pond_ripple's Fabric Blog

This is the first belt pouch that I made to fit my phone. It's made from these faux leather fabric samples that were in my fabric stash. The sizes are pretty small which meant piecing them together to make the patterns work. This smaller bag is made from 3 separate swatches.  The main part is just a rectangle folded in half and an added strip on one side to make it the correct width. The loop is made very simply by trimming around the raised pattern, folding in half, and sewing firmly to the back half of the main piece. The pockets were done by cutting a swatch in 3 pieces and sewing them one on top of the other in a staggered fashion to the front half on the main piece. Then it was finished by sewing a seam along the side and bottom and turned right side out. The swatches had a soft knit backing so I kept that unlined. The Hydra pin was a gift from my brother :) The second pouch was a design as you go scenario. It's mostly a box with a flap that fits the dimen...

Saturday, I made the hour long trek to Jacksonville to get everything my sewing machine needed. The motor and bobbin belts were replaced, and there was a very tense moment where we finally got to see how it ran. It made the most awful screeching sounds, but it was doing everything it was supposed to do. The man who was assisting us took a good look and told us that oiling it up should do the trick. He was right! It runs really well. I still have some issues. The bobbin belt they gave me is too big which doesn't really matter since my bobbins are too wide to fit under the thread guide on the bobbin winder. I'll be hand winding for awhile. :) My stitch length regulator is still rusted in place, but judging by the few test seams I ran, whatever I make is going to be super durable. The stitches are tiny and the seams are impossible to tear with brute force and almost as tough to get out by hand. I'm just happy that my stitches are stuck at something I can work with.

It turns out that my Singer sewing machine is a model 99-13. The previous owner said it was a 99k. The bobbin belt and the motor belt need to be replaced, so I went looking online for belts for the 99k. They arrived and didn't fit. Frustrated, I searched for answers and came across this wonderfully helpful identification guide for older Singers: http://www.sandman-collectibles.com/id-singer-machines.htm