The Why of Sewing 8: Some opinions on buying a sewing machine
There is a lot of advice out there regarding buying a sewing machine, and while my own $0.02 is worth approximately $0.02 I thought I would write out some of my thoughts regardless.
Whether this is your first machine, or your seventeenth machine the first questions you need to answer before beginning your research are as follows?
What is my budget? Sewing machines that are going to actually function as more than frustrating toys start around $200, and can go up to several thousands of dollars. You can get a good, new in box, machine anywhere in that range.
What do I want to make with my machine? Different machines will have features that make certain kinds of sewing easier. Most basic machines will be a good all-rounder, but there are exceptions.
How much experience with sewing do I have? If you have never touched a machine you are likely to want a different machine than someone who has been sewing for thirty years. At the very least you might want to find out whether you actually like this hobby before spending a grand on a machine.
How handy am I? If you are looking for the hobby of machine refurbishment and maintenance in addition to sewing I have different recommendations for you than I do for someone that wants the machine to work the first time and every time.
Can I get a machine serviced locally? Do the machine shops in my area only service particular brands? This is going to be something you may need to make some phone calls regarding.
Things to avoid like the plague:
Anything from Temu, Alibaba, wish, or other drop shipped import company currently trending.
Anything from Amazon with some random assortment of letters as the brand. You should be able to find a website for a brand, and reviews for that machine located not on Amazon or on the brand website.
Anything made after 1975 with the name Singer on it - ESPECIALLY the Heavy Duty line. They aren't actually heavy duty and they have a huge quality control problem. Singer has been bought out and is riding on the brand recognition.
This may be me being an old - but if you buy a machine and it does not come with a hard cover manual that is at least as heavy as your average fashion magazine, return it and buy something else.
For the super beginner:
If you have no one to help you diagnose machine issues and guide you through learning your machine I do not recommend buying a second hand machine in most circumstances. A new beginner does not yet have the skills to differentiate whether the problem is a broken machine or user error. The exception to this is if you have a local sewing machine repair shop that sells refurbished machines in your budget.
The features I recommend all beginners look for are machines with a speed control on the body of the machine, and a 1 step buttonhole. The first feature rarely appears on mechanical machines, but that is not a cause for concern. Computerized sewing machines are established and stable technology and the computerized portions are no more prone to breakdowns than the mechanical parts of the machine.
For a more advanced sewist, or a beginner with a bigger budget I recommend looking for a larger throat space (the bigger this gets, the heavier and more expensive the machine will be) and adjustable foot pressure. There are other features that may or may not be really nice. The thing that I do not recommend choosing your machine based on is the number of fancy stitches. In my experience those stitches are used in the first 3 months of owning the machine and rarely after that time.
Brands
I don't exclusively recommend these brands but I have personally owned and used Brother, Janome, and Juki machines. I also personally avoid any brands owned by the Singer Sewing Group (Singer, Pfaff, Husqvarna, Viking), I have been told the higher end machines from those brands are good, but I don't trust their commitment to value. Bernina and Bernette machines are good machines (Bernette are the entry level machines), but they have a closed system of accessories and not all service providers can work on a Bernina machine without voiding the warranties.
Buying Vintage
If you are the sort of person who gets excited about the prospect of disassembling a machine, I would actually recommend getting a vintage machine. I am not the person who can guide you in their care, but do your research and take your time deciding what you want. r/VintageSewing likely has resources I do not. https://www.reddit.com/r/vintagesewing/
Other notes:
Straight Stitch machines: Some sewing machines only sew a straight stitch. They are generally vintage, aimed at quilters, or industrial sewing machines. If you are reading my post, you do not need an industrial sewing machine. If you only plan on sewing quilts, then an straight stitch machine may suit you very well. Everyone else needs to know that you can't sew knits or make a buttonhole on these and keep that in mind.
On the subject of industrial machines. You don't need one. No you don't. Not even for jeans. A decent home sewing machine with the correct needle and some good fabric handling skills can sew jeans just fine. The only reason you need an industrial machine is if you plan on running your machine all day every day. An industrial machine is a tractor, it does one thing and it does it well, you need a car which can take you many places.
And finally, if you have answered the questions at the top and do want some guidance I will be watching the comments and reblogs and am willing to help. If you DM me, please start with something that isn't just "hey" and more like "I would like some help choosing a machine" and I will try and assist you.
