How to Sew at SILab

Table of Contents:

Glossary
Thread:
Needle:
Fabric Scissors:
Rotary Cutter and Cutting Mat:
Fabric Marking Tools:
Flexible Tape Measure:
Pins and Pin Cushion:
Thimbles:
Seam Ripper:
Fabric Glue:
Embroidery Hoops:
Sewing Cabinet:
Preparing Fabric: Measuring and Marking, Cutting, Pinning
Measuring and Marking Fabric:
Cutting:
Pinning:
Sewing Machine:
Before Turning on the Machine:
Putting in a Spool:
Loading a Bobbin:
Threading the Needle:
Putting in a Bobbin:
Selecting a Stitch:
Stitch Options:
Utility Stitches:
Decorative Stitches:
Character Stitches:
Changing the Foot:
Sewing:
Glossary

Thread:
No matter how or what you are sewing, you will likely need thread. There are 2 main shapes of thread, the best
fit varying on where in the sewing machine they are being used.
There are spools: taller, able to hold more thread, and bobbins: shorter, usually with a clear body.

When using a sewing machine, the spool gets loaded into the top of
the machine and through the needle so that it can be seen on the top
of the fabric (yellow in graphic). The bobbin gets loaded into the
underside of the machine (green in graphic) and helps catch the top
thread, locking the fabric between the two threads.

Needle:
The needle is the tool that brings the thread through the fabric. The
main parts of the needle are the eye, or the hole the thread goes
through, and the point, the part that pierces the fabric. On hand sewing
needles (left image), the point and the eye are at opposite ends of the
needle. Needles for the sewing machine (right image) have the eye
and point at the same end.

Fabric Scissors:
The fabric scissors in SILab are the black and purple, and the teal
scissors. They are just like regular scissors but sharper so they can
cleanly cut through fabrics on the first try. Using them to cut things like
paper or cardboard dulls them rapidly.
Rotary Cutter and Cutting Mat:
In the same drawer as the fabric scissors are
the rotary cutter (left image) and the cutting
mat (right image). Any time you are using the
rotary cutter, you should be using the cutting
mat. The rotary cutter is a handheld wheel
blade which is useful for making large cuts or
for cutting through multiple layers of fabric at
the same time. This is because you are
pushing the blade into the fabric and cutting
mat, rather than having to pick it up like you
would have to when using scissors.

Fabric Marking Tools:

Fabric marking tools are anything that you can use to make
markings on fabric. It can be helpful to draw out where you plan to
cut or sew something before you do it to cut down on wasted
materials.

Fabric Chalk: The chalk triangles in different colors are perfect for
marking fabric: they are flat so the line is sharp, different colors so
the marks show up on a variety of fabrics, and washable so no
marks will be left on the final project.

Sharpie or other markers: Markers work well on mesh

and other synthetic fabrics, but the ink can spread in
cottons leading to an unclear line. They also will not
wash out of the final project and can sometimes bleed
through the fabric to show on the other side.

Pencils: Pencils work well for flat, light colored fabric but
can be harder to see on darker colored fabrics.
Sometimes the pencil washes out, but other times it will
leave a semi-permanent stain on the fabric, though it
generally doesn’t bleed through to the other side of the
fabric.
Flexible Tape Measure:
We have 2 styles of flexible tape measure, one that is
retractable (black circle) and one that isn’t (pink).
These are great for measuring body parts or other
curved objects.

Pins and Pin Cushion:

Pins are great for holding fabric in place
before you either hand or machine sew it.
The glass ball on the end makes it easy to
pull them out of the fabric quickly. The pins
get stored in the pin cushion (green tomato)
so it is easy to grab one without them getting
tangled. The small pepper shaped object
attached to the pin cushion also acts as a
sharpener, so if the pins or sewing needles
are having a hard time piercing the fabric,
stab the pepper a few times to sharpen them.

Thimbles:
Thimbles are small metal (or
sometimes plastic) fingertip covers
used occasionally when sewing. They
can be used either on the finger at the
underside of the fabric to keep from
getting stabbed by the needle when it
pierces through, or can be used on the
finger at the topside of the fabric to
help push the needle through. At
SILab, we have 3 different thimble
sizes, so find the one that best fits the
finger you’re hoping to protect.
Seam Ripper:
Sometimes when you are sewing, you will make mistakes
and sew where you didn’t mean to. You can use a seam
ripper to pull out stitches easily. The sharp tip at the end (not
the tip covered in red) slides under stitches and then cuts the
thread, making it easier to pull the thread out of the fabric to
undo the stitch.

