Compact sewing machine suggestion

On Sat, 05 Feb 2005 16:10:21 GMT, Debra
wrote:

On Tue, 01 Feb 2005 09:44:01 GMT, Melinda Meahan - take out TRASH to
reply wrote:

I am trying to figure out what kind of compact-sized sewing machine to
send my daughter at college and thought I would take suggestions here.
I doubt she is going to be doing a lot of sewing over there, but she
does split seams, rip pockets, and tear out hems a lot, and she might
sew a skirt or two if she really got desperate. The following issues
are pertinent:

* I am a single parent (she is paying for her own college education
herself, BTW), and the most I have ever spent on a sewing machine for
myself was about $300, so please don't suggest a $1000 machine, because
I'll never be able to afford it.
snip

* I live in California. She is in South Carolina. The postal charges
to there are pretty steep from what I have mailed her, so I don't want
to have to mail anything terribly heavy to her.

snip

Any ideas would be gratefully received.

Ask her to look at small cheap repair type sewing machines at a
Walmart local to her and then send her the money. IIRC the machines
I'm thinking of cost around 30 or 40 dollars in Virginia, but do let
her know it's not the tiny cheapie 10 dollar hand-held jobbie. No one
wants one of those things. Sure the machine will have plastic gears,
but it won't cost much and you won't have to ship it and wonder if it
gets across the country in one piece. Sewing machines often get
damaged in the mail. It won't take up much space and if she saves the
box it will be easy to pack it for the plane ride home at the end of
the school year and to take it with her to school next year.

Debra in VA

Oops, hit the send button too early. The other alternative would be
for her to go to Goodwill and other thrift stores and look for an
older model machine that is in working order. Almost every Goodwill
store has a couple of older Singer machines available for 30 or 40
dollars. Just tell her to ask someone if she can try the machine
before she buys it.

Either way your cost is under fifty bucks.
Debra in VA

I think I'd ask her how she felt about you selling her machine and using
the money to find one that she would like. If it were me, I'd talk to
her about what, besides mending, she might want to use it for. I'd
think a nice selection of basic stitches, straight, zig zag, blind hem,
etc. for keeping clothing in repair, and maybe a couple of decoratives
if down the road she wanted to make a skirt or blouse for a special
occassion. Maybe talk to some shops near the school. And have DD talk
to her campus mother or another favorite staff member about spending a
little time looking at the machines available.

Also, while you're looking for the machine I'd send her a well stocked
hand sewing basket and maybe a copy of Singer's clothing care and
repair. With enough practice, her hand stitching will improve. I know
mine is!

Maureen

Melinda Meahan - take out TRASH to reply wrote:

georg wrote:

Her stated reason was because it was too big and she wasn't sure if she
would have room for it -- also, she went to college with only what she
could take on the airplane without excess baggage charges, and she did
say that she wanted a machine at school to do repairs.

White also has a nice lightweight Quilter's machine that is inexpensive.
My friend was looking at it when she decided she wanted to sew. The
Huskystars from Viking are also nice. That was my first machine out of
school.

Maureen

Sherry Starr wrote:

I suggest a Janome Gold or something similar. I think I paid around $300.
for it a few years ago. I got it because I wanted somethin to take to
quilting classes. I was "sewing machine" challenged until I got it. I
think it was because my Singer Golden Touch & Sew never worked for longer
than 30 days without something happening to it, and also because my mother
told me that I was hopeless when it came to sewing. She was almost right.
I never could make a garment that I would consider wearing. That is
probably because there weren't any sewing classes offered in the private
school that I attended. My Singer was an expensive pile of junk. Our
television sits on the cabinet now. I enjoy my little Janome. I hope to
get another machine soon.

Sherry Starr

"Melinda Meahan - take out TRASH to reply" wrote in
message ...

I am trying to figure out what kind of compact-sized sewing machine to send
my daughter at college and thought I would take suggestions here. I doubt
she is going to be doing a lot of sewing over there, but she does split
seams, rip pockets, and tear out hems a lot, and she might sew a skirt or
two if she really got desperate. The following issues are pertinent:

* I am a single parent (she is paying for her own college education
herself, BTW), and the most I have ever spent on a sewing machine for
myself was about $300, so please don't suggest a $1000 machine, because
I'll never be able to afford it.

* She was not interested in taking my Featherweight, which I would have
been willing to give up for her to take. (I don't think I can afford to
buy one just for her on my budget.)

* She also was not interested in taking her own sewing machine. I am not
sure if it's because it is too big, because she never really liked it
after we got it (although she liked it perfectly well before we got it),
because there's something wrong with it that she doesn't want to tell me
about, or because she is not happy that I didn't pass my lovely 70s or 80s
era New Home (which I am *VERY* emotionally attached to) down to her once
I got my Singer 500A -- or maybe it's a combination of all of the above.

* I live in California. She is in South Carolina. The postal charges to
there are pretty steep from what I have mailed her, so I don't want to
have to mail anything terribly heavy to her.

* It's got to be something noticeably smaller than a full-sized machine,
because she's living in a dorm room and doesn't have a lot of space.

* We have a Singer 99 here, but I suspect it's too heavy to ship (see
distance and shipping cost comments below).

* Ditto for a Singer 66 that my son never converted to a handcrank model
and I might be able to talk him out of, but I think that might be a
full-sized machine anyway.

