Singer W815 - English - User Manual

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I

1. CONTENTS
1.Contents.
2. Description of machine
3. Winding the bobbin
4. Threading the bobbin case
5. Inserting and removing the bobbin case
6. Threading the machine
7. Setting the needle
8. Preparing to sew
9. Starting to sew
10. Regulating the thread tension
11. Regulating the stitch length
12. Regulating the drop feed
13. Regulating width of zigzag stitch
14. Regulating length of zigzag stitch
15. List of zigzag patterns
16. Oiling
17. Cleaning the shuttle race
18. How to make buttonholes
19. Darning embroidering and monogramming
20. Button sewing
21. Narrow hemming
22, Zipper sewing
23. Felling
24. Cloth guide
25. Quilting
26. Some useful sewing hints
27. Cause of common difficulties
28. Needle and thread sizes
2—3
4
S
6
7
7
8
8
9
10
10
‘11
11
12
13
14
15—16
17
18
19
20
20
21
21
22
23
24
—1——

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b
2. DESCRIPTION OF MACHINE
15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
14
13J
L
/
—1
12 ( ‘
I- 3

1 Balance Wheel
2Stitch Length Control Knob
3 Reverse Push Button
4. Drop Feed Knob
5Dial Tension
6 Needle Clamp
7Needle Plate
8.Slide Plate
9Presser Foot
lOPresser Foot Clamp Screw
1 1 Needle Bar Thread Guide
1 2.Lower Thread Guide
1 3 Horizontal Thread Guide
14.Face Plate
15Light Switch (Rear side>
16 Thread Guide
1 7.Tension Bracket
1 8 Top Plate
19Spool Pin
20.Zig-Zag Width Lever
21 Bobbin Winder
22 Bobbin Winder Stopper
—3—

front (Fig. 2).
3. WINDING THE BOBBIN
4. And push the bobbin winder from left to right.
3. Now wind the end o the thread around empty bobbin seven or eight times and place the threaded bobbin
2. Place a spool of thread on the spool pin. Draw thread from the spool through tension bracket from back to
5. Now manipulate your foot control in the same manner as in sewing and when the bobbin is completely
1. To wind the bobbin, the balance wheel must be disconnected from the stitching mechanism. Hold the
w,th ie’t hand and wth the right hand turn stop motion knob, away from you until it cannot be moved
on the sondle of the bobbin winder.
fuli it will release automatically and stop turning. Detach bobbin from spindle. Hold balance wheel firmly
hand. This wil Qermi: the balance wneel to turn freely while the needle bar remains motionless. The
balance wneei is now disconnected for the bobbin winding operation.
balance wheel with your left hana and turn the stop motion knob (Fig, 1) towards you with your right
any further and the needie bar moves with the turning of the balance wheel.
Fig 1
—4— Fig 2

eye
cross slot
enters the delivery eye (Fig. 5).
4. THREADING THE BOBBIN CASE
Fig 4
Fig 3
Before threading the bobbin case, study Fig. 3, 4 and 5 to get a general dea
right hand and guide it into the cross slot (Fig. 4).
2. While holding the oobbin case as before, grasp the thread end with your
the thread flow, you wifl note, is clockwise.
as to how it is done.
1. Hold the bobbin case with your left hand and put the Dobbin nrc :ne
3. Then pull it through under the tension spring of the bocbn case uni
Fig 5
—
tension spnng
end unwound (Fig. 3). As the bobbin is being inserted in the boboin case,
bobbin case with your right hand, leaving about two inches of :re thread

—6—
5. INSERTING AND REMOVING THE BOBBIN CASE
b
Fig 7
5. Then release the latch and press the bobbin case back until the latch catches the groove near the end of the stud.
6. Allow the end of the thread to hang free.
2. Raise the needle bar to its highest position by turning the balance wheel towards you.
3. Pull out slide plate (Fig. 6).
4. After tnreading the bobbin case, hold its latch (Fig. 7> between the thumb and forefinger of the left hand, with its
7. Push back slide plate. To remove the bobbin case do all the above in reverse order.
1 . Raise the presser bar by lifting the presser bar lifter.
position finger opposite the notch at the top of the shuttle race and replace it on the centre stud of the shuttle
(Fig 7).
Fig 6

