New Zigzaggers

Important link if you're shopping for a new machine

I'm so pleased that we're gathering a nice variety of new sewing machine reviews here at New Zigzaggers and I certainly think that this review format makes it easy to compare brands and models.

But seriously, if you've found this site because you're looking to buy a new sewing machine, you must also check out the reviews at an amazing website, PatternReview.com. If you register, you'll be able to search and read reviews of sewing machines of all ages, makes, and models for free -- the only catch is that you can only access the reviews that have been written over the past six months. Many, many people write reviews at PatternReview.com, however, so you'll still get an unbelievable amount of information.

And then, if you want more, you can upgrade your membership to "Friends of PR" for $30 for the whole year. This is a bargain, people, if you love sewing and do a lot of it -- once you have your machine, the fine seamsters and sewists at PatternReview will make your life many times easier and better by telling you which patterns work and which don't, and offering details about how they made adjustments for fit and function. I rarely tap into the wealth of articles and interviews that are posted on the home page, but I can while away hours gazing at other people's creations and reading the details of how they made their masterpieces.

(In the same vein, I must also mention the brilliant open-source sewing site Burdastyle, where amazing people create amazing clothes -- often with no pattern at all, or from patterns they share with fellow Burdastylers. There's no real sewing-machine component on Burdastyle, but it's a great site for inspiration and community once you get into the process of creating stuff!)

Huskystar C10

by Ayala Levinger, who blogs about her crafty projects here

Love it, hate it, or something in between? Love it! It is my second sewing machine. (My first sewing machine was also a new one -- a Toyota, which wasn't bad at all.)

When did you buy this sewing machine? January 2008.

When was it manufactured? I don't know, but it was new in the box when I bought it.

Where did you buy it? A sewing machine shop in eastern Netherlands. I bought the machine online (I live in western Netherlands).

How much did you pay for it? 345 euros.

How many projects have you done on this machine? Many -- I use it almost every day and I always have many projects going, all in different stages. I've made cushions and at least 2 quilts, 5 or 6 bags, and other little things such as gifts, scarves, pincushions, etc.

Describe the kind of work you've done with it. I make patchwork quilts. I use the quarter-inch foot and the needle position adjustment function in the sewing machine. I didn't have this function in my first sewing machine and it was difficult to sew the seam allowance accurately. I also quilt with the free-motion option and I make bags. I make wearable pieces with crazy quilt parts. Because these pieces should be washed sometimes, I crazy quilt with the machine. My machine has many decorative stitches and it is possible to use them in endless combinations! I love that and use it often.

What do you like and what do you hate about it?
The functions I like so far in this new machine:
    * The needle position adjustment is perfect for a special 1/4 inch foot for accurate patchwork seams.
    * Decorative stitches -- great for crazy quilting!
    * The speed-adjustment so I can sew really really fast or realllllly slow, (or in the middle, of course).
    * It is much quieter than the Toyota so I can sew when my son sleeps.
    * Because the thread spool lies down instead of standing up, it never continues to roll after I've been sewing fast (which did happen with the Toyota).
    * It is computerized and remembers things!
    * I can choose from the start to have the needle stay down whenever I stop sewing! And with one button it goes up again.
    * It has a little closet where I can put my bobbins, feet and -- most important -- the seam-ripper. The Toyota also had a closet but it was under this thing that you pull out when sewing sleeves. Now I can open it to find my stuff while sewing!
    * It is beautiful to look at.

I haven't found things I don't like about it yet.

Singer CG-550

by Jennifer Reece, who writes one of my favorite kinds of blogs at David and Daisy -- it's all about her day-to-day sewing projects

Love it, hate it, or something in between? Somewhere in between... it's a basic machine, nothing fancy -- no bells or whistles. I use it to sew straight and zig-zag stitches, put in zippers, and make buttonholes. There are settings to work with knits, and I'll be trying that out soon, but I haven't had the chance yet.

When did you buy this sewing machine? 2004

When was it manufactured? 2004

Where did you buy it? A Hancock Fabric store in Savannah, GA. Some Singer representatives were there, selling commercial grade machines.

How much did you pay for it? About $250, I think.

