Zigzaggers

Singer Featherweight Model 221-1

by Katie, a graduate student in Irvine, California, who keeps a personal blog here

Love it, hate it, or something in between? Love it! It's so small and pretty and uncomplicated.

When did you buy this sewing machine? My mom bought it somewhere in early 2005.

When was it manufactured? Not sure, but the latest copyright date on the instruction manual is 1950. However, the instruction manual didn't actually come with the machine, so the date could be off.

Where did you buy it? My mom bought it at an antique shop somewhere in San Diego.

How much did you pay for it? I think she paid about $600. Not sure if that includes the tune up she got after she bought it.

How many projects have you done on this machine? Probably around 30-ish. I'm not a real big sewer, plus I'm in graduate school.

Describe the kind of work you've done with it. Mostly patchwork and quilting, and a few simple sewing projects. I've put together a lot of quilt tops, and have actually quilted a bunch of placemats. Also, I've made some simple bags and clothing items, including a denim skirt. Apparently, Featherweights are highly prized within the quilting community because they are portable and thus ideal for communal quilting. My mom is a quilter, which is why she picked up the machine when she found it.

What do you like and what do you hate about it?

Like:
-- It's small and light and portable and comes with a carrying case. It requires very little setup: Just plug it in and thread the needle.
-- It comes with a bunch of crazy looking attachments for hems and edgings, as well as a gatherer and a ruffler. I've only used one of them, ever, to make a narrow hem, but it's nice to know they're all there.
-- Since Featherweights are so popular among quilters, you can find additional parts for them and lots of information about them on the internet. One of my local quilt stores has a whole section of stuff for Featherweights, and I was able to get a foot for it to do a quarter inch seam (standard in quilting).

Dislike:
-- **It only does a straight stitch** This is absolutely NOT the machine for you if you need to do a lot else.  You can control the length of the stitch and go forward or backward, but that's it. It's not a problem for me since I mostly only quilt, but I have had to drag out my mom's old Pfaff to do a zigzag stitch on bindings.   However, I put the Pfaff back after that because I really enjoy the simplicity of my tiny Singer.
-- There's a light on the machine, but it gets hot really quickly and it's located near where my hand is when I'm sewing, so I can't even use it.
-- The motor is old and gets tired after a lot of sewing, so you can't go really fast for a long time.
-- The sewing space is sort of small, which makes it hard to sew in the middle of something large (though it's not really that much smaller than on a normal sized machine).

All told, this is a great machine for simple sewing.  Probably good for learners, too, because it doesn't have anything you could accidentally press to screw everything up. 

New sewing machines

My original intent with this site was to post reviews of vintage machines so that beginners could read about some of the old stuff that's available in the used market. I figured I'd basically cover any machine that's been around long enough that a few might be showing up on eBay or Craigslist -- in other words, my criteria were not strict.

And while most of the sewing machines that are included here fit easily into that category, I've run a few reviews of machines that seem a little too modern (too plasticky white! not that there's anything wrong with that), but which I thought would, indeed, be good for used-machine shoppers to know about.

Because I want the main body of the blog to stay focused on old sewing machines, in all their candy-colored, quirkily designed, mechanical glory, I've decided to create a separate blog for reviews of machines that are ten or fewer years old. These are some great machines, and their owners really love them -- I think they're all good candidates for used purchases... they're just not vintage, so I'm separating them.

As I add more of these types of reviews (and please get in touch with me if you'd like to review a machine in either the vintage or new category!), I'll update this post, so anybody checking the categories here at Zigzaggers will be led to the new sewing machines over on their other site, New Zigzaggers.

The newest of the new sewing machine reviews comes from Lisa Lam, a really fun handbag designer with a funny, interesting, helpful blog. She uses a 6-year-old computerized Janome 3500 (pictured above with Lisa's cutest shoes) that sounds like a great, dependable modern machine.

Here's a list of the reviews that can be found on New Zigzaggers:

Janome 3500
Brother LS-1217
Singer 8280

Find them all at this link: New Zigzaggers

A word from the editor

Hi there -- I want to interrupt the sewing machine reviews briefly to make a few personal comments. When I started thinking about this site, I knew it would only become an interesting, useful resource with the help of strangers, and I didn't know whether strangers would have any reason to participate. But they did, and they continue to, and I want to thank them all!

