SINGER 513 User Manual

CONGRATULATIOMS .

You are about to discover the wonderful pleasure of sewing with your new Sty/ist"^ Zig-Zag Sewing Machine by SINGER. We know you are eager to

get started on a sewing project... but we urge you to become familiar with this book before you begin. It is designed to help you get the benefit of all the capabilities of your machine. Especially, we recommend that you keep the following points in mind :

choose the correct needle and thread for your fabric—if either is the

da'

wrong size or type, you may encounter broken or knotted thread, or

faulty stitching. The Fabric, Thread, and Needle Table on page 10 will

help you make a perfect choice.

sew with a bent or blunt needle. If the needle is damaged—or improperly inserted in the machine—it can cause skipped stitches. See page 8 for instructions.

follow the instructions on page 14 for threading the machine.

forget to place the thread properly when you Insert a wound

bobbin. Page 13 tells you how to do this perfectly.

become familiar with the instructions for regulating stitch length

djy

ddnnt'

Above all, (/o enjoy sewing I

(page 17), presser-foot pressure (page 18), and thread tension (page 18). Take advantage of the capability of your sewing machine !

allow lint and thread ends to accumulate in the bobbin case area—they can cause jamming or excessive noise. Clean your machine regularly, as instructed on page 52.

remember that expert, dependable SINGER* service is always available. If your sewing machine should require maintenance or repair, be sure to call your Singer Sewing Center or Authorized Singer

Dealer. You will find the number listed under SINGER COMPANY in your telephone book.

Page

Getting to Know Your Sif\IGER'^ Sewing IVIachine ..... 2

Principal Parts—And What They Do ...........

Accessories—^And When to Use Them ............................ 6

Getting Ready to Sew.............................................................................. 9

Preliminary Steps . ........................................................................ 9

Choosing Needle and Thread ....................... 10

Threading Your Sewing Machine .

Stitching................................................................................ 16

Adjusting Selectors ........................................................................ 17

Sewing a Seam ................................. 19

.....

.................................. 11

....

.............

-Zag Stitching

Basic Zig-Zag Patterns ............................ 22

Satin Stitching

Flexi-Stitch^‘’' Patterns................................................................ 26

TwiO“l\leedie Stitching........................................................................... 29

Preparation..................................................................................... 29

Threading the Needle

Buttons and Byitonholes

Buttons ....................................................................................... 31

Buttonholes

Sewing the Professional Way .

Sewing Knit and Stretch Fabric .

Hints on Sewing Special Fabrics

Construction Details.................................................................... 42

Decorative Touches.....................................................................

Keeping Up Appearances........................................................... 48

Caring For Your Machine .................................................................... 52

Cleaning and Lubricating the Machine

Removing Covers, Bobbin Case, and Bulb ............. 53

Removing Machine From Cabinet. ................... 56

Performance Checklist

.......

.......................................................................... 22

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..................................... 52

Fashion^ Aids........................................................................................ 58

Your Personal Measurement Chart .................. 59

Index....................................................................................................... 60

principal parts

10 Spool Pin

SINGER SEWING

1. Bobbîiîi-V¥indIer Tension Disc regulates thread tension for bobbin winding,

2. Pressure Dial regulates presser-foot pressure on fabric. Has eight numbered settings and a special setting for darning.

3. Take-up Lever controls flow of needle thread.

4c Presser-Foot Lifter, at back of machine, allows you to raise and lower presser

foot. High-lift position allows easy placement of bulky fabrics.

8c Thread Cutter is built into presser bar for safety and convenience.

6, Needle Ciamp holds single and twin needles and is designed to eliminate the

possibility of inserting needle backwards.

7. Presser Foot holds fabric against feed. The feet snap off for quick removal.

8c Needle Plat® lifts out for easy removal. Guidelines on right and left sides extend to

slide plate to help you keep seams straight.

9c Feed moves fabric under the presser foot.

^¡n and Felt. Pin holds thread spools of various sizes. Felt helps thread

unvv/ind smoothly.

Bobbin-WSoder Switch and Bobbin

quickly and easily.

12c Hand positions take-up lever and needle. Ai’ways turn it towards you.

13c fiexi-Stitch Dial sets the machine for Flexi-Stitch pattern sewing and varies the

balance oi Ffexi-Stitch patterns in order to obtain desired pattern appearance.

Did! must be set on 0 {off) position when not in use.

14c Sewing Light illuminates the sewing area.

Holder let you fill the bobbin vin’th thread

15c Needle-Thread Tension Dial lets you select just the right tension for your stitch,

thread, and fabric. The numbers eliminate guesswork in duplicating settings.

