Shopping for Sewing Machine

[Shriner]

I went shopping today for a sewing machine, to make some X kilts.
The store I stopped at sells BERNINA machines, the model I looked at was a activa 210 $699.
http://www.berninausa.com/product_de...=1179970388760
It was awesome, but I don't think I need all that it does. Tomorrow I am going to Walmart and a couple of other place.

john

[Alan H]

Bernina makes good stuff. so does Husqvarna...yes, the same company that makes motorcycles.

Hers' the thing, you don't need a $700 sewing machine to make an X-kilt. If you WANT a $700 sewing machine, then go for it.

If it were me and I was goinna drop those kind of bucks on a sewing machine, this is what I'd get... the Ultrafeed LSZ-1 Walking Foot Sewing Machine... $800.

http://www.sailrite.com/Sailrite-Ult...Sewing-Machine

All it does is straight stitch and zig-zag. But it has a walking foot... a DREAM for stitching up sailcloth and heavy canvas, and it has a brutal amount of power. Five - six layers of canvas in a canvas kilt waistband?...this machine will laugh at that. It also will happily sew leather.

....but that's a lot of money. you can make two-three X-kilts from a low-end singer from JoAnne's that will cost you $175, or from a used machine off of ebay. Check your local areas Craigslist, too.

[BEEDEE]

If it were me and I was goinna drop those kind of bucks on a sewing machine, this is what I'd get... the Ultrafeed LSZ-1 Walking Foot Sewing Machine... $800.

http://www.sailrite.com/Sailrite-Ult...Sewing-Machine

I have an Ultrafeed LSZ-1 machine and love it, but I bought it primarily for my yacht so that I can reapir sails and canvas. You can sometimes find them on e-bay so keep looking.

Brian

[The Wizard of BC]

This is about the third thread on the same subject so I'll give the same advice as before.

Go to your local sewing machine dealer. One that sells a couple of different brands. Look over the used machines and find one that does straight
& zig-zag stitches only. One that is at least 20 years old and feels like it weighs a ton when you try to pick it up. There should be four or five to choose from. Then lift the pressure foot of each one and buy the one that lifts the highest.

It shouldn't cost you more than 100-150 bucks.

Then when you get it home find an old table or desk and mount the machine in the largest work surface you can fit in your room. Don't worry, that extra part of the table can be used as the lay-out surface/ironing board/whatever. And your will thank me forever for telling you you needed it.

Machine $100.00
Old desk from Goodwill $20.00
Having a surface to support all that fabric while you feed it into the machine, priceless.

[emolas]

Go to your local sewing machine dealer. One that sells a couple of different brands. Look over the used machines and find one that does straight
& zig-zag stitches only. One that is at least 20 years old and feels like it weighs a ton when you try to pick it up. There should be four or five to choose from. Then lift the pressure foot of each one and buy the one that lifts the highest.

Sigh... I miss my old Consew 206 RB3 and my Singer 111W100. Now THOSE were quality machines.

[Doc]

I agree with Steve. You can almost always find a good older machine with all the inside bits made of metal and not metal grained plastic I use a singer 15-91 that is older than I am and it works like a champ. If I can put it under the foot, it will sew it. My big machine is to heavy for kilts. It's a Juki 562 with a class 4 moter and tranmtter timed to run a size 22 or 24 needle with a max thread size of 207 or size F 3-cord kevlar. Shiner, PM me I may have a machine you can have, I'll have to dig. One last thing, walking foot is a incorrect, if the neddle moves with the feed dogs it's a needle feed, if the presser foot moves (walks) with the feed dogs it's called a unisen feed. Just to avoid shopping confusion. And I think I left may spelling and grammer in my other sporan. Theres my .02, good luck.

[Doc]

Those were nice machines!

[Pleater]

I have a Novum sewing machine, it is a New Home/Janome clone, and I have the same brand of overlocker - serger, which is useful for finishing off raw edges without having to fold them over.

We have been in this house about 25 years, and the sewing machine was put on a table in the corner of this room on the third day after the move. It might have been put away for maybe one month in total since then, but other wise has been there for doing all the sewing jobs from securing a button to creating curtains from miles of fabric.

It does simple embroidery stitches, plus a whole range of useful ones, all mechanically, not electronically, and has been so very useful over the years.

I have made all sorts of garments on the sewing machine, and added the overlocker about ten years ago to deal with the more stroppy fabrics, I have also added lots of different feet in addition to those which were supplied.

The one thing I would like to have is an automatic buttonhole instead of the four part one - it is just that bit easier to get straight and the right size. The automatic buttonhole is an accessory which - when given a button to hold, will create a button hole to fit, in one go.

You don't really need to have anything fancy for kilt making, but it is handy to have the blind heming, for instance, or a stretch stitch, or a binder, as you never know when it might come in handy to fix something. And if you do have the stitches/accessories you can do your own fancy shirts, make ruffles jabots cravats - cumerbunds, even hats and caps.

If you have a good sewing machine you can think about tackling 7 or 8 yards of hemming, or edging and joining multiple pieces of fabric as a weekend job, not something which could take weeks of spare time to accomplish.

[JimB]

Mine is a Brother. Just what they had at Costco that day. Nothing fancy and I'm sure it has all kinds of plastic in it. However....I've made 6 kilts with it with no problems. Of course it won't handle tons of layers of denim, but then if I get to a part where my machine won't work well, like sewing through a waistband where the pleats are, I just hand stitch that part.
It's all good. I think it was about $100-$150.
Unless you're going commercial I just don't see the need for the big honking machines that can sew through tin cans.

[Doc]

Tin cans? Try 3/4" plywood, the thread breaks after four or five stitches and trashes the needle but the look on peoples faces is great! I think what we were trying to say is if you can find an older all metal machine it's worth it for the long term durability and being able to sew heavier projects. If you have a machine like JimB and it works for you great. It's just when those of us who drive these things for a living tend to offer advice along those lines. I just asume that every body is sitting at a machine 10 hours a day