* I also have a Singer 301, but not only am I moderately attached to it,
but I think it's bigger than the 99 in size by the time you include its
carrying case, so I'm not sure if she would want that or not, but then
again, if there is a soft-sided case somewhere that would fit it, I could
probably afford to buy one for her off of Ebay or somewhere similar
(sew-rite.com?).

* I am pretty sure a Singer 400 or 500 series machine is out due to size.

* I also have a Singer 185K in a nice hard plastic case that may or may
not weigh less than the 99, but I haven't ever compared their weights. I
rescued it from a thrift store and it runs perfectly except that it needs
a new belt, which a local sewing machine store can provide. I have no
emotional attachment to this machine, so apart from possible weight issues
it is a good candidate.

* I see Singer Genies -- those "flower power" machines from the 70s or 80s
or so -- on Ebay off and on, and I could try to convince a seller to pack
it well and send it directly to her instead of to me, and the price would
be right.

* I could also save my money for a few months and get her a Janome Gem
($249 USD new or I also see them occasionally on Ebay) and have it sent
directly to her.

* I've been off the beaten path on older machines -- if anybody could
point me to a list of which Singers were more compact in size, that might
help me select one from Ebay or somewhere.

* I really would like to send her a machine that has ZZ on it without
needing an attachment, but that's not a 100% requirement, just a strong
hope.

Any ideas would be gratefully received.

Debra wrote:

Oops, hit the send button too early. The other alternative would be
for her to go to Goodwill and other thrift stores and look for an
older model machine that is in working order. Almost every Goodwill
store has a couple of older Singer machines available for 30 or 40
dollars. Just tell her to ask someone if she can try the machine
before she buys it.

Well, if she had the time to go thrift store hopping, which is where I
have found quite a number of nice machines, and if she had the room for
a full-size machine in her dorm, I wouldn't be asking for advice on
small-sized sewing machines.

Maureen Wozniak wrote:
I know several people who have Gems and are really happy with them. They
are lightweight and sew well. I'm trying to decide if I can convince
DBF that I need a Gem as a take along machine.

Thanks for the personal review. You know, you go to places like
Epinions and get people saying they love their POJ brand sewing machine
(a family joke -- "POJ" means "piece of junk"), even those models that
we have found don't hold their tension adjustments, etc.

Maureen Wozniak wrote:

Also, while you're looking for the machine I'd send her a well stocked
hand sewing basket and maybe a copy of Singer's clothing care and
repair. With enough practice, her hand stitching will improve. I know
mine is!

She already does know how to do that, and she went with 20 spools of
thread in different colors and other assorted hand-sewing supplies. It
just takes a lot less time to do it by machine, and she just doesn't
have a lot of free time right now.

Maureen Wozniak wrote:
White also has a nice lightweight Quilter's machine that is inexpensive.
My friend was looking at it when she decided she wanted to sew. The
Huskystars from Viking are also nice. That was my first machine out of
school.

*holding fingers up in cross formation to ward off evil LOL* We have
had simply the WORST luck with new White machines, and I don't want to
tempt the fates by trying to buy another one. And the Huskystars *brief
holding up fingers again* are also Whites with a Huskystar label on it.

Debra wrote:

damaged in the mail. It won't take up much space and if she saves the
box it will be easy to pack it for the plane ride home at the end of
the school year and to take it with her to school next year.

We are trying to avoid ferrying a machine on the plane, because it costs
$80 for an extra piece of luggage. And she will only be coming home for
Christmas due to her work-study program and I already have lots of
sewing machines around here, so she won't really need to bring one home.

You might want to consider the Kenmore Ultra Mini. It's a compact machine
with a decent motor. I've read that it's the one Billie Lauder takes
everywhere. Just picked one up to take with me when I do 24-hour shifts at
the hospital, so don't have personal experience, but I've seen very good
comments about it. It's very quiet and feels very solid while sewing.

--Heidi

http://community.webshots.com/user/rabbit2b


"Melinda Meahan - take out TRASH to reply" wrote in
message ...
Debra wrote:

Oops, hit the send button too early. The other alternative would be
for her to go to Goodwill and other thrift stores and look for an
older model machine that is in working order. Almost every Goodwill
store has a couple of older Singer machines available for 30 or 40
dollars. Just tell her to ask someone if she can try the machine
before she buys it.

Well, if she had the time to go thrift store hopping, which is where I
have found quite a number of nice machines, and if she had the room for a
full-size machine in her dorm, I wouldn't be asking for advice on
small-sized sewing machines.

Oops. Forgot to say that it's regularly $99 at Sears, and often on sale,
like now, for $79.

--Heidi

http://community.webshots.com/user/rabbit2b


"hfw" wrote in message
...
You might want to consider the Kenmore Ultra Mini. It's a compact machine
with a decent motor. I've read that it's the one Billie Lauder takes
everywhere. Just picked one up to take with me when I do 24-hour shifts at
the hospital, so don't have personal experience, but I've seen very good
comments about it. It's very quiet and feels very solid while sewing.

--Heidi

http://community.webshots.com/user/rabbit2b


"Melinda Meahan - take out TRASH to reply" wrote
in message ...
Debra wrote:

Oops, hit the send button too early. The other alternative would be
for her to go to Goodwill and other thrift stores and look for an
older model machine that is in working order. Almost every Goodwill
store has a couple of older Singer machines available for 30 or 40
dollars. Just tell her to ask someone if she can try the machine
before she buys it.

Well, if she had the time to go thrift store hopping, which is where I
have found quite a number of nice machines, and if she had the room for a
full-size machine in her dorm, I wouldn't be asking for advice on
small-sized sewing machines.