Adjusting your thread tension

Before starting, remember that the bobbin tension must always be less than the top thread tension.

Some problems and their solutions.

Problem: puckering

Cause: Assuming here that you have already adjusted your presser foot. If your thread tension is too tight, the thread will pucker the fabric as you sew. Reason is that the thread pulls the seam together. It looks terrible and makes your work look cheap (look at the seams on a cheap shirt that has been worn a few times).

Solution: Loosen the top thread tension. 

Problem: Snapping thread

Cause: see above, or maybe you're using vintage cotton thread. 

Solution: If the latter, just know that old cotton is generally not usable for sewing. Throw it out or use it for a display.

Problem: thread loose and loopy at the bottom

Cause: Top tension is too loose

Solution: Increase top thread tension

Problem: Thread loose and loopy at the top

Cause: Bobbin tension is too loose

Solution: Increase bobbin thread tension.

More likely you'll have something in between and your stitches aren't balanced. Your stitches should be perfectly balanced, with a dot from the bottom just visible between top stitches and a dot of the top thread just visible between stitches at the bottom. Test this using contrasting coloured threads.

Top tension

Almost all tension problems can be fixed by adjusting or fixing the top thread. The sewing machine was designed like this so you don't have to fiddle about with the bobbin, which is always more difficult than adjusting the top.

Thread your needle, making sure the thread is between the tension discs. 

Make sure you thread it with the foot up. Reason is that when the foot is down, the discs are pressing together and will not allow the thread to sit between them. Then there is absolutely no tension on the discs. If there's no tension, chances are you threaded it while the foot was down.

Now put the foot down and pull lightly on the thread, through the needle. Not hard, and the thread should deflect (bend) the needle. Now turn the top tension toward zero. At around 1 the thread will start moving and at zero there should be almost no resistance at all. If this is not the case, you will need to adjust, or calibrate, your tension dial. If you don't want to, just don't rely on the numbers. From zero, most machines are happy for normal clothing fabric at around 2.5 to 3.5, at least on my old Singers.

I'm not going to tell you how to calibrate your machine's tension dial because your machine will almost certainly not be like mine.

Bobbin tension

If you absolutely must do this, how you do it will depend on whether it has a vertical bobbin (with removable bobbin case) or horizontal (drop-in bobbin - non-removable bobbin case).

Vertical bobbin machines: Remove the case and holding the end of the bobbin thread, let the rest (bobbin and case) hang. It should only just be able to stay still so that if you move the end of the thread up at all the thread will unravel. If this is not the case, adjust by turning the little screw in to tighten or out to loosen. Keep testing until it is perfectly balanced. Adjuster is on the tension spring, which the thread passes through.

Horizontal bobbin: Thread it through the throat plate like you were preparing to sew. Pull the end and adjust as neccesary so you just feel a little tension on the thread. Adjuster is on the tension spring.

Before I learned about all of this I probably shook with fear if a machine's tension wasn't right, but it's really not that bad. If it loops, the side opposite to the loop is too loose. If puckering, loosen the top off. For puckering, check the foot pressure before adjusting the tension or you'll have to fix the tension afterwards.

Testing Your Presser Foot

I've noticed recently that even seasoned sewing people have the presser foot pressure too high. This has generally been with vintage machines, but will probably apply for more modern ones too, if they have an adjustment. Not that I would know of course - haven't had much to do with modern machines.

Presser bar adjuster is here on most machines

Sewing ordinary stuff, the fabric will pucker if the presser is too hard or, if it's too soft, uneven stitches will result.

Testing and adjusting is really easy and will take you less than a minute (more like 15 seconds) to check. You might even test it every time you change fabrics (I do).


1. Put fabric under the foot, leaving the needle up


2. pull the fabric back gently. 


3a If it slides back pressure is too low so screw it in a little and test again.
3b If it is very tight, lower the pressure (there's usually a screw adjuster at the top of the presser bar) a little at a time until it starts to move. Now it's just slightly too loose, so turn it in about 1/4 of a turn.


4 Perform a test sew. 


Your stitches should be perfect and never pucker, even if you're sewing silk (use a microtex needle for silk).

