choosing a new sewing machine

Hi there,

It's been a long time but I'm about to get back to sewing after a 25 to

30 year absence. Starting out doing new stuff for our 9th grandbaby including sewing on cotton and some knits. Just remember from the past the "hell" of sewing on stretch fabrics and want to be sure that the machine I choose will be able to do this. Since we have to grandaughters so far, one who is 21 months and one who will be 7 next week would like to be able to do some really fancy and unique things for thier clothing as welll. So... the ?? is what machine to buy. Any and all suggestions will be appreciated.

Cheers, Pamela

Reply to
pamelacastle
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I have sewn knits on my 1924 Singer 66 hand crank. The biggest advantage for sewing knits is using the right type of needle! That said, the best advice anywhere on the net for buying a used or ne machine is here:

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No-one can tell you which is the 'best' machine. MY best may not be yours... Machines are like bras and shoes - you have to try them to see what fits you withing your price bracket! I have 12 machines (11 working), and they ALL sew knits beautifully, with the right needles in them! :) Make a list of the types of fabric you sew most and take samples when you go to try the machines out. If you are going to sew a LOT of knits, it's worth thinking about a serger/overlocker as well as an ordinary machine.

Reply to
Kate Dicey

Morning, Kate,

Thanks for a great response. I'm going to take your suggestion and go try some machines and take some sample fabrics with me to see which one feels best to me.

I'll have to do some research on the serger/overlocker as I don't have a clue what this is or does. I'll go to the website you suggested and see what I can learn there.

Thanks again and have a great day.

PS: Loved your site, what beautiful work you do and what fun it must be to create such lovely works of art!

Pamela

Reply to
pamelacastle

A good local Old Sewing Machine Guy/Gal is a true friend! :)

If you look on my web site in the Sewing Machine Gallery, you'll see what they are! :) They sew, overcast the edges, and cut off the seam allowance in one pass! They are also much quicker than a standard machine and make all sorts of processes easier. I've worn one of mine out... :(

Thank you. It's great to sew for others! They pay me! ;) I get to sew all sorts of things! :) I get to sew Gurlie stuff! :D (Can't do that for the boy!) I don't have to find space for what I sew as it all goes to live elsewhere - or most of it, anyway! It pays for a truly vicious fabric and thread habit! Not to mention my passion for expensive pins, sewing machines, rotary cutters... ;P

Reply to
Kate Dicey

I started sewing again when my children were small, and my view is that for children's clothes especially, you *NEED* an overlocker/serger - it will transform what you can do and make it so easy to 'run things up'. An overlocker trims and neatens the seams as you sew, and works the same for stretchy and firm fabrics. I am no great dressmaker at all, but I got so I could just sit down with a bargain bundle of fabric and produce clothes and fun costumes more or less out of my head, just by cutting round clothes that already fit them. Maybe it was psychological, but with the sewing machine I was always having to obsess about the design/layout/mark seam allowance stuff, and usually managed to screw it up somewhere, whereas with the overlocker it was a three-step job - draw the shape I wanted, cut it out with an approximate seam allowance, overlock it and there it was.

You still need a sewing machine for the things an overlocker won't do, depending on how versatile your model is. Mine was the most basic so only does seams at the edge of something - I can't sew applique stripes on a tiger, for instance. The two things work together, but the overlocker is magic!

Reply to
spinningwoman

I started sewing again when my children were small, and my view is that for children's clothes especially, you *NEED* an overlocker/serger - it will transform what you can do and make it so easy to 'run things up'. An overlocker trims and neatens the seams as you sew, and works the same for stretchy and firm fabrics. I am no great dressmaker at all, but I got so I could just sit down with a bargain bundle of fabric and produce clothes and fun costumes more or less out of my head, just by cutting round clothes that already fit them. Maybe it was psychological, but with the sewing machine I was always having to obsess about the design/layout/mark seam allowance stuff, and usually managed to screw it up somewhere, whereas with the overlocker it was a three-step job - draw the shape I wanted, cut it out with an approximate seam allowance, overlock it and there it was.

You still need a sewing machine for the things an overlocker won't do, depending on how versatile your model is. Mine was the most basic so only does seams at the edge of something - I can't sew applique stripes on a tiger, for instance. The two things work together, but the overlocker is magic!

Reply to
spinningwoman

I respectfully requst to differ -- a serger is certainly very helpful, but there is no *need* for it.

Reply to
Melinda Meahan - take out TRAS

No, but then a sewing machine is not *necessary* - nor is a closet full of clothes. But a sewing machine beats a needle and thread, even with a thimble....and it sure beats a bone needle and sinew and some skins.

Reply to
Pogonip

Nice, Joanne...

Reply to
BEI Design

Yes, but as someone who has always been told by people that such-and-such a thing is NECESSARY and that you shouldn't do it without it and given up on a purchase because I could not afford all the bells, whistles, and fancy extras that they insisted were absolutely necessary, only to find later that I could have done okay with fewer extras and had a perfectly workable solution that I could afford, I always tend to point out when someone indicates something is *necessary* when it truly isn't, lest an uninformed person believe them.

Reply to
Melinda Meahan - take out TRAS

You are absolutely right, Melinda; I didn't mean it to sound like that when I said 'need', and thank you for making the point. I'd hate to think I had made someone turn back from sewing just because they couldn't afford an overlocker. You definitely *don't* need it in that sense at all. What I mean't to get over is that for someone inexperienced, in my personal experience, having an overlocker lets you get to the fun bit fast and produce clothes in hours, not days or weeks, which is so encouraging at the beginning. And starting with small children is a ball because they wear the thickest rose-tinted spectacles - if it's pink and sparkly/has their name on the front or whatever, they are going to love it even if the seams are not perfect! And I just love the feeling of being able to make a costume *now* because they want to play nurses *today* and see them in it an hour later.

I guess what I meant is that I would rather have an overlocker and an old basic sewing machine than have a new whizzy sewing machine and no overlocker.

Reply to
spinningwoman

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