17
Posts: 1253
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3 Replies
Posted on: 8/24/23 12:47 PM ET
Needless to add, stitch formation has been a disaster so far. I’m getting tangles underneath worthy of a Touch & Sew. The thickness itself isn’t a trouble for the machine in use, it’s the materials. Looks like Mylar woven into the elastic.
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Vehicles of my sewing: Kenmore 158.1701 (Enterprise), 158.371 (Nautilus). White 77MG (Voom; Doom). Pfaff 4862 (Zoom).
  
Member since 12/26/07
Posts: 3075
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Posted on: 8/24/23 1:34 PM ET
In reply to MarlenaL
Experiment with every type of needle you have. Try stretch, ballpoint, microfibre, universal, everything you can find. One of them is likely to work better than the rest but there's no predicting which one will do it for you. If you have presser foot pressure control, experiment with that as well. Also try a different foot. Some are better than others at holding weirdo textures in place rather than allowing them to flub around, and I think flubbing around is what's giving you grief here. Elastic combined with Mylar: flubbo supremo.
  
Member since 8/23/20
Posts: 1065
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Posted on: 8/24/23 3:56 PM ET
In reply to MarlenaL
Schmetz has an app that makes recommendations based on fabric types.

For sewing elastic, they are recommending a Stretch needle. They don't list Mylar, but for sequined fabric, they suggest either a Microtex or a Stretch needle. For foil or lame, they suggest Microtex.

You also might try something that keeps the elastic from stretching into the needle plate. Maybe the old trick of adding paper under the fabric as it moves through the feed dogs.

-- Edited on 8/24/23 at 4:16 PM ET --
  
Member since 8/20/15
Posts: 746
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Posted on: 8/25/23 8:56 AM ET
In reply to MarlenaL
Definitely follow the suggestions so far.

When costuming I would keep and 18 needle in the machine at the teeter. In a emergency it would plow through anything including all elastics and sequins. Give it a try on scrap elastic and see what happens.
  
Member since 9/29/17
Posts: 1253
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Posted on: 8/27/23 2:58 PM ET
I said the thickness wasn’t the trouble, but it seems the thicknesses plus the elasticity was, after a hand-basted, triple-folded, slightly flattened bit of elastic went through without a protest, in a last attempt to use the same settings. So a little work to keep the presser foot level, and the old needle (microtex) worked just fine even in parts which weren’t basted. An even-feed foot might have been better, but I was using the super-high shank machine and you don’t want to know how high prices have climbed for an SHS walking foot.
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Vehicles of my sewing: Kenmore 158.1701 (Enterprise), 158.371 (Nautilus). White 77MG (Voom; Doom). Pfaff 4862 (Zoom).
  
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