Posted by Racer on August 12, 2006, at 14:03:21
In reply to Re: off-topic, but sewing machines » Racer, posted by Jost on August 12, 2006, at 12:44:42
> Racer, I'm going to have to catch up on this thread to understand, but I do think it's time to do a little sewing-machine shopping.
>
> I wouldn't want you to be caught with no machine, and have to buy a bad one asap.Thank you. I think you're right -- kinda like having adequate insurance, huh?
>
> Do you like the old, heavy-duty ones, that are "vintage"?Yes -- and no. I have two machines, although one is living with my aunt, and a serger. Both machines are built to do zig zags, etc, although the zigzag on the machine my aunt has is not working. The machine I'm going to buy is computerized, not mechanical, so it's about as far from vintage as you can get for under $1000.
But I learned to sew on an old straight stitch Singer, with a knee pedal, and I sometimes miss it. In fact, I sometimes miss it enough I think maybe I want to buy three new machines: one like the new machine I'm planning on, one a coverstitch machine to replace my serger, and a bit mechanical straight stitch machine. And I like the old ones just fine.
See, I tend to be one of those, "If it's harder to do, it's better to do it that way" types. Calvinism gone awry, I guess, or OCD, or an artifact of anorexia, or just me being nuts. So, in sewing, the new fancy machine do a lot of things for you, like finishing the seams with a serger -- you don't do much, the machine does it for you. When I sew, I spend a lot of time finishing the seams using other techniques -- French seams, or flat felled seams, or a Hong Kong finish, or even just seam binding, if anyone here sews -- which does make the inside of the piece look great, etc, but if we're just talking about something to wear, serging is probably just as good. Every time I think about just serging, though, I get anxious -- I'm getting anxious just typing this, by the way -- so I do the old fashioned stuff. In that sense, a straight stitch machine would be like my stick shift car -- "This is the way it's *supposed* to be done."
As for aesthetics, though, there's no question: vintage all the way! I'd love to buy an old treadle machine, for instance. Lovely things. And I'd love my mother's old Singer back -- it was a very pretty thing in metallic blue metal.
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> I got kind of fascinated, mostly with the aesthetics and mechanisms of them, and almost bought one at a great old store around here.Yeah, when I was a kid, I played with my Mother's machine until I figured out how it worked. She didn't care for it much, me playing with her tool for some weird reason, but I did work it out. (I used to take things apart a lot. Mom didn't understand, and didn't like it. Usually, though, there weren't too many pieces left over when I put them back together again...)
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> What kind of machine do you have? Do you sew professionally at all?
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> JostNope, no professional sewing. Just stuff around here -- clothing, quilts for our bed (as opposed to art quilts), napkins, tableclothes, placemats, aprons, pajamas, basic sewing. And I have a cheap White from the 90s, long past White's prime. But, it does sew, even if the needle is a little off kilter, and the feed dogs can't be dropped, and the stitch length is wonky, etc.
Take care!
poster:Racer
thread:675427
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/esteem/20060725/msgs/675845.html