I've got NEEDLE POSITION!
My sewing machine was gently-used when I got it, and it's now been with me for nearly 30 years.
I'm finally figuring out what it can do! I searched through the owner's manual, trying to make the needle position move to the left or right. This would be really handy for my never-been-used Stitch in the Ditch foot and the Quilter's 1/4" seam allowance foot. (Which actually adds an extra 1/8th of an inch if you can't figure out how to move the needle!) Darned if I could figure out how to move the needle in a straight stitch setting.
Nothing clicked. I even put on reading glasses to look at the damned manual!
Then I was reading the booklet that came with my Omnigrid Drunkard's Path acrylic templates and there was the answer. Demonstrator Sharlene Jorgenson uses the same brand machine and she mentions her seam allowance settings.
* Push the plus button that makes wider zigzags? And the mirror image setting (which I knew about for fancier stitches - but rarely used) to make the needle go the other way.
This has come in very handy for top stitching the bags I've made.
17 completed from June 2-July 2!
There's also a free-arm on my machine.
SO WHY DON'T I EVER USE IT?
It's usually hiding, encased by the wooden table where it belongs. I hate sewing with the machine set at a height other than flush with its cabinet. It only comes out for the day-long workshops (I used to attend) or for cleaning dust bunnies - once I figured out it could be done without paying someone.
A free-arm is very convenient for sewing close to the edge of a small bag. I'm convinced!
I just don't know how often I'll bother even still.
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