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Upgrading my machine
I love, love, love older, mechanical sewing machines. I love their weight, knowing its all metal parts inside. I love knowing I can open it up and oil it and adjust the timing myself.
Unfortunately, I've about had it with my beloved 1978 model Kenmore. It was all fine until I moved 5 years ago and lost the presser foot. Apparently, most of the replacements are about 1/32 of an inch off and the needle hits the foot on the way down. I've had it to repairs shops to fix, but they can't do anything about it. So right now I have a straight foot that works and a zig-zag that only does really tight zig-zags. I can't sew a zipper anymore. And I think I have hit the last straw - the foot that goes with the button-hole attachment seems to have disappeared in the most recent move (6 months ago). *sob* I'm not about to try this foot thing again. On top of that, the motor seems a bit sluggish lately, but that is a minor thing. I paid $30 for it at Goodwill about 12 years ago.
I've been looking around the local thrift stores for months, and nothing. Actually, I always check for sewing machines because I love the old ones and buy them for friends. Well, I haven't seen one in about a year. *sob*
Tell me a new machine will be OK. I'm thinking the Janome 7330 Magnolia.
FTR - I don't quilt. I don't make kid's clothes (much). I do adult clothing, purses, and costuming.
Re: Upgrading my machine
Its sad when you realize you need to pay $400 for what you want - lol
My craigslist is crappy. People wanting $200 for old machines that haven't been serviced in years.
Actually, I might check out my sew & vac tomorrow. Maybe they can help me.
Oh, and I just tried to explain this problem to DH.
His reaction "You have THREE sewing machines and you want ANOTHER?!"
Me: But... one is just a decoration. One is for embroidery. And the other is the one I need to replace.
My H says that and then goes how much is it? When I tell him........ he goes okay honey whatever you want. LOL, His PC parts and music equi are so much more expensive. A grand for something I want, pales in comparison. :P Just remind him how much his toys cost.
L'isle Sur la Sorgue, Provence
LOL... very true. And our "toys" last much longer than theirs!
I wanted to add - check the local sewing machine dealers, too. The place where I bought my Bernina (also sells Brothers) offers a deal on a trade-in, even if it doesn't work. You can ask about the old machines they have and the dealer should have check out the condition and made repairs if needed. They also said many people come in after the original owner of the sewing machine passes away just to drop one off since they don't know what to do with it. It is worth a shot for an older machine.
PAIF and SAIF welcome. IVF questions welcome, too.
I am constantly looking for "that" vintage machine from the mid to late 70s. I am currently sewing on a New Home that I do not love and miss the Brother I cracked the cams on (yeah, I know) so very much.
I lucked into the New Home at a garage sale for $25, but I got the Brother from the sew and vac place. Dan always seems to have something there that is almost what I want. Last week it was a mid 70s JCPenney that I would venture to guess will be my next machine assuming it cleans up ok.
I haven't given up and made the jump to a new machine yet. I'm looking for a Singer 401A always and in the meantime, I just might find my perfect right now machine.
I have many presser feet off of Brothers (low shanks) from the mid 70s. Would you like me to measure them and see if they might work for your current machine while you look?
Its a slant shank. Snap on. I might just take it down to this sew & vac place tomorrow and hope something works. Either a new machine or they have the mystery pieces. Its a new sew & vac shop to me, so I haven't had it in there yet. It had been to every sew & vac between Baltimore and Newark, DE. Now I'll work my way south lol
Definitely take the machine with you. Talking to the sewing and vac guy without the machine in front of him is a lost cause. :-) It's a shame you don't live out here. My sewing guy has a whole box of presser feet and he's a really good guy. Good luck. And who knows, they might have a beautiful vintage machine with your name on it!
I don't have any snap on feet except for the New Home. And no slant shafts. Sorry.
Alrighty, my poor machine has now been to every sew & vac store between Newark, DE and Annapolis, MD (hugging the bay, didn't venture north or NW of Baltimore).
First mechanic returned it with a note "foot does not fit machine." That is all. No help.
Second place shurgged
Third & forth place went through their stock of feet in the back. One had no luck, the other had one zig-zag foot that appeared to work. I've been using it, but it doesn't really do zigzag. It only does a very narrow zig-zag because it doesn't line up on the wide parts.
Fifth store (today) told me my machine was broken, and he has the best mechanic is the business, but his mechanic doesn't like to fix machines more than 20 years old. He claims that once one thing breaks, it will be back in the shop in a few months for something else. Dude, my machine is not broken, I just can't find the right foot for it! And really?! No point in repairing older machines?! Yeah, I high tailed it out of there.
6th place (also today) - we might finally have a winner. She didn't have any feet in stock, but she had a book and she is sure that the feet she ordered will work. Honestly, I'm only about 60% sure, but at this point, its another $15-20 to try (plus gas to Annapolis and back again).
After these two stops, I went to the Goodwill to look at what they had. Two older Singers. One was missing its foot (AAHHHHHH!! We are NOT going there again). I couldn't lower the presser foot on the other. I could probably fix that, but I didn't really want to bother with it.
So goes the saga of poor little Kenny. The machine that will sew through 4 layers of denim and a piece of leather on top, but can't sew a zig-zag because I lost the right foot.
eta: Oh, it turns out I have a "super high shank" machine with snap-on feet. This is apparently part of my problem. But, if this latest attempt fails, I found an attachment that converts super high to low shank. Once I have low shank, I might have more success.
Also, after today's saga, DH is more amenable to the idea of new machine.