Saturday, May 04, 2013

Recycled Denim Project on the Morse 4300

As I mentioned in my previous post, I have a fresh pair of jeans to cut up and a new sewing machine to sew on. I have been making these wrist purses to sell at the shop and they are going like hotcakes.




We only have one left in stock that I finished yesterday and orders for fourteen more! I can't make them fast enough.  Rather than wasting time making something for myself, I decided to see how a wrist purse would look in denim.

I was able to cut out all the pieces from one leg. I used the factory hem wherever possible to save time and preserve the authentic jeans look.



I am very pleased with the result, the completed purse holds its shape much better than those made from quilter's cotton.


How did the Morse 4300 perform? I'm not impressed. The presser foot lift was not sufficient to get the required 10 layers of denim beneath; the presser foot pressure constantly need adjusting to feed properly; it is smooth and quiet sewing thin fabrics but protests loudly when asked to sew thicker goods. I will not be keeping this one.

4 comments:

Jonathan said...

Do you think the strength of the motor could be a factor in your Morse not handling multiple layers well?

I recently made a bag for my sister on a Kenmore 52 which has a 1.2 amp motor. It sewed through multiple layers of fabric & interfacing with no problem. But when sewing with my Singer 237, I sometimes have to help guide the needle through multiple layers. I LOVE both of these machines because they are really smooth & quiet. But I think the stronger motor on the Kenmore makes a difference. I'm considering adding a stronger motor to my 237.

Unknown said...

It's not that the motor won't handle the load but that the machine makes a lot of noise when asked to perform heavy labor. I would suspect slop in the mechanicals. Some of it might be capable of adjusting, I haven't decided whether I want to expend the time and energy. -Ed

Jane said...

What machine would you have preferred to sew this project on?

Unknown said...

Probably one of my industrials. Singer 20U, Pfaff 138, Singer 31-15, Singer 96-10, etc. Straight stitch is all that's required, so any machine attached to a motor beefier than a home machine would be preferable. -Ed