I started by approaching crafty bloggers, and when Melissa from tinyhappy responded to me and reviewed her borrowed Bernina Record 730, I was thrilled and amazed. Melissa's blog is lovely, the gorgeous totes, dresses, and baby shoes she sews are beautiful, and to have her be the first guest reviewer really made me think this site might work out. Then Melissa Fehr, a blogger and active poster on Pattern Review who sews at an incredibly prolific rate, reviewed her store-brand 80s machine, and not long after that, my forays into the community of sewing machine collectors and repairers bore fruit and the brilliant McKenna Linn sent me a review of her beautiful Elna Grasshopper.

I'm so grateful to them and to the ten other people who've since contributed. The site needs more, more, more, so I hope that anybody who's thinking of reviewing an older sewing machine will email me and do it -- the more machines we collect on here, the more helpful and beautiful (I love the way these machines look!) the site will be.

I've come across a few things lately that I want to share:

First, on the topic of shopping for used machines, I received an email from Belinda describing how she'd come across a Janome 610 gratis by posting a wanted notice on Freecycle. Brilliant. She tells the story on her blog, here.

Second, another very talented sewing-and-crafting person, Heather Bailey, posted a blurb about her experiences with different sewing machines on her blog, here. Although she uses a new computerized Bernina as her main machine, she has some insightful comments about how inadequate sewing machines get lots of people off on the wrong foot when they're learning. She talks a bit about her older Viking and a Bernina 840, too.

I've been getting some emails from people who want to find out more about their old sewing machines, so I wanted to make a quick mention of the fact that I believe most of the big companies will tell you when and where your vintage find was made. I emailed White with just the model number of my new used machine, and a customer service rep wrote back promptly with the year of manufacture.

What's more, loads of manuals are available online -- there's one site, Sew USA, that has free threading diagrams and sells manuals for about $10.

One more useful reference site is Ed Lamoureux's blog -- he doesn't update it much, but he put up a great post (here) a couple of years ago about sewing machine feet that breaks down the low-shank/high-shank difference and offers tips for finding new attachments for various machines.

Please contribute more good sewing machine reference links in the comments section!

And last, but certainly not least, but also not at all sewing related, I have to share a link to a very funny comic strip, Monty, which recently won the National Cartoonists Society division award for best newspaper strip of the year. Jim Meddick, the creator, also happens to be my husband...

Singer Style-O-Matic, model 328

by Cheryl DeWolfe, a Victoria, B.C., crafter who blogs a crafty blog here and sells her crafty stuff (including really cute coffee-cup-cozies) on Etsy here

Love it, hate it, or something in between? Overall, I love it. It had to grow on me though -- I pretty much hated it at first. A big part of my dislike came from the fact that it seemed so "pared down" from the Husqvarna I had grown up using. It seemed too basic, it was heavy, and it looked downright Soviet. Now that I have worked with it, though, I don't think I could go back to the plastic 70s machine I had used previously.

When did you buy this sewing machine? It was a gift from my father about 6 years ago. He had bought it at a thrift store locally, cleaned it up, then decided I needed it more than he did. My old Husqvarna machine, handed down from my Mother, was no longer holding tension and repairs would have cost as much as a new machine.

When was it manufactured? According to the serial number, 1961 in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Québec, Canada.

Where did you buy it? It was purchased at a Salvation Army thrift store in Victoria, B.C.
 
How much did you pay for it? My father thinks he paid around $40.

How many projects have you done on this machine? Dozens! Everything I have sewn in the past 6 years...which is quite a lot, though many were small items such as finger puppets and pincushions.

Describe the kind of work you've done with it. Mostly, I use it to sew my crafts -- plush creatures, finger puppets, gift bags, and so on. I have also used it to mend clothing -- hems and patching -- and to sew soft furnishings, three Halloween costumes, and even a beautiful ring pillow for a friend's wedding. This machine can sew almost anything. I've sewn every kind of fabric from denim to satin and it does surprisingly well with stretchy fabrics, too.

