Beginners Sewing Machine

Sarah wrote:

If that's your budget, I recommend looking at 30-40 year old Singers.
Specifically the 401 and 401A. Solid machine, great straight stitch, and
many useful decorative and utility stitches.

You may be able to find a re-conditioned one at a repair shop or one which
someone (foolishly) traded in at a sewing machine shop. They come up on
eBay frequently, too.


I've got a 401 or two and agree with Sarah. Other great old machines
I've got are a Singer 306 but it takes a hard-to-find needle, a Pfaff
230 which runs like a top, and an Elna Supermatic. Machines like these
can often be had for under $200, and are a far better investment.


--

Joanne @ stitches @ singerlady.reno.nv.us
http://bernardschopen.tripod.com/
Life is about the journey, not about the destination.

In article .com,
of http://groups.google.com uttered

As a point of interest, my wife's Singer Touch and Sew has cheezy gears
that have been replaced several times and the reason we switched to the
Brother after the last failure.

Ah yes. The infamous Touch and Jam - not one of their better models.

If you lurk awhile on the ISMACS and FeatherweightFanatics mailing
lists/ digest you will undountedly learn more - probably, in fact, more
than you ever wished to know,
--
AJH
no email address supplied

" wrote:


"Jenn Ridley"

I wan't being rude, I was just wondering, since the first thing I
said was "don't buy a cheap machine from a discount store", and you came
back with two cheap machines from a discount store.

Someone has got to defend the cheap discount store machine so it might
as well be me. I bought a Brother for $159 at Walmart and see no reason
why a beginner (as I was/am) would be turned off by it. The only reason it
was that expensive was because of the one step buttonhole feature that I
wanted.

I'm not denying that there are good inexpensive machines. The problem
is that most beginning sewists have no way of knowing whether the
machine they've picked is a cheap machine or a good inexpensive
machine. You can't try them out in a box store. The clerks at the
box stores don't usually know either. (And even if that model was good
last year, it may be built in a different factory this year.)

Many of us have stories of friends/relations who thought they
couldn't/were awful at/hated sewing, but when given a chance to use a
good machine, found that it was their cheap machine they
hated/couldn't use.


--
Jenn Ridley :

wrote:


Someone has got to defend the cheap discount store machine so
it might as
well be me.

So, if someone asked you about a car purchase, and one of their
choices was a Yugo, and the other was a 20-year old Mercedes at the
same price, you'd be Ok with recommending the Yugo?

Not me! I'll take older, sturdier, proven-reliable *anything* any day
over a "new", "tinny", "flashy" POC. YMMV

--
Beverly
delete nospam and .invalid to reply

"BEI Design"

Not me! I'll take older, sturdier, proven-reliable *anything* any
day
over a "new", "tinny", "flashy" POC. YMMV

Not sure what those acronyms mean but I certainly agree with what I do
understand.

Problem is, as our experience and Irene's with older Singers shows is
that old or big name isn't always good anymore than expensive is.

Frankly, most of the glitz on newer machines (cheap or expensive) is
useless nonsense. Who needs any of those wierd looking stitches?
Certainly not a beginner.

As I said, I got two perfectly nice machines on Ebay for $25 but unless
one is mechanically inclined, the chances of getting a working used
machine is pretty slim unless purchased from a retailer where it can be
test driven but then it will cost as much as a low end new machine.
Furthermore, beginners have no idea what to look for when test driving.

Buying a low end machine at a discount store has the great advantage of
being returnable without a hassle if unsatisfied. Not so easy on Ebay
and shipping costs take the fun out of a $25 machine.

BTW, I have no use for my 1912 Singer and will sell it for $20 more
than I paid for it if anyone is interested. That comes to about 10
cents an hour for my fixing time.

js


--
PHOTO OF THE WEEK: http://schmidling.com/pow.htm
Astronomy, Beer, Cheese, Fiber,Gems, Sausage,Silver
http://schmidling.com

" wrote:


"BEI Design"

Not me! I'll take older, sturdier, proven-reliable *anything* any
day
over a "new", "tinny", "flashy" POC. YMMV

Not sure what those acronyms mean but I certainly agree with what I do
understand.
POC=Piece of crap
YMMV=your mileage may vary

Problem is, as our experience and Irene's with older Singers shows is
that old or big name isn't always good anymore than expensive is.

