General Chat

I'm looking for an idiot proof one that I can do a few crafts on and hem curtains and the like, nothing complicated, the last one I used was a 100 year old one lol, like a Singer ( Jones in fact, wish I'd kept it now!)

Have just seen one with a £100 off but haven't a clue really.

Rose xx

Hello Rose ,

When it comes to the all singing all dancing new machines I haven't got a clue . They seem rather flimsy to me in comparison to the older ones .

Have you tried getting a second hand one ?

Hi Amanda,

I've asked D to put out a 'wanted' on local Freecycle, and I'm keeping a lookout on local Ebay as well. Now the snow has gone I might look in nearby town to see if there are any second hand ones about.

So far the one I've seen online has gone from rrp £299 right down to £99.97 from Te*cos!

Hello Rose ,

I've looked at one in Tes*os before and thought it looked awfully complicated for such a small machine ......lol
Although I dare say the modern ones are ok once you get the hang of them .

I've got an old hand Singer and an electric machine that is of none specific make ? I tend to use the hand one more as I like the antiquity of it .

I hope you manage to find the one that suits your needs .

I had a singer which i had for my 21st. and couple of years ago, it went kaput. !
I bought a new one, but found it very (lightweight) /flimsy and could not get on with it. It was not cheap. Unless you are prepared to spend quite alot of money, I would suggest you get a second hand one, but older. (think they are more reliable and probably easier to use) :>).

I'm bogged down on Argos lol there are so many of varying prices, I might just look for another ancient one lol, all you had to do was thread it and turn the wheel lol and it had a very satisfying clunking noise :)

That's the ticket Rose ...lol ..... it's the satisfying clunking noise that enhances the whole experience : ))

and it had pretty yellow roses printed on it Amanda :)) and came with a sense of history I felt, that generations of women had used it to clothe their family or earn a crust lol.

Do you know Rose , my OH was at the rubbish tip a few years ago and came back in an annoyed state because he had seen a similar sounding old sewing machine flung in the big skip, it really upset him to see such a thing of beauty thrown away : ((

I would have had my Nans old singer but my ex- sister-in-law claimed it as hers : (

I'm sure there must be hundreds of the old things about , I'm sure you'll find one for a reasonable price if you look about : ))

The old ones are a joy to use. Apart from not being able to afford one of the top of the range machines I don't think I'd get to use all the different applications in my lifetime. When my 30 y.o. machine died I bought a reasonably inexpensive easy to use machine that does exactly what I want - sew.

S x

My mum is 81 and still uses her old Singer machine.She still does repairs but just recently made my grandson new covers for the moses basket that is 21 years old.My mum also taught me the machine and i was a dressmaker by trade.I have now got a lightweight Singer that i love and made many things on.

Annie

I've just discovered a web site that enables one to date a singer machine by its serial number . The hand sewing machine I have was from Clydebank Scotland and made in 1930 .
It's making me wish I still had my Nans old one : ((

Grannie , hat's off to your Mum .

~~~~ to SueMaid : )

My ex bought me a Vigorelli Sewing machine for my 18th birthday.
It's never been serviced (apart from the odd spraying of WD40) and, apart from the odd smell from the motor is still occasionaly used 36 years later.

Perhaps a service would do it a favour!! LOL
It does embroidery and buttonholes and is suitably heavy to cause a minor hernia if not picked up properly!!

Amanda, what's the website where you can date an old 'Singer'?
I have one with a 'bullet' bobkin holder, that doesn't quite work 'in tune'.

Oh wow, I would love to know that website too please

My old Singer is the bullet bobbin one and came from my great aunt when I was 12 so 51 years ago. She apparently was housekeeper for Sir Henry Wood so bet the machine could tell some tales!

My aunt had their treadle machine and gave it to my mother for me, but she decided to let my brother have it when he got an old rectory for him and his wife to live in (no children and loads of money) cos 'it will look nice in their hallway with a plant on'! I still haven't forgiven her for that.
My machine is still in use altho haven't made anything lately, I used it here a few years ago to make new curtains for o.h.'s lounge.

Would love to know it's exact birthday!

Lizx


Oh sorry Rose, lol, can't recommend anything as I only used electric machines at school. Two old neighbours, sisters, gave me an electric one when they downsized but there's a lead missing and another aunt, from the same family as the great aunts and who was a dressmaker, gave me her Frister and Rossman before she died. Not sure where that is, I think it might be in my son's attic!

Hope you can find something you get on with.

x

Good Morning Rose. I have had 'Brother' sewing machines for about 45 years, and in that time, have only had to have two. So they are quite sturdy and versatile.
A couple of years ago I looked at new ones, and too found that they seemed 'flimsy' and lightweight. So I had my present one overhauled for about £60, though I had seen ones for that price in Dun Elm.
If you do not want an all dancing, all singing tool, stick to one that is pretty basic. I find that these days, all I do no mine is either making curtains or turning them up etc, and sewing up my knitted garments, so do not need all the 'facilities' available on them.
So long as they do straight stitching, reverse,(for fastening off), abit of overlock, and perhaps sewing on a button, though this is not necessary, something that is pretty basic, is all you will need.
Good Luck
Julia in Derbyshire

I bought a really basic one a few years back after my old Jones one died.

It does several lengths of straight stitch, zig-zags and probably a couple of other things too (it has a weird looking hemming foot which I've never tried to use).

I really wanted the zig zag stitching but apart from that was not worried at all.

It cost me just under £100 and is simple to thread, very light (compared to the old one) and has given me no trouble at all.

Jill

Many thanks for the information on dating Singer sewing machines. Mine belonged to my mother who was born in 1905 so it will be interesting to find out if she bought it new or inherited it.

http://www.sewmuse.co.uk/singerintro.htm

Maggie and Liz .... here is the link to the website that will hopefully enable you to date your old singer machines .

It is an interesting subject .

Thank you for the link, Amanda.
I'll be putting the Christmas decorations back up in the attic tomorow, so will look at the machine!
It must have belonged to my G Grandmother, as it's undoubtedly early 1900's, and my gran wasn't born until 1904.
I know G Gran used to make the children's clothes, and g grandad used to make/repair the children's boots, even though he was a ship's steward.
Bootmaking was a skill he was taught by a cordwainer uncle.

Thanks for the link Amanda. I have just checked mine out and it's birthday was 1902 !!! I felt so guilty when I realised how scratched and battered the case is, mainly cos o.h. puts things on top of it and has no respect for it (he should, he wouldn't have his lined curtains I made him if not for the machine) so I have given it a good polish and will clean inside the machine soon when I can spread it about on some newspaper and wipe everything down and get out all the dust from under the workings. I had it serviced many years ago but no idea where to have it done now.
I have a leaflet somewhere which tells me how to use all the attachments but never tried them, basic stitching was all I wanted from it.

How I wish I knew for sure about my great aunt, will have to ring my last cousin who might know about the Henry Wood's housekeeper story.

Lizx