Next will be how to set the thread tension

Repair of 1950s Singer motor

I met a fellow blogger the other day at Spotlight (Vogue pattern sale) and surprising number of amazing patterns left at only $5 each. Yes I know (bought 27), but I digress. She (thornberry.blogspot.com.au) told me to write something as I've been a bit slack recently.

So a few days later a lady from an FB group asked about repairing her older machines. Yes indeed there should be more information about this, so here is the most common electrical problem I've found with Singer motors: The wiring for the singerlight (that's what they were called by Singer) degrades and the wires touch, causing drama and blow fuses.

Warning: My friend Cyndy asked me to make an instructional piece on doing this and to make sure I warn people not to do this unless they're completely competent, familiar and comfortable with all of these concepts. I usually assume that people already do this, but she's right: Please don't play with electrical things if you have any doubts at all.

Here's the before picture (bit out of focus but still obvious what the problem is). This one is nowhere near as bad as I've seen. A lovely friend gave me a 201K23 for my birthday and the wiring was absolutely gone, and I mean no insulation left, wires totally touching each other at several places. This one would have been completely fine for decades, as the rubber insulation was completely intact, it was just the green outer that had gone. Pretty unsightly and looks dangerous, and I want to sell the machine (a 320K2). The rest of the power cable had already been replaced with the standard black.

Singer motor and light, connected by degraded flex

1. Remove the light. Prise off the end: This just pulls away with the lense still on. After this remove the bulb or it will get broken.
2. Unscrew the plate that's covering the light's mounting screw (already removed in the picture above) then remove the mounting. Put all screws back so you don't mix them up. That is, as soon as you remove the light, put the plate back.
3. Remove the motor screw then remove the motor from the machine and put the screw back in.

Now the motor and light have been removed as a unit. Put the machine out of the way until you're ready to put it all back on.

4. Disassemble the light.
4a Circlip 1. Just take a small screwdriver (jeweller's or the one for adjusting the bobbin) and unclip that circlip in the picture. This is one of two things holding the light fitting in one piece, there are no screws, just two clips.
4b Other clip is here:

Original was green, but snapped when I tried to remove it :-(

This clip is much harder to move. You don't have to remove the screw, but make sure you only turn it so the spring holds it less tightly. In the picture that means pushing the bit with the screw upwards. You need only a little turn, so the arms (already removed) can be pulled out. Pull them out. They will be pretty tight and they're sharp-ish, so try to grip them hard then pull away as you did the lense.
Now you can turn the clip and prise it off. Once off the light will separate into two.

Again, this is an after shot.

This is what the inside looks like. The wires (originally yellow and red) are soldered to those copper strips. Remove the copper strips with the wires attached.

and again

Unsolder the wires. This is a little tricky because you need dexterity holding, soldering and pulling at the same time. Make sure you remove all the solder, because the new wires have to go all the way through these holes.
The other ends are on the motor. Unscrew the long screws holding the wiring cover on. Remove the cover and the piece of cardboard and you should be looking at this.

well not quite: again this is an after shot

Unscrew what you need to and put the nuts and washers somewhere safe. The original wires are clamped and soldered to little circular washers. If you have these, use them. I don't.
Now you should have the original wires in your hand. You need to cut the replacement wire to the right size. Better to err on the larger side. Remove sufficient insulation and bare enough wire to wrap around the two posts on the motor.
Solder the new wire to the copper strips from the motor first, and before you install the other end in the motor, make sure you have both the light circlip and the white plastic motor wire clamp in place . The latter goes into the hole that the screw secures in the above picture (on the right). You don't want to leave either of these off.

Wires are now secure on the motor end

Put the white plastic back in its place and secure it with the screw. Reassemble the motor wiring cover.

All in place

With the cardboard insulation

Ready for the screws

Now the light end. Solder the copper wires to the copper contacts and insert them back into the light assembly. You might have to play with the switch a little to get them in. I used long nosed pliers. Don't bend them, you shouldn't need to force them at all.

Now it's just a matter of putting it together, replacing the circlip - you can push it over the lip and into the recess with your thumbs.

The next bit requires some force. Make sure you know which way to put the front light clip by lining it up on the machine. If you put it on backwards you'll get really upset. Put it on but not in exactly the finish position. It has to be off by a bit for you to reinsert the arms. Once you do this, turn the clip until it clicks into its groove and put the bulb and lense back.