—
Fig9
Need’e
go.de
thread
screw
ba,
Needle
Need’e
ace
to left.
Return thread through middle thread guide (6) down through
lower guide (7) and into needle bar thread guide (8).
Pull thread through slot of upper thread guide (1) down
Place a spool of thread on spool pin and raise the take-up
through tension discusi’2)up into thread check spring (3) and
Thread needle from left to right, pulling about four inches
lever to its highest point Refer to(Fig. 8).
(4> and on up into the eye of the take-up lever (5) from right
of thread through needle.
2. Hold the needle in the left hand with the point down
1. Turn the balance wheel towards you, raising needle bar
to its highest position, and loosen the needle clamp screw.
as it will go with its flat surface to the right then retight
and insert the needle up into the needle clamp as far
en the clamp screw (Fig. 9).
6. THREADING THE MACHINE
7. SETTING THE NEEDLE

1
-
Place
2. Turn the balance wheel towards you to lef the needle bar to its
4. Place both ends of the ucper and lower thread under and to the back
3. Pull the thread you are holding, and the lower thread will be brought
1. Hold the end of the upper-thread with the left hand, leaving it
2. Lower the presser foot by lowering the presser bar lifter.
3. Start sewing by slowly turning the balance wheel towards you while
slack from the hand to the needle.
highest position.
of the oresser foot (Fig. 11).
up with it through the hole in the needle plate, as shown (Fig. 10).
the fabric to be sewn beneath the presser foot.
gradually workng the foot controL
ALWAYS TURN BALANCE WHEEL TOWARDS YOU!
8. PREPARING TO SEW
9. STARTING TO SEW
—8—-
Fig 10
Fig 11

10.
REGULATING THE THREAD TENSION
—
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For ordinary stitching the tension of the upper
and lower threads should be equal so as to lock
both threads in the center of the material (Fig.
1 3). If one tension is strongL’r than the other,
imperfect stitching will result. Fine materials
require a light tension, while heavy materials
require more tension to obtain -a perfect stitch.
TO INCREASE the tension, turn the thread
tension dial (Fig. 12) clockwise.
TO LESSEN the tension, turn the thread tension
Fig 12
dial in the opposite direction. (When
regulat
ing the tension always have the presser foot
down).
As all machines are correctly adjusted before leaving the factory and
readjusted before the dealer delivers them to you, the lower tension
seldom requires to be altered, but, if this becomes necessary, tighten
the screw holding the tension spring on th€ outside of the bobbin case
for more tension, or loosen the screw slightly for lesser tension (Fig. 14).
Correct Stitch
Li
Needle Thread Tension too strong
-
Needle Thread Tension too weak
Fig 13
—9—
Fig 14

order to se: macnine at a certain length of stitch, turn the stitch iength dial until
The length of the sttch can be changed wth the stitch length dial (Fig. 15). In
a. Regulate the ength of the stitch as for forward sewing.
variable from 0-5. The normal stitch lenght is 2.
b. Push reverse sem:ch button located in the centre of the stitch length dial (Fig.
the mci icator s acng the selected number on the scale. The length of the stitch is
The DROP FEED .s located on the bed of the machine (Fig 16). It regulates the
height of the feed dog for sewing normal material, for darning and embroidering
2. For normal sewing turn the knob to the right “UP” place.
1. For darnng, embrodering and monogramming, turn the knob to left
reverse stitch button is depressed. When released the machine resumes forward
seving .th th same st,tch ength,
151 as far as it .‘W go. The machine will remain sewing in reverse while the
thefleedle zlate, so that the material can be moved freely.
“DOWN” place and the feed mechanism will be lowered under the level of
11. REGULATING THE STITCH LENGTH
12. REGULATING THE DROP FEED
—10—
Fig 16
Fig 15

13. REGULATING WIDTH OF ZIGZAG STITCH
01
%%•%%
2
\ /
345
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Fig 17
The width of zigzag stitch is regulated by the zigzag lever. By pushing the zigzag lever to right, the width of the
zigzag stitch will increase accordingly. And by pushing the zigzag lever to left, the width of the zgzag stitch will
decrease accordingly. If at “0” position, there will be a straight stitch.
14. REGULATING LENGTH OF ZIGZAG STITCH
The stitch length dial regulates the length of the zigzag stitch for zigzag sewing in the same manner as for straight
sewing. In
toO.
order to produce the “Satin Stitch” which is the closest zigzag sttch, set the stitch length dial close
—ii—

—12---
Length
Stitch
b
2 /\/\./\/ 5 Lock zig zag lever at (5)
1 — — — — 5 Lock zig zag lever at (0).
4 0.5—2 Move g zag lever from (0) to (5) at even speed
5 0.5—2 Rest atMand oscillateM-Vv\-and rest.
P4Mm 0.5—2 Lock zig zag lever ati (5).
Patterns How to move zig zag lever or needle position lever
15. LIST OF ZIG ZAG PATTERNS