Fabric Glue:
If you are doing decorative work or trying to seal the edges of fabric so it doesn’t fray, fabric
glue is perfect. It is specifically designed to stick fabric/thread to other fabric/thread. If you
have used fabric glue, you need to let it dry completely before sewing on top of it, otherwise
the glue can gum up the needles and thread, damaging them and making it harder to sew.

Embroidery Hoops:
We have a variety of sizes of hand embroidery hoops.
These are great for either hand embroidery, finishing off
machine embroidery, or for holding fabric in place as
you add things to it. You loosen the bolt on the outer
ring, then sandwich your fabric between the two rings,
and tighten the bolt again to hold your fabric together
and in place.
Sewing Cabinet:
All of the things you need to be able to sew something can be found in the blue cabinet to the left of the sewing
table.

The top drawer has the sewing machine

manuals and accessory parts.

The second drawer has fabric marking and

cutting tools as well as the pin cushion.

(The third drawer does not have any sewing

supplies)

The fourth drawer has thread, buttons, snaps,

hand needles, and thimbles.

The fifth drawer has fabric glue and

embroidery hoops.

The sixth (bottom) drawer has some fabric

and stuffing material.
Preparing Fabric: Measuring and Marking, Cutting, Pinning

Measuring and Marking Fabric:

Pick a corner of the fabric to start from and line that

corner up with the 0 mark on the fabric cutting mat.
Make sure that either the top or left edge of the
fabric is lined up with the line on the cutting mat all
along the side so that any marks drawn are
square.

If laying out multiple pieces of fabric to be sewn

together, carefully place the top layer(s) on top of
the first piece. In this example, the top piece is
10mm to the right of the edge of the bottom piece
so that it is easier to see both pieces at once.

Once the fabric is laid out, you can use the visible cutting mat grid to
help line up the ruler to get straight lines. In this example, the ruler
edge is lined up with the 20 mark at both the top and the bottom of the
cutting mat.

If the bottom edge of the cutting mat isn’t visible, you can use one of
the speed squares to help keep things straight by hooking it along the
top edge of the cutting mat.
Once the fabric and the ruler are
in place, use one hand to hold
the ruler steady while you mark
the fabric with the other hand.

In this case, because the fabric

is already cut to size, I will be
using a solid straight line (as
opposed to a dashed line) to
mark where I want the stitch to
be.

Cutting:

When you are cutting fabric, you can

use fabric scissors or the rotary
cutter tool.

To use the rotary cutter, you first

have to push in the top pin to unlock
the blade; if the blade is unlocked the
pin will be pushed in so the handle is
smooth along the blade side.

Once the blade is unlocked, just squeeze the handle to

get the blade to stick out.
With the blade sticking out, you can now use it to cut the
fabric. It can be easier to get clean cuts and maintain control
by pushing the blade away from yourself. This will also keep
your hands safe if the blade slips.

Only use the rotary cutter with a cutting mat underneath.

Once you’re done cutting, don’t forget to push the top pin
back in to lock the blade.

Pinning:

Once the line is drawn, you can pin your fabrics

together to keep them from shifting while you sew. I
recommend placing the pins at the start and end
points of the stitch first to help prevent the fabrics
from moving around too much while you place the
other pins.

Stick the pins in so that they are perpendicular to the

stitch line with the glass head of the pin facing your
dominant hand. This will let you quickly pull the pins
out as you sew, which is important as you don’t want
the sewing machine needle to make contact with the
pins, as this could damage the sewing machine
needle.
Sewing Machine:

Before Turning on the Machine:

Before you turn on the machine, decide if you want to use the foot controller or the start/stop
button on the front of the machine for the bulk of your sewing. This is because you will need
to either plug or unplug the foot controller from the machine before you turn it on.
If you are just doing straight lines, using the If you are familiar with other sewing machines,
embroidery attachment, or doing decorative know how to drive, or are planning on sewing
stitches (like lettering), then I recommend something that will have you stopping and
using the start/stop button. In this starting a lot, then I recommend using the foot
example, I used the start/stop button for all controller.
the sewing.