What do you like and what do you hate about it? As I mentioned, the machine grew on me. I hated threading it, at first. It's not that it is difficult, but there's definitely a trick to getting it through the tension mechanism just right. Every now and then, I still screw that up and all of a sudden my thread will snap mid-stitch. I was also not a fan of the position of the light -- I'm still not; it's a little too focused just at the needle -- but now I compensate with another desk lamp. The foot control was the other thing that took a lot of getting used to -- rather than an accelerator-style pedal, there appear to be two buttons, but only one is the trigger; the other is molded as part of the pedal. For the life of me, I  still can't figure out why it is designed this way, but I have learned to use it.

There are also things I haven't tested; I am eagerly awaiting the delivery of a batch of accessories I bought online including several feet and 8 fashion discs, which are used to create specialty stitching. I'd also like to test how it works with two needles -- it can accommodate them as-is, but I would need to replace the missing post to hold the second spool of thread. Getting back to what I love about it, the bobbin-winding is one of the most even and easy to use I have encountered, and the stitch adjustments allow for detailed control over stitch length and width. I also love that it came with its original manual, and I love that I can open it up and do most of the maintenance myself.

Overall, I'd recommend it for other crafters or beginners; this machine is sturdy, forgiving, and surprisingly versatile.

Husqvarna Automatic 21A

by Jessicah, whose blog, Spinning a Yarn, has luscious photos; she's got a tutorial up right now showing how she dyes wool with food coloring

Love it, hate it, or something in between? Definitely love it!
 
When did you buy this sewing machine? I was given this machine for my 16th birthday from my parents. I'm now 21, so I've had it 5 years. Mum bought it from her mother's junior bridesmaid. It used to be her mother's. I love thinking about the history this machine has -- the hours it has spent lovingly sewing clothes into the small hours of the night, and the children who learnt to sew on it. I like to think some of the skill and love from the hands of everyone who has sewn on it get sewn into the things I make too.
 
When was it manufactured? I have in my head 1953, but I can't actually find a date anywhere, and am not sure where that one came from! Similar machines (The US version) have 1959 attached to them, so sometime around then. Either way, it's still going strong!
 
How many projects have you done on this machine? Describe the kind of work you've done with it. I have sewn just about everything I've made since I was 16 on this machine! Knits, woven, polarfleece, wool, cotton, linen. You name it! I've made bedspreads, roman blinds, tee-shirts, pants, ball dresses, and a suit with waiscoat and tie for my partner. I even attempted a pair of jeans, and it was certainly not the machine's fault they didn't turn out right.
 
What do you like and what do you hate about it? I don't think I have any gripes about this machine; it's easy to use and never jams. It's a solid beast.

I love that the whole machine is made of metal (apart from a small piece of plastic that the arm of the bobbin case rests in) -- every moving part. There's something so solid about an entirely metal machine, which of course makes it heavy, but I'm not small and frail, and I don't move it about very often so the weight isn't a big deal. At the back it has a space for cams, which are cogs that dictate different stitch patterns. Mine has 3 removable cams to change the stitch pattern with. It also has two gears for fast and slow stitching. I also love the little green suitcase it comes in; the fact that it's green enamel; and the pictures, and expressions, such as "zigzag stitching is sheer fun!" in the instruction manual!

Bernina 830 Record

by Laurel Parrish, a theatrical costumer (i.e., heavy sewing machine user) who blogs at Yarn Therapy about knitting and other crafty and lifestyle topics

Love it, hate it, or something in between? Unconditional love!
 
When did you buy this sewing machine? It was a gift – my high school graduation present from my grandparents in 1983. I had my heart set on a Viking like we had at school – I thought they were very fancy and exotic compared to the little Kenmore I had at home. My dad, however, did the research and discovered that Berninas were less expensive and (this is what really sold him!) far sturdier due to their all-metal construction. He shopped around and got a good deal on a slightly used Bernina 830 Record, which has served me like a champ ever since.
  
When was it manufactured? I believe it was a year old when they bought it, so it’s a 1982 model.
 
Where did you buy it? I don’t remember the name of the place, but it was a store in Ventura, California. It came with a free lesson, where the owner showed me the bells and whistles like the automatic tension and the buttonhole.
 
How much did you pay for it? No idea – my dad thinks maybe around $300. I’ve been trying to find out what the original retail price was, with no luck.
 
How many projects have you done on this machine? Wow – 20 plus years worth of projects! I guess the answer is “lots and lots!”