If you screw this up, just have patience. I've done this a lot of times, and know it well. If you make a mistake, you'll probably not do the same thing again. It'd hard not to get angry if you do though :-).

Ready to go back on the machine

Doesn't it look nice? New plastic wiring should last a very long time indeed. I chose cord that has copper inside. Not sure if it makes a lot of difference but it shouldn't degrade over time.

Before putting it back on, check the brushes. These are small blocks of carbon whose purpose is to make electrical contact with the armature (of the rotor, rotating part in the middle of the motor).

Here's how to check the brushes. You're checking the size, and you can check how dirty the armature is too.

Remove the caps from the end of the motor - these are visible in the above picture. Take out the screw and you should be looking at this:

Exposed brushes

You can see the copper thing here. I pushed it up a little to make it clearer (which it didn't), but power is supplied from the wires on the right, which are soldered to the J shaped copper bit. The brass case is conductive and contains a metal spring pushing on the black carbon brush. The copper thing at the bottom is the motor's armature. This brush has already been checked and is fine. Check them every service and if less than half this length, replace them both. Don't take them out unless you have to: The ends are shaped as a curve by the armature and if put back differently you could easily lose power in the motor because the contact isn't as good.

Top of the must-have list

Just after my first Pfaff (260PE) I could see how fantastic these late 1950s models are. When reading the manual for it the free arm version was mentioned, and I decided to keep an eye out for one. Another 260 late last year, which I sold a few months ago and I then knew how rare the free arm versions were. Apparently the higher the number the better the machine, option-wide.
There was also a logic to Pfaff's model numbers, unlike Singers. Under 100 is a straight stitch, 100 to 200 is the same as the other but add zig-zag. 200-300 add pattern cams, and 300-400 machines are free arms. The highest number I've seen is 362 but I can't imagine it being any better than a 360 (maybe an extra pattern?).

I saw one for sale a week or so ago and here it is:

It's a 260 with a free arm. The free arm is the easiest one ever. Spring loaded so you pull the table out to the left, lift it a bit, line it up and let go. Everything clicks into place and stays there. Oh you clever Germans! This is way ahead of Singer's efforts of the time. The only free arms they made were the 222K, which is straight stitch only, and the 320K2 which has a much larger arm and is simply not as good a machine as this. Additionally the latter was made in very small numbers because Singer couldn't mass produce them.
Feature #2: The stitch length indicator goes from 4 to 0, but at 1 it goes down very slowly. This isn't a gimmick, it will reliably feed fabric in the tiniest increment. Very useful indeed when using the embroidery patterns, which work superbly.
Feature #3: Look at the spool in the photo. Most thread spools were wound so they had to come off by spinning but some were stack wound, as for industrial machines and have to come off from one end or they twist. Pfaff catered for this by including a transverse spool holder. This clips easily to one of the vertical spool pins and allows you to use stack wound thread.

There are other nice things like needle threader (yes it still works) but they had to compromise a little with this design. The lack of space in the bed meant they had to use a smaller motor. It only has 2/3 of the power of the 260. Considering the 260 was incredibly fast, I have to say the 360s motor is still more than adequate.

Today I noticed two little problems, one caused by me. The first wasn't: The zig-zag set to maximum was skewed to one side. Solution was simple: There is a screw that is accessed at the rear of the left side of the machine which is a simple adjuster. Thanks again Pfaff! The second was because I insisted on cleaning and oiling when I got it. It really needed nothing at all. The previous owner had taken extraordinarily good care of it and it's really like a showroom one. When I put the bed back together, I just screwed the three screws down. Well, it seems there's a bit of play in the screws and I should have aligned them. The needle plate was right against the needle and deflecting it just a little. When I set it to zig-zag, it kept catching the hook during its left swing and I broke two needles before realising what was wrong. At least they're ordinary domestic needles and I learned something about my new favourite.

Won't mention how much it was, but it wasn't much. Luckily the lady was just happy it went to a good home.

Layette for newborn

I've bought a couple of patterns over the years for these and thought they'd come in handy. Of the three I had,  one was missing the instructions, another was missing the pattern and the third was complete.