Once you know how you will be controlling the machine and
have it set up, turn on the machine using the power switch
on the right hand side of the machine near the back, circled
in blue in the image.
As the machine turns on, the light will turn on and the
touch screen will display a welcome screen.

Once you tap the touch

screen to fully wake the
sewing machine up, the
needle will shift left/right
until it is in position to sew
the first stitch in its menu.

Once the machine is on, if there is not already fully loaded thread (that matches your needs)
in the machine, you will need to put in a spool and bobbin yourself before you can begin
sewing.
Putting in a Spool:

To put in a spool, first you will need to open the

top cover of the machine by lifting up on the lip
just above the touch screen.

This makes all of the spool thread loading areas

accessible.

The main part we care about right

now is the long plastic pin with a disc
on one end that is mounted on a
hinge (circled in blue on the image).

This is where the spool will go.

Just to the right of the pin, there is this image,

which shows the direction the thread is
supposed to unwind. For the machine to work
properly, the thread needs to come from the
bottom of the spool and out to the left.

This means that there are 2 ways of loading the spool, and the one you use will depend on
how the spool unwinds.

You can check which way your spool unwinds by putting it on the spool pin and pulling on the
end of the thread.
Some spools (yellow example) unwind from Other spools (pink example) unwind from
the bottom (wider) end of the spool to the top the top to the bottom and so will need to be
(narrower) end. flipped over to have the thread traveling in
the correct direction.

If your spool unloads like the yellow example:

Push the spool as far down on the pin as possible.

Then take one of the gray or blue thread

spool inserts (in the same drawer as the
thread) and push it onto the spool pin.
Put it on so that the 3 pronged end is facing the spool and
push it all the way down until only the lip of it is showing at
the top of the spool.

This helps keep the spool spinning evenly and is only needed
if the diameter of the spool hole is too wide for it to spin
evenly on the pin on its own.

Once the spool and spool insert are on the pin, the last step in
loading the spool is to put a spool cap on the end of the pin. This
helps hold everything in place and helps make sure the thread
unspools at an even pace and without getting tangled. The spool cap
needs to be at least as large as the end of the spool, in this case the
smallest of the spool caps is large enough.

The spool cap should go on so that the concave

part is facing the spool. It should be pushed as
far down as possible so that there isn’t room for
the thread to get between it and the spool insert
when it is unwinding.

If your spool unloads like the pink example spool:

Then take one of the grey or blue

thread spool inserts (in the same
drawer as the thread) and push it
onto the spool pin.
Put it on so that the 3 pronged end is facing
the open end of the spool pin and push it as
far down the pin as it will go.

This helps keep the spool spinning evenly

and is only needed if the diameter of the
spool hole is too wide for it to spin evenly on
the pin on its own.

Once the spool insert is on the pin as far

down as it will go, put the spool on the pin,
again pushing it down as far as it will go,
until only the top lip of the spool insert is
showing.

Once the spool insert and spool are on the pin, the last step in loading
the spool is to put a spool cap on the end of the pin. This helps hold
everything in place and helps make sure the thread unspools at an
even pace and without getting tangled. The spool cap needs to be at
least as large as the end of the spool, in this case the largest spool
cap is the best fit.

The spool cap should go on so that the concave

part is facing the spool. It should be pushed as far
down as possible so that there isn’t room for the
thread to get between it and the spool insert when it
is unwinding.
If you plan to do a lot of sewing or if the spool is a little wobbly on the pin, you can use one of
the spool nets to help the thread unwind smoothly. Slip the net over the spool pin and slide it
down until it is covering the spool. Then pull the loose spool thread out the left side of the net
and give it a pull to make sure it didn’t get tangled in the net.
Loading a Bobbin:

If there is not already a bobbin loaded with the thread color you need, you will need to make
one yourself.

Take one of the empty

bobbins from the thread
drawer and push it onto the
short metal and plastic peg at
the back right corner of the top
of the sewing machine.

There is a slot on the inside of

the bobbin that when lined up
with the metal loop at the top
of the peg will lock the bobbin in place during the loading process.

After you hear the bobbin click into place,

push the whole unit to the right, towards
the metal arm sticking out.

This will change the color of the start/stop

button from red to yellow, indicating that
the machine is now in bobbin winding
mode.