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repinned the top corner cause i changed how much hem i was doing at the bottom. When you go off of the pinning plan it can mess with the other pins placements, so repinning is a good practice to prevent wrinkles.
so i'm transmasc and i love lace, but lacy things do not make me feel like myself. if i sew a garment that has little ruffles or floral lace on it, it's just not gonna suit me.
but you know what i *do* enjoy doing, *especially* if i don't fucking feel like making a single-fold bias tape?
fucking finishing the inside of sleeves with lace tape instead of bias tape.
so instead of having something like this on the inside of a sleeve
I take a lace tape that's as thin and flat as possible, like this
and i sew it to the right side, flip it inside, then sew it down.
this way, i get to enjoy collecting, touching, wearing, and loving lace, but it's just on the inside of my clothes.
you should try it, it gives a beautiful finish that is so much more special than clothes you buy at the store.
Left - My drawing of (loosely) what I have in my head. This isn't a serious drawing it's just brainstorming and the most basic idea of what I want to do.
Right - A moodboard to better illustrate what vibe I have in mind. Again, basic concept. We're thinking Green Witch, Hippie, Y2K, Grunge, etc etc. You get it. The vision is there.
I want to re-post this post with any progress I make, plus, it will probably be on my TikTok; 0rphan-source. (It's a zero, not O. Zero-rphan. 0 not O. Sorry for being confusing ( ╥ ㅅ ╥ )) Yes, I will use my nuclear nick name everywhere I can. If you know, you know.
I moved recently and I can't find my sewing machine so I don't know when I will actually start to sew this but... I will at some point ( ಥ ͜ʖ ಥ )
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The Why of Sewing 7: Type Matters, Sewing Machine Needle Guide
Sewing machine needles come in a variety of sizes and types and many of the problems I see online are caused by using the wrong needle type.
Generally when you buy a machine it comes with universal needles in the box. Universal is a misnomer. They are very useful on a wide variety of woven fabrics. Universal needles in a size 12 are what I use for anything that is a medium weight woven.
Jeans needles are for heavy fabrics like denim and canvas. Generally I go up to a 14 or 16 in a jeans needle.
Microtex needles are super sharp. They are excellent for woven fabrics that are delicate, snag easily, or are tightly woven. I use them on silks, satin, and cotton poplins. When all else fails on a fabric, try a microtex. Microtex come in larger sizes and can be used on heavy fabrics. Microtex needles need replaced more frequently than other needle types.
Ballpoint or Jersey needles are the same thing, usually they are labeled as ballpoint in the US and Jersey elsewhere. Ballpoint needles are appropriate for stable knits such as cotton jersey with no or minimal stretch fibers added.
Stretch needles are similar to ballpoint needles in the sense that they are for knit fabrics. Stretch needles are intended for fabrics with a higher stretch fiber percentage and in addition to that they work well on more stable knits. They are what I keep in stock for working with the widest variety of knit fabrics. I usually buy 11 or 12 in stretch needles.
Super stretch are for super stretchy problem child knits, I have not tried these as they are relatively new on the market but I will be picking up a pack before I make swimwear again.
In addition to the types above there are a great many other needles with specific uses. Within each type there is a range of sizes and the needle size should be chosen to match your fabric and thread.
Needles are consumables and will become gradually dull as you sew. The rule of thumb is that you need to replace after roughly 8 hours of run time. If you have been using a needle for a while and things start to go wrong or the machine sound changes, the first step on troubleshooting is a new needle. Old needles can damage your fabric and are more likely to break.
I also want to advise against buying off brand needles and included in that category are Singer branded needles. I personally only buy schmetz and organ brand needles and I buy exclusively off wawak.com (US and Canada only).
Schmetz has a good guide to machine needle types. https://www.schmetzneedles.com/pages/sewing-machine-needle-chart
Wawak also has a guide on matching thread tex size to needles
i feel like there has been a lot of discussion lately about the difference between satin and silk, and that's all good and important, but i would also like to add to that conversation that i've noticed a fair few polyester "satins" being sold for cheap that literally aren't satin weaves. instead, they are plainwoven fabrics that the manufacturers have used very shiny polyester threads to create, so they look shiny like satin, but don't have the same characteristics when you sew them. SO: if you are using a poly-satin to make a mockup for a satin garment, make sure the fabric is ACTUALLY a satin-weave. it should have a shiny front side and a duller back, and up close, the threads shouldn't be woven over-one-under-one, it should be more like over-four-under-one. satins absolutely must be cut paying attention to whether they're on the straight or cross grain (not just being aware of the bias), and if you don't have an actual satin weave for your mockup, you won't be able to accurately figure out the qualities of your final fabric before getting started. just a PSA for any sewists out there!!