I felt pretty good when finding out about an ex I'm still great friends with was due to give birth late September (or so I thought. She actually gave birth on the 3rd). I looked closely at the pattern: Kids clothes in the '50s were pretty impractical, and really, unless you're going to a traditional church service to baptise your newborn, I wouldn't.
So gritted my teeth and went to the local sewing shop. $17.50 later I had Butterick B5585.

Mine also has a warning sticker

The warning sticker says to disregard the suggested fabrics on the pattern and avoid chenille molleton and flanelette made with 100% cotton and acrylic. I chose jersey, which is probably polycotton but I doubt it's less prone to burning. The pattern says you must only choose jersey. I dislike this fabric: It's hard to put through the hemmer foot because it insists on curling the wrong way and generally misbehaving.
It also says "very easy", which it was. Here are the results:

Have to make the cute bonnet to go with it

Horrible t-shirt fabric. Pain to place

Dress. The embroidery is iron-on

They could both have been made in the same day, they're that simple. Another bonus is that each garment uses only 1/3 of a yard! Good thing, since the pattern cost so much.
I'd recommend this pattern if you want to whip up some clothes for a newborn, but if you can get it secondhand, even better!
Made both on my new Pfaff 360.

Kids' Pyjamas Butterick 9987 1960

This was a pretty easy garment to make. My great nephew (a large-ish two year old) will be cosy and warm when he gets them (view B), but it was really difficult to find a natural fabric with animals printed on it. My go-to shop didn't have any either! It should have been flannelette but I had to struggle with cotton jersey.

This needs a special needle, a jersey needle (yes, duh!).
The fabric wasn't that much more difficult but any thickness and it won't stitch. This was especially the case when I didn't trim the collar seam allowance. I did it to keep as much fabric as possible on the garment (it is a cold Winter in south eastern Australia) but I shouldn't have done it. As a consequence I couldn't do a buttonhole for the top button. I felt he probably wouldn't use it anyway (definitely, if it's not there!). The buttonholer does a rubbish job on this fabric and when it gets up to four layers it won't catch the thread at all.
Quite a good pattern, though.
You could sew the whole thing in a day, and I recommend the crazy cat pattern, but not jersey fabric: Very cute!

Demonstrating some attachments using a Singer 319K

The Singer 319K Swing needle machine

I have a soft spot for this machine. It was the first vintage Singer I ever bought. It had a major limitation that I managed to overcome. The limitation was the fact it needed a special needle.

Make it use a normal domestic needle

To overcome this, I had a very experienced sewing machine expert modify the bobbin case to make sure it could safely use normal needles. The 206x13 size is only made in normal point sizes 80 and 90 these days which limits the machine to about 10% of its capabilities. Additionally the twin needles haven't been made for decades and are almost impossible to get.

So, you modify the bobbin and your machine can now do 15x1s. This means you can now sew jeans, canvas, stretchy fabrics, silk. OMG! Hold on, that's not the whole story. You need to read your manual. Yes, yes, I know, only wimps read manuals. In that case I'm a card carrying wimp, but I bet I can do more with my 319 than you can (I'm virtually sticking out my tongue at you).

This one made in 1960, behold the mighty 319K

Below is the last garment I've made (finished it on Friday). About 99% of the work was done on the 319K. The 1% was when I stitched the ribbing to the cuffs. I used a free arm Bernina record because it's a bit easier and I had one right here.

Reversible bomber jacket

Buttonholes

The buttonholes on this jacket were made using a Singer buttonholer. You can do without but it's such a huge pain that you wouldn't want to. Besides, old buttonholers are very cheap on that auction site we all know. You'd pay about $15 for one that doesn't use templates or $30 for the template one. I use the latter, because if you try swapping to a buttonhole size you did earlier it's impossible with the non-template one. Consistency is what I look for and the template buttonholer achieves this. Always use the cover plate rather than dropping the feed, because the plate (being higher) increases the foot pressure so it will hold the fabric much better.

Buttons

The buttons were sewn on with the 319K. You do this for a quick and consistent result. The machine does a far better job than I ever could.
Every zig-zag machine probably comes with a button foot, which is made so you can see more of the button.