Next, you follow the numbered arrows with the dotted lines guiding the thread from the spool
to the bobbin.

First, you take the thread from the spool on the pin
and bring it behind the plastic ledge to the
immediate left.
Then bring the thread down so it sits between the plastic and the
metal guide.

Hook the thread under the metal guide and

bring the thread up so it is sandwiched
between the metal and plastic on this side
as well.

For step 2, bring the thread back over to the right.

You should be able to pull on it without too much
resistance.

Step 3 will be loading the thread around the tension setting disc for bobbin winding. This is
one of the most important steps in bobbin winding as it makes sure that the thread is tightly
and evenly wound on the bobbin.

To start, hook the thread under the arm at the back of the metal plate.

Then bring the thread up so it is between the metal wall at the left of
the plate and the disc in the middle.
To finish this step, pull the thread to the right
again, making sure that it slides under the disc
but is still on the plate.

For step 4, pull the thread to the right

until you have about 3 in or 9 cm of
thread that goes beyond the edge of
the body of the sewing machine.

Take this thread and slide it under the clear plastic of the
bobbin shell.

Then wind it clockwise and

tightly around the middle of the
bobbin 4-6 times.

You’ll want to make sure you

still have about 1 in or 2.5 cm
of thread left after winding so
that you can complete the next
step.
After winding it several times, take
whatever thread is left and guide it
through the slot in the gray plastic under
the bobbin base. Pull the thread to the
right until it is tight and seems unlikely to
shift.

Then cut the excess thread close

to the underside of the base to
prevent it from tangling under the
bobbin area.

Now with the thread in place, it is time to

actually wind the bobbin.

Turn the machine to high speed with the slider on

the front.
Press and release the start/stop button
on the front of the machine.

The screen will then display a “winding

bobbin” message and the bobbin and pin
will start spinning. This is pulling the
thread from the spool onto the bobbin.

If you are not planning on doing a lot of sewing with a

particular bobbin color, do not wind the bobbin until it is
completely full. Once the bobbin has built up about
1/16th in or 2 mm of thread out from the center post,
press the start/stop button again.

If you are planning on sewing a full garment or doing a lot of

embroidery, you may want to fill the bobbin completely. In this
case, let the machine run until it starts to slow down or until the
thread starts to hit the metal arm to the right of the bobbin.
Once either of these happen, press the start/stop button again
to stop the machine.

Once it has stopped spinning, cut the thread

connecting the bobbin to the spool. I
recommend cutting so there is a 2 in or 5 cm
tail of thread coming off the bobbin.
Then pull the bobbin
mechanism back to the left
and pull the bobbin up and off
of the pin.

Slide the speed slider back down to a

speed you would be comfortable sewing
at.

If you are using the same spool color for your sewing, you don’t need to remove the spool
from the pin, but you will need to pull the thread back to the spool and out of the bobbin
winding guides. This is because you will need to guide the spool thread through the
numbered arrows with the solid lines to thread the sewing needle.
Threading the Needle:

Once you have the spool fully on the spool pin, you
are ready to thread the needle.

First, you will need to bring the needle to

its highest point so that it will be in the
right place for the needle threader.
To do this you can either turn the dial on
the right side of the machine towards
you until the slight bump in the dial is at
the top, or you can press the needle
position button on the front of the
machine once or twice until the needle is
in the upright position. Both are circled in
blue in the image.

Once you have the needle in place, press the safety

button on the front of the machine to make sure you
don’t accidentally start the machine while your fingers
are in the needle area.
At the start of the threading process
you will need to make sure the foot
is lifted up.

You can do this by lifting the lever

at the back of the machine, circled
in blue.

With all of that complete, you can return to the spool pin area of the machine where you will
follow the solid numbered lines with the thread down to the needle.

Starting with step 1, you take the thread from the spool
on the pin and bring it behind the plastic ledge to the
immediate left.

Then bring the thread down so it sits between the plastic and
the metal guide.
Hook the thread under the metal guide and bring the
thread up so it is sandwiched between the metal and
plastic on this side as well.

For step 2, bring the

thread to the left, going
through the curved slot in
the machine.

Then bring it down towards the table, following the slot in the front of
the machine.
In step 3, pull the thread back up and
to the left, hooking it around the
curved plastic at the base between
the two vertical slots in the machine.
Pull the thread all the way up.

