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Post by msaramg on Aug 20, 2020 4:16:22 GMT
Greetings all! I made a decision return to the sewing. Haven't done any sewing for ages. My Grandma used to teach my how to use sewing machine, but it was a long time ago. So, right now i'm reading a tons of reviews and articles about sewing machines for newbies, but i want to know your opinion ladies. My budget is somewhere around 300-400$ is it enough to buy a good machine?
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Post by phyl on Aug 20, 2020 16:11:17 GMT
hi and welcome msaramg, would it be possible for you to give you a first name. maybe make one up if you don't want to. maybe nickname.
we get to know each other better by using a name.
look up eversewn machines.I have the eversewn sparrow 30. I like it.the sparrow is a small machine you can take to class. has some stitches on it.,reverse and up and down needle, bobbin winder. all depends on what you want the machine to do.
my advice is always go to dealers and just try out different brands even if you can't afford a bigger price range.this is just so you can get a feel of a different brand and how comfortable the machine feels to you.
janome make smaller machines also. some quilt shops sell machines. before you buy from a quilt shop make sure they will service the machine if it needs reparis.
the price range you are thinking you might be able to find a dealer who took in a machine on a trade in and will sell the machine. PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE A STORE WITHOUT A DEMO AND TRYING OUT THE MACHINE YOURSELF.
you may have to up your price range. what kind of machine do you have now? if any? you have a FEATHERWEIGHT DO NOT GET RID OF IT. LOTS OF QUILTERS BRING THAT LITTLE MACHINE TO CLASS.
THEY ARE WORTH GOLD TO THE OWNER.
TO BUY ONE NOW IS A SMALL FORTUNE.GOOD LUCK. THE GIRLS HERE WILL HELP ALSO. PHYL
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Post by gramma15 on Aug 20, 2020 18:16:31 GMT
msarang, welcome to the thread. I agree with what Phyl said about trying out the machine before you buy. That usually means a sewing center, quilt shop or other kind of dealer. After you try them and find the kind you want try to buy where they offer service if needed. Also don't let them talk you into buying one that has features you know you will never use. If you are a novice sewer buy a simple machine that has maybe a couple things extra but don't fall for their efforst to sell you a machine with all the bells and whistles if you're never going to use those. However your sewing ability will improve so not buy the completely most basic either. I've had a lot of machines over the years and now have a simple Janome. It has plenty of stitches and features even though it's the second from the bottom in simplicity. I haven't even used all it's capable of. It was about $300. That was probably five years ago now so it may be more like $350 or so now. I bought it at a sewing center.
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Post by cj59 on Aug 20, 2020 18:35:11 GMT
Welcome msarang - There are lots of great sewing machines out there and hopefully you can narrow your choice down to one that has the most features that you will use. Phyl and Ruth have made great points about testing out a machine at a dealer, buying one with a dealer nearby, and buying one without a lot of features you won't use. I'm partial to Brother machines, since that's what I've used for years. I don't have a fancy one - just a basic CS6000i, which I bought at Walmart. I just use mine for mostly straight sewing and it's a good machine for that. I see that Brother has a new updated machine to this one - a CS7000i. I'm happy to see Brother has updated this machine in case I ever need to buy another one. It's been a great machine. It's wonderful to watch videos and do research on the internet before you go into a store, hope you can find a machine that will work for you. Happy Sewing
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Post by DotRen on Aug 20, 2020 19:10:21 GMT
msaramg, you might have a hard time finding a new machine right now, too.
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Post by choney2 on Aug 20, 2020 19:40:56 GMT
Msaramg- totally agree with what everyone says. Think Brother makes some really good entry level machines. But the most important thing to do is find a way to get help and service for your machine. If you are near a Joanns fabric, most of them have a sewing gallery in the store, and can provide free lessons on starting up and use of your new βtoyβ. Of course with Covid that could be s stumbling block but you do have to think about the availability of service and parts if you need them. I just bought a new Husqvarna-but its a quilting machine and I do a fair amount of quilting. My decision was made based upon a combination of features and the availability of support for the machine. Welcome to our friendly group and best of luck!!! And yes, Rene is right, many folks bought sewing machines to make masks with during this Covid breakout. Ginny
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Post by phyl on Aug 20, 2020 20:28:16 GMT
not to dispute anything about what our dear friend say. ask at Joann's first. I know a few months ago they stopped having teaching classes like quilting, sewing ,crocheting and knitting.
forgot the reason why Kim said.she taught and use to work there.
here they have not had a repair guy come in for years.
you order one online make sure a dealer near you will work on repairs. alot of dealers if yo don 't buy from them will charge extra if your machine needs to be repaired, stay away from junki. my friend ordered one on line and had problems . directions are in Japanse.she Even watched you tube and said the fingers were in the way.
by the time she read the caption they were onto something else.
junki is know for industrial machines. eversewn is made for bernia shops. one thing you have to make sure is will that shop work on the machine.
