New Toy = Playtime on the Viking 6010

NancyK, this is for you (and for me too!).

I mentioned that I was hopeful the new/old Viking could be set up as a topstitching station. NancyK emailed me and asked if I had tried it out yet. Well, that was all the motivation I needed.

I wound my one and only bobbin (gotta fix that!) with Gutermann upholstery thread. I threaded the needle with the same thread. I put in a 120 topstitching needle, pulled out a RTW jeans scrap I keep on hand for patching up my sons' jeans, and I was off!

(Click on the pics for bigger versions.)



Above:
1 = straight stitch over 6 layers of denim, low gear
2 = zz over 6 layers of denim, low gear
3 = ss over 2 layers of denim, regular gear
4 = three-step zz over 2 layers of denim, regular gear



Above:
The backside of the stitches over 6 layers of denim. (The darker stitching on the bottom came with the jeans.)



Above: The 6 layers of denim between the arrows



Above:
Buttonhole (because I knew someone would ask!). This machine has a 4-step buttonhole. I just winged it so it's a little crooked on the first leg where I started.



Above:
Back side of buttonhole

Conclusion: I'm sold! All of this stitching is with upholstery thread in the bobbin and no tension adjustments. I just threaded it up and off I went. I definitely see a topstitching station in my immediate future.

* * * * *

Other likes and dislikes:

1. Like: The light. It's big and bright. And …



… you can pull it down for when you need extra brightness. At 40-mumblemumble years old, that's more often than not these days. ;-) But isn't that cool? (Uh, the light, not my old eyes!)



2. Like: The honkin' big and heavy foot pedal. I don't think this one will be sliding quite as easily under the table.

3. Like: An in-your-face button for dropping the feed dogs. Now dropping the dogs isn't hard on my D1 but I do have to slide off the freearm cover thingie and if it was sitting in a table it would be even fiddlier.

4. Like: A lever for instantly releasing foot pressure. No screwing something up/down. Just open the sideplate, push the red button up and in and voila, no pressure. Push it back, and you're back to where you started. There is also a numbered dial right next to the instant-off lever where you can dial foot pressure up or down. Admittedly, I hardly ever, ever adjust foot pressure on my D1 because it adjusts itself, but I still think this is a cool feature for an older machine. Why don't the newer machines have this? (I'll take pics later so you can see what I mean.)

5. Dislike: No needle positions or needle up/down. No Needle up/down doesn't bother me at all. But I do miss my 25 needle positions on the D1. But that just means I'll have to topstitch a little slower instead of relying on my cheater edge feet. :-)

6. Dislike: No on/off switch. My Featherweight doesn't have one either. You just yank the plug out of the machine and it's off. Well, yeah, but how much brainpower would it have taken to make a power switch? Not a big deal, but just weird.

7. Like: Her smooth curved body. I know this is why I don't like Berninas — I can't look past their angular bodies (sorry Bernina owners, it's just me). I grew up with (and into!) this shape and it … er … shaped my preferences. I also love the shape of the old black Singers. These old girls and me, we have our curvy figures in common. :-)

So, maybe now I'll go sew something for real. I've got the whole weekend ahead of me. Woot!!