My sister sent me an email today – she and my niece and nephew are coming for a visit on their way to the Maldives, where my sister’s husband has a job. She wanted to know if I could borrow a sewing machine, like I had last time she was here, because she had some repairs to make.
I mention this to Fahim, along with the comment that the person I borrowed the sewing machine from last time is now in England, so hardly possible.
His response? Why don’t we buy one? I’ve wanted to get one for a while, we’ve talked about it many times, and I’m handy enough with one that it makes sense.
So* I went to Singer’s webpage and took a look at the sewing machines they have.
I’ll point out that here, a Singer store sells far more than sewing machines. They sell everything from popcorn poppers to televisions and entertainment centres to washing machines to computers to cameras to bicycles to . . . Well, I think you get it. :p
Pur local Singer store is the only reliable place we know of locally to buy such things. There isn’t a wide variety of sewing machines available, so I’ve narrowed my options down to the following three. The specs are not listed on the site, and I know that when I ask questions, I’m not necessarily going to get the truth – they may not know themselves how things work or what the features are for or that sort of thing.
I have a fair bit of experience sewing – I’ve been doing it since I was five. But I’ve never bought a new machine and with one exception, I’ve never worked on anything fancier than a straight stitch and a zigzag stitch machine. Yep, that was it. Oh, and I had a serger for years as well and I loved that beast! It was an Elna 4 thread and it worked like a dream. So, point being that, when it comes to buying new, I’m a little clueless.
These are what I’ve got it narrowed down to, and I’m leaning towards the middle one.
Cheapest – Easy sewing, 18 stitches which also lists the following
- Easy Sewing Without Discs
- Free Arm Sewing
- 18 Stitches
- L.C.R. Needle Position
- Reverse Push Button
Mid-price – 18 stitch with buttonhole which also lists the following:
- 18 Stitch Patterns – This mid-market mechanical has been engineered to meet with the needs of collaborators incorporating an extensive 18 stitch pattern functionality.
- Thread Cutter – Conveniently and neatly cut your excess thread ends. This implement allows cutting of thread directly and conveniently. Enhances ease to complete stitching tasks and continue with new ones.
- 6mm Width & 5mm Length – To allow for wide range in pattern designs, the unit comes with an adjustable stitch width up to 6MM and stitch length up to 5MM.
- 1-step Buttonhole – This mechanical model comes with a quick One Step Buttonhole system.
- Needle Options – Spots 2 needle sewing capability and allows for 3 needle position selection options providing a wide scenario of usage functionality.
- Drop Feed – Allows for easy switching from ordinary sewing to free hand embroidery.
More expensive – Cast Iron Zig-Zag Machine which lists these features:
- Cast Iron Zig-Zag Machine, Flat Bed.
- Motor Optional.
- 30 Interchangeable Cams,
- 4 Step Buttonholer
Motor optional on the last scares me, to be honest. The middle one looks to me like the best bet. I don’t know what 2 needle sewing is about – is this sort of a poor man’s serger without the cutting ability? Ie, locking up the stray ends of fabric so it’s all nice and neat and tidy and doesn’t fray? Or what does that mean?
