So along with all the parts to repair my shiny new old straight stitch machine, I also finally got in the replacement presser foot for my embroidery machine.
This foot is designed to hover close to the fabric when the needle is down, preventing the fabric from lifting up when the needle is pulled back up through the work to draw up the bobbin thread and complete the stitch. It also has a little lever arm which the needle bar bumps against at the top of the stitch which lifts the foot up higher when the work is being moved so that the foot does not catch or drag, which would cause the work to distort.
The original foot, pictured to the left, had worn out to the point where the foot was loose enough for the needle to strike it in some positions, which is far from ideal. In fact, it was so far from ideal that the original owner sold this machine for a song claiming that the machine would jam because of it. Luckily a replacement foot wasn't hard to find.
Or so I thought.
As it turned out, the shop I ordered the replacement from didn't have it in stock and had to order it in from their supplier, and for whatever reason their supplier apparently had a dickens of a time actually sending one out. Eventually I found it in stock at another place, and they were able to deliver it nice and quick.
But, what about that other foot, the one to the right in the picture above?
Well, that's a free motion quilting foot, or darning foot. The principle of operation is largely the same, but it's built with more plastic parts and, inconveniently, part of the foot sits a bit lower to the work, leading to this awkwardness.
It makes an awful racket when that happens during stitching.
But, we've got the proper embroidery foot now, so let's compare.
That's much better.
And that's the last fix I needed to do to get this machine fully back up and running.
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