Sewing Webbing…My Bernina couldn’t do it and my Singer can

I have tried numerous times in the past to use Upholstery Home Dec thread and have failed. My Bernina 1080 always left a tangled mess on the wrong side of the fabric. Yesterday, my husband was trying to sew a belt that was made out of thick webbing. The Bernina 830 had the same issues. I decided to try using my Singer machines. On the Singer 201-2 and 15-91, the #18 needle went through fine, but the tension was wrong on the underside using the upholstery thread. When I used regular thread, tension was ok but the thread would shred after going about 5 inches.

I searched the internet and found this link about thread nests and bobbin tension. It was very helpful and this morning I decided to give it a try. Using my 15-91, I increased the upper thread tension dial to 7. Then I loosened the bobbin tension until the bobbin would drop an inch and a half with drop test. Presto! A satisfactory stitch.

Singer 15-91

I used a Schmetz Universal 110/18 needle with Upholstery Home Dec thread.

Double-thick webbing is less than 1/4 inch and front and back stitching

Since the stitching is difficult to see, here is the sample using denim.

Top Stitching and Bottom Stitching through 8 layers of Denim

The Singer 15-91 has now been designated as my husband’s outdoor/heavy material sewing machine.

I tried making fudge this holiday season. Twice. One recipe I used chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk. It was easy and the kids loved it. The second time I used Martha Stewart’s recipe which was more complicated and at first it did not want to turn from glossy to dull matte. So I put it back into the pan and began to reheat it and it almost immediately started to harden and crystallize. It was a crumbly mess. I still ate most of it because it was delicious. Anyone have any suggestions? Or a great homemade fudge recipe?

Hope you all are having a great year so far!