Close-up of finished buttons

Here is the button foot with button in place:

Put a needle F-R between the holes

Now, a couple of things to note. Before starting to stitch, lower the feed dog. On the 319 you do this by tilting back the machine as though you were changing the bobbin. You'll see a big thumb screw near the bobbin area. Unscrew it all the way until it gets tight again. You will notice that the feed dog has now dropped and will not smash your button when you start sewing (yes I've done it).
When sewing a button, you'll get a better result if you place a needle front to back between the two holes before starting to stitch it (which I haven't done in this picture). Reason is that after removing the needle, the button will be loose, even though there are many stitches holding it in place. You take all the threads so they are between the fabric and button (use a hand needle if necessary) and in pairs, wind them in opposite directions around the button five times then tie them together. You will have made a shank for your buttons. If you don't do this, the fastened button will pull at the fabric it's closing and this looks pretty bad. The thicker the fabric, the longer the thread you need to leave and of course you need to wind it a few more times.

Roll hem

Ever read in a sewing pattern's instructions "turn 1/4" toward wrong side twice"? Before I discovered the roll hem foot, I was at the ironing board with a ruler struggling to measure and press. My partner told me this is what you have to do, but after reading the manual I learned about this amazing foot.

fabric turned at the back to show the results

It's included with every sewing machine sold since the 1880s and is simple to use. I'd recommend practising for about 30 minutes before going into production. You have to control the feed so the edge and the main parts are even. You can see the result here: Perfectly straight line and consistent stitch.

Engaging the Zig-zag

The zig-zag is engaged by lifting the lever that has a picture of a zig-zag on it. You set the bight (width of zig-zag) and away you go. Very easy indeed.
If you select bight of zero you will get a straight stitch (with any pattern disc) which is obvious if you think about it. Any pattern you select is a straight stitch if the bight is zero.

Pattern relies on bight being more than zero

Overcasting

This is like overlocking/serging except it uses a simple zig-zag right at the edge. Rather than guess, or try some other way of making it straight, use the all purpose foot.

This is in the manual. If you don't have an overlocker, overcasting will finish the seam just as well. Here is the relevant page from the book:

This manual can be DLd free from Singer's web site

This means that you don't really need an overlocker. Hey, you just saved a small fortune!

The Ruffler

How many times have you seen these things and thought it looked like a medieval torture instrument? Never? Maybe it's just me then. Well the ruffler is an excellent tool for ruffling and for creating pleats.

Note plate at top right and screw underneath

The plate at the top is set to 6 here. This means the ruffler will only fold once every six stitches. Stitch length is still controlled by the usual means. The throw of the ruffler (how much fabric it pulls) is controlled by the screw. Some rufflers will have the adjusting screw on top.
You can also set the top plate to 12, meaning it will throw every 12 stitches. Set to 1, every stitch will ruffle, so you better make sure the throw is fairly short or you'll end up with a pirate shirt!

Interfacing

You might notice three pictures above that this fabric has interfacing on part of it. This is because I wanted to show you some embroidery. These days it's referred to as fusing, which is probably a portmanteau of fusible interfacing, fusible meaning it will fuse when you heat it enough to melt the glue. I doubt you can even buy the non-fusible variety these days, I know I've never seen it.
Application is extremely easy. Cut it and place when you want on the wrong side of your fabric. Press the iron at the appropriate heat level (I make it as hot as possible) and put a little pressure on the iron for ten seconds on each part of the fusing. After you do the whole section, it should be fused. If not, do it again. It's a pain when this stuff comes off.

Seam Guide

I haven't bothered with a picture of this, but Lizzie Lenard has a picture of one.
Screw it to the bed of your machine, adjusting to the width of your choice and use it to ensure you sew straight Lizzie's tip of putting felt under it is a good one and will prevent damage to your machine's paint.
Machines made in the latter half of the 20th century (like the 319K) also usually have a needle plate with lines marked 3 to 8. These are eighths of an inch. Also, at central position and with the general purpose foot, the distance between the needle and right side of the foot is exactly 1/4" (2/8) on the 319K (the 201 has this feature too). Very useful, as I frequently need that measurement. For those who are more metrically inclined 1/4" is 6mm, 3/8" is 1cm, 5/8" is 1.5cm. I'm not trying to be smart there. I live in a metric country but learned to sew using pre-metric patterns and pre-metric machines. Metric doesn't come into my sewing very often at all.

