Trust

I just realized my whole business is based on trust: people trust in my ability to make a sewing machine work and work well enough for them to take it home and sew with some amount of success. This week I had an opportunity to buy a sewing machine and the seller operated on her own premise that she could trust me to pay her...if and when I wanted to. What? If? That's right, if it didn't work I could do what I wanted with her sewing machine. Here's the story:

I spotted and ad for an Elna 8000 sewing machine, an early computerized model whose reputation has struggled a bit. I was brought to this series of models through a friend who has an Elna 7000 that could not be fixed, or so the shop told her and we had an adventure trying to get a working model for her. From there I bought a couple Elna 5000's as I wrote about in Ebay Elna 5000, the very basic model, and started to wonder about the later models, the 8000 and the 9000 they called the "Diva". It was on my wish list to work on one some day and it looked like this was going to be it. But the price was so low I feared it was going to be missing  parts or didn't fully function so I asked the seller if it still worked. She was selling it for her mother who used it recently so the answer was "probably". I explained this model suffered from having a step motor where part of it was for the belt and part was for the feed dogs and that was the part that usually failed. Well, she didn't sew and didn't understand but here's what she could do for me: She would leave it at the bottom of the steps by the garage door at her house and I should just come pick it up. If I liked it I could send her the money in the envelope she would provide, if I didn't like it I could do what I wanted with it. Fair enough? I told her it was more than fair and she was too trusting. She LOL's me a few times and said she had been accused of that before but this was what she wanted to do.

Elna 8000: note the top bar with one of the three rows of possible stitches

I stopped on my why home to find a decent looking model sewing machine along with a bag of bobbins and workbook in a bin at the front of her house. It had to wait until my grandson's softball game was over but when I got home and plugged it in it appeared to work and even moved an envelope across the feed dogs so that step motor seemed to be working. The next morning I threaded it up and it sewed great! Here's a sample of what it can do:

Elna 8000 stitch sample

There are three rolling bars across the top of the machine with illustrations of the stitches with their respective numbers. Row 1 holds 1-24 for basic stitches, buttonholes, and a small selection of decorative stitches like scallops. Row 2 holds 25-60 for block letters and numbers and row 3 holds 61-84, some pretty cool decorative stitches as shown in the sample. I really liked the feather stitch of actual feathers, one I have never seen before. Remember, Elna had all those really cool cams with a huge number of decorative stitches that others copied.

Mine came without a plate on the bed that would give you a smooth sewing surface but I actually had one from the Elna 5000 or 7000 as parts:

Gray plate is removable: see accessory tray in place?

It also came with the accessory tray full of goodies, plenty of bobbins and even the original needle threader:

Accessory tray with lid open

When the lid closes, it slips under the free arm and actually stays in place, very handy! There was no manual and I fear I will have to buy one because it just isn't as intuitive as I would like: this is not a beginners sewing machine either and a manual  is necessary. It did come with a workbook

where they will take you through a series of lessons to learn how to use all of the feet and features. Here's a sample page:

Of course, the previous owner did all of the lessons and attached her sample but you could still use it as a self-paced learning module. I've seen a few others that do this and I wish more would consider a workbook approach. Maybe classes were also held and you brought your workbook with you? Someone is going to have to let me know how that worked and if they still have this type of learning because it's pretty neat.

The Elna 8000 is one of the last ones that were actually made in Switzerland and it says right on the front"Swiss Made" whereas now they say "Swiss by Design." Who are they kidding? Janome bought them out so now you are getting a Janome sewing machine, which also has a solid reputation.

We have a heat advisory out for today so I mowed the lawn last night in anticipation of staying indoors today. It's a grand day to stay in the cool basement sewing up things I've cut out and working my stash down. Won't you join me?

Thirty-three and Counting

A few posts ago I wrote about the 32 presser feet and what they can do. This post is about 33, that is model 33-10, a Viking sewing machine that I got my hands on. Every once in awhile a model comes along that I think would be cool to use and it's usually an older model Elna, Bernina, Singer, or Viking. I had been eyeing a Viking 33-10 but thought the price was too high and apparently everyone else did , too, because it did not sell quickly. Finally breaking down, I sent a text and it came up with someone's name: Blake from Duluth who sold a Bernina 530 several months ago to me. Since we already had a working relationship he was more than willing to come down in price and even arranged to deliver it since he was swinging down through the Twin Cities from Duluth. He said it was running slow and showed me the huge globs of grease on the works through the back of the machine. Oh, yuck! The rest of it looked pretty complete with an extension table for the carrying case and all of the parts lying around in the case.