Describe the kind of work you've done with it. What haven’t I done with it? I work in theatrical costuming, and for ten years I made costumes freelance in my living room. My Bernina has cranked out lots of theatrical and dance costumes, countless alterations, and three wedding gowns (so far). I’m just getting back into making clothes for myself, and I’m doing a little quilting.

It’s also been a great machine to have in a costume shop because it’s so sturdy and holds up to many different people using it. I even hauled it out to the Hamptons once to do alterations for a catalog shoot!
 
What do you like and what do you hate about it? I love pretty much everything about it – it’s an all-metal super sturdy workhorse that handles all weights of fabrics equally well. I’ve used it on everything from heavy upholstery to delicate silks to ultrasuede and leather. It’s particularly good with stretch fabrics, which was very useful when I was making dance costumes.

It has a knee attachment for the presser foot lifter, which is invaluable for speed and precision work. The flat bed is nice and wide and easy to remove to access the free arm.

The best thing about this machine is its simplicity. It has a wide variety of stitches, but they’re all very straightforward and easy to use. Threading is a breeze – no funky wire loop thingie for tension; the thread just slides through a groove. You can’t wind a bobbin while it’s threaded, which doesn’t bother me – it does have two thread holders so you can wind bobbins from a second spool if you want.

I’m searching for something not to like ….. I guess the buttonhole could be a little more refined – they don’t look as nice on very lightweight fabrics. It’s really heavy – I consider it portable, but only with the aid of my luggage cart. It’s so heavy that I know if my apartment ever gets broken into no burglar would ever bother trying to steal it.


My foot pedal cracked in half years ago –  I epoxied it back together which held for a few years but then it broke again. Since it still works just fine, I haven’t bothered to replace it. Ebay has made it so much easier to find parts, though, that I will probably look for a new one soon.

I could go on and on and on about this fabulous machine….. I know the 830 is a popular machine these days, and I know how lucky I am to have one! If anyone has any specific questions about my machine, leave it in the comments!

Viking 6440

by Amanda, whose blog, Red Jet Whistle, covers all kinds of craft and design stuff with a Boston focus

Love it, hate it, or something in between? I love it, it's the first consistent machine I've ever sewed with. It's all metal, quiet, simple to use, and dependable. My previous experience was all on Singers - my grandmother's and mother's 60s Singers, which were quirky but generally good machines, and then 2 current Singers from Sears and Target that were terrible pieces of plastic junk. After a lot of research on the web, Viking, Bernina and White were the highest rated. I chose the 6440 based on the simple controls, free arm, cams, and frankly - looks. It's very smart looking! I'm also happy that there are always cams, feet and replacement parts for the 6440 on ebay.

When did you buy this sewing machine? September 2007

When was it manufactured? Not sure exactly - late 1970s I think.

Where did you buy it? I purchased it on ebay. After watching quite a few good deals few go by, I got anxious and bid on a machine from a seller I should have guessed would be questionable by the way the listing was written and the poor quality photos. The listing stated that the machine ran and sewed well, but it was unusable when I got it - the presser foot was stuck in the up position. I took it to Sewing & Vacuum Center in Somerville, MA (a great resource for anyone in the Boston area) and had it repaired and tuned up. In the end, I'm incredibly happy with the machine, but I regret not buying it from a more reputable seller and avoiding the repairs. I strongly recommend only buying from ebay sellers that you feel comfortable with, who can demonstrate that the machine is in running condition - ask them to thread it and sew a sample for you.

How much did you pay for it? $170 + $40 shipping + $140 repair = $350. These tend to run in the $100-200 range on ebay.

How many projects have you done on this machine? Quite a few! Maybe 20-30.

Describe the kind of work you've done with it. I've made purses, curtains, pillows, clothes, all kinds of projects. I was really impressed when I sewed through 4 layers of vinyl, and it hems jeans beautifully.

What do you like and what do you hate about it? Loves: I know that if something is going wrong it's me and not the machine. I also love the simple controls that can produce a lot of sophisticated stitches. The cams are fun and easy to change, and the lower gear ratio has been great for sewing through vinyl and denim. The free arm is nice and small making sleeves and purse openings a breeze. It's really easy to thread and came with all sorts of feet that I'm looking forward to playing with. I also love that it's a colorful, sleek looking machine.

