Old Friends and New Friends

We are in the midst of a garage sale but I just had to quickly write this post in to keep you up-to-date. While we were getting ready and I'm picking out just a few of my machines to sell (two were only $30!) I'm still buying sewing machines. This is a very serious addiction. Anyway, here I am, picking up two Kenmore's that are just too good to be true. The Kenmore 158-1525 is just lovely, needing nothing but a light cleaning and some oil:

Kenmore 158-1525

As it turned out, a student at my school was selling it via Facebook Marketplace so imagine our mutual surprise when we were arranging time and place. The next day I stop over by the hospital to pick up a very nice Kenmore 385-162184 that was part of an estate sale. The seller told me someone else came to buy it and it skipped stitches so the buyer declared it needed to have the timing fixed and it wasn't worth that kind of a repair. The seller was just being upfront as she now saw it as a parts machine. As we talked on the phone I reassured her it probably wasn't the timing but more likely needed a new needle or some minor tweaking. Once home, rather than get things ready for the garage sale I just had to take a look: it was the wrong bobbin. There were clear plastic bobbins in the accessory box that were class 15 and one class 66. Yup, another class 66 was in the bobbin holder but Kenmore's are almost always class 15. Switched it out and it runs beautifully. I love the tapestry bag it came it, too, another plus:

Kenmore 385-162184 with tapestry bag

In a couple hours I had an appointment to sell some beginner sewing machines to Amy who is working with students who are learning to sew. This time I picked out a Singer 237 (classic), Elnita 220, and a J.C. Penny 7102. The stretch stitches sold her on the Elnita and Penny's sewing machines:

J.C. Penny 7102

Amy had asked if I could check out her "problem" machines so she dropped of a Janome that she said wasn't computerized. Well, it had an LCD display so that makes it computerized or at least electronic but I promise to take a look. Then there was a Riccar in an old suitcase type of carrier that she said was donated but I could just take it. Looks like it going to need some work on the tension dial since all of the parts aren't there. I'm excited to get a free machine that holds promise even though I have shelves full of the same. See, it's an addiction.

Riccar 8500

But before Amy came over, while the beginner's sewing machines were just getting set up, I get a call from Cheri, an old friend of sewing machine buying and selling. Do I have a Singer 404, she asks? As a matter of fact I do but she has to hurry since I have another appointment coming over. The Singer 404, a straight stitch only machine but gear driven, was just perfect for her friend and the price was perfect, too, since it was less than half the cost of a machine she had first looked at. They are nice machines but plentiful so no highway robbery is needed!

Singer 404 (same model, different case)

Cheri has more good news: remember the combination table with the Singer 99 in a bentwood case that fit down into the table?  I wrote about it in In a Line Up and now you are going to get a great follow-up to this little beauty. Cheri knew Bonnie Hunter, of Quiltville fame, would love it but figured it wasn't going to ship too well so she declared she would travel from Minnesota to North Carolina to bring it herself. In our get together this last week Cheri told me all about it and even sent me the link from Bonnie's blog about her Road Trip with the Minnesota Girl's! adventure. I loved reading about the joy this great little Singer 99 gave Bonnie and now hear she's gotten rid of her other 99's since this one was her best one! Here's one last photo of the Singer 99 and Combination Table No. 301:

Singer 99 in Combination table 301

Serious addiction or just another way to make friends while you love what you're doing? Who knows but I'm still havin' fun in the summertime here in Minnesota.

Let's Begin At The Beginning

Beginner's sewing machines is a bit of a misnomer: why would a beginner want a sewing machine that was "less than" any other sewing machine for a person who sews? There are several reasons why you might not want a "serious" sewing machine:

• Just trying out a new hobby: why spend much money on something you are only going to dabble in? If you like sewing you can always buy a better sewing machine later.
• Money is tight and you think you can save money by mending your clothes or making new ones cheaper.
• Your child/grandchild has expressed an interest in sewing but what if they don't stick with it? Better to buy a beginner's sewing machine.
• Money is still tight and you can only afford a beginner's sewing machine , just under $100.

Of course, I'm going to refute these ideas but, not to insult my readers, I'll just sum this up quickly. Poor equipment is just that: poor. No one would stay with a new hobby when they struggle to get the equipment to work or it produces poor results. Poor results? You might think to yourself "I must not be very good at it." Yet maybe your equipment isn't very good. Many, many people have used rather crappy sewing machines for years and wondered why their garments do not turn out too well. Of course you will get better with practice but poor equipment can only take you so far.

Enter your choices in beginning to sew:

Brother XL-3750

Brother JX-2517

Brother XL-3100

Brother XL-5130

Most people go with a Brother sewing machine or Singer because they are cheap and easy to find: they are in Walmart, Costco, even Aldi (I kid you not, I almost took a photo).  But these won't last for long and do not give you a good, even stitch. If you happen to jam the machine from sewing over a pin or trying to hem jeans, it can throw the timing off and/or break gears. Let me suggest some alternatives.