16. OILiNG
To see that your machine is always in smooth running condition, you must keep it oiled at all times.
No crease is required, just a drop of oil is sufficient at each time of oiling. Points to be oiled are il
ustrated in Fig, 18 & 19 by arrow marks. To oil your machine thoroughly, open top plate and turn
the machine over to get to parts underneath the bed.
After oiling, run the machine at high speed for a
few minutes to let the oil penetrate to all parts.
Fig 18
Fig 19
— 13—

14
Fg 21
h
When the thread is tangled in the race or lint gets into the
When this occurs
space between the shuttle and shuttle-race, this will cause
abrupt heavy running or complete stoppage of the machine.
1. Raise the needle bar to its highest position and take the
bobbin case out.
$y
tr.ø 1’
fTh’
17. CLEANING THE SHUTTLE RACE
2. Pull the KNOBS (A) on both side of shutte race (Fig. 20
3. After shuttle race and bobbin case have been c(eaned, put
& 21) aside, then take out the outside ring and the shuttle
all of them back in reverse order.
body with your fingers.
Fig 20

18. HOW TO MAKE BUTTONHOLES
1. Set zig-zag width between markings 1 and 2.
2. Raise the presser foot and turn the balance wheel towards you to bring needle to its highest position. Replace
reguiar presser foot with special buttonhole foot shown on Fig. 22. Tighten thumb screw.
3. Set stitch :ength to obtain closely spaced forward stitches. Best length of stitch for buttonholes is when
ndicator 5 placed between markings 0 and 1 on dial. Adjust length of stitch, if necessary, to get best possible
apoearance of buttonhole.
4. Slightly tighten needle thread tension, turning thread tension to the right, If appearance of buttonhole should
not prove satisfactory, slightly vary tension until the desired results are obtained.
NOTE: It
is suggested that you make one or two sample buttonholes
on a clipping of fabric, same as your garment, to test adjustments
of machine and to make corrections, if needed. Also mark with
pencil or ch&lk the position and exact length of buttonhole on
/
//
- /
garment. Adjust gauge on bottonhole presser foot (Fig 22) to ‘
correspond to the desired length of the buttonhole. To determine
this adjustment, measure size of button and add approximately
3/16” to 1/4”. The distance from the needle or the machine to
/
the front of the gauge should equal this measurement. The actual
sewing of the buttonhole should be done in this sequence. Fig 22
—15---

I
11
9 Resetting zigzag width lever between markings 1 and 2. (to its original setting). Now
I
fleea
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I
ee:
“eede
e s
‘ere rrQw
5. Place start of buttonhole under needle and have its face you. Let down presser foot and
6. Turn handwheel toward you until needle makes another right hand stitch. Leave needle
7. Raise presser foot slightly and turn garment clockwise around the needle. (Fig.22.B)
8 Setting zigzag width lever to the rightest position. Pslake 3 to 4 stitches to sew
1 O Setting zigzag width lever again and repeat operation described in paragraph 8
22-C) shows the buttonhole as far as it has progressed up to now.
begin sewing. Stop when first row of stitches reaches the gauge.
closing bar and stop machine with needle Out of material. The adjacent diagram (Fig.
in material. (Fig.22-A)
sew a second line of purl stitches making sure that the already sewn row passes through
Lower presser foot and turn handwheel toward you until needle is above material.
with needle out of material. The almost finished buttonhole will look like this (Fig.22-D).
the right-hand groove at the underside of the buttonhole presser foot. Stop machine
with zigzag width lever returned to its normal position, so the indicator points at “0”
of stitching to assure strong and lasting buttonholes, to make reinforced buttonholes
and turn the drop feed knob to left”down’ Insert Buttonhole Cutter at one end of
above this finishes the buttonhole. If desired, lock stitchirg by sewing a few stitches
buttonhole and carefully cut material between the two rows of stitching. Avoid cutting
stitch hole of the buttonhole pressei foot. Sew over gimp as machine makes buttonholes
require a tight tension of the needle thread. For better appearance, use needle thread of
introduce gimp of proper size into the samil hole right in front of the halfmoonshapeded
leave thread tension much the same as for ordinary sewing, Purl stitch buttonholes
the next heavier size.
Fig. 22
Fig. 22C
Fig. 22

