Industrial Sewing Machine

Also known as the artisan.

OK, I’ve been using the machine for nearly a month now, and I believe that the time is sufficient enough for me to make a little review on the machine.

So, this is my machine:



Not Singer nor Brother, not even Juki but Jack (you jump, I jump.. hahaha). Why I settled with Jack (even I was eyeing for Singer 20U), is because:
I don’t know which high speed s/m is good. Thus, when I went to the shop (in Kajang), asking for the shopkeeper opinion, she said that mostly high speed machine basically has the same function: powerful speed compared to domestic sewing machine and was made in China [just like the black pedaled sewing machine that comes with cabinet which have various type of brands but same function].

A few brands was suggested by her: Siruba if you wanna the cheapest high speed s/m; Juki, was made in Japan; Singer and Brother for higher second hand value (that’s explained why their current price is quite high) and Jack, intermediate price but the most noiseless high speed machine. I was amazed that the motor doesn’t seem to have this annoying humming sound like my MIL’s high speed Singer. So, I opted for Jack because the machine is truly senyap. Besides that, the speed of the machine even though the max it can go is up to 5000 stitches per min, but can be adjusted to as low as 2000 stitches per minutes, so it'll become not that fast.

I bought this machine with the price of 1.4k, and it comes with basic tools (various size of screwdrivers, fius(? Donno what this is),
three bobbins and 10 set of extra needles and the generous seller gave me (by request eventually) another 10 set of extra needles (good brand, according to her), a zipper foot and a concealed zipper foot.
And seem the seller is very kind, I bought another 10 extra bobbins, a rolled hem foot and a ruffle foot. There's more extra feet for artisan which you can refer to Niah's blog (i think she have all kind of feet).

OK, back to the machine: I was tempted to own a high speed s/m:
1. I am in need to have a speed sewing machine. The Singer 7444 is ok, not that slow essentially but not for heavy duty usage either. Well, you know that I bought the machine not from here, so I’m afraid that if anything happen to the 7444, then I’ll be doom (touch wood.. touch wood).
2. I’ve been using my MIL sewing machine and am so in love with its wide working space. To sew a baju kurung (the things that makes me occupy in my studio, lately) needs really a wide working space, especially when sewing the kain.

3. A freak hobby that needs no explanation (I was once obsessed with breastfeeding and kept on trying buying the best brand of breastpumps offered in the market: ye, Giler!)

Ok peeps, that’s all. Oh, you might wonder what happen to my 7444?
Well, she still served me perfectly, especially when I need to sew buttons, buttonholes, blind-hems, and other decorative stitches. Nope, she’s not for sale, obviously.

:-)

The baju kurung(s)

These are what I sewed for the last two weeks. I was about to up these in the blog but was waiting for the mannequin to return home as 'she' went to my friend house who wanted to snap some pictures on few baju that she's selling online. But since she said that she'll be returning the mannequin by this weekends, I guess I just snap the baju kurung(s) pictures without the mannequin as I wanted to handover the them to the owner soon.








To the owner: Thank you for your support, and I am glad you like it :-)

The seamstress note: I'll be putting anything that I've sewed for my customer(s) in this blog as my personal portfolio. I guess you'll see lots of baju kurungs coming up in the next post.

And the lucky one is..

OK, the moment that everybody (I mean the participants) are waiting for:

The result of 100th entry special giveaway:

I have 38 participants, that is:

1. Lynn Nasir
2. Nomaliza
3. ajnie's
4. Sweetlilcraft
5. Cik Puan Gaban
6. misa
7. Aisyah
8. mis
9. Azaidris
10. imanmom
11. shafri
12. dizcomel
13. syazwi-aljabri
14. mommy icha
15. ainiayu
16. Zura
17. Em's Family
18. azee
19. Ira
20. ::Mamalyna::
21. Asya
22. aZuRa AhMaD
23. ummie_mirahaziq
24. zai kulim
25. rosilah
26. lia
27. anin
28. nia
29. syakila
30. Nana
31. izan cute
32. AYU IDRIS
33. ogy
34. izzati ismail
35. i.euphoria
36. zu_e9
37. Nurul + Nordin
38. taufidris

And let’s see who the lucky one is:
The bullets


Put it in the box:


Shake.. shake.. pudding:


And the winner of the Olfa 28mm Ratory cutter goes to NUMBER:


Congratulation to the winner and Thank you all for participated in this giftaway. I’ll contact the winner sooner for your address. For the rest who does not win, well, best luck next time (yup, I’ll be conducting such giveaway sooner (just watch my blog, ok)).

