Help! On sewing. Can't seem to make this work right!?

Question

I am trying to sew this for a little boys blanket for a friend. I have 2 fabrics, 1 is a plush comfy fabric, the other is a satin fabric with a brush back. The plush will be the front fabric as the satin will be the back. At my friends request, she wanted me to have the back satin to be the binding around the front fabric of the blanket. I have made an allowance for 2 inches of the satin fabric to flip over the front . The I have pressed it down on the front fabric nice and flat, mitered the corners, and pinned it down thoroughly. As I start sewing( I am using a long stitch), it starts off great and then I get horrible bunching. I cannot seam rip this out to much more before I am bound to ruin the satin. I don't understand what is going on. Is it my presser foot, needle, the satin fabric. I am totally stumped. Any suggestions would greatly appreciated. My friend didn't really want the satin binding that you buy at the store. Is this my only alternative?

Answer 1

it sounds as if the "foot" is pressing down too hard on the material , try adjusting the foot so that it  allows the material to be fed thru it more easily.  there is generally a lever to drop the bottom "feeder" also so that it doesnt catch the material . you just have to remember that without these in place you need to have a consistant manual feed ( pushing while pulling ) the material thru the needle area . sometimes too if you baste it first instead of pins , because of the two different materials the "give " is more in the one then the other basting will hold it firmer then the pins.

Answer 2

I've had problems like this in the past.  It is most likely caused by the thickness of one fabric and the slipperiness of the other fabric.  If you don't have a pressure foot the "walks", the walking mechanism below is moving only one of the fabrics.  

I'm sure you've tried adjusting the pressure of the foot.  

Some of the problem could be caused because the fabric you are turning over to the other side to use as the binding is not on the bias.

Have you tried turning the blanket over and sewing from that side?  I realize you would be sewing "blind" but If you've pinned it and you steer carefully, you may be able to have success.  I recommend hand basting the material before sewing.

Another thing you can try if you have enough fabric.  You can cut strips of satin fabric on the bias (diagonal) to make your own binding.  In this case you would have two pieces of fabric of equal size that should be easier to work with than how you are attempting to do it now.  Binding should be cut on the bias.

I hope these suggestions help.  It wonderful that you've offered to make this for a friend but frustrating to run into problems.  Let us know how it turns out.

Answer 3

A shorter stitch is going to work better. A long stitch will cause it to gather more.Also stop sewing, with the needle down in the fabric, lift the presser foot up. Then put it down again and start sewing. This releases the pressure of the foot pushing the fabric forward too much. Just do this two or three times on each side as you sew.  You need to hold both sides of the fabric (in front of the needle and in back)as you sew, keeping the fabric taut.

You next alternative is to hand sew a basting stitch in before machine sewing it down.

Answer 4

My guess is, your needle is too small for your fabric, or you messed up your thread tension somehow. Are there any skipped stitches? It could also be because of a broken or bent needle, causing it to skip stitches and put the whole thing out of whack. You should change your needle after every project you do just to be safe.