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n0tqu1tesane: May 7, 2003; She was rubbing her ass all over my hands. They don't just do that for everyone.; Grimey Drawer

Busted out this old machine to enlarge my Mardi Gras costume tonight.

I'm an associate member of our society, so I don't have a costume built to size for me, and have to take whatever's available from the active members who aren't riding.

Actually turned out halfway decent, considering I haven't sewed anything in 15 years or so.

Ripped the seams under the arms and added a 3" strip of fabric under each.

# ¿ Feb 4, 2016 05:37

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# ¿ Mar 30, 2023 20:42

n0tqu1tesane: May 7, 2003; She was rubbing her ass all over my hands. They don't just do that for everyone.; Grimey Drawer

MoldyFrog posted:

Have you tore it open yet? Probably full of cat hair and lint. My old singer was. Looks like that one is an all metal one. I opened mine up and liberally sprayed everything down with PB Blaster to clear any gummy residue. Wear a respirator if you do. Also your machine may smell of kerosene for a while.

It'll eat up gunk and leaves a bit of machine oil behind. Follow-up with the usual oil points and see if it fixes it being sticky. Cleared all the hesitation out of my thrift store machine.

Be careful with PB Blaster if you've got any plastic parts in your machine, because it can eat them up and/or weaken them.

You should be able to clear the gunk with some sewing machine oil, or 3-in-1 oil, and working the gears back and forth.

Of course, if you really want to get at it, get some non-chlorinated brake cleaner, and take it outside. Wear gloves, eye protection, respirator, etc. Then make sure you liberally oil everything with sewing machine oil after you clean all the gunk out. Of course, brake cleaner can have some negative effects with plastic as well.

# ¿ Aug 30, 2017 14:29

n0tqu1tesane: May 7, 2003; She was rubbing her ass all over my hands. They don't just do that for everyone.; Grimey Drawer

effika posted:

Is there a sewing machine that is made with hemming small diameters in mind? I got a Singer 4432 Heavy Duty on steep sale from Amazon 2 years ago but I never use it anymore to hem my pants. It's just too tricky trying to keep the fabric straight when I have to readjust it every 1/2 inch.

I really, really just want something I can put a pants leg on and sew around the leg hem without having to try to make the circle flat. Does that exist?

there wolf posted:

Yeah, just look for something with a free/removable arm. It's a common feature on budget machines.

effika posted:

Ah ha! Now I know what to search for. And my current machine may do that (conflicting reports, I'll have to check it myself). Thanks for the help!

Yeah, the 4432 definitely has a free arm.

# ¿ Jun 14, 2018 04:41

n0tqu1tesane: May 7, 2003; She was rubbing her ass all over my hands. They don't just do that for everyone.; Grimey Drawer

Rythe posted:

Yeah turned into a blue berry Violet.

I was thinking the panel design and attached at the back via velcro so it can come on and off easily. I would have to figure out a way to do head, arm and leg holes but that should be easy to create and hem.

I was thinking a hula hoop, rattan wood or thin flexible metal (like wire clothes hangers) for a middle and upper support and maybe creating vertical self contained pockets to run flexible supports through and that would maintain the shape and not be overly uncomfortable.

Any idea on the metal wiring? I was thinking a thicker armature wire or anything that can be bent and hold its shape, pretty much metal clothing hangers but straight.

Check out Adam Savage's Totoro build, he uses rattan hoops to make the round shape for the body.

https://youtu.be/L9O3KWrvxKA

# ¿ Jun 28, 2018 01:15

n0tqu1tesane: May 7, 2003; She was rubbing her ass all over my hands. They don't just do that for everyone.; Grimey Drawer

The Doctor posted:

Does anyone have opinions/knowledge about the Singer "heavy-duty" machines that I'm seeing as like the first search result everywhere I look for a machine? I'm assuming they're everywhere because of marketing, rather than actually being an amazing option. A lot of people seem to think the quality of modern Singer machines is actually very bad.

Basically I'm new to sewing but will almost certainly be committed to it, I'm trying to research but there is soooo much conflicting information. I'm interested in making clothes, and ideally would want something that could handle heavier fabrics, but understand from what I've read that that may be difficult to find for a reasonable price (say, $350 and under), and it's not a dealbreaker if it doesn't really exist in that price range. From what I've gathered, a good machine should have at least four basic stitches, a drop-in bobbin, a free arm, and one-step button hole. There doesn't seem to be much agreement on whether automatic needle threading is really necessary, and I don't think I need a digital machine.

Lead out in cuffs posted:

The quality of modern Singer machines is very bad. Also as far as I can tell, the only thing "heavy duty" about that is that it's actually made of metal rather than plastic. I doubt that the actual quality of the gearing will be that high.

One potential way of getting a cheap but actually fairly heavy duty machine would be to get an old cast iron Singer second hand. I don't think they even make steel as the stuff used in those things' gears any more.

I have one of the modern Singer "Heavy Duty" machines, as well as a Singer 99 that I used before I got the new one, and 66 in a table I'm working on fixing up.

Granted, I do very little sewing, but the new machine works well enough. I usually use it rather than the old Singers just because it has more than one stitch, and the 99 I have doesn't even have a reverse.

You can get funky looking feet for the old Singers to do different stitches, but it's a lot easier with a more modern machine.

# ¿ Sep 27, 2019 14:47

n0tqu1tesane: May 7, 2003; She was rubbing her ass all over my hands. They don't just do that for everyone.; Grimey Drawer

Some makerspaces also offer sewing classes.

# ¿ Jan 27, 2020 19:36

n0tqu1tesane: May 7, 2003; She was rubbing her ass all over my hands. They don't just do that for everyone.; Grimey Drawer

My mom recently borrowed my Singer Heavy Duty to recover some outdoor wicker couch cushions, and in taking the old covers off discovered that there were six existing covers still on the cushions

Now, this couch is probably 60-70 years old at this point, considering the wool and coil spring construction of the cushions.

# ¿ Jun 30, 2021 03:36

n0tqu1tesane: May 7, 2003; She was rubbing her ass all over my hands. They don't just do that for everyone.; Grimey Drawer

effika posted:

That is fantastic! So many trends throughout the decades. I wonder if the cushions fit differently now?

My mom patterned the new covers on the top layer, so there's a little bit more room inside the cushion, but not so much that it shows. A little fluffing of the wool stuffing and it looks good. It's really in good shape for how old it must be.

Comrade Quack posted:

I�m weird and I enjoy the nesting cushions. Hopefully that wasn�t the only thing holding those cushions together.

Nah, these cushions are pretty beefy on the inside.

# ¿ Jul 6, 2021 02:00

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# ¿ Mar 30, 2023 20:42

n0tqu1tesane: May 7, 2003; She was rubbing her ass all over my hands. They don't just do that for everyone.; Grimey Drawer

Lead out in cuffs posted:

But it does lack zigzag and stretch stitch, which can be limiting.

I mean, this is always an option. I've never used one, but it doesn't seem like it'd be nearly as good as a machine with a factory zigzag.

# ¿ Mar 22, 2022 17:08

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