Montgomery Wards UHT J1947

Signature UHT J278

Buy vintage! Only the strong survive so the poor sewing machines have all gone to landfills and the better ones are ready for you to try out. I have been pleasantly surprised at some brands that have attached their name to some pretty nice sewing machines: Signature (Montgomery Wards), J.C. Penney's, and Kenmore (Sears), where none of them are actually made by the company that sells them. Even some big names have made more-affordable lines like Bernette by Bernina, and Elnita by Elna. Here are some I've used and thought were pretty nice:

Bernette 330

Elna 1010

J.C. Penney's Stretch Stitch

They usually sell for less than $100 and are made well. For beginning sewing I usually recommend straight, zigzag, and stretch stitches, with a 4-step buttonhole maker. This will take you quite far before you find the need to expand into a "better" sewing machine. What constitutes a better machine? It's not always about money but about performance. If you have never tried a classic Elna, Necchi, Pfaff, Singer or Bernina you are in for a treat. Each one performs differently and speaks to you (or not). If you go into dealerships they basically have the new models and only for a few of the different lines. Where can you try out all the different brands? Why, at my house, of course! I don't have all of my models out all of the time either but if you come to one of my sewing machine garage sales...then you are in for a treat.

I know, I know, I've said I won't do another one and I'm not even looking at anything in a cabinet, but next fall might be a different story. It's a bit like a siren's call but I hope I don't get dashed onto the rocks!

A Hit and a Miss

This is the tale of two sewing machines and goes to show that it is not always clear which ones are keepers and which ones are losers. My friend Ellie, who sends sewing machines to Haiti, brought over a Singer Scholastic 717 to see if it could be sent off. She heard it had plastic gears and didn't want to bother with anything that might not hold up.

Singer Scholastic 717, oh so '60's

Sure enough, when I looked inside I found four plastic gears for the hook and feed dogs but they all appeared to be in excellent shape. Removing the top cover showed a big plastic gear under the top one pictured below that I couldn't see very well. There were other plastic parts that were oddly placed such as part of the take-up arm and on the main shaft:

Under the lid of the Singer 717

Why? After removing the bent needle and running it a bit, everything sounded normal, at least normal for this model that tends to grind. It does have the geared hand wheel and is very similar to the Singer 400 series, a real favorite of mine. As I cleaned out lint and old grease, it started to run slower. I could not figure out what was causing the slowing down. The foot control had something rattling around in it but that didn't seem to be the problem. I loosened the clutch to see how the motor would run when there was no load: it spun freely and strong. Then I noticed a light coating of cream colored shredding: shredding of plastic? That would be a reason for it to be slowing down but where was that shredding coming from? I bet when I started this machine up the hidden gear worked at first and then started to break down, causing it to spit parts out and kept the machine from running. It's not going to Haiti with all of those plastic gears anyway but I just wanted to find out what happened.

The next day I found a sorta sad sewing machine at Savers, a J.C. Penney model 7102. I say it was sad because the plastic parts that were exposed to daylight were yellowed while the metal part was still cream. It appeared to be very lightly used with all by two of the snap-on presser feet in the front storage compartment and very little lint inside. It cleaned up nicely and started to run smoothly once it was oiled.

J.C. Penney model 7102 storage compartment up front

There was about eight inches of thread wound around the take up levers/arm next to the needle bar so that could be why someone gave it up, thinking it was having problems.  The thread /spool holder on the back of the machine was positioned in such a way that the built in handle for the sewing machine would fold down and catch one of the plastic pins and it was nearly broken off. I checked my parts and found the exact same configuration, just a thicker pin so it was traded out:

New spool pins in place

All cleaned up and threaded, it sewed a great stitch, including stretch stitches and a four-step buttonhole stitch. This is one nice sewing machine even if it does have plastic gears inside. It runs smoothly and is probably twenty years younger than the Singer 717, something to pay attention to. There could easily be only thirty years of wear on the J.C. Penny's sewing machine and fifty plus years on the Singer. That's just something to keep in mind.

J.C. Penney 7102

Out of these two sewing machines, one a classic Singer but with many flaws and the other sold under  other names of department stores, it's a bit of a switch to find the no-name runs better at this point in time than the Singer. When new, the Singer models were quite nice and more modern that the earlier 400 series that introduced  the slant needle, built in cams and removable cams for decorative stitches, plus the gear to gear smoothness and strength like the earlier 15-91 and 201-2. Yet, over time, the switch to plastic was the big downfall and the Singer name has never been the same. For my time and money, I'll take the J.C. Penney's, thank you very much.