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Buying a Sewing Machine

12/04/2011 16:37

With the wide range of sewing machines available, deciding of which sewing machine to buy is much more complex personal computer was way back when.....

Today's quilters are exhibited some interesting and fun options that will make their quilting more intriquing, notable and relaxing.

Many of the more popular brands, including Singer, Simplicity, Janome, Brother, White and Necci sewing machines feature an Liquid crystal display, dial-a-stitch selector, automatic needle threader, convertible free arm, extension table, electronic speed control, drop in bobbin, and computerized stitch selection, to mention just a few. These machines sew but not only straight stitches, but zig zag, button hole, and fancy embroidery stitches.

Several sewing machine companies cater to the quilting market by including speed modifications to make machine quilting easier. The White 1740 Quilter's Machine carries with it an extra wide extension bed to aid your work, and reduce pulling and stretching. The Simplicity American Quilter sewing machine features a convertible free-arm and snap-on presser foot. All of your and they are lightweight, too - so you're able to easily transport your machine to your quilting class.

In addition to regular sewing machines, there are sergers and longarm quilting machines to bear in mind.

Prices for sewing machines cover anything from around $100 up to, well, from the thousands.

All of these choices are wonderful, yet how you can decide.

Before making you buy the car, you should decide how you'll use your machine, and whether you might want more than one machine. Those decisions can be achieved within the context of your budget and lifestyle, along with your commitment to quilting and the type of quilting you will end up doing.

If you are going to use your machine only for machine piecing quilt tops, instead of doing any machine quilting or fancy stitching, a fairly simple sewing machine will almost certainly serve your needs. If you're going to purchase only one machine and therefore are planning to take it to quilting classes on hand, weight and bulk can be a consideration. In addition, it usually is important for the machine to come back with a carrying case; even space in the carrying case for some sewing supplies.

If you are wanting to machine piece your quilt tops and machine quilt the completed project, a heavier duty machine while using the power to glide through multiple layers of fabric and batting will be a better choice. In addition, you might look for a machine that has a "walking foot," or something similar, or possibly even already a part of the machine. This feature will feed the quilt top, batting and quilt backing evenly over the machine as the quilt is stitched, reducing puckering and unsightly folds.

Another consideration the most effective doing much machine quilting is usually to purchase a sewing machine that may be ideal for machine piecing, plus a separate longarm machine just by machine quilting. In earlier times, these machines were designed and priced to the professional market. As with a lot of things, the technology has improved, demand has increased, and today longarm quilting machines tend to be more of an option for home quilters.

Once you decide how you will use your machine and what features are important to you, the next step is to ponder the actual brands available. Price is not always a determination of quality, so visiting a local sewing machine store - whether it's the community Sew and Vac, a Walmart, Sears, or some different - where you can "test drive" the machines may be the next order of business.

Trying several different brands with some other features will give you a solid idea of what you prefer. A conversation having a sewing machine repair person provides you with a hint about brands that require a lot of service and the ones which last years with just a yearly tune up.

Once you have narrowed it to a particular brand or two, and know which features are important, the next step is to complete some research on price and availability. The internet offers some terrific choices for saving money - eBay, overstock.com, PriceGrabber.com, etc. While these sources offer good savings, they can not provide a guarantee and the service you may want for ones machine. If your local Sew and Vac will service the machine once you have it, the retail price savings may prove worthwhile.

Used sewing machines can even be a consideration. Some of the older machines are usually in excellent condition and provide features not found on current machines. Singer Featherweight sewing machines from the 40s and 50s are still popular with quilters. These little machines resemble the Energizer Bunny - they simply keep going and going. They are lightweight and. Some have attachments, many just sew forwards and backwards and are perfect for machine piecing. Keep them oiled and they're going to last many lifetimes!

Wouldn't or not it's nice if the decision were easier, so you could just "call Sears" and order the machine? On the other hand, don't you think fantastic that the quilting times of 75 years ago are behind us and then we can now create quilts using technology that encourages our creativity!

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