Machine Embroidery

First of all I was disappointed last week when I discovered that I couldn't do free motion embroidery successfully on my 319K. I'm pretty sure I tried it on the 320K2 last year successfully and the 320K2 comes with a darning hoop and hopping foot. The only difference between those two models is in the bobbin area, since the 320 has to squeeze everything into that little free arm (no room for droppable feed dog - boo!) but the 320 can do FME, so swings and roundabouts, really. The 319 can't FME but its feed dog drops. Here's what happened when I tried to FME on the 319K: I guided the fabric from front to back (like in regular sewing) and it works but as soon as I moved it sideways or back to front, it won't pick up the bobbin thread and I got skipped stitches. I could just limit myself to going front to back, but I might as well just pop the foot back on and have better control. This is what I did for the self portrait below.
UPDATE: FME does actually work on the 319K. I discovered that this particular machine had an issue where the needle wasn't near enough to the hook to pick up the thread when it was moving any direction other than front to back, and after adjustment, she now does a lovely embroidery stitch.
In the manual it suggests using the stitch pattern, or "fashion" discs (A.K.A. cams) to make pictures. I'd suggest just using the zig-zag and guiding the fabric around the picture you drew (in pencil).
The reason you need to fuse it is that the stitches tend to pull the fabric together during the zig-zag stitch, so it also helps if you reduce the thread tension (I set it to 2. Normally it's at 3.5). You might have to play with it to get it right, so again, use a test piece first.
I just drew a smiley face and traced around it:

Yes I actually do look like this, except my eyes are larger and further down.

So, are you getting the most out of your machine? I love attachments and special feet.The geniuses that invented them didn't do so because they're good gimmicks to sell machines. They were made to save you time and allow you to produce a more consistent result. Learn to use them, don't just look at them, and you'll wonder how you ever sewed without them.

Industrial strength sewing machines

I wrote a bit of a rant about this on an ad, because dishonesty is one of humanity's major problems.
It's a lot more common in the UK than here, but when you see the words "Industrial Strength" in a sewing machine ad, together and in that order, I can say without any doubt or hesitation that the seller is trying to rip you off.
The seller is attempting to make potential buyers believe that old machines like theirs are in some way just like industrial machines. This is a lie. There is no such thing as industrial strength and a machine is industrial or it is domestic. Actual industrial sewing machines are many times heavier and many times more expensive than domestic machines. People who own factories aren't so stupid as to buy a $3,000 Singer 132K6 to sew upholstery if a $90 Singer 201 plus cheap walking foot will do just as well. If you believe the 201 would do the job, you're dreaming. Industrial machines are made for a very specific task and are made to run at high speed, non-stop for half a day, every day. Your domestic machine is not.
I'll point to an article from a fellow blogger. He describes all the differences between industrial and domestic machines and explains all the reasons they aren't the same.
The other thing not to be very suspicious of is "Semi-industrial". It's true that Singer made light industrial machines for home manufacturing (e.g. 103K, 206K10) but these machines are always mounted on benches with large treadles or bench mounted (and very large and heavy) universal motors.
On eBay UK last week I saw a 99K being peddled as an industrial strength machine! These aren't even full size and have quite a small motor attached. However, there's no way to complain or report the dishonest seller for lying or misrepresenting an item. I doubt this is an oversight for eBay.

Heavy doesn't mean heavy duty: It pays to be suspicious if anyone uses the word industrial for a domestic sewing machine.

Do some research. I'll make it easy for you.
Assuming you have an old Singer, here are two invaluable resources:
ISMACS model list
ISMACS Serial numbers

Look your machine up. The serial number will give you the date of allocation of the serial number of your machine, which will be approximately when it was made. It will also tell you the model number.
The model list gives you a bit more information about what your machine is, the needles it takes, and other information. The usage column clearly tells you if the machine is domestic or industrial.

ISMACS is the International Sewing MAchine Collectors Society. They've collected a lot of information that can help you in making a good choice. You can always ask me or any other enthusiast. Not ripping people off is one of my favourite things.

