sewing machine upgrade is in the bag in 2 years time!!

[aegokocarat]

hi. ive been using my husqvarna viking h-class e10 since january and have started to get slightly tired of the slightly restricted stitches, it's a good machine dont get me wrong but i want to upgrade. i talked to my mum and she told me that in 2 years time after ive learned a little more on satin stich and other types of sewing i can upgrade!!!! i am considering a digitalised machine that can embroid items which will be handy as i can decorate my curtains and bedding to make them look a little bit more snazzy. i wont be selling my current sewing machine as i want to put it into storage as a back up machine.
Tom =)

 

[tolivac]

"Husky" Vikings are good machines -got one from a yard sale that uses cams for various stitch patterns-haven't used mine in a while-think it will need a cleanout from fuzz and such-and a lube job.That was when Husqvarna made all kinds of products-from machine tools to chain saws and very fine rifles.Since they are now a member of the "electrolux" group don't know if their products have retained the quality.

 

[panthera]

I think

It is just as important to choose a machine which can be well serviced locally as to rely upon a brand.

My first sewing machine was an ancient Singer - reliable, accurate, a wide range of attachments which actually worked and, most important of all, decorative stitches were repeatable.

After I had made a few simple projects, at the age of 15, I went out and bought a Ricoh and then a Pfaff. Those were the days when Singer was living off of their good name but the quality was no longer top-drawer.
Both were good at the blind-stiches and zig-zag I needed, but - and it is an important "but" - there was no service for the Ricoh locally. This meant I was dependent upon somebody driving me and the machine to a city two-hours removed, then having to wait some time until somebody had the time to go with me to pick the machine up again.

The Pfaff was serviced locally. It made a big difference.

Sewing machines today are easier to use for complicated work, but the need for service has increased rather than decreased. I'd be sure you have good service available to you before buying anything.

(I still use my ancient Pfaff here in Germany and a Brother with idiot-proof logic when in the US. Works for me).

 

[peterh770]

See if you can find a Singer 401a, a very sturdy, versatile machine. Many consider it to be the best machine Singer ever made.

Quilters often covet Bernina. I have never used one, but I believe Gansky has one. I myself wanted a Pfaff, but was happy with my 401a (that I stole from my mother, and later inherited my great-grandmothers). Quilters also covet Singer Featherweights 221...

Pardon Our Interruption...

 

[launderess]

I Ain't Sayin Nothing But A Word

Elna Supermatic.

Ok, two words. *LOL*

 

[panthera]

Oh yes, the 401A-403

Were great. Laundress, do you remember when they incorporated the chainstich option?

I only used one once, at a friend's house when we ran up 15 bowling shirts in an afternoon. Worked great, a little loud for my taste.

 

[lordkenmore]

This thread reminds me of a question I've wondered about. What is the CORRECT way to pronounce the name Pfaff? I've heard a couple different pronunciations over the years, and think one could possibly come up with more.

 

[aegokocarat]

i have had a look at the husqvarna emerald models.
i need to reset the tention on my husqvarna cos someoene messed with it and it causes the bobbin thread to snap.
here is my current machine

 

[aegokocarat]

the husqvarna viking emerald that i am looking at

 

[panthera]

pfaff

John,
If you go to the link, switch the language to German and enter "Pfaff" the pronunciation is close enough.
We make a plosive "p" with the lips and teeth adding an "f" not quite at the beginning and never at the end of the "pf".

Oh, and it's "PorschAE" not Porsch'.

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[ironrite]

Embroidery

When the time comes for an embroidery machine, look for the best support you can find. We get people coming in all the time with machines from Home Shopping, Walmart, etc. and don't know how to run them. If they want detailed instructions, then we have to charge them and it doesn't make for a happy customer. So find a dealer that is knowledgeable and will support you along the way. Sometimes a dealer will allow you to put a machine on layway and make small monthly payments.

We have embroidery machines from $599.99 to $11,999.99 and everything in between. As you move up the price scale you're getting larger hoop sizes, more features and more technology like color touch screens. My machine, the Babylock Esante has a black and white screen, however I use Embird as my embroidery software. I don't need to see a color version of the design on the machine. I went for a machine with bigger hoop sizes. Also software, embroidery threads and stabilizer can be spendy as well.

Additional built in stiches on a machine might be handy, but as you gain experience in sewing you'll find you might use just a few on a regular basis. If you do heirloom or a lot of crafting stuff, then you may use those more decorative stiches.

Like I tell my customers, much like buying a car, test drive each machine and see how it feels. Take your fabric samples in and see how each machine does. Does the machine seem easy to use? Does it feel right. Does it have functions that you will use? I used to sell Viking, owned several of them and still have a fondness for them. Other than their top of the line Diamond, the machines are Swedish designed, but not Swedish made. I feel they are diminishing a lot of the quality that made then so good. Viking bought the Singer name about 5 years ago and now that is all it is, a name. Singer isn't the machine our parents or grandparents owned and that is a shame.

 

[whirlcool]

We have a Simplicity that has a ton of different stiches on it. I only use a few Karen uses quite a few of them. We bought it in 1986 and it's been in the shop once, only for a tune up. It is a very smooth running machine.

My mother had a Vigerelli (sp?) she bought around 1954. She swore by that machine, she was an excellent sewer, she could sew anything. But nobody could use that machine but her. If I or my sister tried to use it, the thread would snag, you'd get knots and bunching underneath the fabric every few inches.

But let my mother sit down at it and it would sew flawlessly for the entire legnth
of the fabric. Go figure. She always maintained that there was nothing wrong with the machine, we just didn't know how to use it right.

 

[cfz2882]

poland

i have a few sewing machines,mostly dump grabs-all worked,some are pretty nice
-shocking what people throw out...
The one i keep out for use is a JCpenny #7057-made in poland,it appears to be a
copy or license of a european singer.I thought it was late '70s era,but i found
an'84 date on a belt in it so looks like that is the vintage.With a cog belt
drive from the motor to the handwheel and with metal gears it is quite loud,
but powerfull and fast.

 

[launderess]

Elna Supermatic

Mine is the flatbed older version that uses cames. Nothing does a better hemstich (all three or or four of them). Elna was the first sewing machine to have "built-in" hemstitches. Of course if you want the real deal there are those vintage Singer units, but we're not on that right now.

Need to get the Elna out and find some projects to run up. Took it in for a cleaning/service well over one (or is it two?) years ago and have been that busy it's sat sitting ever since.

L.