Original Viking case is in good shape

Back of the machine: opening where all the grease was packed in (note that extension table on the case)

Couldn't wait to get my hands on it, to get all of that grease wiped out of there and to get it running again. As it usually turns out, it just needed some TLC. Cleaning, oiling with Triflow, and a generous application of heat with a hairblower got everything moving again. When I went to test the stitches out I discovered there was no bobbin case or bobbin. Mistake? Blake isn't answering texts so I surmise I'm out of luck . I have to be patient in hopes of one coming up on eBay someday or to find another supplier. But it runs! It has zigzag! Now if it would only stitch.

Viking 33-10, heavy duty but not industrial

In the meantime I'm working on the timing of a Pfaff 130. I change needles and bobbin cases (this one also came without a bobbin case but they are not hard to find). In my search for a slightly different bobbin case I pull out a Viking Husqvarna 21 to see what kind of a bobbin case it has and notice it is a zigzag model. I had a text on Memorial Day asking if I had a Husqvarna with zigzag and I had replied no but I had a Singer 237 and 190 with basic zigzag. It was a holiday and interest was waning and there was no follow-up by the requester. Now I remembered this series of texts and my newly retrieved Viking 21 so I text the Memorial Day shopper, Alex, to see if he still was interested in a Viking zigzag. Yes, he certainly was and would be right over.

Viking 19, a very similar model (sorry no photo of the 21)

He loved it! Alex was going over seas in July as part of his military active duty and wanted to take a good strong sewing machine with him along with new sewing skills he hoped to acquire. He was a quick study, having sewn a tiny bit before but never had his own sewing machine. He did confess that on Memorial Day he went to a fabric store and looked at their models and knew he was not going to be able to sew too long on such flimsy models. For the same cost he got a terrific sewing machine that would handle those heavier fabrics without jamming.

Alex walked away with a great sewing machine for his purposes. I reminded him he could call and come back with questions but that YouTube was a great resource. He laughed and said he worked at a large hardware store and always preferred when people took a short video of their problem to show when they came in for help. Maybe I will get that video clip from Alex when he is in another country and needs a bit of assistance. That would be cool, to go international again! Let's see, my sewing machines are presently being enjoyed in Haiti and Scotland so maybe another country is going to be added. Just let me know, Alex!

Makerspace

Innovation is a part of the libraries, always looking for ways to serve our patrons, meeting their needs, and sometimes before they even know they have a need. Our new Makerspace is just that: innovation and experimentation in....we don't know quite "what" because that is up to the user. As part of the equipment we have obtained a 3D printer, photography equipment, a green screen, and a sewing machine. It seems there was an old rarely used Singer 237 in the Art Department hidden in a corner of the sculpture studio. Our digital librarian, Kent, and I went down to look at it and found it just covered in dust even though it was down inside the table. Kent asked if it was going to be of any use to us and I figured I could get it up and running. Over the next few months it appeared in the Makerspace so I spent some time cleaning, oiling, and adjusting it and think it is going to work nicely for their purposes. And what would it be used for? Well, we didn't know just yet but we were getting ready.

Singer 237 set up for free motion embroidery

In anticipation of students who never used a sewing machine we figured they needed some guidance so I printed out the Singer 237 manual. No one reads manuals! Instead, I wrote up some basic instruction on how to thread the sewing machine and get started sewing along with illustrations from the manual. It was only four pages long and that seemed about right so they can be printed, laminated, and posted on the wall behind the sewing machine. Then we got the set of 32 presser feet and our minds started to churn out ideas on how to use this collection. A fringe foot? Where would we put fringe we could make? The free motion foot had intrigued me and I think this is where some really creative sewing could take place. But first we needed to get them sewing and Kent said he needed to learn so he could help anyone who needed help since he was in charge of the Makerspace. So let's get Kent sewing!

I proposed making pillowcases since this was an easy project that could be expanded upon and Kent agreed. Bringing in a stack of precut fabric in the size of pillowcases and a set of instructions, Kent picked one out and tried to remember his only sewing lesson back in 8th grade. He was going to need a refresher so we sat down and went over the basics. As a digital librarian, technology doesn't slow Kent down but a sewing machine? He was more than a little hesitant but was willing. Here's the progress he made:

Sewing in wide hem of the casing

Closer look at the start of the hem

Pinning the seam

Final result: a pillowcase!