I don't want you thinking that the 201 isn't an awesome domestic sewing machine either though. If you sew at home you can't do better than one of these little wonders. My favourite is the 201K23. I like the look of black ones the best but the tan versions seem to keep popping up in better condition.

A Pack of Jeans that never runs out

Good Jeans need never die

I went to Sydney three years ago for the '50s fair and did some vintage shopping that weekend. Found a pair of 501s made in Australia, presumably in the 1980s and the tag inside said "Women's". Since I'd already tried them on and they were really comfortable I bought them.
Now the poor old things were on their last legs (pun intended), so what do I do? Cry about it or sew a pair exactly the same but without the rips?

Poor old things

During the week I went to my fabric shop and bought 2 metres of heavy (210 gsm) black drill. During the '80s when these jeans were available the black ones looked really good too.

Step 1: Making the pattern

This was really easy. No paper involved here, just the jeans and pair of snips. Undid all the stitching in one side of the garment. I chose the right side because of the change pocket. The rivets will stop you separating the whole thing, so cut around them. Don't attempt to remove the rivets, the fabric will rip before they come off. There is a lot of chain stitching in jeans, and there's a trick to undoing this. I've never been great at it but it's all one thread so in theory if you snip a particular thread at a particular end of a seam, you will be able to pull it and undo everything in seconds. I scored a few times but it took a while.
The reason for only unpicking one side should be obvious: You need a finished garment to see how it goes back together. Also, take loads of pictures. Every seam you undo and perspective shots. I'm a belt and braces guy because I've run into trouble so many times.
Might also be a good idea to write down the order you disassembled.
The unpicked side is your pattern, in case you haven't guessed. Here are 18 pictures of the process.

Pockets are not the easiest	Take pics of the stitch patterns too.	Where are the belt loops?
This tells you the order of construction	Button holes are key hole	Belt loop bridges waistband and main garment
Can't take too many pictures	All details need to be reproduced	Except the rivets
How the pocketing goes on	and again	Where are things attached?
How far pockets extend	What stitching looks like from the inside	Look at that: Raw edges are folded.

Step 2: Layout for cutting

Now, fold your drill so the selvedges are together and the right sides are together. Something I noticed with making clothes is that they're usually cut along the fabric, so that's what I went with here. If it hadn't been right I'd have noticed by now. I made them three weeks ago, worn nearly every day since, so they're good.

Lay the biggest pieces down

The little ones will go around

Now, all pieces except anything that requires only one piece of fabric (change pocket and fly) goes around the bigger ones. Make sure they're as straight as possible: The straight grain is fairly important.
Make sure you add a seam allowance where required. You can do this any way you like, but I have a great little double wheel tool, with adjustable gap. One wheel goes around the edge and the other marks the new one.
The reason the raw edges folded is exciting is that you won't have to finish the edges at all. Very little on this garment was overlocked.
Also, the chain stitch will have to be replaced since I don't have a chain stitch machine (the 411g could have done it but I never got the special needle plate). What machine to sew jeans on? I chose the black 201K23. This was a "no brainer". Well, I could have used an industrial machine but it's getting a bit cold in Melbourne so a portable in the lounge it is. A couple of people, incidentally, have been quite surprised that a domestic machine was used to make these. New plastic machines would stand little chance. That's progress for you :-)

Step 3: Cutting

Well this is obvious. Cut the pieces out and leave pinned to your 'pattern'.
Cut an appropriate width extra for making belt loops. You should unpick one of the original loops completely and do some maths to work out how much you need. Cut the strips into their pieces and you don't need any seam allowance here.

Step 4: Make the Pockets

Something else I've noticed is the order to construct a garment. For any garment, pockets need to be made first. The top pockets are the hardest thing to do as usual, the rest is relatively straight forward. Make the pockets look like the old ones. You will be cutting the internal pocketing out of 100% cotton poplin. If you want it to look like the original, use white. Poplin is extremely cheap and a metre will do a lot of pockets.
The back poskets are 'patch pockets' and are really easy. Draw the pattern that matches the original (or a different one - your jeans) with a dressmaker's pencil and stitch in orange thread.

Could have been a better match, but I'm not going
stealing the design, just making for myself.

Pay careful attention to where the pocketing gets folded and where it needs to be sewn on the jeans. I got this wrong a couple of times before getting it right. This is why the pockets are a bit more challenging. The more experience you have the easier this will be.

original, holes marks where the rivets were.

