National Sewing Machine Month

September is national sewing machine month, to celebrate the invention of the sewing machine in September 1846.  In honor of this life-changing invention, I wanted to post a few shots of the machines we use most here at Covered.  These machines are used (and loved!) daily.  They stitch up all of the custom work that comes through the shop.  

The first is an industrial walking foot machine.  A Consew, made in Japan over 40 years ago.  This one was purchased refurbished from Keystone Sewing in Philadelphia.  It is an all metal, gear and belt driven machine with a servo motor.  It can stitch 5,000 stitches per minute, and manage up to about 3/4" of material under the foot.   Both the needle and the foot "walk", which feeds the top and bottom fabrics along in tandem.  This is important for thicker, upholstery weight fabrics. 

The second machine, a Juki overlock machine or serger, was a lucky find on Craigslist in mint condition.  At Covered, it is used with a 3-thread, 1 needle set up to overlock all seams in slipcovers and cushions.  This prevents unraveling and allows for laundering and While the threads are overlocking the seam, a blade trims the seam to a tidy edge.  It is quiet and oh so fast.