Have a nice day and I love you, people :-)

The 100th post with a special gift

This is my 100th post. Nothing special, but I would love to give something to you (the lucky ones).

It's something from my studio which I've used once (only once) but then settled with something similar but a little bit bigger, that is the OLFA Rotary Cutter sized 28mm.


If you like to own this, simply say HI on the comments box together with your email by 22nd March. The lucky one will be picked by random and the result will be announced on the 23rd.

Oh, btw, this open to anybody but residing in Malaysia only.

OK. Happy weekend and have a nice day ahead :-)

Tensed with thread tension

I was awake sewing last night later to pause as I've accidentally break the needle. So, I changed the needle right then, however I found out the the thread orientation was out of order.

The upper thread looks OK, but the lower thread was disaster (berbulu-bulu!!!).


The manual doesn't state clearly on how to adjust the thread tension but I figure out on how to adjust them from one of the books that I owned. So, I am glad to share this with you.

To adjust the upper thread tension:


To adjust the lower thread tension:


The outcome:


OK. I hope thread tension does not going to put you in tense.
*This applicable to all sewing machine that use bobbin cap (not for the new drop-in bobbin's sewing machine).

Selamat mencuba.

How to sew baju kurung's neck

Bagaimana menjahit baju kurung.

Well, basically sewing a baju kurung is very easy. Furthermore, there's a lot of tutorial on how to sew it. So, honestly said, I'm not going to explain the whole process on how to sew (its hard to sew and at the same time to snap pictures and such) BUT I am going to focus on how to sew the neck (as I think this is the most crucial part on making baju kurung).

My style might be different from yours, so if your style is much more easier (to sew), do share it here by leaving some comment. :-) Thank you.








OK, I think that's all. If time permit (insya Allah), I'll make a complete tutorial on how to sew baju kurung. Sorry for the imperfect partial tutorial.

Make a small loop

..using the loop turner.

OK, before I start with the tutorial on how to make baju kurung, let me show you a simple tutorial on how to make a loop (small one) using the loop turner.

First you need to have: the loop turner, the small piece of cloth and sewing machine (optional as you can also sew by hand.. hehehe). Btw, you can buy the loop turner at the local sewing/craft shop for the price less than RM5 (I got mine at RM2).




The small loop is done. Small loop is handy as a substitute to button hole.


OK, that's all. Thank you for reading. See you in the next post. :-)

The long hiatus

Hi peeps. It’s been a week I haven’t put anything in this blog. Well, nothing much on sewing update as my studio was hit with a tragic event: the room’s roof was leaked thus water (from the heavy rain) came pouring in. Thank God everything is in perfect shape (the machines still running perfectly, no fabrics loss, and such) except that few books has gone out of shape (but still readable).

As everything gone OK, now, I’m back on my sewing track. Too much thing to do, too little time as I have less that 3 months left before the baby gonna pop out, and yet my ‘to sew list’ still lengthy: 4 adult baju kurungs, a jubah, 2 maternity gowns, few cloth panty liners, and a pants.

Talking about the cloth panty-liners, this is my version of it:

Using plain flannel fabric, sandwiched with soft cotton and button up with snap prong. No PUL fabric was used (thus not suitable for menstrual usage).

So, with the above lists, I guess I have to stop taking order from people from now on. But no worry for those who has contacted me tru email/sms which I have given my word that I’ll sew for you, the deal still on (so does the queue.. heheh). I hope you guys understand. :-)

And also, for those asking me to make tutorial on this and that, insya Allah, I’ll entertain your request if I’ll make one. The upcoming tutorial is on how to sew baju kurung. Just wait for it ya. :-)

Last but not least, Me, approaching 29 weeks:


Happy Thursday people and have a great day ahead!

Speed matter

Ngee...



It's excite me but I still need to cope with the pace. Later, when I've master using the machine, I'll make a simple comparison review between the artisan and home machines.

Happy Friday to all seamstresses :-). Enjoy your weekend.

Knit cotton fabric

found in local ancient-no name-fabric-cum-household store in Kajang.



Not much of choice though, but beggar can't be chooser, right.