For step 4, pull the thread along the outside edge of the slot: up, to the left, and down.

You need to keep the thread tight and along the outside edge so that when you pull the thread
down it will go into the eye of the hook inside the machine.

You can see this hook in the third image or if you lean in close to the machine.

Once you have the thread through the hook, pull it down towards the base of the sewing
machine.
For step 5, pull more thread out to both confirm that it didn’t get
snagged anywhere and so that you have enough extra for the needle
threading action.

In step 6, push the thread behind the arm below the

#6 on the machine. Then pull towards the left to pull
the thread into the eye of the arm/post. This will
help guide the thread into the eye of the needle as
the machine is running.

Step 7 is only if you are using the

automatic needle threader, which in
most cases is what you will want to
do. Start by pulling the thread
towards you and to the left. Guide it
into the notch on the metal disc
near the top of the needle.

From there, pull the thread to the

left and into the slot above the #7
so it is sandwiched between the
grey plastic.
Then pull the thread further to the left and up on the side of
the machine is a protected blade that you can use to cut
any excess thread.

Now that the thread is fully through the machine, all that’s left is to use the automatic needle
threader. For this process you need to lower the foot, using the lever on the back of the
machine.

Once the foot is lowered,

slowly pull the lever on the left
side of the machine (above
the thread blade) down. As
you pull it down, the
mechanism from step 7 will
drop and twist to push the
thread through the eye of the
needle.

After the needle is threaded, the

mechanism will pop back up and you can
slowly raise the lever back to the top of
the machine. You can also raise the foot
again at this point.
The threader pushes the thread through the eye of the needle, but before it can be used to
sew, it needs to be adjusted, otherwise it will just be pulled out by the first movement of the
machine. Grip the tail of the thread from the needle and pull it through the foot and towards
the back of the machine. You should pull until there are about 2 in or 5 cm of thread coming
from the needle.

At this point the spool thread is fully set up and

you can close the top cover of the machine if you
wish. Leave the safety button pressed, you will
still need the needle stopped for putting the full
bobbin in the machine.
Putting in a Bobbin:

If it is not already engaged, press the safety lock button on the front of
the machine before going to put in a bobbin.

With the foot raised, you can

access the small gray switch
on the base of the sewing
machine. Pull it to the right
and the transparent bobbin
cover will pop up, allowing
you to lift and remove it.

Before putting your bobbin into the machine, you need to make
sure that it will unwind in the correct direction.

If you are looking at the bobbin from the top down on the table, it
should unwind from the left (counterclockwise), like in the image
here and the drawing on the bobbin case. The image and arrows
on the bobbin case show the path of the thread for loading in the
bobbin.

Pull out around 4 in or 10 cm of thread from the bobbin

so that you have enough thread to feed it into the
machine.
Drop the bobbin into the main opening in the
machine.

Slide the thread tail under the plastic arm just

below the bobbin and into the slot in the plastic.

Bring the thread through the slot, following the full curve to the end.

At the end of the slot is a small

blade, pull the thread against it
to cut the extra thread off if you
are going to let the machine grab
the bobbin thread automatically.
In most cases, this is what you
want to do.
After cutting the thread, replace the clear cover
over the bobbin area. Line up the end with the
hole in the case and push it in and down until it
clicks.

Now the bobbin is ready to go and when you start sewing the
machine will grab the thread automatically. Unlock the safety
button on the front of the machine to get to the stitch
selection menu and be able to start sewing.
Selecting a Stitch:

When the machine is loaded with thread, you need to pick which
stitch you want to sew with. Most of the time the default stitch
selected when the machine turns on will be what you need, but if
you want to pick a different stitch, this is how.

Press the stitch selection button on the front of the

machine.

This will bring up the main stitch category

window.

Tap the category that has the stitch you want to

use in it; the category symbol shows generally
what kinds of stitches are in that group.

All of the stitch options, and what number/group

they are in, are drawn on the inside lid of the
sewing machine, but you can also see them at the
end of this section.
Once you’ve selected the category, use the arrow buttons on the
front of the screen to flip through the pages in the category until
you find the stitch you are looking for.

When you find the stitch you want, tap it on the screen
so it is highlighted in blue. The needle may shift so it is
positioned correctly for the stitch.

