Post your sewing machines! (posted in MISCellaneous!)

I do not collect sewing machines, but my wife uses a few. I just do minor maintenance on them.
She has her hobby too. So my hobby is no problem. :wink:
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And there were several sewing machines that are no longer with us. The newer cheaper Brother, Singer, and Baby Lock machines use a lot of plastic parts. We paid $400 for a new Singer that broke after 2yrs use. Took it to a repair shop and they laughed at it and said no, because they would not work on it due to the cheap plastic replacement parts. Wife makes Quilts mostly and gives them away as gifts.

wow
big iron!

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Wow, that’s amazing story gchart !! I helped my wife do Quilts and it is very challenging. Your wife hit the jackpot !! How is your cooking ?
:person_with_crown:

Not to brag, but it’s pretty darn good. I grew up cooking though whereas my wife not as much. She’s certainly picked up some skills over the past few years. As a hunter, I also do a lot of our own meat butchering, processing, sausage making, cured meats, etc.

I don’t know too much about modern sewing machines, but those do look pretty impressive. Right tool for the right job.

I could not sew if my life depended on it. Whereas cooking just makes sense to me.

Quite surprised to see so many sewing machines. Thought this are things Anthropologie uses in their windows to entice female shoppers. What a cool skill to have! I wouldn’t even know how to switch one on, let alone figure out how to create something with it.

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My mother hand quilted a few Quilts and left a few unfinished before she passed. My wife took the unfinished pieces and completed 3 of them. This was the beginning of our quilting adventure.

Exploding Hearts quilt has over 1300 pieces and took 2 months to make. She has several more colorful ones.
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I’m not the cook, but can when needed. Becky is the chef and cooks better than my mother. I do better on the grill outside but that is all i’m ahead in.
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http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poRfmvc5yFc/watch?v=
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My Pfaff 332.

I have had it for 30 years now, bought it for 500 gulden (~250 dollar) secondhand, no small money but Pfaffs were the best. Apart from small clothing repairs I mainly used it for making all types of bags, and pouches, en lately I made endless colourful facemasks for friends and family.

There was a period that leather couches were out of fashion which ended en masse on the streets to be collected as waste. I got into the habit of cutting out the still good leather panels and used that as material for making handsome and useful bags of my own design (after cleaning: i.e. cigarette smoke stink can be removed with acetic acid).

At one time the internal drive belt broke, and to my surprise I could source a new one, which was unlikely given that it is made of oiled hemp with steel shackles. An old shop still had some old new stock. It took me a day disassembling the machine to the point that I could replace the belt. Edit: I just googled it and it was on Amazon.nl (now sold out), people are still replacing these things :open_mouth:

Before the Pfaff I had a pretty cool looking Efku “ZigZag” machine from the fifties for a few years, but it was not half as good as the worse looking Pfaff. Here is the type (but the pic is not my machine, I sold it at the time)

Nothing really special. A 1940 singer 66 with the godzilla finish. I know it’s not an industrial unit like many claim these older machines are but it did come out of a sewing plant. The base on it is designed to be dropped in a large table and be easily swapped with another machine for repairs without shutting the line down. I also done a LED bulb conversion because I got tired of burning myself.

I’ve used it to do 2 show truck interiors and a handful of atv seats. I aint sewn in awhile and it’s kinda a shelf queen now. Awhile back I started to collect weird singer branded accessories for it. I have a walking foot, button, and zig zag attachments (all work pretty poorly) and some other odd and ends.

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How do I post directly to a picture from imgur phone app?

Great to see so many seamstresses and seamsters here! My Mom taught me to sew around age 7 on her Singer Stylist. It is certainly a handy thing to know, even if just for simple repairs.

My first machine was a hand-me-down Babylock when she upgraded to an Elna. I’ve made lots of camping gear, including hammocks, silnylon tarps, stuff sacks, and down quilts.

Down gear is lightweight and warm but very expensive. I made my first quilt using silnylon and repurposed down from a high-end comforter that I got for free. A comparable one would be $300 or more.

When I switched to hammocks, I built a down ‘underquilt.’ Even in mild weather, your back gets cold in a hammock. An underquilt is suspended just beneath the hammock to keep your body weight from compressing the insulation. You can drop it slightly to allow for more air circulation depending on the temperatures.

