Learning to chainstitch.
Last month, I posted some pictures of our vintage Union Special 43200G chainstitch machine. It’s a machine that we use at Self Edge to hem jeans and is no longer in production, which makes it highly sought after. We had to employ the help of a specialist to get it fitted to a table and hooked up to a motor. There were a few parts missing that we needed to get custom fabricated as well – but at long last, the beast is up and running. I’ve spent many hours over the past week learning how to run the machine, and it’s been an exercise in patience and finesse. I was told that it’s easy to learn how to hem jeans on this particular model, since there’s a special mechanism that helps curl the jean hem for you. Still, it wasn’t easy being that I hadn’t touched a sewing machine since Home Ec in 7th grade (and I’m in fashion – figure that one out). Here were some of my first attempts on my own jeans – I wasn’t ready to ruin a customer’s pair of jeans just yet.
One of the tough parts of hemming on the machine is that the mechanism that folds the hem over sometimes gets caught on the selvedge line. Sometimes I see the fabric tugging and can straighten it out; other times I get this
Towards the end of the hem job, I sometimes get the fabric bunching up again and a wrinkle gets sewn into the hem.
I am hoping to get the hang of this soon.
Just a little practice and you’ll get that Union Special down. Keep it up.
Steven
6 Jan 10 at 9:07 pm
Hi there,
we here at jeanspaleis know it ain’t that easy at all.
We had and sometimes have the same problem here.
For the last problem with the inseam gets because you need to open the folder on the right moment. If you open it to late or even not at all, then the result is that of your last picture!
Grzzzz Roger
Roger G.
26 Mar 10 at 4:57 am
Roger you’re absolutely right – thankfully I’ve improved since I started (or else we’d have some angry customers!) I should post some updated photos soon. Great shop you have, by the way!
andrew
26 Mar 10 at 5:15 am
Hey dude,
we had to figure it out ourselves too and it took some hours even days to figure it all out.
What also helps is to iron the selvage so it almost sticks to the rest of the denim, that works for us!
Thanks for the kind words about our shop and we think the same way about yours.
if you give me your mail adress we can send you some pics of ours and some denims we shortened with it!
Grzzzz. Roger
Roger G.
26 Mar 10 at 12:41 pm
[...] my last post about chainstitching woes, I’ve thankfully improved. I would say that it took me about 2 weeks (and ruining a pair of [...]
Chainstitching: an update. at ajchen.com
10 Apr 10 at 7:12 am
Hi! You must pay attention at construction of hemmer.You may open this hemmer at moment before overlapped stitch end.In moment when you stitching selvage section you may also stop sewing and open hemmer and correction seem of material.I’m sewing machine mechanic for 26 years.I’m specialized in chainstich sewing machines especially Union Special (All Class sch as XF series ,35800 series,56900 ect.Sorry for my english
Genny
30 Jun 10 at 2:46 pm
Left part of hemmer decide distance between edge of material and row of chainstich line.When move this part into left distance get longer – opposite direction distance get short.Right part of hemmer decide – distance between right edge of bottom part of jeans leg and left edge overlapped section of material.If this part move to right distance get bigger if to the left smaller.
Genny
30 Jun 10 at 2:56 pm