Hates: I'm not in love with the bobbin winder being located on the side of the machine, and I miss the built in thread cutter on my crappy Singer. No on/off switch - I dislike having to plug/unplug it all the time. Small complaints, it's really a great piece of equipment.

Soon after, I bought the Viking Huskylock 431 serger, and it's also a dream!

Pfaff Tiptronic 1171

by Feed Dog, who writes a funny, charming blog at Feed Dog  about quilting (check out this link to see one of his "ransom notes") and other crafts and anecdotes

Love it, hate it, or something in between? Unabashed love. It's my new best friend. I learned to sew and quilt on a White 2037, definitely not a quilter's dream machine, and this Pfaff walked into my life right when I was really starting to hit the wall with the White.

When did you buy this sewing machine? A couple months ago.

When was it manufactured? I have the warranty certificate that says it was originally purchased on

March 3, 1986

. Apparently the machine was a 1987 model, so they must do model years ahead of time like cars. This wouldn't be my period of choice aesthetically, though I like the little atom symbols by the model number and the "Made in West Germany" Cold War relic, and I'm not after her for her looks anyway.

Where did you buy it? At a thrift store in the San Francisco Bay Area. The machine and cabinet were pretty dusty, and it looked like they hadn't been used in a while, though whoever had used it was pretty fastidious about keeping all the pieces together. My mother sewed for years on a Pfaff that's about the same age, and even after upgrading she swears by it as her workhorse machine (that is, until my brother commandeered it). I called her on the spot to check that it was a worthwhile purchase; in hindsight I can't believe I considered turning it down.

How much did you pay for it? For the machine, a great sewing cabinet with an electric lift, 3 manuals, hard carrying case, all the original feet and attachments, and drawers full of thread and miscellaneous notions: $40. A complete steal, even consider the $80 for repairs and $50 for a replacement pedal (which only as I write this do I realize cost more than the machine itself. Sheesh). You'd spend more for the cabinet alone.

How many projects have you done on this machine? Only some preliminary practice work. I just got it back from the repair shop after a month and a half of taking it there, explaining what was wrong, getting it back, finding the same problems, reexplaining.... Initially the needle wouldn't always swing to the left, stretch stitches fed in reverse, and the fancy satin stitches just made a straight stitch, but a thorough cleaning and tune up got everything working and found an "intermittent pedal problem." (Definitely test every kind of stitch before taking machines home from servicing.) Oil apparently can gum up machines' innards if they're not used frequently, so I would always factor the cost of service in when buying a secondhand machine to use and abuse.

Describe the kind of work you've done with it. I'm primarily a quilter, and the machine sews like butter when piecing fabrics together. Seriously, it's delicious, and the machine doesn't seem to mind heavy fabrics either. After hearing horror stories about free-motion quilting (and attempting it on my previous machine), I was shocked at how pleasant it was on this machine.

What do you like and what do you hate about it? LOVE the integrated dual feed, which eliminates the need for a walking foot when doing straight-line quilting or even just piecing. Having a needle-down function is a delight. You can also press a button to halve the top sewing speed, which is great for free-motion quilting, zigzag appliqué, and other detail work. I'm looking forward to trying out the machine basting stitch, which is different from a long straight stitch--you seem to guide the fabric manually and tap the pedal whenever you want to tack. Being able to wind the bobbin from the needle or from a second spool is also great, and when I run a bobbin of thread down, we'll see if the bobbin sensor works. Before I got this machine, I didn't even know there was such a thing! Each foot has a specially formed cubby in the work support/accessory compartment, which avoids the jumbled boxes of feet my other machines have.

There's only one thing I hate: the zigzag only has a few predefined widths, and other stitches have even fewer width options. For most purposes this is fine, but for blindhem appliqué, I'll have to drag myself back to the White.

Singer treadle

by sarai, who blogs at Mumbling Monkey about her life, crafts, academic endeavors, and Nova Scotia

Love it, hate it, or something in between? Love it. It's old, it's wooden (and metal and leather), and it still works.

When did you buy this sewing machine? My mom gave it to me, probably four years ago.

When was it manufactured? 1923, I believe. I looked it up on the Singer website once.

Where did you buy it? I think my mom bought it locally from a private owner.

How much did you pay for it? No idea how much it cost.

How many projects have you done on this machine? One or two, and various repairs and details on other projects.

