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Hi, I'm Anni.
Welcome back to the studio.
Today I want to talk about sewing machines,
and since this is a resource episode I'll be doing some referring to
my notes here, so I hope you can
and forgive me for that, but there's lots to tell you about.
I think this episode will be useful for new sewers,
and for anybody that wants to buy a new sewing machine,
and also for people out there that are looking all of these fabulous new features on
sewing machines and wondering, "do I need to upgrade?"
So it will be useful for quite a few of you I hope.
And just as a little aside, I went through this process about ten to fifteen
years ago,
and I purchased a
fabulous top-of-the-line sewing machine and realized that
there where so many features that I didn't use,
that I scaled back to a machine that was more useful to me.
And so hopefully I'll spare you the pain of going through anything like that,
and hopefully you'll be able to choose a machine that's right for you.
So I'd love to help you navigate the world of sewing machines.
It's not easy out there, there are so many options,
and it can be confusing,
So I think the best thing to do to start with
is to ask yourself,
"What do I want my sewing machine to do for me?"
and "how often do I want it to those functions and
those features for me?"
So for example you could ask yourself,
"do I want to quilt?"
"is that my main use?" ... "do I want to stitch clothing or do I want to
stitch home furnishings?"
"do I occasionally want to embroider some linen?"
...say a tablecloth?
or maybe I want to
sew a leather cushion which may be some heavy duty stitching but that might not be
the biggest feature that I want.
So put them in order on the list,
decide what you want you want the
machine to do as the workhorse,
and then it will help you when you go into a store,
tell the person "this is what I want my machine to do ..." and they will be able to
show you
the right machine.
So coming up I'm going to discuss a few of these things... and help you
navigate this challenge.
So I'd like to start off by talking about the basic
essentials that I think you need on any sewing machine,
regardless of what you're using the sewing machine for.
And for those of you experienced sewers you may want to skip ahead in the video
to the more advanced features, but we will cover the basics here.
So I think first of all you need a good straight stitch,
and I will go through some ways of how to check for a good straight stitch
when you go into the store and ask for demo,
but that's essential; a good straight stitch.
And next is a zig-zag stitch.
A zig-zag stitch
is good for button holes,
and it helps you finish edging on clothing,
and if you're getting into Free Motion embroidery it's a nice feature to have,
and also for covering cords and things like that.
I will
give you some examples of those
and
another stitch that's really useful now is a stretch stitch and a lot of machines have it,
but not so much the older machines.
the stretch stitch is really useful for the knit fabrics and since there's lots of
new knit fabrics out there
I think it's one of the essentials
for me now
and it's also good for if you're making your own bias binding so that when
you pull it, it doesn't break the stitching.
because there's a stretchiness in bias binding.
so zigzag and the stretch stitch
are the other two stitches
and then the fourth one is to be able to drop the feed dogs. The feed dogs
are
the things that feed the fabric through, underneath the foot when you are stitching
and to drop that
gives you control,yourself, over the fabric when you are
feeding the fabric through, when you're quilting.
and when you do free motion quilting so that's an essential if you are a quilter
be able to drop the feed dogs.
And the last one
is a walking foot.
And if you're a quilter you definitely need a walking foot because you've got three
layers of fabric going underneath the foot
and you want them to be
kept even and not sliding along one another
but also if you're not a quilter , that sometimes you're sewing two or three layers
together
and you don't want them to be pushed
out of sync...so again a walking foot is essential I think as well.
So those are the five essentials
that I think you need for any sewing machine.
I'd like to talk about some of the "nice to have" features in a machine.
I've listed some here that are not necessary but they are nice if
you can find them.
on the machine that you are buying.
#1 is
automatic start
and stop tie-offs; so it's it ties off the seam that you are stitching
at the beginning and at the end.
so you don't have to do a reverse stitch.
also along with that comes an automatic thread cutter as well so you don't have
to find your scissors and cut
the thread off all the time.So those are nice features to have.
uh... another nice one is speed control-
A lot of people are scared when they're doing free motion stitching that
their foot's gonna go down too *** the pedal and they are going to runaway on their piece.
so if you have a speed control you know that cannot happen; you can put your
foot down to the bottom on the pedal
and stitch and know that it is not going to go any faster than that.
and
another thing is a "knee lifter". This is what a knee lifter is....
it controls the foot
coming up-and-down on your piece on your fabric
but it gives you the option of lifting with the knee,
so that
you can keep both hands on your stitching/
on your piece whilst you are stitching
and you can use the knee lift to lift the foot
off the piece and readjust your piece.
it's a great facility to have but not necessary but it's a good one.
