Advice about sewing machines

[drowninginclutter]

Hi, I was hoping someone would be able to help me decide what to do about my sewing machine dilemma. I have a much loved but very ancient viking 3600, I find it easy to use and can generally get it to do what I want it to do, however the dial for selecting straight/ zig-zag stitch has broken .

There is a shop near me where I can get it repaired but DP has offered to get me a new one if I want it.

So what I want to know is what do modern sewing machines do that one from 1973 doesn't? Am I actually likely to use any of the extra things it does in day-to-day sewing?

Any advice much appreciated .

Hi,

I'm just browsing the forum, think I might of joined years ago, but not sure, spotted this, so thought I'd reply as its something I know about

I sew a lot, & have done professionally, had many machines over the years, domestic & industrial & I personally HATE the newer lightweight plastic machines, you can't get any speed up on them without them bouncing across the table, & I've found them pretty useless at dealing with heavyier work, such as thick fabrics, or boning etc.........

I'd recommend sticking with your old machine, get it repaired & serviced, & if your OH is wanting to treat you to a new machine, then go for an overlocker (serger in the US) these give you a proffesional sturdy finish, & can do fancy stuff such as contrast roll hemming too.

There will be a few new bits & bobs on new flat machines, but I have an all singing all dancing lightweight one I bought a few years ago...gathering dust in a cupboard, never used any of the fancy stitches, much prefer my VERY old & heavy basic machine, which I ened up getting repaired & serviced after buying the other as it was so rubbish

hope this helps.....good luck

Hi there

I have a similar dilemma. I have my mum's 18 year old singer machine. My dd (age 14) has put a sewing machine on her Xmas list. I have seen one on the John Lewis website for £50, small, light and basic I'm guessing.

Should I get it for her, or get the old machine refurbished? My instinct is to go for a refurbish, but I don't know how to go about finding an engineer.

can anyone recommend a singer shop or similar in Manchester?

Any ideas ladies?

rockinhippy thank you, I think this was exactly the advice I needed. I'm definitely not a professional at sewing and don't know what contrast roll hemming is so don't think I'll miss having a machine that doesn't do it . The viking also belonged to my Granny so it'll make my Mum very happy to see it back in use again.

lyra41 I'm sure there will be somewhere in Manchester that does this sort of thing. When I was googling new machines to see what they might be able to do the search also brought up repairers all over the place. If you live in the right area there are even some which come round to your house.

TheButterflyEffect that does give me more to think about, I'm all for anything which makes life simpler and easier. I've always found it pretty easy getting the tension right on the viking but I have used another older machine where I could never, ever get the tension right so I can see how having it done automatically would be good. Still leaning towards repair but interested in all opinions .

I had an old singer that I loved, and my mums old toshiba from teh 70's was brilliant, but I have a new Brother as well and I love it. It's not as fancy as ButterflyEffects but it is fast, doesn't wobble, a lot easier to thread and adjust once I had the hang of it.
It probably depends on the sort of use you are getting, mine is used a few times a week but not heavily, whereas you woudl need something a bit more professional if you were using it all the time.

janome 525s

This is the one that my sewing teacher uses and recommends. It does seem very good.

I'm going to try and get to the shop tomorrow (have horrible cold so it might not happen) to get a quote for repairs and test-drive a few newer, fancier versions. I'm far more exciter than is really justifiable for a trip to the shops