17
Adjust thread tensions for best appearance of embroidery work and slightly decrease the upper thread
tension to avoid the lower thread from being pulled up.
skipping stitches. Manipulate work carefully and be sure to keep finger out of path of needle to avoid injury.
the vicinity of the needle. This will help in holding down the material and will prevent the machine from
Hold the hoop closely on the machine base with both hands and press the material with index finger on
hoop.
embroidering and darning. Both will be done most successfully when material is stretched on an embroidery
in any direction desired. Also remove presser foot andlower foot lifting lever and your machine is ready for
Lower the feed by turning drop feed knob to “DOWN” thus permitting the work to be moved by hand
19. DARNING EMBROIDERING AND MONOGRAMMING

h
Turn balance wheel towards you to get needle to its highest position.
Rase presser bar and replace regular presser foot, with button sewing
and emorodering. Uper and lower thread tensions remain the same
as for orainary sewing. (Z”
Place material or garment together with button under the presser )
foot so that holes in button line up with oblong hole in presser foot.
:he center of the hoies n buttonif the needle hit the button it will break.
Adjust width of zigzag stitcn to permit needle to pass through center Fig 23
of boles in button.
ooz as shown in Fig. 23. Drop the feed dog as required for darning
Before sewing with power, turn the balance wheel by hand towards you to make sure that needle will stitch in
Then sew fve to six stitches to attach button.
ihen attaching four-hole buttons first sew one set of two holes, then stitch into second set of two holes and
lock thread with o or three plain stitches in last hole.
20. BUTTON SEWING
—18—

—19—
tensions will produce a shell stitch.
material into the hemmer foot to fill out the scroll.
to adjust the width of the zigzag stitch to be as wide as the hem itself. Using a very long stitch and nght
Instead of a straight stitch, you can also use a zigzag stitch for this hemming operation. Be sure however,
NOTE: Do not crowd material into scroll and do not leave scroll only partly filled by material, feed just enougn
3. Lower presser foot and begin to sew. Gu ide material Fig 24
is just below the needle,
2. Pull material towards you until the beginning of the hem
and forth until the hem forms itself in the scroll.
opening (scroll) of hemmer foot. Move material back
2”. Insert this folded end from beneath into spiral formed
fold it over again in the same way for a length of about
1. Fold over edge of material approximately 34” wide, then
highest point. Raise presser bar and remove the regular presser
into hemmer foot while sewing (Fig.24).
/ 1 I
/
Turn balance wheel towards you until needle reaches its
foot. Attach hemmer foot (Fig. 24).
21. NARROW HEMMING

Fig 27
.i,/
0/
r
2. Fo d edge of the material by 3” and place zipper under the folded portion
4, To se.. on the opposte side of the zipper, loosen thumb screw and slide
3. Stitch close to the edge of the zipper foot along zipper te€th.
Use the hemmer foot for doing felling and proceed in the following manner:
striKe the foot. Fasten thumb screw to the lock make sure that the foot
see notcn of the foot and check position of the foot to avoid needle
is in DOS:t’On.
Reease the thumb screw on rear side of foot. Lower needle into the
o’ :re mateal where you wish to attach the zipper.
tne foot over and sew in the same way.
2. Se.. 00th oeces of cloth together using the hemmer foot like a regular presser
1. Lay two p eces of cloth one on too of the other with their RIGHT sides facing
3. Onen and spreaa out materia’ and put back on machine right sides downward.
each other, The rght edge of the bottom piece must extend about inch beyond
the rgnt eoge of the top pece. See Fig. 26.
of mater ai ,vie the left edge of the same toe serves as a guide for the top piece
foot. Use the r ght edge of long toe of hemmer foot to guide the bottom piece
o mater ai. F’g. 26 shows this aetail.
i5Ke se.’.’ cages of mater a stand up.
S.’. aS jo ..ould do ordnay hemming. Use left edge of long toe of hemmer
Fo o over tne edges to the left and insert them into the scroll of the hemmer foot.
ct as guoe, navng original seam run alongside of it (Fig. 27)
22. ZIPPER SEWING
23. FELLING
—20—
.N ow
Fig 26
80/TOM PiECE
P P/(C. ___
()fl_iY’ I
hi
TOE
Fig 25

