slb@drutx.UUCP (Sue Brezden) (10/18/85)
>eagan@druxp.UUCP (EaganMS) writes: >I am interested in buying a sewing machine... >I DO know that Singer has a good reputation. >However I was thinking of buying it through our consumer club and they >only carry Brother and Universal. Has anyone heard of these? >Also, are the types that have 17+ built in stitches worth the price? I haven't heard of those brands. Consumer reports may have something on them, though. I do know what I would look for in any machine I purchased to replace my (now aging) Sears. 1. A "sleeve arm" for sewing tight corners. You know, where part of the base drops away. 2. A zig-zag stitch for mending. 3. A good motor, that can sew heavy duty stuff if needed. 4. A buttonholer (but I think they all have those.) 5. A good guarentee, and possibly a maintenance and repair contract. I would *not* push for the following: 1. Lots of stitches (except for zig-zag). I have them and never use them. 2. Ability to hem or sew on buttons. I prefer to do those by hand, anyway. Do not buy one without sitting down and using it for a bit. Look for even stitches (properly tensioned), easy adjustability of stitch length and tension, ability to sew thick material, and general all around "feel". Remember, you may very well have this machine for the rest of your life, and nothing is more frustrating than trying to sew on an uncooperative machine. Hope that helps. -- Sue Brezden ihnp4!drutx!slb ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I march to the beat of a different drummer, whose identity, location, and musical ability are as yet unknown. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
chai@utflis.UUCP (Henry Chai) (10/25/85)
In article <309@drutx.UUCP> slb@drutx.UUCP (Sue Brezden) writes: >>eagan@druxp.UUCP (EaganMS) writes: >>I am interested in buying a sewing machine... > >I do know what I would look for in any machine I purchased to replace >my (now aging) Sears. > > 1. A "sleeve arm" for sewing tight corners. You know, > where part of the base drops away. I believe these are called "free-arm" machines, as contrasted with the usual "flat-bed" machines. > 4. A buttonholer (but I think they all have those.) How about using the zig-zag stitch for buttonholes ? >I would *not* push for the following: > 2. Ability to hem or sew on buttons. I prefer to do > those by hand, anyway. There is a gadget called a heming foot which can do very narrow hems (fits on all machines); very useful for sheer materials. By the way, I just got a second-hand (reconditioned) machine from a Singers dealer. It's guaranteed for 1 year, parts and labor. If you do only simple sewing why not keep an eye on used machines (from a "reliable" dealer) which cost half as much as new ones. -- Henry Chai, just a humble student at the Faculty of Library and Information Science, U of Toronto {watmath,ihnp4,allegra}!utzoo!utflis!chai
al@infoswx.UUCP (10/25/85)
For what it is worth, when I was learning to sew, as a parachute rigger, the Singer Sewing Machines with the plastic gears had the worst reputation. The most favored were Pfaff, White, and Bernina. To be honest however, parachute riggers really abuse sewing machines, by sewing things like plastic and nylon webbing together. Al Gettier
pete@octopus.UUCP (Pete Holzmann) (11/11/85)
I (and the rest of my family) have had experience on Singers and Elnas
going back several decades. We have found
- the old (black) Singers are great at straight stitching, as long
as you don't mind fooling with tensions a bit
- the Elna is *wonderful*, and often available for $850 new.
Wonderful means:
- never out of date: we updated a 1952 model to all the latest
stitches by buying some new cams
- adjustable bobbin thread tension means you can do a lot of
nice things like machine embroidery w/o any trouble
- very reliable
- most recent models have air cushion foot control (nicer than
a regular push-button) and lots of power at slow speed.
Things I wish Elna had:
- guaranteed needle stop in up/down position
- bobbin refill in place (no big deal at all)
The comment about not selling old *good* machines is correct- why
would anyone sell a perfectly good machine, even if it *is* 33 years
old?
--
OOO __| ___ Peter Holzmann, Octopus Enterprises
OOOOOOO___/ _______ USPS: 19611 La Mar Court, Cupertino, CA 95014
OOOOO \___/ UUCP: {hplabs!hpdsd,pyramid}!octopus!pete
___| \_____ Phone: 408/996-7746