Otherwise you have to stop
hand lift
the foot off and turn your piece.
Automatic bobbin rewind is a great one to have
I'm always getting frustrated if I haven't wound enough bobbins
and that's the underneath thread,
for my stitching project and then I have to stop in the middle because I have run out
of thread .. start a new bobbin (wind a new bobbin) and then rethread everything.
an automatic bobbin rewinder will just rewind you another bobbin if you run out.
without even unthreading
so that's a great thing to have.
And a larger bobbin capacity which enables you to stitch for longer without
running out of thread underneath.
so that's another useful feature.
There's also a stitch regulator
and that is useful for quilters that are doing free motion stitching
the challenge there is always to keep your stitches even i.e. an even length.
and when you have dropped the feed dogs and are doing free motion stitching
you are now the person in control of the length of the stitch, so you have to evenly
feed your fabric through
with a stitch regulator, it
senses how fast you're moving your fabric through
and if you suddenly jerk and moving faster
the stitch regulator will sense that and regulate the stitch and even out the stitch length.
and so that's great for beginning quilters
Another thing is an "integrated walking foot". I talked about a walking foot
that is an essential. But Pfaff came out with this
fabulous integrated walking foot
and they had the patent on it for quite a while, but now I think
other companies have got the integrated walking footing and it is
great because you don't have to change the foot when you're doing
quilting or stitching several layers of
fabrics together
and
so the walking foot is nice and small it's just a switch that you
flip
to turn on the walking foot, rather than having to switch feet and attach a big bulky walking foot
which it used to be.
So I love that feature in the Pfaff machine.
So these are all nice features to have. They are not essential. Just to let you know that if
you don't have these features it's not going to
interfere with any of the projects that you want to stitch.
It's not going to hinder you in any way if you don't have these features.
It's nice to have, to just make it easier for you.
So you may be interested to know which machine I use.
uh...
this is
very personal information that I have not shared before
on video
uh... and it's very personal because
this machine that I use
it's my art. It empowers me in my artistic process.
and it took many years to come to uh... the right machine for me, through trial
and error as I alluded to you before.
So I'd like to share it with you,
so that you can choose the right machine for you. To empower you in your
art or in your creative process whatever it may be.
And here is the machine . It is a Pfaff seventy five fifty 7550.
and it's an older machine, it is not a newer machine.
But I find that I don't need too many of the whistles and bells that are there
in the latest machines.
They may be nice to have , but I don't need them.
The thing I love about this machine is the integrated walking foot as I mentioned
before.
and I basically have it down all the time integrated.. as I stitch because I'm
stitching two or more layers of fabric together most of the time.
So I think it's necessary to have a down most of the time.
occasionally if I stitch one layer then I may take it off,
but
mostly it's two layers.
But....
The other thing that I really love about this machine is the free motion
stitching when disengage the feed dogs
it still is a beautiful stitch, it's very even
and uh... it's very forgiving when you are pushing and pulling fabric through.
I use the other features occasionally, the button hole and the
automatic stitches.
for my general uh...
household furnishings stitchings or when you're making linen or
doing fashions and things like that
I'll use those occasionally.
and
A thing this machine doesn't have is an automatic tie off or thread cutter.
and
it doesn't have the
extra bobbin
the bigger bobbin, so I run out sooner than most people.
and it doesn't have an automatic bobbin winder and
those are things that I can live with out. You don't have to have all those
wonderful things.
As long as you know it's the machine for you and that works for you.
I'd like to talk about buying a new machine first.
As I said there's lots of options to look at.
Lots of machines to look at.
So once you have narrowed down what
you want your machine to do
Go in to the store with your list, in your mind, of what you want your
machine to do for you.
and try them all out. Everyone, even if it is more than you can
afford. Just try them out to see what's available.
and definitely go to a specialized sewing machine store
uh... you can look at the resources for this video on how to locate your
specialized dealer in your area.
comeback, you know, several
days later, to try another one. Don't be intimidated; these people are there to
help you.
to make you happy and find the right machine for you. In fact
ask about if is it possible to return the machine if you don't like it.
