PatTX wrote:
BEI Design wrote:
::: Any ideas?
::
:: Since you don't state what your budget is it's almost
:: impossible to advise you. Also space constraints factor in.

Even so, you gave some valuable advice, and I appreciate that. For sewing, I
want a free-arm, a killer buttonholer, and durability. For making those seat
covers out of auto upholstery, I am thinking I need something a little
tougher than usual---although a lady I talked to today at a store said that
our Pfaff may be suitable for the job (mainly since it has already proven to
be able to sew naugahyde, leather, and upholstery fabric). It has that
older two-step buttonholer, though.

I looked at an industrial machine today, but I'd have to give up the
free-arm and accept a heavy duty permanent stand. Where to put that? I
already turned the dining room into the computer network room (after I moved
the bicycles out, that is!)....That's where the space constraints figure in,
I guess....

As to budget, I was going to start around $1,000, but that's flexible. After
all, we only get a new machine every 20-30 years....

I thought that I first should interview repair people so as to mostly
eliminate some brands and narrow down the field that way. The lady at the
shop said not to buy Viking, Euro-something,or Simplicity, and maybe not
Singer. These ideas were based upon her hearing the repair guy cursing those
machine while trying to fix them! Oh, and the difficulty of getting repair
parts, too. She showed me a new Elna which appeared to be a clone of my
1982 Pfaff!

Just tryin' to do my due diligence....

Pat

An older Pfaff is a hard machine to beat. My favorite in the buttonhole
department was the older Singers that you just dropped the button into
the foot, and it made a buttonhole to fit, but I wouldn't recommend
those particular machines for general sewing. If you have room, though,
you could have a "dedicated" buttonhole machine. I've used the very old
Singer buttonhole attachment, which uses cams to select the desired
buttonhole and has several different "styles" - regular slot, slot with
a rounded end, bound, and gotten excellent results. My Pfaff 1475 is
notorious for poor buttonholes. Other than that, it's a great machine.

For $1,000, you may find yourself looking at good used machines as the
new ones tend to run multiples of that price.
--
Joanne
stitches @ singerlady.reno.nv.us.earth.milky-way.com
http://members.tripod.com/~bernardschopen/