So Many Machines, So Little Time

Non-sewing people ask "Why do you have so many sewing machines? Do you use them all?" and I can hardly blame them. It's the kind of thing anyone says when they don't understand how a hobby might actually work. This is my opportunity to explain. Or maybe defend myself? Who knows!

For quilting, nothing beats a built in walking foot like the Pfaff:

My Pfaff 1222

IDT system of walking foot

I have tried to go back to the add on walking foot attachment but it just doesn't compare to this system, written about earlier in this post. Now to using a serger. If you have never tried one, they are great at seaming with a sturdy seam and a ready to go finish since it sews and trims as it goes. Perfect!

My Elna Pro 5DC

I was having a bit of trouble with this one earlier this week but I changed the needles (not explained in the manual!) and found out the foot was not firmly attached so think that was the cause of breaking thread. You might remember when I first got this serger or read about it in this post. Onto my main sewing machine, the Viking 1100:

My Viking 1100

Here's an explanation of how I used these machine just this week. I was making a toaster cover for a friend so I used the Pfaff to quilt the pieces together and sew on the bias binding. She wants a cover for her standing mixer so I will need to use the Viking to sew the pieces together and add a special stitch boarder with cassettes that snap in and out of the top right of the machine:

Stitch card A on Viking

 Cards B, C, D

Card A allows you to do all of the basic stitches of straight, zigzag, stretch stitches, and buttonholes. Cards B and C are uppercase letters for monograms, and card D has fancy stitches like roses on a vine, for really special effects.


When making tote bags out of calendar towels, I use the serger for the seams, the Viking for the corners of the bag and lining, the fancy stitches for the handles or around the top edge, and the Viking for the final stitching of the bag to the lining. Here's a sample bag:

Isn't that reason enough for 2 sewing machines? Now here's what I did with the toaster cover:

Ready for final hem binding

Once I get the final height measurement I can put the binding on and maybe a decorative stitching around the binding? We shall see!