Can we ask what state you are in.that could help us help you find a dealer or shop.phyl
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Post by phyl on Aug 20, 2020 20:37:57 GMT
ok now I will tell you about myself. I AM PHYLLIS,like to be called Phyl live in the state of Wi. will be married 58 years in October.
we have 3 dd one is divorced and our gs here is 28. that is our middle dd, oldest is married .no kids her dh has a son in his 20's from another marriage.
youngest lives out of state and is married and our gs is 13.
I started quilting in 98. not he greatest quilter but love doing it.use to knit and do counted cross stitch.
.never been good at garment sewing.
I am 78 years old .phyl
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Post by gramma15 on Aug 20, 2020 21:18:30 GMT
msaramg, I hope you will join us here on the thread and let us know how your sewing machine hunt is going and what you'll be making. I did forget that sewing machines might not be easy to find right now. Maybe call around and find out if they have them in stock before going to look at one. We don't have a Joann's here so it's hard to find machines. The place I bought mine closed after over 50 years here in my small town. I did have a Brother once and it didn't work well for me but I'm sure it was just me. I gave it to my ddil and she used it quite a bit but also had a problem. CJ loves her's and it works great as she's already said. I only do straight stitching too. I've never even done a zigzag. My crafting is pretty much limited to crocheting and once in a great while, knitting. I did start to make masks but I also have a bunch of hospital type masks so gave up on those. I do want to try quilting. If you're just starting sewing there are lots of really great youtubes that have simple but very useful things to make. One that I was making was called something like 20 minute table runners or something like that....I forget how many minutes they said.. It was so easy and fast...did take more than whatever number of minutes it's called
So if you're goinng to be a regular member, and I hope you are, let us know about you. Most of us don't put a lot of info about ourselves on a public message board like this but we share all that's safe to share. We don't mind if people on here know us but a lot of people read public message boards just to get info. My name is Ruth, "senior citizen",married, 2 adult children...one of each, 14 grandchildren and 4 great grands so far.
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Post by gramma15 on Aug 20, 2020 22:45:43 GMT
There's a big wild fire in the next county to us...maybe 20 miles from here so the air is seriously smoking right now.
I decided that it is going to take me forever to get this shawl done because, although the crochet hooks from Clover are great up to and thru size J the larger ones are made of plastic. I'm using a L and it's really dragging. So I went to my vast stash of cheapie hooks and found some in that size to try. If that doesn't work I'm going to go with a different plan and rip out the rows I have already done.
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Post by choney2 on Aug 21, 2020 1:05:27 GMT
Ruth so sorry about the plastic crochet hooks- and I do understand how frustrating they can be. Hope that the wildfire stays away from you....I know its a natural process but I dislike thinking about the animals who lose their homes...i Know several who are really in love with their Brother machines and for the money, they work well and have lots of great features.
The Joanns near me had classes and offered a demo class for any new machines. So yes, Phyl had great advice to check with the Joanns if they have classes on new machines.....those classes can be very valuable along with the support as you learn a new machine.
Of course we all have to do what is best for us and local circumstances.... Ginny
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Post by snowsaint on Aug 21, 2020 2:18:09 GMT
The whole valley is cloudy and smokey. The smoke is from Dillon, California and Nevada. It has really affected me today.
Paperwork, phone calls, emails. Photos were sent from my sister's house, so I have finally seen the inside. I have a phone appointment with the attorney on Monday to talk about procedural things like the tenant who is using one room. I have a real estate agent with whom I feel comfortable.
I have to have some papers notarized, and I'm planning for next Tuesday or Wednesday so I won't have to make multiple trips to the bank. More on the way.
hb has had a bad day which impacts how my day goes. I hope tomorrow will easier.
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Post by msaramg on Aug 21, 2020 5:11:13 GMT
Thank you all for your replies!I'm so happy to be here! My name is Monika and i have 2 wonderful kids 3 and 4 years old, I like to cook healthy food and I've started to do yoga exercises last month! I wanna sew some clothes for my kids.Right now i'm choosing between Singer 4411 and Janome 2700. Singer is mechanical machine and Janome is electrical. And i'm looking more into Singer machine because it have higher sewing speed plus we have Singer official store nearby.
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Post by gramma15 on Aug 21, 2020 7:31:54 GMT
Monika, kids clothes are fun to make and pretty easy too. Shorts and t shirts are especially nice to make but unfortunately summer is nearly over but you can make some next year. T shirts, of course, can be used all year. Sewing on knits is a little different from sewing on other fabrics but once you know how It's a lot easier because you don't have to do anything special with the seams. You could make some really cute things for those children.
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Post by DotRen on Aug 21, 2020 10:30:33 GMT
msaramg, I've had a Singer Sew Mate for many, many years and it's a good machine for starting or even accomplished sewing, depending on what you want to make. I've also ordered different presser feet on Amazon and never had a problem with them fitting (generic brands - just make sure it's low-shank). I discovered, after buying a brother, that the only problem the singer had was that I didn't clean out where the bobbin goes well enough or often enough. Once I got the Brother SE600 (mostly because the embroidery thing fascinated me), I figured I had nothing to lose by taking everything that unscrewed off the singer and cleaning it lol -and it started working better!
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