Slide Plate opens for easy removal and replacement of the bobbin, and raises and iov\/ersthe pin that holds the needle plate in place.

PRINCIPAL PARTS (Continued)

17. Pattern Selector lets you select plain zig-zag ( § ) or blindstitch ( i ) zig-zag

patterns; also ric-rac ( ^ ) or slant overedge ( ^ ) f/ex/-5f/rc/i patterns.

18. Stitch Width Selector controls the width of zig-zag stitching and positions needle

for straight stitching. Use 5 setting for straight stitching.

19. Weedle-Position Selector places needle in either left center or right stitching

position. Use center position for straight stitching.

20. Stitch Control Dial allows for a variety of stitch lengths, including FINE for zig-zag

satin stitching. Has special setting F!exi-Stitch pattern sewing.

21. Reverse-Stitch Push Bution lets you reverse stitching direction.

17 Pattern Selector

Hand Wheel Knob engages hand wheel to sewing mechanism. Loosen knob for bobbin winding.

Transparent Bobbin shows thread

supply ... is easily removed for

bobbin winding.

Power and Light Switch turns on the power and the sewing simultaneously.

Electrical Conneciioris and

Speed Controller are designed for

convenience and safety.

23 Transparent ,

Bobbin .

See instructions for connecting machine and operating machine and controller on

page 9.

The accessories that come with your StyUst sewing machine will help you to sew with ease and comfort. They are simple to use and place a variety of sewing effects at your fingertips. Additional accessories, lisied on page 58,

are available for purchase at your Singer Sewing Center.

General Purpose General Purpose

Foot Needle Plate

E FOOT

Ai\SD I^EEDLE PLATE

The general purpose foot and the genera!

purpose needle plate are in place on the machine. Use them for all utility sewing, with either straight or zig-zag stitching.

The zipper foot is used to place stiiching close to a raised edge. It can be fitted to the presser-fooi shank for use on either right or left side of the needle. Use it for:

® Corded seams © Tubular cording

special Purpose Foot

Bfindstitch Hem Guide

® Zipper insertion

SPECIAL PURPORT FOOT

The special purpose foot is used for all

kinds of decorative zig-zag stitching. Use this foot for :

® Zig-zag satin stitching ® Ornamentai stitching yylth Fiexi-Stitch

patterns ® Applique ® Buttonholes ® Twin-needle stitching

iEIV

The blindstitch hem guide is used v/ith the general purpose foot to position the hem fold for blindstitch hemming (page 44). To attach, simply loosen presser-fooi screw and slip guide between screw and

presser-foot shank. Position guide so that it clears both slide plate and presser-foot toe. Tighten screw.

FEEO^COVER WEEDLE PLATE

The feed-cover needle plate is used in

place of the general purpose needle plate when fabric feeding is not desired. Use it for button sewing (page 31) and freemotion darning (page 51).

CHAWOiWG WEEDLE PLATE

® Raise presser foot. (You do not need

to remove the foot.)

Needle Plate

Positioning Pin

Turn hand wheel toward you

needle is in its highest position. Open slide plate with downward finger

pressure. Draw plate toward you, open ing it aH the way to raise the needle plate locking pin and unlock the needle plate.

Place thumb under needle plate and

draw plate to the right to remove.

Insert new needle plate under locking pin and over positioning pin.

Close slide plate to lower locking pin

and secure the needle plate.

PRESSER FEET

The presser feet that are supplied with

your machine snap on and off a common

shank. To change the foot:

until

® Raise presser-foot lifter and turn hand

wheel toward you to raise needle to its highest position.

® Press toe of presser foot upward (as

far as it will go) and then snap down to remove the foot.

® Center the new presser foot under the

shank and lower the presser-foot lifter

so that shank fits over the presser-foot

pin.

@ Press down on presser-foot screw until

foot snaps into place.

Shank

Foot

Changing Presser Foot

ACCESSORIES (Continued)

WEEDLES © Style # 2020 needles for all-purpose

sewing.

needles, for sewing knits and stretch

fabrics.

tive twin-needle stitching.

Regular Needle

(Yellow Band) Needle

Ball-point

Twin Needle

ilVIPORTANT: Your SINGER sewing machine has been designed to obtain best results with SINGER needles. You should follow the recómmendations in this instruction book on the needle pack

age for correct style and size of needle for

different types and weights of fabrics.

CHAWGING THE NEEDLE The needle clamp is designed so that the

needle can only be inserted with the flat side of the needle to the back. To change the needle:

1. Raise needle bar to its highest position, loosen needle-clamp screw, and re move needle.

2. Insert new needle in clamp, with the flat side of the needle to the back; push it up as far as it will go.

3. Tighten needle-clamp screw.

BOBBINS

Transparent, drop-in bobbin, # 172336, shows thread supply at a glance.

