Why oh why did I turn down Mum's machine?

[drunken_hedghog]

 To any of the sewing-minded peeps on my f-list, do you have any advice re: sewing machines?

I'm thinking about something cheap and cheerful, but are there any features that you couldn't live without? Any brands that you'd avoid? Tips and tricks are more than welcome.

Comments

[ionicaq]

Ooh, if you're doing heavy material make sure you get one with an adjustable presser foot. Or look for something that says it can do heavy fabrics. Otherwise once you have a double thickness of fabric you may have an issue sewing through it.

You can never be greedy with sewing machine features! The more work the machine does/can do, the less work you have to do. ;)

Oh too bad. They make sewing machine stands too! This one's a bit pricey, but you get the idea: http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog/productdetail.jsp?CATID=cat3485&PRODID=prd40037

No idea what your sewing experience level is, but here are some more ideas. Get yourself some GOOD scissors and pinking shears. Do you have an iron and ironing board? Wash and iron all your fabric before you start working with it. Washing it means it's pre-shrunk, and ironing makes it easier to work with, plus you'll need to iron seams and stuff as you go. Get a decent seam ripper (you never know), long pins (I like the flower-head ones, easy to find, you'd be amazed how easy it is to lose pins), a good place to put said pins, a couple different colored marking pencils, and a paper (or flexi-plastic) measuring tape. Get yourself some kind of carrying case for all of this if you plan on sewing more than one thing. Tackle boxes or make-up kit boxes (anything with a lot of different sized compartments) are good for this sort of thing.

OK, I'm a huge dork when it comes to sewing. I've done everything from curtains to my friend's wedding dress. I really really miss having a sewing machine...

[drunken_hedghog]

I have done a GCSE in textiles which would put me up to, maybe high-school standard? Do you get taught sewing and that sort of thing in high-school? Either way, I'm not a novice, but it's been quite a while since I wielded needle and thread for anything more intricate than repairs.

Thank you for the heads up with washing and ironing. As the likelihood is that I'll be working with wool or a thick, wool-like fabric, I'll definitely want it pre-shrunk. I'll see if I can afford a sewing machine with variable height feet. I have a suspicion I won't be able to, so I might end up hand-sewing the worst parts. Long, tedious and painful, but them's the breaks.

My sewing kit is sitting forlornly under the bed and I'm sure will be very glad to be used again. I'm not sure what flower-head pins are, but I have the type that have big balls (if you'll pardon the innuendo) on the end, making them easier to spot. I've had too many needles and pins poke into too many bits of me to use anything else!

Out of interest, do you use tailor's chalk? The last time I was sewing, I ended up using pencil, but I'd rather not risk that with this pattern, not least because it may not come out/show up.

I have an exceptionally sharp pair of scissors that are ONLY used for fabric. Tis the way I was brought up *nods*

[ionicaq]

I took two classes of Home Ec (sewing, cooking, etc), but I learned most of my sewing from my mom post-high school.

Sometimes, if you're careful, you just don't put the foot down and you can get it to sew properly even if the fabric is thick. Especially if the fabric is thick enough to press against the foot with the foot up.

Yay sewing kit! :D The flower-head pins look like this: http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog/productdetail.jsp?CATID=cat2276&PRODID=prd34527
I like them because unlike the big-balled ones, they lay flat, but are also easy to see. :)

No, I never have used tailor's chalk. My grandmother used to, and when I was little I played with it, but I've never used it for its intended purpose. I've only ever used the quilting/sewing pencils in blue, red & white.

Me too! Never used to cut paper because that dulls the blade.