We were both happy with this first project and now Kent wanted to try free-motion stitching on the hem to see how creative he could be.  I'm very new to free-motion embroidery but we all agreed this was a skill that was going to be used in this space, but that Singer 237 was not making this easy. The speed of the foot control seemed to lack the fine control that I thought was holding me back. Was it the machine or was it me? I went home and practiced on several sewing machines that could drop their feed dogs with varying results. The Viking #1, model 1200, was okay but maybe an electronic sewing machine was not the best way to go. I went back to the Singer 237 after a practice session at home and found it was better. Now, was the machine better or was I?  Yeah, you are thinking along the same lines as I am when we consider the machine had not changed but I was learning how to move the fabric, how to learn to keep a steady pace, and what designs I could actually produce. Here's a sample of the work I did:

Hooped, swirls, and words

As you can see, this takes practice! I'm sure some sewing machines are better than others for free motion but don't let the machine hold you back: just get in there and do it!

Big Sisters

I have two big sisters and one little sister so that makes me a middle-child. As we grow older together I love my sisters more and more, appreciating our differences and celebrating our milestones. There is a sewing machine that is purported to be the "big sister" and that has always intrigued me but sewing machines are in families, of sorts. There's the Berninas, that Swiss family that lives next door to the Elnas, also from Switzerland. The Pfaff's are down the street and they moved here from Germany and then there are the Vikings, those rather tall ones from Sweden. And, of course, the Necchi's are from Italy, home of great shoes and fast cars. Enough of the stereo types, looking at the above list makes me wonder what sewing machines were made in the United States: Singer is the only name I can come up with and those were from another age. But aren't they all? Most sewing machines are now made by a few big manufactures overseas, to the specifications of the brand, but no longer in all those countries of origin. Okay, off my soap box and onto big and little sister sewing machines.

The Singer 221, a.k.a. the Featherweight, is said to have a big sister, the Singer 301. They might be in the same family but sure are different in my book. Both have bodies made of aluminum so they are lightweight with the same slimline bobbin case. For all practical purposes, that's where the similarities end because the 301 is slant shank, has a built-in handle, can fit into a table with a cradle for easy release. Alright, they both come in black with flip up extension tables but the 301 has a long or short bed extensions whereas the 221 only has a long bed. I would say they are more like cousins but then I wasn't the one who nicknamed them big and little sister. So here's my find earlier this week:

Singer 301 in her found state: a dirty bird

As it happens with so many of these sales, the seller only knew enough to be dangerous. He found it in the basement of his house but couldn't find the power cord but turned the handwheel to see that it wasn't jammed. Someone has sent him a message telling him the bobbin case was pretty expensive so maybe he should be charging more. As always, I chuckled to myself and told him I would need to actually see the machine to determine if it was worth more. I brought along an extra power cord but by the time I got there he found the one it came with as well as the cradle to fit into a cabinet. He had done some more research and knew that black plate of the cradle indicated it came with a cabinet but there wasn't one in his basement so it was what it was. And it was pretty grimy. It did run, the cradle was a plus, and the found power cord kept me from bargaining, so we were both satisfied with the previously posted cost. She came home with me for a real spa treatment.

Because my elbow has flared up and I'm giving it a rest by keeping it in a brace, the cleaning process had to be done over several days with my right arm more engaged than usual and my left only as a helper. This did take a long time but here are the results:

Singer 301A after her spa day

There is some mottling on the bed so I suspect it might have been cleaned with window cleaner at some point but it was smooth with no nicks or dings. With a good cleaning on the inside with Triflow oil and then grease on the metal gears, she ran nice. Stitching was another story so I ended up taking the tension mechanism apart to clean between the disks. I forgot how it went back together and was determined I could do it without looking it up but it took me longer yet I did it! It stitched perfectly now, was clean inside and out, ready for a new home. It's my plan to put it in a trapezoid case I've been saving and keep the cradle for another machine and cabinet/table.