"Older Singers" means 1940-1950. 1960-1980 Singers were not good.
Singers' been building machines since the 1890's.

As I said, I got two perfectly nice machines on Ebay for $25 but unless
one is mechanically inclined, the chances of getting a working used
machine is pretty slim unless purchased from a retailer where it can be
test driven but then it will cost as much as a low end new machine.

Yeah, but they'll work *much* better. And if you get it from a real
sewing machine store, you can get *lessons*.

Personally, given a choice between a refurbished 1965 Pfaff and a 2005
Brother for the same price, I'm gonna get the Pfaff. It'll sew
better, and probably last longer.

--
Jenn Ridley :

"BEI Design" wrote in news:99Wdnfo-
:

So, if someone asked you about a car purchase, and one of their
choices was a Yugo, and the other was a 20-year old Mercedes at the
same price, you'd be Ok with recommending the Yugo?

Not me! I'll take older, sturdier, proven-reliable *anything* any day
over a "new", "tinny", "flashy" POC. YMMV

******APPLAUSE******

--
Where no oxen are, the crib is clean,
But much benefit is derived from the labor of the ox.

IMS wrote in
:

Not me! I'll take older, sturdier, proven-reliable *anything* any
day over a "new", "tinny", "flashy" POC. YMMV

******APPLAUSE******

I use this same analogy all the time

On the electric scooter lists, I always tell people that they can buy
the Bic pen of electric scooters -- those cheap Chinese scooters -- or
they can spend money to buy a pen that will last for years and years.
But people don't seem to want to spend $500-1000 on a scooter that will
last for years and instead prefer to spend $100-200 on one that isn't
goign to last 3 months, and then they think they are all junk.

--
Where no oxen are, the crib is clean,
But much benefit is derived from the labor of the ox.

wrote:
"BEI Design"

Not me! I'll take older, sturdier, proven-reliable
*anything* any day over a "new", "tinny", "flashy" POC. YMMV

Not sure what those acronyms mean but I certainly agree with
what I do understand.

POC = Piece Of C__P
YMMV = Your Mileage May Vary

;-)

Problem is, as our experience and Irene's with older Singers
shows is that old or big name isn't always good anymore than
expensive is.

When I say older, I mean mid 60s of prior. I'm not sure what year the
"older Singer" is that you have experience with. My 1960 (bought
brand new that year) Singer 401A is a gem, I would not part with it.
I don't know how many hours I've put on that machine, but I'd
guesstimate thousands. It still hums like new. I recently bought a
Singer Quantum XL 5000, and I will set it up for embroidery *only*, as
my "real sewing" will continue to be done on the 401A.

As I said, I got two perfectly nice machines on Ebay for $25
but unless one is mechanically inclined, the chances of getting
a working used machine is pretty slim unless purchased from a
retailer where it can be test driven but then it will cost as
much as a low end new machine. Furthermore, beginners have no
idea what to look for when test driving.

Last summer when I was sewing for my DD's wedding I purchased *two*
Singer 401As on eBay for under $150 each including S&H. Both needed a
bit of cleaning and lubing, but that's it. They took right off sewing
like dream machines.

Buying a low end machine at a discount store has the great
advantage of being returnable without a hassle if unsatisfied.
Not so easy on Ebay and shipping costs take the fun out of a
$25 machine.

You're quire right, the return issue, buying used on eBay, is a
problem. But that's not the *only* way to buy an older used machine.
Dealers take them in on trade, service them, and usually offer a
short-term warrantee. I haven't looked, but I imagine there are a few
listed in the classified ads in the newspaper, too.

BTW, I have no use for my 1912 Singer and will sell it for $20
more than I paid for it if anyone is interested. That comes to
about 10 cents an hour for my fixing time.

Sorry, I don't "collect" machines, I only buy what I intend to use.
But good luck. ;-)

--
Beverly
delete nospam and .invalid to reply

Melinda Meahan - remove TRASH to reply wrote:
"BEI Design" wrote:

So, if someone asked you about a car purchase, and one of
their
choices was a Yugo, and the other was a 20-year old Mercedes
at the same price, you'd be Ok with recommending the Yugo?

Not me! I'll take older, sturdier, proven-reliable
*anything* any day over a "new", "tinny", "flashy" POC. YMMV

******APPLAUSE******

[curtsying] Thank you kindly, ma'am. ;-)

--
Beverly
delete nospam and .invalid to reply