—21—
astride the presser foot. The quilter must be on top of the
stitches as in Fig. 29.
3. Sew with the quilter width guide following the previous
presser foot when secured on the presser bar.
and drop guide on material.
2. Adjust the width guide of the quilter to the desired width
loosen the presser foot thumb screw and place the quilter
1. To attach the quilter to the presser bar of the machine,
padded fabrics without the necessity of marking them in advance.
The quilter (Fig. 29) will enable you to sew equidistant lines on
25. QUILTING
It is attached to machine as illustrated.
oreater than presser foot allows.
when making wide hems, deep tucks or seam widths which are
The cloth guide (Fig. 28> serves as a gu ide for straight stitching
24. CLOTH GUIDE
Fig 29
Fig 28
/

h
TO TURN CORNERS:
2. Raise the presser foot and turn the fabric using the needle as a pivot.
1. Stop the machine while the needle is still in the material.
TO SEW ELASTIC FABRICS:
3. Lower the presser foot and resume sewing.
TO SEW VERY THIN CLOTH:
BASTING:
TO KEEP YOUR MACHINE IN PERFECT CONDITION:
2. The stitches may then be easily removed by pulling the lower thread.
1 Reduce the tension of the upper thread and employ the longest stitch possible.
2. Aways turn handwheel toward you.
1. Keep all moving parts of the machine constantly oiled and clean. Do not over-oil machine.
3. Do not run machine without cloth.
4. When sewing, do not pull the material otherwise you will bend the needle. The machine is designed to feed
5. Do not operate machine when the presser bar lifter is raised.
In sewing such elastic materials as jerseys, bias cut cloths etc., it is advisable to sew them with reduced upper
thread tension otherwise the thread will break when the sewn materials are stretched.
When sewing very thin cloth which tends to gather as you sew, place a sheet of newspaper or any other thin
paper underneath the material ano sew with the shortest stitch possible. This will keep your work from gathering.
the material automatically.
26. SOME USEFUL SEWING HINTS
—22---

—23—
5. Needle eye too small for thread used 6. Starting the machine suddenly or with a jerk
4. Rough edge of hole in needle plate caused by improper needle action
2. Using bent needle
3. Needle threaded incorrectly 4. Usina wrong size needle
5. Pressure on presser foot insufficient, especially when sewing heavy material
5. Using too fine a needle with to coarse a thread
6. Thread of out tension or check spring
1. Incorrect threading of the bobbin case 2. Lower thread tension too tight
7. Starting the machine with the take up lever at its lowest position
3. Using too short a stitch 4. Pulling the cloth while the machine is running
1. Presser foot not resting evenly on material 2. Feed dog not being high enough
UNEVEN STITCHES:
1. Pulling the fabric while machine is running, thus causing, the needle to strike the needle plate
1. Using bent or blunt needles 2. Needle inserted incorrectly
SKIPPING STITCHES:
4. Needle brushing against presser foot or other attachments
3. Faulty needle or needle set incorrectly
3. Bobbin being wound too fully or too loose
1. Incorrect threading 2. Upper thread tension too tight
BREAKING OF THE UPPER THREAD:
BREAKING OF THE LOWER THREAD:
BREAKING OF THE NEEDLE:
27. CAUSE OF COMMON DIFFICULTIES

30
Twist
60
21
Very
1
to
80
40
to
to
Twist
Twist
16
C
Twist
1 1
0
and
Sizes & Grades of Type of Fabric
(Medium-Heavy) For work or sports uniforms, suits made of strong linen
(Medium-Fine) dresses, aprons, curtains. 100
)Light-Heavy)
(Extra-Heavy)
(Medium) For general household sewing, fine men’s shirts, smocks, Twist
Needles ; j
Cotton Silk Linen
(Heavy)
14 fabric furnishing. A & B
18 upholstery and awning materials, slipcover fabrics. D
19 E
or cotton fabrics, awnings, slip covers and mattresses, I
Heavy woven suiting, coating, duck, ticking, drilling, 10
.
Medium, light-weight and summertime fabrics. 80
Dress silks and cottons, light weight woolens, draperies,
window draperies ard fabric decorations.
For house dresses, children’s dresses, washable cotton to
auilting and fabric furnishings. 60 i
Heavy woven coating, light weight canvas, bed ticking,
Heavy cretonne, madras, muslin, brocades and quilts. 40
For men’s work shirts, sturdy smocks and aprons, heavy to
supolies for hospitals, hotels and camps. 30 I 80
canvas and sacking. For heavy wash uniforms, bedding to
For bags, canvas coarse cloths and heavy goods.
28. NEEDLE AND THREAD SIZES
Work to be Done
—24—-
Coarse
SIZE OF THREAD
60 I
60
I 40
‘ to