Back a few few posts I reported on my trials and successes of the newly fixed Designer 1 so I'll show you two of the samples from my practice:

Both were free designs and stitched on white fabric that looks cream in the photos. I didn't use stabilizer on the backs, just a firm setting inside the hoop. Each one had about three starts until I could do the above examples. I tried to add my name to the Sewing Center but it ended up being too large and wouldn't start in the spot it said it was starting. I got so frustrated that I went back to the original to see if I could at least do that one and I was fairly successful. On the Song of Solomon verse I ran out of bobbin thread and when I reloaded I didn't have it seated properly and it all came out in white thread from the bobbin. This is just part of the learning so that's okay. What am I going to do with these little gems? Probably put them on my sewing bulletin board for now as early samples to give me inspiration. Some days I need it!

32 and Counting

What is it about presser feet that makes us want more? Maybe we like to collect things that "should" have come with our sewing machine. Maybe we like the sense of accomplishment in learning a new skill in using the specialized feet to make a job easier. Or maybe we just like a whole box of shiny things. Here's a new box of 32 snap-on presser feet that I've been working with:

32 snap on presser foot set

I really like the box they came in with the foam cutouts to hold them when not in use. But there was a flaw in how they put this all together: the sheet with the labels, all of the identification info, is on the outside of the box where it shows what is inside but once you open the top...which one is which? So, clever me, I made a scan of the page, shrunk it to fit inside the cover so when you open the lid you can identify the name of each foot:

Box cover

Inside of box lid: see the "before" in the first photo

Some names are really helpful, such as blind hem foot: it makes a blind hem. Straight stitch foot is for making straight stitches. But what is a cording foot for? How about a double welting foot? I figured I could work through these babies over the coming months until I went back to the quilt group in September where I've been asked to talk about presser feet and what you can do with the specialized ones. But then I took this set to work to show a friend and somehow I ended up buying another set for the sewing machine in our new "maker space." This set was just a bit different with a molded plastic insert, not the foam in my set. I knew this was going to take some work to get this tool ready for use my those who are less familiar with sewing machines so here's what I did:

Presser foot set with individual labels

Each foot got a label nearest to its spot in the set and a tiny photo of each piece underneath so you can match them up. At least it's an effort to keep things organized but how are they going to know how to use them? I proceeded to watch video clips in how to use each and every foot in this set, putting them in a chart. Not all of the names matched up, such as the lace insertion foot is also known as the picot foot.

Now you are probably asking how you can get your hands on this chart, too, so here's what I can do for you. Here is a link to this chart that you can view and download yourself:

Presser Foot Chart for 32 low shank snap on feet set.

Let me know if this doesn't open for you but I think I've set up the permissions correctly. If the links to the videos become extinct, let me know about that, too, so I can find a new one. I tried to find clips that were the most helpful with the least amount of advertising but I'm sure there are better ones if you only keep looking. Or maybe this will inspire you to make your own chart on how to use the feet on your sewing machine. Oh, the places you'll go, according to a popular Dr. Seuss book. Who knows...

Now She's Done It

For almost a year I had a broken Viking Designer 1 in my possession. I bought it at a neighborhood garage sale knowing it needed a new touch screen and that it was an expensive repair but I also knew the D1 was a machine to go after. In my quest to clean up my sewing room, I finally took the machine to a certified repair center where they kept it for a few weeks. When I got it back I was relieved to see that the D1 was going to live up to its reputation: a wonderful stitcher with a nice variety of stitches and functions: needle up/down, thread snip (new to me), built-in needle threader, and a host of features I've only started to discover. This model also came fully equipped with the embroidery unit and was I going to have fun with that!

Husqvarna Viking Designer 1 with embroidery unit attached

If I could only get it working. Correction: it worked but I didn't know how to get the designs to load. As part of a Yahoo group for VikingD1's, I read up on what I needed to have but I had a whole big box of manuals, boxes with CD's for upgrades, cables, dongles, more boxes with cords: what was what? Since I'm not the original owner, I'm not going to be able to update anything and figured I would have to circumvent the whole Viking software route but that wasn't a big loss since it did not come with any of the floppy disks with designs, not even one. They are pretty pricey to buy so maybe that was a good thing. What I could do was download SewWhat-Pro, a program that I could try for 30 days before I bought it. This handy tool would enable me to download designs, edit, and send to a 3.5" floppy disk to be read by the D1.

