Embroidery Made Ergonomic

One of the things I've always disliked about using my Designer 1 to embroider things is that it's a royal pain to bend down and change threads or clip jump stitches. So I didn't do much embroidery, because I hated constantly getting up and down for thread changes. Today, I decided to do something about it.

Since I'm not using the D1 for much regular sewing, I figured, why not make it more convenient for embroidery? I could buy a cabinet or some kind of stand, but thought I should test the concept by throwing together a stand and trying it out. Lowe's to the rescue!



The stand consists of a piece of 3/4" wood and two 2x2 furring strips cut to 48" long. This puts the needle just a little below eye level. I can reach all the threads on the thread stand behind the machine, and changing colors is a breeze. I'm not sitting there "babysitting" the machine; I can be doing other things in the sewing room while keeping an eye on the machine's progress. And I'm not constantly getting up and down from a chair (hey, these knees aren't getting any younger!).



And it's quite stable, too, thanks to the L-brackets attaching the legs to the top, and the top to the studs in the wall. There's nary a quiver when it's running!

I'm still trying to justify upgrading to a 6- or 12-needle commercial embroidery machine, but for right now, this setup ought to make the embroidery process easier.

Comments

  1. Thanks for the idea. I haven't been using my machine due to lack of space. Your idea would solve the where to put it problem.

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  2. Welmoed, I am in exactly the same predicament but I am also in the midst of "convincing" my husband I need a multi-needle machine. I was thinking 6-needle, but wow, a 12-needle now sounds great! There is no way I can justify such a purchase, since my sewing and embroidery are strictly for family, but changing those threads is really getting old. But why are you not using D1 for sewing?

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  3. This is a great set-up! I love the way you incorporated your thread storage.

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  4. Great setup. If I had two sewing machines, this would be a must have for me. Someday... Thanks for sharing.

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