Looking for something to do normal mending and repair with - nothing fancy. Is there a good used machine to get for this kind of purpose? I am looking to do hemming, maybe sew simple things like a comforter cover, etc. but nothing elaborate.
I've used the same Singer since graduating from high school in 69. Compared to today's machines it is pretty primative (straight and zigzag were the only stitches) but it served me well for a long time. It even survived being dropped on the floor by my teenage brother. I only recently gave it to someone who just wanted to do mending while I wanted to do more (quilting and embroidery). If all you want to do is just basic sewing, most any machine will probably do. Look for a name brand and a decent warranty. If you get it from a sewing shop as opposed to a department store, they will probably include at least one lesson.
One other thing to note is that at the lower end, there are two basic types: mechanical and digital. The digital will probably have some kind of display for stitch selection, stitch length, etc. The mechanical will probably just have dials or switches to make selections. You probably have a good idea which is right for you. (The old joke used to be that you could tell if you were digitally challenged by looking at your VCR. If the date was flashing 00:00 you were digitally challenged.)
If you think you are going to use it for a long time, mechanical is probably better. (How many people are still using the same computer they had 10 years ago? On the other hand most typewriters are still working after much longer.)
Have fun, Shana
That must be REALLY old. My VCR doesn't have a way to manually set the time, it picks up some signal over your television cable connection, and since I don't do cable TV, I have no way to set the date.
too true
You are going to think I'm crazy, but I bought a Singer 1591. It was practically free, and although it's older than heck, it works great! The stitches are as straight as an arrow, there is never that clot of thread under the fabric that I always seem to get with other machines, and it's so heavy that it doesn't bounce all over the table. I guess drawbacks would be that it won't do zig-zag, or buttons (I think).
I have noticed that there are always several for sale on ebay, and sometimes free ones on www.craigslist,com.
I'm sure that you can tell from this that I am a total sewing neophyte.
A model 15 is one that many of the quilters enjoy working with. You can get buttonhole, zig zag and blind stich attachments. The are somewhat cumbersome but the buttonholer works really nice. It is easy to use too. Anyone interested in seeing what a 15 looks like can check out a photo here:
snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote:
Oh no, I don't think you are crazy! The 15-91s are one of the best of the vintage Singers! In fact, they are about as close as you can come to a 'light industrial' model made for home use. They are direct gear driven (no belts), all metal innerds, have the largest 'harp' area of the vintage Singers, and the feed dogs drop. They are GREAT machines that cannot be killed! :)
It may not do zig zag but have you tried free motion quilting with it? It's sooooo nice.
-Irene
-------------- You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.=20
--Mae West=20
--------------
I'll take issue with that, Irene! :) I like my 15-88 treadle and wouldn't swap her for a 91 for any money! :D The harp area is the same size as my 66 hand crank. The joy of it over the hand crank is that I can put both hands on the fabric, and I can go backwards! Oh, and the feed dogs drop! :)
Haven't tried that yet, but I'm still fairly new to FMQ anyway.
Caroline, these machines were used by many home-based dressmakers (like myself) in the past, and many small tailor's shops where a full sized industrial just wasn't an option (much like here!). And yes, I have used the treadle on customer garments! And no, dear: you are far from crazy, but be careful... Vintage machines can be addictive! As for old, if it's a 15-91, it's newer than my 66 (1923) or my Jones (1909)!
One of the retired Singer repair guys on the Yahoo groups posted once that the 15-91 is the model Singer told them to take out to farm wives!
-Irene
-------------- You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.=20
--Mae West=20
--------------
Yup - works fine until the electricity fails! ;) As it is, when ours fails I still have a choice of 3 machines to sew on.
I wouldn't mind a 15-91 AS WELL, but not instead of the 88... As it is, I lack the room, but I could fit in a couple more Elna Lotuses! ;) We all have our weak spots.
I have never even seen an Elna Lotus much less sewn on one but I *know* I'd snatch one up in a heartbeat if one ever came my way Lucky you for having one!
-Irene
-------------- You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.=20
--Mae West=20
--------------
I have the ZZ, and one of my OSMG's is fettling up an SP for me, so soon I shall have two. :) My ZZ is on my web site, along with the Stella Air Electronic I gave to a friend. I'm on the look out for an Air Electronic for myself. The kids love them as much as the Featherweight, when I take them in to school for teaching.
Looking for something to do normal mending and repair with - nothing fancy. Is there a good used machine to get for this kind of purpose? I am looking to do hemming, maybe sew simple things like a comforter cover, etc. but nothing elaborate.
Well I may get hit for saying this but what the heck. I went through the same thing with the machine hunt about 6 months ago. Went to the opinion places on the web, on ebay, to all the dealers etc. I really put some time into it. I am not a heavy sewer on a machine I do more hand work actually. But I use a machine maybe 4-5 hours a month and wanted one that could go through some heavy fabrics (think heavy duty horse blankets and suede). I also needed an easy button holer and a few cute stitches would top it off. I ended up with the walmart Brother, the middle priced one, 159 $ or close to that. That's what I had had before but the cheapest model and I wore it out over 12 years or so. I decided against digital, this one has the knobs. Anyway I love it. With walmart's return policy you can buy it take it home and carefully unwrap it, try it a bit and if you don't like it pack it back up and return it. If anything goes wrong in the first 90 days they will exchange it. The BAD thing is no classes etc. This machine is a bit smarter than I am LOL but I'm learning.
InspirePoint website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.