pfaffies-digest Saturday, 19 April 1997 Volume 01 : Number 1311 From: threadlady@ioa.com (Judy Morin) Date: Fri, 18 Apr 1997 17:14:14 -0400 Subject: PFAFF: Thread Weight and "Point Well Taken" Hello pfellow pfaffies, There's a marvelous book out called "Point Well Taken" by the "In Cahoots" girls, Debbie Garbers and Janet O'Brien which covers *everything* you want to know about needles and thread. It reads like an encyclopedia (which it is) and discusses everything you ever wanted to know from the manufacure of needles and thread and their uses to the different types and uses that they are designed for. It mentions threads by Brand Name and also covers various notions that are particulary helpful to the machine embroiderer. They privately print it so it can be updated as necessary. The latest volume should retail for $13.90 (I inadvertantly put $14.00 in my catalog). If you can't find it at your favorite sewing shop or dealers shop, haunt them until they carry it. If you need an address to have your shop order them, email me and I'll send it to you. (If you need just one copy, I'll sell it to you, for the above price and about $2.00 S+H.) Please don't think of this as an *AD*, I just want the book to be a success and your local shop *should* be carrying it! Continuing the thread, Judy Morin (in the beautiful mountains of Western NC) (Pfaff 1229 and 7570 with PCD_WIN) threadlady@ioa.com ------------------------------ From: Mary Wacker Date: Sat, 05 Apr 1997 11:01:38 -0800 Subject: Re: PFAFF: Thread recommendations What my dealer told me was, any thread that is 100% one fiber is probably OK. Ie, all cotton, all poly, etc. It's the modern Dual Duty -- the last couple years worth -- that really balls up behind our tension wheels. And yes, the Guterman, Madeira, etc ones are the best. I guess it's like anything else, we get what we pay for. - -- Mary Wacker wacker@gte.net 7570, 1475, PCD 2.0a Western Washington ------------------------- Subject: Re: PFAFF: old thread Date: Tue, 25 Mar 1997 12:07:43 -0800 From: Mary Wacker Reply-To: pfaffies@listserv.embroideryclubs.com To: pfaffies@listserv.embroideryclubs.com After the service department had to clean a big wad of thread out from behind my tension wheels on the 7570 I had a big discussion of thread with the dealer's sewing gal. I'd heard about "not using cheap thread" but when I got my 1473, they told me (6 years ago) that I could use any kind of thread I wanted, so I always figured this discussion didn't apply to Pfaffs. What I learned was this: thread has changed. Especially, Dual Duty has gotten much worse in just the last couple of years. They said I can feel free to use OLD Dual Duty! But not new! Anything you've gotten in that line in the last year or two -- throw it out! The general rule now is, of course, none of those three-spools-for-a=dollar cheap thread, ever. Otherwise, thread that is made of all one thing: ie, all cotton, all poly, etc, is usually OK, or at least less of a problem than Dual Duty with cotton and poly. HAving said that, we are still better off, they told me, with the GOOD good threads, Guterman, Madeira, etc. And having said that, they said, yes, the Mexican thread is NOT as good as the German and they try not to have it, but that's what they had been sent last time, so I didn't buy that kind. The Mexican, they showed me, looks kind of ripply on the spools, and that's indicative that it isn't perfectly smooth or something. If the spool looks smooth across the surface, that's better. So it really IS a kind of a pain, and we must pay attention. Because, what the bad stuff does is, it puts out more lint and it is more likely to shred, and that's what collects in big wads behind the tension wheel and then we have all kinds of trouble. With my 7570, they said there was no way I could have cleaned it out, they had to take out the whole tension assembly to get at it. And I seldom do regular sewing (with Dual Duty or anything else) on my 7570. BUT, it did take me a few months to get used to clipping the thread at the spool and pulling it out forward, and if you forget to do that, the thread is being pulled in the direction it can untwist, and this also can make for lint and wads in behind, so that's probably what my sin was. So, heed the warnings! I'm here to tell you I had a real mess and the tension problems were quite frustrating there for a while! Mary -- Mary Wacker wacker@gte.net 7570, 1475, PCD 2.0a Western Washington ------------------------------ From: "Dale Barr" Date: Tue, 17 Dec 1996 21:15:53 +0080 Subject: Re: PFAFF: thread spool prob > > Recently purchased some Madeira 1000m spools of thread. These have a > > straight cardboard spool in the center with no flares at the ends for > > support. When sewing, several loops of thread drop beneath the spool > > and wrap around the spindle causing binding and thread breakage. Was > > thinking of some sort of base to place over the cardboard up next to > > thread to prevent it from dropping. Any suggestions would be > > appreciated. I almost exclusively use the Madeira rayon threads mentioned and use a trick I believe was mentioned by Glynda Black in the past. Take the thread spool and forcefully push the threads to the middle from the ends. It works. I have never had the problem mentioned above. I have the thread caps, but have never used them. I have a question about the regular plastic spools of metallic thread. When I use it on the vertical holder sometimes the thread drops below the spool and gets caught around the spindle, even though I've tried putting a thread disk for plastic spools under the spool. Any suggestions? Linda in sunny (today) Tacoma, Washington, near Seattle Linda and Dale in Washington State daleb@eskimo.com ---------------------------- Re: PFAFF: RE: EMB 7570-Help Date:Fri, 1 Nov 96 14:50:20 +0000 From:"Elaine Rieck" Reply-To: pfaffies@listserv.embroideryclubs.com To: Judy, you wrote: "It will sew for a little while and then tangles around the spool holder and breaks the . Am I missing something here?" Is your tension right. Having the thread break is one thing but breaking the needle sounds like your tension may be too tight. Also, try using a thread net and making sure the thread winds off in the right direction. The machine seems to like it better if it comes off without twisting. To check, hold spool in your hand and pull off about 2 feet of new thread from one end of the spool. Bring the end of it back toward the spool; if the thread twists back on itself, you are pulling from the wrong end. Turn the spool over and repeat the test. The thread should stay away from itself. This is the correct end to have toward the tension disk. Twisting thread will cause "burps" and therefore jump off the back end of the spool. Hope this helps. BTW, there is no standard to the way the thread is wrapped vs. the labeling on the spools, therefore; every spool may be different. Remember, you must use "new" thread for the test. Happy Pfaffing Elaine Rieck erieck@pacbell.net http://www.geocities.com/paris/1277