GETTING READY TO SEW

steps

Before plugging in your machine, be sure that the voltage and number of cycles indicated on the plate under the hand wheel conform to your electrical power supply.

Push the machine plug into the receptacle at the right end of the machine bed. Then connect the power-line plug to your electrical outlet.

OPERÄTIWG MACHIWE AMD

To turns on both machine and sewing light, press power and light switch to ON position (red bar on switch vi/ill be visible).

'To turn off machine and light, press

switch at red bar to OFF position.

When leaving the machine

unattended or before changing needies,

presser feet and needle plates, turn off

the power and light switch and dis connect the power-line plug from the

electrical supply socket.

This eliminates the possibility of oper ating the machine by accidentally press ing the speed controller.

To run the machine, press the speed controller. The harder you press, the faster

the machine will sew. To stop the machine from sewing,

remove pressure from speed controller.

OFF

Power and Light Switch

Speed Controller

The needle and thread you choose selection. Refer to it before siariing will depend upon the fabric being a sewing project. Be sure to use the stitched. The table below is a same size and type of thread in both

practical guide to needle and thread needle and bobbin.

FABRIC, THREAD AND NEEDLE TABLE

Needles

Fabric

Thread

Type

Size

DELICATE — tulle, chiffon.

fine lace, organza and cotton thread

LIGHTWEIGHT —batiste. 50 mercerized cotton

organdy, jersey, voile, taffeta.

crepe, chiffon, velvet, plastic film

MEDIUM WEIGHT —gingham. percale, piqué, linen, chintz.

faille, satin, fine corduroy, velvet, suitings, deep-pile fabrics, vinyl

MEDIUM HEAVY —gabardine.

tweed, sailcloth, denim, coatings. mercerized cotton drapery fabrics, vinyl, deep-pile fabrics

HEAVY — overcoatings. denim, upholstery fabrics. mercerized cotton canvas

Fine polyester, nylon.

"A” silk Polyester thread Cotton-wrapped polyester

50 mercerized cotton 60 cotton "A" silk Polyester thread Cotton-wrapped polyester

Heavy-duty

40 to 60 cotton

Polyester thread

Heavy-duty

24 to 40 cotton

Polyester thread

STYLE

2020

(15 X 1)

STYLE

2020

(15x1)

STYLE

2020

(15x1)

STYLE

2020

(15 X 1)

STYLE

2020

(15 X 1)

ALL WEIGHTS — decorative straight stitch topstitching

in woven fabrics

KNIT, WOVEN STRETCH "A” nylon

and ELASTIC FABRICS —

polyester doubleknit, spandex.

nylon tricot, ciré tricot, jersey,

panné velvet

LEATHER — suede, kidskin. 50 mercerized cotton

capeskin, lambskin, lined Polyester thread

leathers

LIGHT and MEDIUM

WEIGHTS — decorative twin-needle stitching

in woven fabrics

“D” siikf

(Buttonhole twist) .

50 mercerized cotton

“A" silk Cotton-wrapped polyester

"A” silk

Cotton-wrapped polyester

50 mercerized cotton

fUse with 50 mercerized cotton or "’A" silk in bobblOo

STYLE

2020

(15x1)

STYLE

2045

Bail-Point

(Yellow Band)

STYLE

2032

(15 X 2)

STYLE

2028

(twin)

16 or

14 16

Like all sewing machines thaï produce what is called a "lockstitch", your Stylist sewing machine sews with two threads. The upper thread comes from the spool and is threaded through the eye of the needle. The lower thread comes from the bobbin, the small transparent spool that you wind using the machine. It is best to wind the bobbin before threading the needle.

E BOBBIN THREAD

Winding the Bobbin

® Raise the presser foot and turn the

hand wheel toward you until needle is at its highest position.

® Loosen the hand wheel knob by turn

ing it toward you with the right hand while holding the hand wheel with the left hand.

® Open slide plate to make bobbin

accessible.

® Lift out bobbin and close slide plate to

make sure needle plate Is secure while winding.

Loosening Hand Wheel Knob

Removing Bobbin

THE BOBBIN THREAD (Continued)

Bobbin Winder Switch

Tightening Hand Wheel Knob

Place thread spool on spool pin over felt. Lead thread around bobbin winder tension disc and through small hole in

bobbin (from the inside).

Place bobbin on holder and turn bobbin

winder switch to WIND,

Hold thread as shown and start the machine, winding at moderate speed. Cut off thread end when winding is well under way.

