|
Hello sewingoons. I'm thinking about getting my girlfriend a more solid sewing machine for her birthday next month. She's only got a small cheap portable thing that has broken a couple of times now and she'd like something more proper. She is threatening to re-upholster my boat so something that can handle upholstery weight material would be nice and it would be nice to be able to do my own sail repairs. I have a couple of questions: Can you use such a heavy machine for finer work, or would you want to have a machine designed for light work and one for heavy? Is an old machine a good idea (assuming it's in good condition and well serviced), or will it be more trouble than it's worth? I'm mostly into working on motorcycles and wood/metal work, where you usually want to use the right size tool for the job. Also old tools are often cheap and very solid. I'm wondering if it holds true for sewing. Suggestions for good brands/models are welcome. I'm in the UK so there's a billion old Singers and some European brands. hollylolly - that is a cool dress.
|
#
¿
Sep 20, 2013 17:32
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 18, 2024 18:07 |
|
|
Thanks for the info! Some of the brands you guys are talking about don't appear to have a lot of presence in the UK, but it gives me a good idea of the kinds of machine/capabilities I should be looking for. Anyone got any strong opinions on Toyota machines? This one seems to be good for the prices/features, like the button holing and such. I got talking to my aunt over the weekend, in the last two years she has gotten back into sewing in a big way thanks to all my cousins suddenly engaging in a game of marriage/babies one-upwomanship. She's a big fan of Brother machines and recently treated herself to some super high end Brother machine with about 4 million modes and touch screen controls  nolen posted:Do you find you have crazy hoop-burn I don't think that's a google search I can make at work...
|
|
#
¿
Sep 23, 2013 10:51
|
|
|
 My girlfriend and I picked up a Singer 221k featherweight from a local auction for a whopping £15 ($22?). It's in great shape and worked perfectly out of the awesome little case it comes in. This is the first time I've ever used a sewing machine, and the most complex sewing task I usually tackle is taking up my trousers like my mum showed me. I wanted to make something and I happened to desperately need a case for my practice sword when I'm on my bike, so I cut up an old pair of canvas work trousers and made this:  Like a tough little old lady that tiny machine just loving motored through multiple layers of canvas, I'm super impressed. Tonight I might try and make a couple of wash bags out of the other leg. 
|
|
#
¿
Dec 2, 2013 13:51
|
|
|
The Orange Mage posted:Amazing find! This is probably the most sought-after of the classic Singer machines and will literally last forever. Thanks, we're super stoked to have it. My g/f was talking about selling it for mad profit but I want to keep it because I love old tools and it works so well. Speaking of - I needed a new wash bag to carry my shampoo and shaving kit up to the shower block (I live on my boat). Decided to make one out of the end of the spare leg of the trousers I used for the sword case. Cut the bottom off the leg, about 28cm, measured the width of the flattened leg, doubled it and divided by Pi to get the diameter and added 3cm to cut out a circle out for the bottom and gave it a shot:  Finished it with some copper 4mm eyelets, a bootlace and a hanging loop so I can hang it open on a wall hook. If I was making it for someone else I would have done it better but as it stands it will do the job. I may run a few nicer ones up (they take minutes) and see if I can sell them next time my girlfriend has a crafts fair stall. They might make good gift bags or something.  
|
|
#
¿
Dec 10, 2013 12:17
|
|
|
ReelBigLizard posted:I may run a few nicer ones up (they take minutes) and see if I can sell them next time my girlfriend has a crafts fair stall. They might make good gift bags or something. Made up a couple of nicer ones from some charity shop trousers and threw them on my girlfriends stall on Saturday, sold both for £4.50 ($7.30) each as "Upcycled gift bags" and been commissioned to make another. Not bad considering they take all of 5 minutes to make.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 16, 2013 10:53
|
|
|
These Faithful shears had good reviews on Amazon, despite the ridiculous (£8) price, so I decided to take a punt and buy two pairs (one for my gf, too). My local family run hardware stocks Faithfull stuff and it's a mixed bag, some tools are a hit and some are poo poo. I have two massive ball-peen hammers that I use for blacksmithing that, after a little work are wonderful. I got them to order them in for me instead of using Amazon because it will be the same price and they usually only take about a week to get stuff down. Wiss-they-ain't, but the reviews were right, these are an incredible deal. The finish over all are what you would expect, maybe a little better, even. The fit however, is perfect, they came wonderfully sharp and the steel seems to be good high-carbon stuff and there is plenty meat for resharpening in future. Furthermore, as a reward for supporting a local business they gave me three vintage Picard panel-beaters hammers they found in the store-room, because they know I like vintage tools 
ReelBigLizard fucked around with this message at 17:17 on Dec 20, 2013 |
|
#
¿
Dec 20, 2013 17:13
|
|
|
Invalid Octopus posted:The threading on my purse strap broke. Is this something I can fix myself (do I need special thread?) or should I have it fixed? A stitching awl would be perfect for this, I have done many a small repair with mine. There's a few available, this is the one I have, comes with waxed thread and there's handy guides on youtube on how to use them: http://www.amazon.com/Speedy-Stitcher-T200-Sewing-Awl/dp/B000HGIJQ4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1389625550&sr=8-2&keywords=speedy+stitcher
