SINGER 404K - Manual (Page 20)

Finishing a Seam.
When finishing a seanx, never sew beyond the end of the material. Stop
the machine by placing the hand on the hand wheel shortly before the end
of the seam is reached. (See Fig. 41). This will prevent the thread from
becoming entangled in the lower mechanism.
Do not attempt to release the material from the machine until the take-
up lever is at the highest point. When the take-up is in this position and the
presser foot is raised, the upper tension is released.
Always remove the material from
the machine by pulling it back and to
the left, and sever the threads by pass­
ing them over the thread cutter. Hold
thread with both hands and cut with a
quick downward motion.
Always leave 3 or 4 inches of thread
to prevent it being pulled through the
needle when commencing to sew the
next seam.
On machines equipped with rever­
sible feed seams can be reinforced at
the beginning and the end by back
tacking.
Hints for Sewing Various Seams.
Always keep the bulk of the material to the left of the presser foot. This
allows greater freedom of feeding than when the garment is allowed to pass
under the arm of the machine.
Stitch bias seams with the bias instead of against it. For example, when
sewing two bias seams on a skirt, start at the bottom of the garment and
stitch up. This prevents the seams from stretching. The tensions should be
sufficiently loose to prevent puckering of the seams.
When sewing a straight edge to a bias edge, place the bias piece against
the feed. This allows the feed to take care of the possible stretching of the
bias and permits the operator to guide the stitching from the warp or length­
wise threads of the material.
The Cloth Guide.
The cloth guide is an aid to straight stitching, and is fastened to the
machine by means of the thumb screw, as shown in Fig. 42. It can be
adjusted to various distances from the needle, as desired.