Once you have your stitch selected, you will need to confirm that the foot
installed in the machine matches the foot that the stitch requires. The foot
the stitch wants you to use will be displayed in the upper left hand corner
of the touch screen, just above the line showing what the stitch will look
like.
Stitch Options:
Utility Stitches: Groups 1-5. These are useful for sewing 2 or more layers of fabric together
that are not just for decoration. These also include button and buttonhole stitches.

Decorative Stitches: Groups 6-10. These are for adding embellishment to fabric or for quilting.

Character Stitches: Group ABC. These are useful for adding letters or words to things (ex
sewing your name into your clothing). There are a few different alphabets and styles of
lettering.

Utility Stitches:
Decorative Stitches:
Character Stitches:
Changing the Foot:

Depending on which stitch you are

using, you may need to change the foot
that is installed in the sewing machine.
The main reason to change the foot is so
that as the needle moves up and down,
it won’t hit the foot on its path.

If you are using the default stitch, it is very likely that

the foot you need, J, is already installed in the
machine.

You can confirm that by opening the lower cover and

looking at the tray of feet to see which of them is
missing.
If you need to change the foot, the first thing you need to do is
press the safety button on the front of the machine to lock the
machine.

Then raise the foot using the lever at the back of the
sewing machine.

Just above the back of

the foot itself, there is a
small black lever. Push
this in to unlock the foot,
it should drop on its own
after the lever is
pressed.

Carefully pull the foot out from the needle area.

Put the foot that was in the machine back in its slot in the tray of feet and pull out the one that
you will be installing.

Close the lower cover.

Line up the pin on the top of the foot with

the curved slot in the foot/needle assembly.

Press the small black lever at the back

of the foot/needle assembly to unlock it
and press the pin on the top of the foot
into the curved slot at the same time.
When you release the lever, the foot should stay
up on its own if it has been installed correctly.

Raise and lower the

foot a couple of times to
confirm that it is solidly
installed.

Once it is installed, you can press the safety button on

the front of the machine to unlock it.
Sewing:

With your stitch selected, thread loaded in the top and bottom, the foot installed, and your
fabric pinned, you are ready to sew! Read all the instructions in this step before starting,
because once you start things move fairly quickly.

With the foot raised, bring your fabric under the foot. Line up the
place you want your stitch to start with the needle.

Lower the foot to hold your fabric in place.

If there is a pin right where you want the stitch to start, be sure
to pull it out before you start sewing.

When actually sewing, you should pull out the pin before it
reaches the foot. For the first pin however, it is helpful to lower
the foot directly onto it, then remove the pin so that the fabric is
firmly held in place by the machine.

On the touchscreen, there is an upside down “U”

shaped arrow, if this is the start of your stitch,
you should press that button.
When pressed, it will be highlighted in blue. This will
functionally tie a knot in the thread at the start of your
stitch so it won’t fall out on its own. It does this by
reversing for a few stitches right at the start.

Adjust the speed to a speed you feel

comfortable with sewing at.

Press the, now green, start button and release to start

sewing.

With the reverse (upside down “U”) button digitally pressed,

the machine should sew forward a couple stitches, then
back for a few, before it moves forward again.

After it completes those starting stitches, you can place one

hand on either side of the needle to help guide your fabric
through in a straight line. Don’t pull or push it through, you
are just guiding the direction, not the pace.

As you sew, don’t forget to pull out the pins

before they go under the foot and near the
needle.

It can be helpful to have either the pin tomato

or one of the magnetic trays next to the
sewing machine to collect the pins as you
remove them.
When you are approaching the end of your stitch,
press the physical reverse button just above the
start button on the machine.

This will finish off the stitch with a few reverse

stitches just like it did at the start. When the
machine completes the reverse stitches, it will
stop itself as it is done sewing.

After the machine stops, press the scissor button on

the front of the machine to cut the extra thread tails
and raise the needle out of your fabric.

You can now raise the foot and carefully pull your fabric out from
under the needle area.

At this point you can cut the extra thread from the start of the
stitch off as well using a pair of fabric scissors.
Your fabric is now sewn
together! Repeat this last
stage as many times as you
need to sew your project
together.

Once you are finished sewing, just be sure to turn off

the sewing machine using the switch on the side.