Sewing Machines

We love our machines... or sometimes hate them; then again, sometimes both.   Back when I was a beginner,  I admit to experience sewing machine envy.    My machine was very basic, very old and seemed to have a problem increasing stitch length on a consistent basis and had one speed-- Faster than Light.  It also weighed about 150 lbs.  Not only did it come from Japan, but I believe the motor attached to it propelled the ship.  It had little in stitch choice.

Well, I was soon given an old Kenmore so gladly ditched my Japanese spine crusher to my neighbor who had trained on industrial machines back when BOCES had a sewing machine operator curriculum and Learbury suits was open for business and hiring.  It was the late 70's and we had a healthy garment industry at the time.  (Remember Norma Rae?).  She loved it.  It was infinitely less heavy than the industrials and she could plug it in at home.

In the past 6 or 8 months there has been quite a rediscovery of vintage sewing machines at PatternReview (PR).  Now, there is always interest in sewing machines there but in the past, most people talked about fairly contemporary computerized models -- new ones coming out, old ones fritzing their motherboards and freaky things they were doing... that sort of thing.  There have always been our sewing minimalists who prefer the straight stitch almost exclusively like Soolip; but in general there were generally short threads on older mechanicals when posted unless they were branded Bernina.  Now the vintage discovery has exploded and members have been trolling Craigs List, Ebay, Garage Sales etc and can't seem to get enough of these machines.

We found that technology handed us a trade off and that trade off was power and a perfect straight stitch.  It didn't hurt that the mechanicals can be repaired and maintained at home with a little research and the newer jazzier machines were climbing in price.  Even with all the man on the moon techno gizmos.... they still had their problems.  Thousands of dollars in price, and still it seemed that one had to settle for some clumsy workaround or specialty accessory for a decent straight 1/4" seam.   These older machines were often less expensive than the Discount Store machines as well.

Sooooo.. Suddenly one finds their sewing room playing host to 6 or 10 machines and you start to scratch your head.  They are in the way.  You are not necessarily sewing with them, preferring your old standby, the machine you have sewn on for years.  It almost seems a waste but you don't really want to give them away... you are certain you can use them all as each one has their special superpower.

First. understand that (according to Sandra Betzina in her new Sewing Toolbox Vol. 1, pg 143) "The life expectancy of a good quality sewing machine is 23,000 hours of sewing.  If you sewed 20 hours a week and 52 weeks a year, you would only use up 1,040 sewing hours in a year."

Using fuzzy math, it would take upwards of 20+ years to wear out a sewing machine with that usage pattern.

The loopholes:  My home machine is too heavy to take to class so I must have a classroom/portable machine.  Okay, that is one.

I need a back up in case my machine goes on the fritz that can handle heavy duty sewing (which my portable cannot).  Okay that is 2.

I need a separate machine to do some specialized work (quilting on a frame/free motion quilting; serging, coverstitch, one specifically for button holes, embroidery).  Okay, that is maybe 3 or 4 although there are all in one embroidery/sewing machines that can quilt and do buttonholes.  One can even argue that 40 years ago our mothers/aunts/grandmothers used their old Kenmore or Singer machines to do those very same activities and in Paris-- they do it all without a machine.  You also should consider.... are you running a cottage business?  Do you have a little mini-factory with employees?  Or do you basically sew one garment at a time while working on a quilt?  Is it every day, every week or once a month do you pull out your machine and sew-- what is your usage?  Is your time investment in actual sewing reflected in your machines or is it lopsided?  (Much like my collection of exercise dvds?)

The collection loophole:  you are collecting vintage machines much like a curator of a museum.  If that is the case, display them.  Remove any that are damaged, scratched up, or have crazed finishes.  You should then have a profile of your colletion-- Singers before 1950; Italian machines, Pastel colors, Kenmore classics.... you get the picture.

As an exercise, store in a safe but out of the way place all your excess machines.  Keep out your regular, your serger; place your portable out of sight in the travel bag.  See how often you really need to go to another machine.  Take your time to rethread as needed, use all your feet and accessories with your machines.  Study your instructional videos and manuals and try new things with them.  If you only sew quilts, just keep out your straight stitch.  If you only mainly sew clothes, keep out your basic machine.  If you main deal is computerized embroidery-- use that one.  Study and practice until you can operate with both eyes half closed (don't want to cause an injury here)--until the operation is entirely muscle memory and intuition.  Then switch out to one of your stored machines and see how your sewing feels.  My intuition says that sometimes sewing machines are like marriages-- the devil you know is better than the devil you don't ...  Novelty is no substitute for Intimacy ...  or conversely-- You can't Polish Pig Iron. and No one should stay in an abusive relationship.

How many machine sewing years do you have in your sewing room?