the sewing machine i have now is a brother that my mom bought second-hand about 20-ish years ago and we have never brought it to a shop, or oiled it or any maintenance type stuff. it’s starting to freak out though, and it skips and bunches alot so that’s why i’m looking for a new machine. at first, i was just gunna jump on in and buy the cheapest one with the best reviews on like walmart or jo-anns…then i started researching more. some more experienced people said it’s better to go with pre-owned, second hand machines. there were blogs and blogs about antique retro machines that once belonged to their moms or grandmothers. i poked around a bit more and read other stuff about tune-ups and embroidery and that if it’s only a hobby machine, i need a straight zig-ziag…
so i wanna know, if i’m not quite a beginner but definitely not an intermediate seamstress [?], and sew mainly for hobby, what kind of machine should i get? should i look around in thrift shops or just bag a cheap one offa target? what features should i be looking for if i’m not into embroidery and more advanced projects? and what’s a tune-up and where do you get one?
Quilt Patterns, Contests and More!
Quilt Patterns, Online Quilt Classes and News
Vote For your Favorite Quilt!
-
-
I agree with the previous answers — the old machines are better than the new ones. They tend to have more steel in the components rather than plastic and are more reliable. Most Joann’s stores can take a machine in for a tune-up. I know the one near me has a repairman who picks them up and services them every week. I own 4 machines — an 1890′s Singer treadle, two electric portables (one from the 1970′s and another only 5 years old) and a 10 year old serger. If I only had to pick one it would be the treadle, hands down. I have attachments to do zigzag and buttonholes on it and I think the thing would sew through a wooden two by four without skipping. I’ve even replaced zippers in heavy leather jackets with it. It makes such a tight straight stitch that my mom used to come over and use it any time she did top stitching or wanted the buttonholes to look extra nice. Only hassles are that you can’t reverse the stitch (you have to lift the presser foot and rotate the fabric to backstitch the end of a stitchline) and moving it due to the heavy cast iron base (so if you live in an apartment, not a good choice.) You can usually find one on Craigslist for $100 or less. Stick with Singer if you do since you can still get parts for them easily.
Most major cities have shops that sell reconditioned older machines and they can be a great value. Both Brother and Husquvarna are supposed to be excellent — I’m sure there are others.
Why not have the machine cleaned? If you neglect a new machine like that (no cleaning and oiling), it will stop working even sooner. Newer machines are much more sensitive to such mistreatment.
Why don’t you take the Brother and get some maintenance done on it? If it’s lasted 20-some years with no maintenance whatsoever, it must be a pretty good machine and is probably worth keeping unless you want one with more features but a cheap new one with more features is probably going to be a piece of garbage compared to your old one. Probably won’t cost much to get the shop to clean, oil and tune it up, and they’ll tell you if it’s got something wrong that’s expensive to fix. Look in your phone book under “sewing machines” and call to see what they do. Or check your manual and do a cleaning and oiling yourself. It’s not hard and might fix the problem.
You are good! Do the research to determine the features you want and go to Resal Shops. Thrift Stores . Craigslist, Ebay, and all the garage/sales you can. Keep looking until you find a good one with your features at a bargain price. So many people have machines they do not use that the prices are low.