Step 5: Prepare other garment pieces

Most of these are simply prepared with raw edges folded to the wrong side. Fantastic news, because all you need is a hot iron (turn it all the way up, to cotton/denim and possibly turn the steam on). If you have a steam press, this would be a good use for it. If you have to pin it, don't use plastic headed pins, might seem obvious but if you do they will definitely melt into your lovely fabric and ruin it (no I didn't do this).

The fly was the only piece I had to overlock, and my old Japanese Singer was easily able to do this. As soon as it's overlocked, compare the piece with the original, mark your buttonholes and make them straight away.
So far you've constructed the pockets and folded your pieces.

Step 6: Prepare your machine

You will need to have a machine threaded up with heavy orange thread and one with heavy black thread. I used the same one only due to space considerations, but 201s are very cheap and I do have two of them. Another thing to consider is this: Same thread in the bobbin. The heavy, strong cotton I used was very thick and I did have to make a couple of modifications to my 201K.
1. Fill bobbin, and notice that it doesn't take much thread. Just a fact, bobbin only holds a Certain amount. If it's three times thicker, it will be only a third as long.
2. Modify your bobbin tension. Pull the thread through the needle plate. Initially it will be extremely tight, but you must loosen the tension spring until it isn't otherwise you won't get abalanced stitch.
3. Change the needle. You will need at least a size 18, possibly a 20 but whatever size the thread goes through comfortable. Do a test sew. When mine stitched it sounded like it was hitting the table with a small mallet! Industrial needles will work in domestic machines. I used a 16x231 which have a round shank. Just make sure you put it in the right way.
4. Do a test sew. Use contrasting thread so you can clearly see that the stitch is balanced. I had to dial the top tension to 7 to balance the stitch.

Step 7: Sewing it together

When you sew the inner part of the legs, you must do the orange top stitching straight afterwards. You won't be able to do this after the outside has been stitched. Same goes with anything else that's top-stitched. Do it as soon as you can or you won't be able to do it at all.
Use the intact 'jean' to see how it should look. The fly is only on one side (the left) and the buttons will be put directly on the other, non-fly side.
The fly should match the detailed pictures you took. You did take detailed pictures, didn't you?
With the leg seams you can hide them by doing french seams (tends to be bulky) or the preferred method is flat-felled seams, which is how jeans are usually made. You can experiment with spare pieces of fabric. Normal seams are even acceptable, which you can finish by pinking or even overlocking (how modern). Rather than reinventing the seam, there's a good explanation of how to do this at http://www.sewneau.com/how.to/flat.felled.seam.html

Step 8: Waistband and belt loops

This is easier than belt loops for a dress. These jeans were much easier because it doesn't matter if the stitching shows. Prepare by pinning the waistband to the rest and mark the position of the loops (compare with the original waistband).
Make the buttonhole.

Buttonholes use normal weight orange thread

Sew one side of the loops onto the waistband first, sew the waistband to the jeans then the other side to the jeans. This will be hard on your machine: You'll be sewing through many layers of heavy drill but with a 201K, if you can fit it under the foot, it will stitch it. This is also true with most of my machines.

Step 9: Buttons

Bought these from Clegs for about $3.75 a set. Extremely easy to install.
1. Punch a hole in the fabric where each one will go using a hammer and nail.
2. Using the hammer, hit the button's 'nail' into the other bit
That's all, Just hit it firmly and it stays put. I hear you can get buttons put on professionally but I doubt it would make any difference.

Well that's it. Want to see what I ended up with?

Not a great selfie.
They look better
in reality.

I also turned them up too much. The top stitching should have been much lower. I'll be fixing this today.
Total cost = $28.75 not including thread or needles. Yes I know you can buy a pair for less in K-mart but are they as good? Are they made by a person who loves doing this or a slave? Also, I have the pattern and experience now. Hmm... maybe a pair made in tartan or polka dots next :-D

If you don't have a 201, well first of all why not? They regularly sell for less than $100 (I've bought a dozen or so and none was more than $50) and secondly you can do this on any older full size machine. A model 15, 66 or 27/VS2 would hammer this garment into shape pretty easily too.