How to create a lock stitch at the start and end of seams on a vintage Singer 99K sewing machine.

This skill eluded me for a while. I could not find anything on Youtube or the internet, so I decided to make a short video myself once I mastered the technique, which is very simple.
I was told that it not a good idea to hand crank my Singer 99 in the wrong direction and as mine has no reverse function locking the start and end of a seam was a bit of a puzzle.
So for those of you mulling over a similar issue with your vintage straight stitch only, no reverse sewing machine, her is a short video on how I do it.

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My primary machine: Toyota's Super Jeans 34 after 10 months use.

This is my Super Jeans 34. The big daddy of Toyota's Super Jeans machines with 34 stitch options. It's black, well actually it's more like a dark brown to my eyes. Like almost every domestic sewing machines today, it has a plastic exterior with a rigid metal frame inside. This makes for a lightweight machine, but one which can still punch its way through multiple layers of denim fabric with ease. So what drew me to this machine and what is it like to use? Well, first let me say that my partner has been using a Toyota Quiltmaster 226 for close to 5 years and swears by it as a real, un-fussy workhorse. She is a quilter and has made a multitude of quilts on her machine since we bought it, and it has been totally reliable. I have a Toyota 3304 over locker that I use for garment construction too. It took me a weekend to get to grips with a machine that uses 4 threads instead of two, but since then I loved using the 3304, it's a great over locker, quiet, easy to use, ...

Singer 99: Edge stitching attachment.

Looking like a weird set of ladders the Singer edge stitch attachment is one of the most versatile attachments I have, so I thought that I would share some of the ways it can be used. First, it is a very effective and almost faultless way to stitch at the edge of material. Remove the normal presser foot and attach the edge stitcher and you are good to go. I like to turn under 1/8-1/4" of fabric first, and either press or finger press a sharp edge in place. The video below details the full edge stitching process using the attachment. Singer edge stitching foot More edge stitcher techniques: Singer 99: Adding lace, ribbon etc to a garment edge with the edge stitching attachment

The Hussif

A quick project that I did today was to make a Hussif which I found in the projects section of the Merchant & Mill "Sewing Book". A Hussif is a sewing roll of tools and thread inspired by the rolls that WW1 soldiers used to maintain their uniforms. My version, which is almost identical to the pattern in the "Sewing Book", holds a pair of small scissors, a tape measure, pack of Household needles, seam ripper, two pots of pins and two spools of heavy duty thread. The Hussif is not only a roll to store and protect the equipment, it also has a built-in pin cushion. As the Merchant and Mills pattern may be copyright, I have not included it here. I just need to find a couple of Tic-Tac boxes to hold the pins instead if the childproof "pill pots" which are a safe but a little on the chubby side.

Sewing on and Serging forward

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