Book Review: The Ultimate Sewing Machine Mastery by Katie Matthews

* I was sent a copy of The Ultimate Sewing Machine Mastery book by Katie Matthews for the purposes of this review - as usual my views and opinions are very much my own.

Like many people I don’t often think about the mechanics of my sewing machine until I absolutely need to, and by that I mean when something’s gone wrong. Then I dig out the manuals and scratch my head a bit, or sometimes a lot and set about trying to solve whatever’s gone wrong. But actually that’s potentially not the most efficient way is it? If I had a greater understanding of my machine in the first place then perhaps I’d spot an issue early on, and I’m pretty sure I’d get more out of my machine than I do now.

That’s what this book - The Ultimate Sewing Machine Mastery by Katie Matthews - has highlighted for me, and as such having read it it will be kept close to my machine and I’m sure become an essential part of my kit. As much as my pincushion, scrap fabric and scissors, and dare I say it the stitch unpicker - though truth is I keep that close to hand to fend off stitching woes, as I know as soon as I put that away again, I’ll need it and probably won’t remember where I’ve put it.

The book takes a comprehensive look at every aspect of sewing machines - from the evolution of the domestic sewing machine, including that the Science Museum in London displays the first model taken from drawings by Thomas Saint in 1790, and how one Isaac Singer (now there’s a familiar name) patented a machine with a foot treadle for powering the needle in 1851, through to the anatomy of a sewing machine and the all important troubleshooting.

So whether or not you want to learn about your take up lever, tension discs or your stitch selector then it’s worth getting your hands on a copy of this easy to read and informative book. Katie is a sewing machine engineer and owner of K&B Sewing Machines in Hampshire and uses the knowledge and experience gained from helping customers, and her technical insight to “share the joy that comes from a well maintained sewing machine.”

And in case you’re wondering your take up lever helps feed the thread and maintain tension while a stitch forms and is at the top of the front of the machine directly above the needle; your tension dial can be along the top or on the right hand side of your machine and loosens or tightens the upper thread tension and your stitch selector is where you can open up a whole new world of fun, but more on that later.

It’s not just a book for beginners either, as I said at the start of this post not many of us learn the technical side of our machines - we just get on and start sewing, but there’s a lot to be said for knowing what sounds right for your machine. I would class myself as a ‘handy’ sewer - neither beginner, nor experienced. I know my way around a machine, and have used one on and off for a good number of years, I rarely use patterns and if I do I tend to veer off if and when I get an opportunity - though I need to get better at following patterns more closely as I’ve a stack of wearables building up that I really should get started with. For quilts I think there’s more scope to go off piste, for clothes less so - or at least until I’m more experienced at those.

But anyway I was surprised to read that when I’ve finished a sewing session I should leave the needle at its highest point - I checked my machine, it wasn’t - it is now - and was reminded that I should cover my machine to protect it. I rarely do this either, but I should get into the habit as it is a sensible thing to do.

Needles, Thread and Bobbins

There’s whole chapters on needles, thread and bobbins and bobbin cases - all of which are essential, but with the potential for so much to go wrong, and of course go right! And that’s before you even get to the chapter on Tension.

The Needles chapter includes demystifying needle sizes and types, and a tip to test if you’re using the right needle size for your thread, as well as answering the question on how frequently you should change your needle - and it’s more often than you do, I bet!

The Thread chapter explains how to choose the appropriate thread for your sewing machine, how to store it and recommends buying the best thread you can afford, while avoiding old threads as well as threading the machine and the purposes of spool caps and their correct use.

Did you know that if your bobbin is incorrectly wound or unevenly filled that it may cause you to have irregular stitches and tension problems? Katie explains why it’s crucial to use the correct bobbin in your machine - and most importantly the wrong bobbin could damage your machine and that could be frustrating, and costly.

