Choosing a Sewing Machine

[miss_s_b]

Amazingly, I have a refund to come from the utility company, and will actually have a little bit of money to play with soon. This means I also have some decisions to make. As I mentioned in the previous post, my current machine is bloody awful. Specifically, it is this one, which my mum bought new for twenty pounds. It doesn't like any thickness of fabric beyond a couple of layers of standard cotton, but the foot doesn't actually press down hard enough if the fabric is thin enough for it to sew; the tension adjustment is totally bizarre - it's either way too loose, or thread-snappingly tight with nothing in between... Yeah, I could go on, but you get the picture.

If I scrimp and scrape, and including the nice fat refund I have coming, I might be able to run to 350-400 pounds for a machine. That's going to give me quite a lot of choice. So, I have a couple of questions. I'm planning on doing a reasonable amount with clothes, simple stuff to begin with, but I'll probably want to at least be able to do denim, which apparently most cheaper machines can't deal with. I'd also like to be able to (for example) run up a pair of curtains without having to sit hand sewing them for a full day. I really am not interested in embroidery functions. With those points in mind:

1. Am I better off going for a semi-industrial machine with less stitches but more power, or will I really miss things like automatic buttonholes?


2. Would I be better using all the money for one machine, or splitting it and getting a reasonable machine and a cheap overlocker (serger)? Or even JUST getting a good overlocker?


3. What brands should I look at? And which ones should I really avoid? (for instance, I have heard good things about Husqvarna/Viking - which are the ones they have at my class - Janome, Bernina, and old Singers; and bad things about Brother, modern Singer, Toyota and I have experience of the crapness of Hyundai. But what about Pfaff? Or other brands?


4. What are the code words, for want of a better term, that I should look for that will tell me this machine can do denim or this machine can only handle light fabrics?


5. Given the issues that seem to surround tension, is it worth looking at a machine with automatic tension?

Thanks for all your patience with me as a novice :)

Comments

[lilacsigil]

I have a Pfaff! It's a hard-working, basic machine that can sew two layers of heavy denim but would have trouble with more than that. It's very reliable and has had no maintenance issues (which is the main issue for me, as I live 150km from the nearest service centre).

Are you going to be sewing stretch fabric? If not, an overlocker is probably not critical at this point.

[miss_s_b]

I'm not planning on lycra or anything, but as far as I understand it, most fabrics have some degree of stretch. At what point does the stretchiness become stretchy enough to really need overlocking? Or is that a daft question?

[lilacsigil]

I've sewn plenty of cotton-elastane with moderate stretch and no need for an overlocker. There comes a point where the edge of the fabric just sort of shreds if you don't overlock it, but in my experience it's not something that anyone would run into by accident - maybe talk to your sewing teacher?

[miss_s_b]

That is something I was planning on doing, yes. But thank you, if cotton elastane is doable on a normal machine then I should be fine, at least for a while.

[pinesandmaples]

I feel like Janomes are under-rated (and thus more affordable) in the US, but I don't know how they'd price out in the UK. Pfaff is another good brand and should be considered on the pro side of your list.

Which is to say: your lists are good. Shop within them.

[miss_s_b]

Janomes seem to be considered glamourously American, and thus seem to be quite expensive over here. I'm not going to rush into anything, though.

[drunkoffthestars]

I started out on my Mom's 60's/70's era machine, and then received a (crappy kinda broken) Bernette as a gift in college which I recently sold on craigslist and replaced with a Viking 21A.

My friend who works in fashion history and worked in an opera company costume shop for a bit likes Janome. Her machine is a new one, and she is very happy with it, but I never really used it so I can't weigh in there.

The problem that I had with committing to a newer machine was that they all seemed to cost a lot of money and also seemed like they were somewhat disposable. You were supposed to use them till they died in 5-10 years and then replace them at the same price point (or higher).

[drunkoffthestars]

oh, and there are no code words. Bring a wad of denim to the shop, if that's where you're buying from, and make them demonstrate.

And I don't know what the exchange rate, but when I was looking at newer machines in the US, the ones that seemed of reasonableish quality were all at least $300, unless you could get a good deal somewhere. Some sewing shops do trade ins and sell the used machines for less than the cost of a new one.

[teapot_rabbit]

I have a Husqvarna Viking 320, which I adore. I've had it for around tean years now, and it's still going strong.

Any decent machine should be able to sew through denim, and I have never heard of code words. I second the suggestion made above, to bring a scrap of fabric to the sewing machine shop, if you're really concerned. Most places have test models, and in my experience, are happy to talk to you about different machines. :)

In my experience, you really don't need a machine with a million fancy stitches. You certainly don't want to buy an embroidery machine unless you really want to do machine embroidery - they're different creatures. You'll probably use the straight stitch 90% of the time anyway. As for stretchy materials (think knit fabrics like cotton jersey and the like) some machines have a stretch stitch, which is stronger and won't snap when stretched. I use mine very, very rarely. a zig-zag stitch is good to have, and machine buttonholes are nice but not essential.

Sergers/overlock machines are different beasts entirely. They're really useful for things like finishing raw edges of seams (something which you can use a zig-zag stitch for) but they're not really a replacement for a normal sewing machine. There's some things they just can't do, and their stitch isn't usually strong enough to function as a seam on its own.

I don't like automatic tension, but that's just a personal thing. Tension isn't actually that bad, on most machines - a little trial and error on some scrap fabric, and you should start getting a feel for it.

have fun, and good luck! :)

[via_ostiense]

I have a Brother that's at least 10 years old, and it works just fine. I use it to hem denim pants, and while it can sew through two layers without a problem, it can't sew through more thicknesses (e.g. when the inseam is folded over, it can't sew through those two layers).

For sergers, it depends what sort of materials you want to work with. If you're going to use a lot of stretchy fabric, such as jersey knits, or if you sew with something that frays easily, such as polyester, and you want to overcast the seams, it would be worthwhile, but if you're mostly using woven, non-stretch fabrics, you won't need it.

[kawehilani]

I've bought a mechanical Janome sewing machine last autumn. Unfortunately, I don't remember which model I got, but Janome has LOTS of models with only minor differences between them.

I really like it: it's small, relatively light-weight, and very easy to operate (I had virtually no experience in machine sewing, and I learned how to sew on my machine pretty quickly).

I haven't yet tried to do denim, but the machine did drapery fabric just fine.

[miss_s_b]

The more I talk to people the more I am leaning towards a Janome. There's a dealership near me, I might go and have a play on some of his machines.