That certainly happened to me
several times and my store was very good
they knew it wasn't right for me and
let me take it back
and try another one.
Ask about the warranties..and
classes for the machine when you buy the machine.
Most stores will have that. They will have free classes or a limited number of classes
that are free.
Let's talk about price.
There's the huge range for sewing machines from a couple of hundred dollars
to even fifteen thousand dollars!
uh... just to preface that; the higher end machines, i.e. the ones that are
fifteen thousand dollars are very specialize machines.
You don't have to go there if you don't want.
uh... from seven hundred to fifteen hundred is really
the price range you need to be in to get good NEW sewing machine for you.
And on the other end of the price scale; the two hundred to three hundred dollar new machines
are basically plastic they're not very good, and poorly made.
They are basically toys.
So don't even bother with them.
and they don't last. So basically you are in the about seven hundred fifteen hundred
dollar range
that for a new machine
that you could find something that would suit you.
I'd like to talk to you about and buying a used sewing machine and this is
definitely an option
that you can go with if you want to
be cost-conscious and get
good value for money and in that I mean
if you purchase in the mid
to high end range of sewing machines
these sewing machines are built to last.
So they are very good value. They don't depreciate much in value.
They are workhorses even when you buy one which is five, ten, fifteen years old . They are still
very good sewing machines
so it's definitely an option
uh... and so
you may want to put out the word that you're looking for a sewing machine, for example
if you go and look in the stores and look at the new machines
and tell the people demoing the machines that you are looking for this kind of
a machine, a Bernina Model or a particular Pfaff model.
and if you see one coming in second hand could you let me know?
uh...
you could also talk to your peers, people in classes and sewing
classes
uh... in fact
one thing is artists are often not willing to share their secrets
but when you ask them about their tools they love to brag about their tools..so that's how I
found out about a lot of different sewing machines, by asking experienced sewers which first asking experience sewers which
machines they used , how they use them and why they liked them.
So certainly do that!
you could use the internet
you could go online and look at eBay or craigslist
once you've narrowed down what kind of machine it is that you want.
Or and even send out an email to people, find out from your friends
if anybody's
selling a sewing machine.
uh...
also garage sales and flea markets. In fact I volunteer for a flea market
every year
and every year there's several sewing machines that go up for sale
they're very old and they go for something like fifty dollars and they
are workhorses, they are fabulous bargains...so...
look out for those too!
uh...
another thing is that
if you want to buy a new machine you can always asked at the specialty
stores
if they have financing and a lot of them do.
and uh... then that's also a good thing if you're known to the store, from a previous purchase, then you can
upgrade in five or ten years because they know you
and they will look out for
people wanting a used sewing machine that you have, you can trade in yours and
they'll sell machine for you and you can trade in yours
and you can upgrade to a newer one.
So that's another thing you might want to do.
and finally if you're looking at
the higher end specialty machines,
you may want to buy as a group.
so people in the cities often in co-ops or
at community colleges will get together and by the high-end sewing
machines as a group. To share.
say...the big quilting machines....
and as long as you can house it somewhere that's local for everybody you can all get a go
on it.
So that you use that machine
in a co-operative they together.
so there's lots of different ways
that you can uh... look at buying
a sewing machine.
thank you so much for sitting
through all the details and
and making it to the end of the video
I hope you found it useful
whether you are a new sewer or an experienced sewer.
As you can see there's lots of choices in lots of options.
And I hope I have helped you navigate the world of sewing machines.
uh...
just as a word of......
advice uh...I know a very good artist here in canada
her pieces are wonderful!
they sell for fifty thousand dollars or more
and she stitches everything
on a treadle sewing machine from the nineteen twenties or thirties!
not electric
all by treadle!
and her work is wonderful so just
to point out that you don't need all those whistles and bells to create wonderful
artwork!.... you can do it on a simple sewing machine....:)
and just find the one that's right for you!
so if you have any questions about this video, please get in touch
with me or
if you would like something covered in more detail I'd love to do that for you
in another video
but just get in touch with me via Facebook Twitter or my website
and just let me know and I would love to answer any questions or any
suggestions that you have.
thanks so much for watching and I hope to see you next time!