You read that right: floppy disks! I not only didn't have any floppy disks anymore but I didn't even have a computer with a floppy drive. Amazon to the rescue, I ordered a disk drive and floppies, something I never thought I'd see again. But when I went to put all of this together I couldn't get it to work. I finally took the disk drive and box of floppies to work and had our tech guru, Gene, walk me through the steps and we found out one of the disks was bad. He told me I should format them in the program I was using, SewWhat-Pro, so that was my first clue. The SWP manual was 85 pages of steps and I didn't even know what I was looking for so I finally wrote out what I had, what I tried, and where I wanted to go and posted it to the Yahoo group and they helped me solve it. About four women came forward with steps and suggestions until I finally got to the right place in the manual (p.47) where the steps were all laid out. It worked! Here's my first design:

Motif halfway done

The thread broke once and it stopped and waited for me to rethread. Here's the next time I stopped it:

Almost done...

and the final piece, now complete:

and complete!

This was a free design that I thought might be something I would actually like but, since I'm pretty new at machine embroidery, I had no idea how long this would take. An hour! But it only used one color of thread and I had a spool of rayon I figured would turn out nice. The fabric is from a stack of napkins, or maybe hankies, in various colors that I've had floating around and now I'll actually put them to use as I experiment with design and color. A big thank you goes out to Virginia who wrote out the steps from memory so I could get started and then offered to walk me through the steps over the phone. Now that's a helping community!

Will this be my next hobby? Maybe a diversion? I'm hoping it will be another facet in my sewing machine adventures where I can add a bit of embellishment where it would really be an asset. I remember when I started out with sergers "just to see what they are like" and that opened a whole new world of speed sewing and professional finishing. This might also do the same thing for me but I have a hunch the Designer 1 is going to replace the Viking #1+ as my main sewing machine. Oh, I can be so fickle!

Industrial Strength Singers

Ever since I saw a Singer 31-15 as I wrote about in Oh, Brother! last winter, I've been looking for one. I got close a couple times but I don't want to mess around with a heavy duty motor, just a treadle like Henry's would be nice. Imagine my surprise when I get a text from Ellie asking if she should keep a Singer treadle that was dropped off at her house. It looked pretty rough but then I took a look at the treadle irons and noticed the bottom pedal was off to the left. I looked again and could see a rod hanging down just off center. Now it started to fit together so I text back asking Ellie to humor me and check the model number that was on the front. You got it: it was a Singer 31-15. I won't say my heart stood still but I quickly text back that this was one to keep and could I pretty please be the one to work on it, for free? How could she say no? It arrived within a couple hours and was set up in my garage. Over the next few days I cleaned this dirty baby and got it reunited with the irons in the garage:

Singer 31-15 all cleaned up

It was a joy to figure out what was different to make this an industrial sewing machine and it's mainly just bigger. It does take special needles that are the same as one of the sergers I have, DBx1, so I was glad I didn't have to wait for an order to arrive. Bobbin case and bobbins are typical class 15's and I started out using regular polyester thread. It dawned on me that with the size 18 needle maybe I should be using heavier thread so I got out some heavy thread from my stash of serger cones. Winding the bobbin was not too successful but it was purely user error and will take more practice. The leather belt was broken so I used my trusty plastic tubing:

Bobbin winder in front and thread stand at the back with clear tubing in place of a leather belt

I did have to shorten it once but think it will do better with leather and I'll have to send for one since it's about six inches longer than the used ones I had accumulated. Just for practice and testing it was a fine start. Now for the pressure foot lift with the knee lever:

Knee lever right of center

The Bernina's 830's are about the first of the models that seem to have that feature but that was long after little beauty was made. It's fun to give that lever a little push and up goes the foot, keeping your hand free. At first the lever didn't engage so I tipped her back to see what was up with the positioning of the lever. I tried it several ways and then just gave up on it. While sewing this afternoon I gave the lever a nudge and, wow, the presser foot lifted! It worked! I don't know what I did but at least I got it positioned right somewhere in all of that finagling. Prepared with the size 18 needle and heavy thread, I tested her out on six layers of denim with no hesitation:

That's six layer of denim under that needle

I did struggle with the feed dogs moving the fabric along but think there was too much pressure on the presser foot as well as it is not an industrial presser foot. In the meantime I have a zigzag foot on it and it's doing much better. I even made a little video for you:

It's been fun to work on this sewing machine but I know I do not have the room nor a good use for it so it was nice while it lasted. It's absolutely perfect for Ellie to take to Haiti where electricity is not a mainstay of their lives but gainful employment is. Thanks, Ellie, for letting me practice on this one.