Domestic 808 User manual

.../ / . ·- (
4( . ...... .., .. -· '-;:.,
omestic
SEWING MACHINES
SINCE 1868

You are now the owner of a new Do:mestlc zigZag sewing macbine. tbe mcst
versatile machine of its type you can possess . Buttonholes . monogramming. darning .
overcasting and creative embroidery art! done w ith _ ease and speed.
To aid you in obtaining tho greatest performance from your machine thi.s
book on its care and use bas been wr itten for you. Read the inst ruction s ca refull ,y
as a thorough understanding of your machine wW reward you with many bours of
trouble-free creative sewl.ng.
Time-saving attachments sucb as ru!flers . binders . edgestitcbers and cord ·
ing feet. to complement tbe accessories furnished a.re available from your dealer .
DOMESTIC SEWI NG MACHI.NE CO ., INC .
Cleveland, Ohio 44111
DOMESTIC SEWING MACHINES
1470 Birchmount Road
Sc&-boroUQh, Ontario , Can ada

Paqes
Accessories ......... ...............•..•·· .... .. 22
How to Use ····:.··············· ··· •·· ·· · 23
Hemmers •··········· ··· ·················· 24
Seam Gauge or Cloth Guide ··· ··· 25
Quilting Guide 25
Adjusting and Chanqinq "V" Belt 28
Attachments.....•...............•.............. 33
Adjustable Cord and Zipper Foot 40
Attachment Foot··· ··················· ·· 34
Binder· •••• ••··••••·····•··•·••····· ··· •• ·•·• 36
·Edgestitcher •········•••··••··•··········· 34
Hemmers ··········· ·· ···· ·· ·· ··· ········· '57
Ruffler •·············· •· ····• ·· •········ 41-42
Blind Hem.........•••••••• .. .. ....... .... •...••• 16
Bobbin
Placing in Shuttl e· ·····•················· 7
Threading ··········••········· ············ 6
Winding ········· ··············· ········· · ·· 5
Buttonholes • •· ··•·········•················ 19-20
Bound ··· ·· ·································· 46
Buttons Sew -On· ····························· 21
Charts
Needle•Thread.Fabric-Stitching••···· 4
Stitch Length··········· ······ ············· 9
Trouble •······ ·· ··· ··· ············ 29 .30.31
INDEX
Pages
Darning and Mending--··· ·· · ····· ··· ····· 11
· Embroidery
Creati ve •····· ·················· •·· ··· ··· 17
Hoop ··· ········•··•················•·...... 18
Features and Parts (Front View) ..:... 2
(Back View)········· 3
Installation• Head in Cabinet•··········· 49
He ad in Portable case ··• 48
Maintenance and Care ······ ······ ······ 26
Cleaning and Oiling the Shuttle 27
Needle Setting ········ .. ·················..···· 6
Pressure and Feeding of Fabric ······ 11
Thin and Light weight Fabr ics•·· 11
Reverse Sewing································· 9
Sewing Preparation ··• •· •·················· 12
Sewing Tips ························ ··· · ... ,• 43
Straight Stitching ·······················•··· 13
Tension Adjustment ·······••
00
•··· · ····· ··· 10
Thread ing-Upper ......•··...... ...... •......•• 8
1

2
FEATURES AND PARTS
(:ror:t V1ew i
Fig. 1
1. Tnread Take-up i..eve~
2 Pressu!'e Release
(Darning)
3. Arm Thread Guides
4. Decorative Stitch Di11l
5. Buttonhole Control Knob
6. Zigzag Width Control Knob
7. Needle Position Lever
8. Zigzag Stitch Width Stop
9. Bobbin Winder Cover Door
10. Hand Wheel
11. Cl utch
12. _ Cover Release Buuon
13. Stitch Length Centro!
14. Push Button Reverse
15 . Bobbin Wmdmg Tensi on
16. Drop Feed Buttons
17. Needle Plate
18. Cover Plate
19. Presser Foot
20. Presser Foot Thumb Screw •
21. Needle Clamp
22 . Tension
23. Thread Bar and Face Latch
24. Sew Lite Switch

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FEATURES AND PARTS
(Back View)
A ~-
! • ' .
- - -; ' ,. ~n
11 - ~ ~ ., _-!--@
..- ~1-
..r - , :j . ~I
: ; ·
. - ----·-
1 _ 1 I
•
- ~ Fig. 2 J
25. Presser Bar Lif ter
26. Thread Cutter
Tl . Feed
28. Head Hinge Mo unting
Holes
29 . Spool Pins
30. Handle

4
NEEDLE ·THREAD· F ABRIC· STIT CH I NG GUIDE
Machine Silk
Needle Stitches Cotton
Mercerized
or
Fabnc No. Per Inch Thread Thread Nylon
Extremely h eav y 6
10
tarp4uhn. sacking. 4
to · to · H eav y Duty
canvas
duck . etc. 8 30
. -···
--
Hea vy upholstery 8
30
fabnc . ticki ng 3 to to Heavy Duty
denim l ea th ere tte 10 40
... .. --. ··--·--- --- --- ·--- -·--
Medium heavy drapery 10 40
fabric. velveteen. 2 to to Heavy Duty
suiting felt. terry, etc . 12
60
-
..
Medium broadcloth . 12
60
percale. qi n gham , linen. 1
to to
so A
chintz. taffeta. sh eer
14 00
wool. shantuno. etc .
Sh ee r v01le lawn. 14 80
dimity. crepe . to
to
50 A
G 16 100
r.andkerchlel linen. (Plastic film)
plastic film etc . 8
to 10
V er y s :i eer cnilio n,
16
100
batiste. l ace , orQandy,
00 lo to
so A
nlnon, net ., marqulsett e tc . 20 150

