[Alberg30] Re. Pfaff 130 Sewing Machine

[R.C. Alley]

Ladies and gentlemen:

Please see the Sailrite web page for instructions for the use of a plain, garden variety sewing machine (PFAFF or otherwise)for the sewing of sails.  A walking foot is nice, but not necessarily required; you can add spring tension to the presser foot  simply by adding another spring.  The biggest problem, in my experience, is simply handling the sailcloth in the limited space available. There is a GOOD REASON that most sailmakers use a long arm machine at floor level, so that the sailcloth can be fed through the sewing machine with the floor, essentially, being used as a big table. One (relatively) useful trick is to use 3M double sided sticky tape to attach the seam(s) to be repaired to each other before running them through any machine.  The best answer, in my opinion, has been to learn to sew by hand (hand sewing for repairs, properly done, is stronger than any machine sewing) and, ultimately, BUY a new sail (when the old one begins to require regular repair) from a competent sailmaker, like one advertsed in the handbook (hint, hint).

Best, 
RA
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: bill hicks 
  To: public-list at alberg30.org 
  Sent: Saturday, February 24, 2001 8:50 PM
  Subject: [Alberg30] Re. Pfaff 130 Sewing Machine



  The max arm length is 8 1/4 inches
  Height of arm is 4 1/2 inches
  Zig Zag stitch is 1/4 inch
  Stitch length is 3/16 inch
  If the foot pressure is increased it will sew sail cloth but not very well as the fabric is slick and the machine does 
  not have a walking foot. 

                                                                                               Bill
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