Describe the kind of work you've done with it. I've sewed in zippers, done a little machine quilting, made a skirt, that sort of thing.

What do you like and what do you hate about it? The only regret I have about this machine is that it's so big and heavy. I don't have it right now - it's in storage across the country. I miss it.

What I like:
- it doesn't use electricity. I appreciate hand- and foot-powered tools, and independence from mainstream energy sources.
- it has lasted so long, and is going strong. I put a new belt on it when I got it; belts, needles, and bobbins for machines of this age are still available!
- What it does, it does very well. This machine will only do straight stitch, which would be a disadvantage for some. But, it does the best and neatest straight stitch I could ask, and will sew through denim no problem. A sailor friend of mine told me that Singer treadles are reputed to be so amazing that they can even handle sailcloth.
- The machine folds down into the wooden housing. If I am not going to use it for a while, it's nice to protect it, and be able to use the top of the housing as a little table.
- The housing has a hinged extension at one end, so I can spread out a lot of fabric.

Janome/New Home SW-2018E

by Rachael, of Grandy and Baa (she makes seriously cute baby clothes -- here are links to her blog and her etsy shop)

Love it, hate it, or something in between? I love it.  Ignore what my husband might tell you about the yelling and screaming at it  - I confess that for the most part that would be user error.  It's a simple machine to use and does everything I need it to.  It has 18 stitch options, including some fancy stitches.  I do wish this machine had a 1-step button hole – then it would be perfect.  I would, without hesitation, recommend this machine to beginners, but it still has enough options available for an intermediate to advanced sewer.  The machine comes with a load of feet and ‘things.’  I recently purchased an instruction manual online as we couldn't find the original one.

When did you buy this sewing machine? My mother bought this machine new as a spare about 22 years ago.  My mother sews a lot - she used to make and sell children’s clothes, is a mad quilter, and teaches a sewing class.  As my family lives in the country, Mum was worried that she would be stuck without a machine if her primary machine broke down.  Although it didn't have as much use as her then Husqvarna, it was still used fairly often.  My mother ‘lent’ it to me in the early 1990’s when I went off to University.  I seem to have forgotten to give it back.

When was it manufactured? I am unsure of exactly when it was manufactured but I would say in the late 1970’s/1980’s.  I understand that Janome made that model for some time.

Where did you buy it? It was purchased at a sewing machine store in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia.  My overlocker/serger (a Christmas gift from my lovely mother) also came from the same store.

How much did you pay for it? My mother cannot recall exactly but I have seen this machine second hand for around $100.00US on eBay.  I am ‘watching’ one on eBay at the moment and it’s at $25.00AUS!  Fingers crossed I may have a twin soon…

How many projects have you done on this machine? Not including the many projects that my mother has done, I have probably done somewhere near 350 – 400 projects (including little jobs to big projects).  For a number of years it was really only used for adjusting thrifted clothes.

Describe the kind of work you've done with it. I have done an amazing array of projects on this machine, including making curtains for a huge bedroom and lounge room, a play quilt for my baby, cushions, clothes for me, taking in and up clothes for others, lots of appliqué for my Etsy store, dozens and dozens of pouches used for packaging my sales, dresses, dress up costumes, lots of bags, bibs, softies, and the list goes on… Probably some of the most inventive projects I have made on this machine include a fabric ‘stair gate’ to shut off the stairs from our then baby (The Stella Stopper 2006), men’s and women’s shirts up-cycled into shopping bags (the long sleeves are the straps), and an astronaut’s costume made from sliver insulation food bags (the fabric covered ones that we get in the supermarkets in Australia).

What do you like and what do you hate about it? I love the sturdiness and simplicity of this machine – no fancy computers and things beeping at you. Just nice big dials! It is pretty forgiving as I have treated it quite badly at times – like sewing the massive curtains, or quilts that are probably a tad thick, or denim that could be confused with steel sheeting.  It is pretty easy to maintain (oil free machine) but it could benefit from a good service (Mum, it’s time to visit me…) [editor's note: Rach's mother even does repairs!].  I hate that sometimes it won’t reverse when I need it too but I am sure that a good service can take care of that. I like that it has stood up to being moved all over Australia – I was tempted to take it when I moved to England for 2 years but it wouldn’t fit in my backpack – I had to be content with hand sewing (another story for another day…).