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Fig. 3 WINDING THE
BOBBIN
Fi g. 4
Disengage hand wheel (5, Fig. 3·,. from the stitchi ng mechanism by turning clut ch •. o. Fig. 3\
toward you or counter clockwi se .
Slide latch 4 to the right /Fig. 4) to spring open cover 1.3. Fi g. 4\ of the recesse:l wi nder .
Piece a spool of thread en one of the spool pins. Lead thread throuQh the u;;.·i:,.-r ti:r eaci
gu ide on arm and down through tension disc (9, Fig.5,• al base oi machi ne . Ru11 en.:i o: farea:l
•
Fig. 5
through a hole in bobb in e.:l;,e ,i e.f t flenQe
and from inside ou t) a ::.:i · place bobb in
on sp i nd le of bobbinwinder :7,F ig ..J . flttlnQ
the notch bobbin over smi, 11 p:n on spin•
die . Pus!: bobb in winder aq_ains! hsnd
whee !. Hold thread end loo se ly and start
machi ne slowly.
Bobbin will stop winding when it is
filled. Turn clutch away from you until
seWing mechanism is aga in engaged so
that needle moves when you tum t he hand
whee l.
Break off loo se t hread end used to
start the windi ng and thread bobb in as
stated on Page 6.

6
SETTING THE NEEDLE
See Fig . 6 . na i se the needle b.ir A to its h1;hest
poi n! , turning whee! toward you by hand .
fl u auri•ct
c! ne-eal~
a. : a:1 k
Fig. 6
Then loose n l:le neec.He cla:np sere"'· B a:t:i the
ne edic can be in:erted into cl a .m p C. Place needle
• !la\ si de to ri oht in the · need le clarr.p a:i:! ;;.:;sh 1:
u pwara as 1ar as ,t will go m:o t:-:e ne e ci ie cbrr.p
h ol e, tighten r :.; the needl e cla:n;:, s~re• ... · se::::r e:y
wuh a ~c rew c!nve~.
Aft er changing th e n ee dle malc c one com-
plet e revolution of the balan ce wh eel by
hand lo be s ur e the needl e is in th e co rr ect
position.
THREADING THE BOBBIN CASE
• I
,
St @p l illuitratd m Fig. 8 . Hold bobbfa case betw,een thumb and !oreilnger of left hind ,
so t hat the slot in the edge o! the bobbin case is on t op . Take the bobbin between thumb and
f orefinger of ugM ha :, d so that the thread on t op l eads from left to right .
Step 2 lnsert.l:obbin i nto bobb in case, pull the thread into th e sl ot o: t he bobb~n case 11
shown in Fi; . 9, and draw 1: under t@ns io:, spring and into the fork-s haped ope:ung of the
es shown in F ig . 10
spr i ng
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51.DT
F iQ . 8 Fio. 9
PLACING B OB BIN CASE IN SHUTT.LE
Raise needle l:ar to hiQhNt posllfon, a nd sUde cover plate
to the Jel l ( See 18, Fio. 1) Hold the bobbin ca se latch, (D,
Flo. 11 ) bet w een the thumb a nd forefi noer of the left hand .
with at leaat three lnchN of thread runnino from the lop ol
the bobbin cat e to the rloht. Insert and center the bobbin
ca1e on the atud of the ahuttle body, (C) . Be 1ure the
bobbin case finQer, (E) , is opposite the 1huttle ra ce notch \A).
Preas the bobbin case CB ), into the ahuttle as far as possible
until latch catches on the center post of the shuttle . THEN
release the bobbin case latch, (D). Press bobbin C4se aQain
after latch has been'rel ee sed to ma ke sure the bobbin cate
ts locked securely in place. Qose the cover pl a te .
F1; 10
C
F19 11
7

8
UPPER THREADING
1. Tum the ba ldl)ce wheel toword you to rai se
t he take-up le,• er to its hi c;rhest position.
2. Place a spool of thread on the spool pin.
3. Lead th e thread throu9h the upper ann thread
gu i des .
4. Run the threod through the threod guide bar
to the tension discs. th en oround end be-
tween them from· ri ght to left.
5. Drow the threod up through the check sprinc;r
and with o al ! c;rht tug Into the hook. (See
insert. FiQ. l 21
6. Pass the thread under the b.ir and up through
the eye of the toke-up lever from r ight to
left.
7. Leod threod down under b.ir, through the
face plote quldes ond then through the needle
bor guide from the back.
8. Threod needle FROM LEFT TO RlGHT,
drowl ng I~ throuc;rh about 3 or 4 inches.
Hold the end of the uppe r threod loo se ly and
tum the hond wheel towardJou until the needle
goes o il the way do wn an comes back up .
A loop <F ig. 13) will be formed over the
upper thread which then con be pulled out
st ro i 9ht. Place both thread ends und er the
sl ot of the presser foot ond drow toward the
back of the mochlne, leavi ng both threads
three or four Inches long. Fi9
12