I rescued a few older sewing machines from the curb, including a 1970s Kenmore that was made in Japan. It has worked great since I picked it up.

I recently treated myself to a Janome HD3000, which gets good reviews and is still mostly metal. I just used it to recover an expensive Flexsteel recliner that I picked up for free because the fabric was worn. The Janome had no trouble with multiple layers of the heavy upholstery fabric.

I’d love a Sailrite but I need to find a project that will require a walking foot machine to justify the cost. :partying_face:

My Mom still has her first machine, a Singer Featherweight. It needs service but it’s still in excellent shape and has the case and all the original accessories. wle is right, they fetch big money on eBay nowadays!

You might take a look at these:

They seem to be the exact same as many sorta-branded machines. Good prices and depending on the model, claim complete parts interchangeability.
I’m lusting after a walking foot machine too.
My Singer 66 does OK with moderate duty home type stuff with the occasional push through something thicker.
I’ve been thinking about adding a servo to it. Mine’s nothing special so I’m not worried abouut making Mods.
All The Best,
Jeff

What is a walking foot machine ?

Most home sewing machines have just one mechanism that moves the fabric through the machine, called feed dogs. They grab and advance the fabric from underneath, pinching it against the stationary presser foot.

A walking foot adds movement of the foot to help the fabric along. It’s commonly found on industrial sewing machines.

Even more sophisticated is a needle feed function. The needle’s movement is elliptical rather than just straight up and down. It moves down into the fabric to begin the stitch as normal, but then advances along with the fabric before being drawn back up.

Here’s a video illustrating walking foot and needle feed functions. The machine demonstrated has both.

Thanks jeff, I have seen several ‘knockoff’ models that are about half the price, but I’ve seen mixed reviews. I’m convinced I need a Sailrite. :wink:

That reminds me, I bought Phifertex fabric from Sailrite to repair four outdoor sling chairs. You know, the aluminum chairs with the fabric that rots in the sun until an unsuspecting visitor falls through the seat? :smiley: The Japanese Kenmore model I mentioned earlier did great with multiple layers, using 4 oz V-69 thread. :+1:

The hard part was stretching the new panels onto the aluminum frames. It involved many clamps and some ratchet straps to string the chair between two of my cars. :partying_face: The whole time, my mind was busy imagining the fancy jig they must use at the factory to assemble the chairs. I’m not surprised they all end up on the curb instead of being repaired.

The sewing thing is another serious rabbit hole which I’m trying not to fall down.
For those interested in this stuff, I found The Thread Exchange to be one of the most useful sites as far as learning about Thread, Needles, and that sort of thing.

They list the characteristics of Nylon, Poly, Kevlar, Nomex - Etc. threads.

When shopping for thread in the big box stores, they never list a thread weight. That’s really a pisser.
For heaver duty home use that should work in most machines, I’ve found “Upholstery Weight” in the home sewing sections of Walmart, is “usually”
0.012” thick (as measured by me - but listed as 0.0115 in some specs) which is size 69, Tex 70, or Gov E. It sews fine on my old Singer 66 with a size 16 needle.
The old iron is supposed to handle a bit heavier with a #20 needle, but I’ve never tried it.

Some of the threads marked “Heavy Duty” are thinner than 0.012 but still thicker than typical sewing thread. Size 30, Tex 3, Gov AA, .0080

A size 16 will punch through 6 layers of denim where a thinner size 11 (with thinner thread) wants to deflect.

Some specialty stores sell thread that is water soluble. No idea why, but I can see some serious practical jokes involved.

All the Best,
Jeff

here is one tip: i wondered once if using monofilament fishing line to sew clothes would be better.
answer NO for many reasons
mainly it will destroy any nearby cotton or polyester thread or fabric
and it does not stretch at all

Years ago I bought some underwear. The damn stuff was sewn with monofilament.
Chewed through the fabric.
It abrasive as hell on skin too. Ended up pitching all of it.
All the Best,
Jeff

The wife is surprised this thread would show up on a flashlight forum.

My wife's 1949 Singer.

The wife's sewing/quilting area with Bernina 635 sewing machine.

A couple of her many quilts.

can;t see pix