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Conversational Threads

Overcast foot on a Singer

sobee | Posted in General Sewing Info on

I have a Singer Touch and Sew Zigzag Deluxe Model 625 which I recently had serviced.
While talking to the technician, I learned that there is a foot for that machine that you can use for overcasting seams. I purchased one but don’t know how to use it.
This is what I do: 1. Put in my zigzag throat plate 2. Do my settings for zigzagging, and 3. Attach the overcast foot. I also adjusted the tension as I am trying to overcast a sheer fabric.

The result is a plain zigzag stitch — NO locking stitch. What am I not doing correctly?

The foot looks like a regular straight stitch or a zipper foot except that it has a little pin on one side (I guess you can call it a looper or something like that). Is my problem in the threading? Has anyone out there used this foot before? Thanks for any help you can share.

Replies

  1. acrrola3 | | #1

    Try widening your zig zag stitch so that it actually goes over the pin.  You also want that pin to be right at the raw edge of the fabric or even very slightly off the edge.  /that way the thread will zag over the edge, the pin or edge piece will allow the stitch to form and then it will zig back....  this should overcast your edge and not cause the seam allowance to roll.

    1. sobee | | #2

      Alison,Thanks for responding. I did try widening it before and went to try it again after I got your message but the needle never goes to the other side of the pin. It continues to do a regular zigzag stitch. Do I thread the machine as normal and bring the threads behind the foot as for any other sewing or is there a trick in threading because of the pin?

      1. acrrola3 | | #3

        No you should thread it normally....Did you widen your zig zag as far as it would go?

        1. sobee | | #4

          Alison,Yes, I did that and double checked to be sure that I did; but, it made no difference. I'm beginning to wonder if that is the correct overcast foot for my machine.I'll play around with it some more and see; but, if it doesn't work, I;ll go back to the repair service to see if they think something is wrong with the machine. Thanks for trying to help.

          1. Kiley | | #5

            The overlock foot prevents the seam from curling up and keeps it laying flat but you have to use the overlock stitch ( not a plain zig zag stitch) on the machine to give the overlock look. Are you using the proper stitch?

          2. sobee | | #6

            Thanks Kiley. This may be the answer -- I don't have an overlock stitch. I will do some checking on that. Thanks again.

          3. Monkey1961 | | #7

            I have an older Singer, and need to use a cam to use this foot, but get very good results.  I do have to adjust the stitch width so the needle swings over the pin, also the needle must be in the Center position on my machine - I have broken a few needles by forgetting to change the settings!

          4. sobee | | #8

            I talked to Singer yesterday after getting Kiley's message and they couldn't confirm that I needed an overcast stitch to use that foot. Then, I asked about exactly what you suggested to try. The support person thought that it would be worth a try. I haven't had time to get back to it, but I will follow your instructions and see what happens.
            Thanks.

          5. raven99 | | #9

            I used to have a Singer 2010 and used the foot you describe to "overcast" seams to finish them. All the foot does is support the zig-zag stitch to give you a cleaner finish. I didn't have an overlock stitch on that machine either--just the zig zag. When I used the foot, I just made sure the needle was in the centre position, and I adjusted the zig-zag stitch width to the widest so that the stitch would form over the pin on the foot. No special threading is involved. Maybe you could try putting the needle in the right position (instead of centre) if the needle won't stitch over the pin even at the widest zig-zag setting. And as has already been mentioned, the pin on the foot should be sitting right along the cut edge of the seam.HTH,
            Marion

  2. sobee | | #10

    To Alison (Acrrola), Marion C, Kiley and Monkey -- all of you who helped with my question, Thank you so much. I finally had to take the machine back to the place that serviced it. It turns out that the stitch and pattern setting levers were not hitting the grooves well. Also the pin on the overcast foot was out of whack and needed a little help to be put back in the correct position.
    All the suggestions you guys made were right on. Thank you again.

    1. Kiley | | #11

      I'm glad the problem is solved. I have an overcast foot on my computerized machine that is used for the overcast stitch. It has the little finger to hold the fabric flat. When I had my old Singer and before I had a serger what I did to overcast edges was a bit different. I put the needle in the left position and used the regular zig zag foot with a narrow zig zag. I started to sew but fed the material through the center of the foot so that the material wrapped itself around the left forked toe of the foot. It sewed a rolled seam over the edge of the fabric. I still do that today when I prefer the narrow rolled edged seam to the larger overcast seam. It is even more narrow than what some sergers can do in a rolled hem.

      1. sobee | | #12

        Kiley,Sounds like you really know your way around your equipment. If I tried something like that, it'll likely break a needle or worse. But, I'm going to try it anyway -- carefully, and see if it will work for me too. Thanks again for your help.

        1. Kiley | | #13

          Your are welcome. I am thrilled to ever help in any way. As for equipment..I love to see what machines can do..and I let them do all the work. The rolled edge way that I explained I accidently came across by my own..and I have used that method for years.  Then one day I found an old Singer sewing machine manual and the same method was described in the manual..LOL..so I cannot take the credit for that idea..:)

  3. Stitchitup | | #14

    The purpose of the little 'arm' is to keep the thread taut so it will not make your stitch roll, but I think the zigzag stitch is the one (and only) that you use.

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