This handy swing away gauge serves just like a fence in a tabletop saw to keep the stitches uniformly spaced from the edge of the fabric. Most sewing machines have two mounting holes for accessories in the base of the machine. This accessory mounts in those two holes. Note that it is useful only along the edges of an assembly — it cannot be used for seaming operations.
Swing Gauge - Sewing Fence is a railroaded pattern
Reduce Seaming with Railroaded Fabric
Most upholstery fabric is 54 inches wide and, if it features a pattern, the pattern is run down the length of the bolt. When upholstering, it generally looks best to run a patterned fabric from the top to the bottom of the piece and from the back to the front. This requires seams every 54 inches on larger pieces like sofas and long boat cushions. Alternatively, a Railroaded fabric pattern can be used to eliminated unwanted seams. The patterns in Railroaded Sunbrellas run across their widths. This makes Railroaded Sunbrella perfect for these longer projects.
In this illustration, the fabric rolls out to cover the cushions without need for a seam.
This is a photo example of the railroaded fabric coming off the roll.
This is a photo example of fabric that is not railroaded coming off the roll.
In this illustration the fabric rolls out vertically, and for this type of single cushion, would require several seams to cover the couch.