When required amount of thread has been wound (winding will stop by itself when bobbin is full), stop the machine and cut connecting thread.

Turn bobbin winder switch to SEW

and remove bobbin from holder.

Tighten hand v\/heel knob.

THREADING THE BOBBIN CASE

Open slide plate. Hold bobbin so that thread unwinds in direction shown, and put bobbin in bobbin case.

2. Pull thread into notch, draw it under tension spring and back into slot.

3. Draw about three inches of thread

:rr2"K...

THE WEEDLETHREAD

Threading the Needle 1, Turn hand wheel toward you to raise

needle to its highest position and raise

presserfootto release the tension discs.

2. Place spool of thread on spool pin over felt and lead thread through all

threading points shown.

<t Thread take-up lever from back to

front, guiding thread down over top of lever and then up into eyelet.

® Thread needle from front to back,

drawing about three inches of thread through eye of needle.

RAiSiÍ\lG THE BOBBiW THREAD

Mow thaï you have wound the bobbin and threaded the needle, you will need to raise the bobbin thread through the needle

hole in the needle plate.

1. Hold needle thread lightly with left

hand and turn hand wheel slowly

toward you so that needle enters hole

in needle plate.

Continue turning hand wheel and

holding needle thread until needle rises. Tighten your hold on the needle thread and bring up bobbin thread in a

loop.

3. Open the loop with your fingers.

4. Place both needle and bobbin threads under presser foot, and draw to back

of machine.

are now ready to sew

X. j

FieKi-Stitck Pattern Dial Off

STRAIGHT STITCHING

Before you move the selectors to set your sewing machine for siraiglit stitching, turn the hand wheel toward you until the

needle is above the needle plate.

SETTiWG THE ifViACHII\IE

position 0.

l^eedie Position

1 ? ?

! / >

® Move needle position selector to

(center).

® Set stitch width selector on \ .

STARTING TO SEW

® Place needle and bobbin threads under

presser foot and draw to back of machine.

® Position the needle in the fabric where

desired for stitching start.

® Lower the presser foot and start the

machine.

To sew perfectly on a wide variety of fabrics, adjust stitch length, pressure and thread tension as instructed on the following pages.

For in formation on straight stretch stitch-

turn to page 26.

ADJUSTING STITCH LENGTH The stitch length dial regulates the length

of stitches. The numbers on the dial ex press stitch length in stitches per inch; the higher the number, the shorter the stitch. Generally, shorter stitches are best for lightweight fabric; longer ones for heavy fabric. The FINE area is used for the adjustment of zig-zag satin stitching.

Setting the Selector

@ Turn dial so that the stitch length

desired is positioned under the V symbol on the control panel.

® To shorten the stitch length, turn the

dial clockwise to a higher number.

® To lengthen the stitch, turn the dial

counterclockwise to a lower number.

Stitch Length Dial

For reverse stitching, press the reverse-

stitch push button (located in the center

of the dial) in as far as it will go and hold in place (the button can be pushed in

while the machine is sewing). Release

pressure on the push button to return to

forward stitching.

{For detailed instructions on adjusting the stitch length for zig-zag satin stitching, see page 25.)

Reverse Stitching

STRAIGHT STITCHING (Continued)

Pressure Dial

Numbered settings on pressure dial will

assist you in obtaining correct pressure for fabric you are using. Setting 4 is an ail purpose setting for sewing a wide variety of fabrics of different weights and textures. Settings above and below setting 4 are also provided. When you

need extra control, regulate the setting to heavier or lighter pressure to suit fabric being sewn.

When darning without an embroidery

hoop, set dial at lowest setting, D. See

page 50 for instructions.

Lower I [ _

Fo^T^'' Adjusting Pressure

ncrease

Decrease

Lowerpresser foot before setting pressure,

number.

® To decrease pressure, turn dial to lower

number.

REGyLATII\IG THREAD TEi\ISiOi\i Correct tension is important because too

much or too little will weaken your seams

or cause your fabric to pucker. Make a test sample with fabric and thread you

plan to use and examine it. A perfect stitch

will have needle and bobbin threads locked between two layers of fabric with no loops on top or bottom and no puckers.

The tension dial regulates the degree of tension on your needle thread. Set it according to the type of thread and fabric you use. The numbers on the dial eliminate guesswork in duplicating settings.

Correct

Adjusting Thread Tension

If the stitches in your test sample look loose, increase needle-thread tension. If

the fabric puckers, decrease tension.

® To increase tension, turn dial to higher

number.

® To decrease tension, turn dial to lower

number.

+ 44 hidden pages