|
|
#
¿
Jan 13, 2014 16:07
|
|
|
10 Beers posted:My girlfriend has decided she'd like a sewing machine. She'd just be using it for light repairs and modifications, nothing fancy. Is there a brand/model you guys can recommend for around $80? Brother make some half decent budget machines, and this one is on offer down from 150 right now: http://www.amazon.com/Brother-XL260...+sewing+machine Other than that, you'll get much more machine going second hand. Local classifieds / flea markets / thrift stores will be your best bet.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 8, 2014 14:49
|
|
|
I used to sew by hand, basic alterations and repairs mostly. With the machine, making a basic wool tunic takes me an evening, by hand it would probably take me a week of evenings. That's with just basic hems, no buttons/fasteners. As someone who hates clutter and sews only occasionally I'm a big fan of my Singer 221 Featherweight. Cost me £15 at a local auction. No fancy-pants stitches, but it handles surprisingly heavy fabric with gusto, it's quieter than modern machines and folds up into it's little box which has a nice tray for bobbins and snips and whatnot.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 10, 2015 10:37
|
|
|
Stultus Maximus posted:Last I checked (it's been a couple years), Featherweights have been going for stupid high prices because of the quilting boom. A 99 is compact and portable and fully compatible with 66 accessories. making GBS threads crikey, found a site selling them for $600. Apparently I need to start up some kind of UK-US export business because they're still less than £50 for a good one here.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 12, 2015 10:14
|
|
|
My local clothing repair / alterations place had no problem replacing the zip in my motorcycle jacket, which is 2-3 times thicker than most fashion weight jackets. EDIT for a question of my own: Anyone got a recommendation for a good first over locker?
|
|
#
¿
Mar 30, 2015 14:00
|
|
|
Anyone got a good waistcoat pattern or resource where I might find a selection? I've come into some nice herringbone wool... Also, got an overlocker. Went for the Amazon favourite - the Brother 1034d - Holy poo poo this thing is cool, 4 spools, differential feed, all the feet and quiet and smooth to boot. The plethora of 5 star reviews are absolutely deserved. I think I actually prefer it to my aunts £~700 Baby Lock (except for the baby lock has awesome air-jet auto-threading).
|
|
#
¿
Jun 4, 2015 12:26
|
|
|
chitoryu12 posted:I'm reposting this from the cosplay thread. Hopefully I can get something here: My usual way of making pouches and small bags for stuff is to use old hosed trousers / jeans, sometimes ones from the thrift store. I had a few spare minutes this afternoon and the machine was sitting there ready so I actually knocked up a couple for fun: Mark out with roughly a little over half the depth of the item added all the way around:  Stitch all the way around the non hem sides in a U:  Cut two little squares out of the corners, about half the depth of the item again:  This bit takes some dexterity, but take the outside corners of those little squares you cut out and pinch them together.  Sew across the opening in a straight line  Pull it inside out and you should have a box-bottom that roughly fits your thing:   To add belt loops you could possibly take the loops from the trousers and sew them to the top centre of one of the square pieces before you start sewing it together. I tried that on the second one I made. I had some spare rough wool serge from a WW1 repro uniform I altered for someone the other day:  The wool has some give to it so I made this one snug to the bottle. It's actually very secure.  Obligatory hipster shot with vintage bicycle resplendent. Related - The reason the jeans remnants were still on the sewing table: 
ReelBigLizard fucked around with this message at 15:13 on Jul 16, 2015 |
|
#
¿
Jul 16, 2015 15:02
|
|
|
Finally a project started and finished. My aunt ordered a bunch of herringbone wool for making little Children's duffel coats but decided it was too dark and the herringbone too much of a fiddle to be matching up. I decided to try my hand at a flatcap.   I developed the pattern myself taking some basic pointers and dimensions from a couple of commercial hats I own. I have an Olney that I wear a lot but I always wished it had just a little more peak to help block the sun when I'm cycling or walking in the mornings / evenings. Probably took me a couple of days to develop the pattern and then an evening to put it together. Would go faster if I did another one now, there are a couple of elements of the construction I would approach differently and I've got some modifications to make to the pattern which will make things easier. ReelBigLizard fucked around with this message at 13:58 on Oct 9, 2015 |
|
#
¿
Oct 9, 2015 13:13
|
|
|
Dr. Kloctopussy posted:Daaaaaaamn, that is nice. Looks super professional. Thanks, it wasn't super hard, it just requires some patience and a lot of pinning to get the pattern matching up. I used some stiff felt for the brim, which I think is much more comfortable than the plastic that usually gets used in these caps. I need to make some final adjustments to the pattern and then I'll scan it in, digitise and upload it here as a PDF if anyone is interested? You don't need a lot of fabric, might be able to sneak it onto an A3 sized piece, so it's a good use of tweed / wool / other remnants. You could make it with practically any heavy fabric.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 14, 2015 14:15
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 18, 2024 18:07 |
|
|
The 1034 is much better than it has any right to be for the price.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 22, 2017 18:01
|
|