Getting more confident with the Presser Foot Types

This is something that’s on my hit list for this year - I’m quite happy to sew in straight(ish) lines, and to even use the decorative stitches on my machine (I haven’t forgotten I promised more on this later!) but I’m less sure about using different feet. Since I went on the overlocker workshop recently I am more confident in changing the plate on my overlocker (that was a requirement for the fancier rolled and lettuce hems), but I could do with being better changing the feet on my sewing machine.

Though I was partly reassured and partly horrified to read that I’m not alone - approximately 70 percent of people don’t know how to use the specialised presser feet for zips and buttonholes, which I’m pleased to be reassured simplifies these otherwise tricky tasks - it’s definitely time to get braver and take the plunge, rather than continue to choose patterns without zips!

Stitches, straight and otherwise

An explanation of how a stitch is formed and the straight stitch might seem the obvious place to start, but many of us take the former for granted and rely on the latter, sometimes veering into a triple straight stitch or even a zigzag. But our sewing machines can do so much more, even the basic ones - and unless we ‘play and learn’ we’ll never get outside of our comfort zone, and it’s really worth doing, and doing more if you do some already.

I know that I’m a practical learner so I got more comfortable using decorative stitches by attending a workshop to create a rustic barn. The majority of this was done not on my machine but one provided at the class, but I finished the applique and added more detail to the barn door using my machine at home. This project provided the perfect opportunity to test out in a playful way, but learning and building confidence at the same time.

I still love how this turned out, and at the time I was looking for something useful to turn this into - in the end I settled on a cover for my sewing machine but didn’t do too much about that, though the reminder to cover my machine when I’m done may just re-ignite that idea - watch this space!

And mini-projects too

The book also includes a couple of mini-projects, I’m more keen on the one to make a stitch book than the one to reuse thread scraps - which is a surprise really as I like to reuse as much as I can, even pondering what size scrap is too small to keep (still undecided btw), but reusing thread scraps may be a step too far, even for me.

However I agree with Katie that the felt stitch book is a good way to familiarise yourself with the stitches on your machine, and to do it in a way that will be a useful reference for the future - and pretty too. It’s simple really take some plain felt (or material) and sew every stitch your machine has on a separate row - use a single colour, or multiple colours, a rainbow or tones of your favourite colour. Then once you have your pages, sew them along with the cover into your own unique stitch book.

In summary

I got a lot out of this book, and hope to get a lot more out of it going forward. Reading about this from Katie’s view with her experience from the ‘other side of the machine’ it made a lot of sense - a well maintained sewing machine will bring more consistent results and less frustrations, and much more.

I mean, we make sure other machines, such as our cars and domestic heating systems, are looked after and serviced and so it makes sense to do the same for our sewing machine too. Even if that means introducing our own regular cleaning routine, which goes beyond ‘fuffing’ out the fluff when we see it, if our budgets can’t always extend to a regular full service, though I’m sure most sewing machine engineers would advocate a full service wherever you can.

Certainly food for thought, and some new habits for me to adopt.

* With thanks to Katie and her team for providing me a copy of this book for the purposes of this review.

Making some hanging lavender sachets, finally

Way back in 2014 I shared a link and a tutorial to some gorgeous hanging lavender sachets I’d seen and fallen in love with, and clearly had intentions to make some for myself. Well fast forward to our house move and I rediscovered the pieces of material I’d cut in preparation and two sachets which I’d mostly sewn.

THE TWO THAT WERE MOSTLY SEWN, NOW FINISHED

Thankfully I’d left myself enough clues about my original plans, and so with my ever increasing supply of ‘magpied’ ribbons (from clothes, Christmas crackers, chocolates and no doubt many more places) I went through and laid out items to decorate each of the sachets.

They were a great way to get back to being familiar with my sewing machine, after a longer than intended break. They were small, creative enough but not overly challenging, as the majority of sewing was in straight lines. I realised though after completing the two above that adding the hanging ribbon afterwards could be time consuming, and therefore likely to not happen - so I made a change, and pinned the hanging ribbon so it could be part of the seam at the top of the sachet.

And then I motored through them, until it came to finishing them off.

