It's sewing machine service day

[RatherBeIndoors]

It feels very odd without my Janome on the table which might be why it is a lot more than a year since the last service

Can't wait to go and pick it up again. It's weird to be mildly worried about how it's doing, isn't it? Like a 0.1% version of taking your pet for a minor procedure

this one I think it's on Gumtree

Looks good doesn't it. Decent selection of stitches. I had an old metal viking from the 70s (I think rather than 60s) and it was a complete workhorse. I gave it to a friend about ten years ago, I wouldn't be surprised to hear it is still in use.

I have just looked for the same one on eBay - prices are daft aren't they right now for older used machines, sewing bee effect I think.

is this a bit lightweight?

I reckon so, especially if you plan to do a lot of sewing.

I would go for a mechanical machine, metal bodied, with a zig zag. Do you need to do buttonholes?

What about this if you fancy a new machine. Russell, who owns this place, is quite a straightforward chap and I have never heard anyone say anything bad about buying from him (my first overlocker came from there).

I can't even really afford the Viking 2nd hand tbh

But I dropped my pedal & I either have to replace that or buy a new machine as I need a zigzag (& my Toyota is 20 yrs old)

Used machines cost a lot more than they used to.

Can you disengage the cutting knife from your overlocker and use that for zig zag?

What do you need to be zig zagging that you can't use your overlocker for. I only really use my machines for straight stitch, buttonholes and blind hemming these days tbh.

Applique - I looked in the book and it doesn't seem possible - maybe I'm just crap at it - I wonder if the blindhem would work?

Can you have a go at doing this? Might work?

www.addhousewife.com/2013/01/use-your-serger-to-applique.html

I was taught by my textiles teacher to clean out the race and surrounds every 2 bobbins worth of thread or after 6 hours sewing and at the same time to change the needle.

My old machine recently went to that old workshop in the sky and I've just bought myself a new Brother with embroidery and I'm trying to find my way around it.

www.brother-usa.com/Homesewing/ModelDetail.aspx?ProductID=NV990D

That looks expensive

That looks an easy way to applique - do you think it would work on Lycra/dancewear? That's what I do mainly (so far), I wonder?

It was my mum that insisted on it for me IAm, not a bad thing in hindsight as I have never had a machine die and the two I have lost I have given to friends in need because I am like a mad collector of sewing machines.

Your machine looks very swish, and slightly scary to a luddite like me. I hope you enjoy it!

Not sure Katy, I don't wear dance wear (frightening thought) and have never made it . Worth a go if you have got a scrap of fabric. I wonder how the straight stitch will stretch though.

I would imagine more than one row of stitching it on with a long stitch would work better than a normal length stitch which would snap when the stretchy stuff stretched.

Or glue maybe?

Glue is not for sewers , seriously though, I have no idea. I am sure you can get iron on glue stuff, never looked.

I remember finding one brownie birthday badge awful to hand sew on (in the purist days before I whizzed them on with my machine). It was so hard it made my fingers bleed.

When I mentioned it to Brown Owl she nearly peed her pants, it was so hard and stiff because it was meant to be iron on. I wondered what the world was coming to!

I have 2 sewing machines, both hand-me-downs from grandparents. Neither is currently working so I've borrowed one from my aunt that my gran had when she was first married. It's beautiful & smells amazing! It's also not been serviced for many years but still works well enough... the upshot is that I now have 3 sewing machines in my house that could do with some attention but no idea where to take them!

Katy it was about £700. I've had it a couple of months and have only explored the normal sewing side as yet but absolutely love it and am getting a lot more sewing done with it than I ever did. Once the summer holidays are over I'm going to look at the embroidery side.

I'll have a look at the booklet tomorrow and see if I can work out if it does lycra for you.

My last one was 20 years old and cost me £40 at the time and was as basic as basic gets. It didn't like being shipped abroad and was never the same and just gave up the ghost, so I had an excuse for a new machine

I really want a serger now to give a better finish. Though this machine has a function that gives a similar finish it uses tons of thread.

Maybe I should save up & buy an all singing & dancing one and just buy a foot pedal today?

I can get one for £15 and then save up?

That sounds sensible I guess?

what do you reckon?

Hmm! If it was me I'd probably invest in a cheap John Lewis machine. By the time you've had this serviced and the problem fixed you could be looking at £100+

JL do a £ 49 mini or a £89 normal size basic machine.

and they come in funky colours 😀

JL minis are naff, read previous threads on here.

What about the £60 machine, SM159, described as boring but useful by Helen Howes on her webpage, does zig zag, will last longer than most cheaper moderns

Thanks for the heads up on the minis. I'll warn a friend who was going to buy one.

My machine was bought by a combination of saving up and friends and family giving me money for two birthdays and one Christmas.

I bought the foot pedal

It seems safer & I'll save up for something amazing

AGnu, I only have vintage machines as well. Found my sewing machine repairman by ringing round a few, telling them the model name of the 1950s' machine I wanted fixing, and asked them honestly if they could do it. A couple said no thanks. But of the ones who said he could fix it no problem, one in particular seemed to have experience of older machines, so I chose him. I was so impressed with his service and little electrical fix (£39) that a week later, gave him my second vintage broken machine to fix!

Most of them will also give you a free estimate if you take the machine in.

What part of the country are you in AGnu?