I’d filled them with lavender and pinned the gaps at the bottom closed and they were ready to be hand sewn, and hung. But it was always the job I never quite got to, putting it off - you know the sort. Until I realised that I could sew the gaps closed across the bottom by machine, and then at least they’d be done and no one would be none the wiser (that is until I just told you!)

And so my mini production line was off again.

It was simple really, and I don’t think look any worse for the adjustments I’ve made. Though I’d had my fill of sewing lavender sachets (for the time being anyway) and so I packed the remaining future sachets back into the box, but I know my future self will be pleased that I’ve added yoyos, buttons and ribbons for decorating and hanging so when I’m in need of a simple sewing project, I have one that’s ready made.

I’m really pleased with how the lavender sachets turned out, and have found plenty of wardrobes and cupboards here to hang them in, in fact you may have spotted one of them hanging in the bathroom cupboard with the new shelves.

I love that how each of them are different, and how they all use remnants of material either from old clothes that I’ve cut up, or from previous projects alongside the ribbon and buttons I’ve also saved. Plus they smell lovely, and thankfully not too overpowering!

And had you spotted that there are eleven finished sachets? Well it’s totally a coincidence that I finished these in the week leading up to my blog’s eleventh birthday, I picked up this project towards the end of January and while I’d like to say I plan ahead, well that would be a total fabrication! Spooky though hey?

The year of the shelves has begun

At the start of the year I unofficially christened 2024 as the year of the shelves. I think MOH thought I wasn’t serious, but actually he knows me well enough to know better, and so it’s good to report that the year of the shelves is officially underway.

One of the things that’s obvious about moving to a new build is that you’re the first person to live there. That means there’s a lot of things you usually take for granted that just aren’t there. I think I’ve spoken before about light and curtain fittings and toilet roll holders, but today it’s shelves.

These aren’t the first shelves for MOH since we moved as we ordered some self-assembly freestanding shelves for the utility room and pantry at the end of year, and which tested the patience of a very patient MOH. I’ll share these here soon, as they look great and have made both of these areas incredibly usable.

MOH’s also recovered sufficiently, so it was time to reintroduce the need for more shelves. We have three spaces identified, plus the shelf above his workbench in the garage, but first up was the bathroom cupboard. It’s a big cupboard and will be great for storing towels but to make the best use of it, yeap - shelves. We’ve already added a open shelf unit for cleaning stuff, toilet rolls and such and a washing bin (both from Ikea) but even so, we weren’t making the best use of the space.

I wanted some simple slatted shelves, which MOH said he could make. When we bought the wood for the hooks for tools in the garage we bought extra knowing that there were more shelves on the horizon, which given the price of wood was a smart move. It also gave MOH enough to get started, but getting started meant nailing down the details, which is where my handy drawing came in.

While it may seem overkill, it was a great way of explaining what I had in my mind’s eye, and helped MOH envisage the end result. It also meant I didn’t have to answer 101 questions like did you want it like this, or that as he went along. And it meant that I was in for a fab surprise when I got back from my last gelli plate printing class to this work in progress.

I perhaps need to get out more, but it was just what I wanted. Sadly though he was out of wood so we needed a trip to get some more, and I found myself pondering life choices after spending way too much time in the screw zone, where you can pick up ‘pick and mix’ screws to fill a pre-determined sized and priced bag.

But it wasn’t long before the bathroom cupboard started to look like this.

And then this.

Originally my plan was to lightly paint these white, hence the white blocks (which I made MOH buy specially!) - but seeing the shelves in situ I changed my mind. I like the natural look of the wood and so we’re keeping them like that for now at least - there’s an option to paint them at a later date, but right now that’s a long way off.

Don’t they look great?

It looks even better with the towels on, and as well as it being another job jobbed, it’s another space that now has functional, practical and good looking storage, and means our towels are now stored together. It also highlights that we have a penchant for cream and blue towels!

After a suitable shelf-break, next up for MOH is some shelves to maximise the space in our pantry! He really can’t wait…