How many projects have you done on this machine? Too many to count - I use it for all my sewing. It's my only machine (besides my overlock machine).

Describe the kind of work you've done with it. I sew all types of things with this machine. I make pillows, curtains, bedding, and clothing. Pretty much everything.

What do you like and what do you hate about it? I love that it is really fast. I bought it because it has a commercial grade engine, so it runs up to 1100 stitches per minute. It really is a good, decent, standard machine. The only problem I have is that it runs so fast that it vibrates too much, and sometimes moves across the table! I've been trying to figure out how to stabilize it a bit more, but the only thing that works is for me to slow down. And I hate slowing down to sew, especially if I am sewing long seams in curtains, for example.

Janome 3500

by Lisa Lam, whose blog is all about making super-cute handbags -- look, too, for the links to her handbag-making online shop, where she sells handles and hardware and fabrics
(Lisa can't explain why she wanted her favorite heels in that photo, but aren't they adorable?)

Love it, hate it, or something in between? I love my Janome. I've always used them (I've owned three so far) and my 3500 is still going strong.

When did you buy this sewing machine? My husband bought her for me in 2002.

When was it manufactured? Don't know, but it was bought new.

Where did you buy it? From a department store (John Lewis in Southampton, U.K.).

How much did you pay for it? Approximately £350 ($700).

How many projects have you done on this machine? It runs into the hundreds.

Describe the kind of work you've done with it. Eighty-five percent bags because I'm a bag designer/maker.

What do you like and what do you hate about it? I love that she's so dependable, and I do really push her sometimes. I'll try to stuff umpteen layers under the foot, and with a bit of coaxing and a new needle she can still work wonders. If she hates me and my layers, she will auto-stop, and after freeing up the nightmare layers, she just starts up again! I do wish she sewed a bit faster sometimes (don't tell her I said that), but it's a small price to pay for her dependability.

Brother LS-1217

by j. godsey, who blogs about making and repairing books (and other assorted topics, like making kitten slings) at Swill on a Stick

Love it, hate it, or something in between? Adore it. I used to own hand-me down machines: Singers and Whites that were attached to their tables; this was my first store-bought brand new machine. And it has never disappointed me. It worked like a dream straight out of the box, and if I don't use it for 6 months it still works perfectly.

When did you buy this sewing machine? About 8 years ago, I think.

When was it manufactured? I bought it brand new, but it was probably from the year before as it was on deep discount. I tried later to buy a second one as a gift and it had already been replaced with models I didn't think were as well designed. They had added preprogrammed stitches and replaced the knobs with buttons, etc...

Where did you buy it? Walmart

How much did you pay for it? $60 dollars down from $89

How many projects have you done on this machine? Hundreds.

Describe the kind of work you've done with it. I don't do clothes or fancy goods. No decorative stitches for me. I am home-project oriented; I see a sewing machine the same way I see a power drill. I have made curtains, bags, pet beds, stuffed toys, and fixed many things. I have even used it to stitch a book. I am presently making book covers and a bicycle seat bag.

What do you like and what do you hate about it? It's simplicity. With hand-me-down machines, I was always having to pay to get them adjusted. If I didn't use them constantly they went out of whack for some
reason. Sometimes I cover this machine up and don't use it for months at a time; then I pull it out and do a ton of things with it. It never fails me. I read the manual cover to cover when I got it, and it was so simple. The machine has 3 controls and once you have mastered that, you never have to THINK about it again. Instead of functions and electronic buttons, sometimes you just want a manual machine that does a few things very well. And its light weight and portability means I can just put it or take it anywhere I want to work.

Singer 8280

by Krista

Love it, hate it, or something in between? It got me going, so I feel a little bit of an attachment to it. It gave me lots of frustration, but some of that was surely my own fault, as an ignorant beginner who kept forgetting to put down the presser foot before sewing. Then again, some of it was certainly the fault of this cheapy sewing machine, which came up with new ways to foil me on a regular basis until I stashed it to use my 1972 White.

When did you buy this sewing machine? late 2005

When was it manufactured? it was new, so around 2005

Where did you buy it? Target

How much did you pay for it? about $80

How many projects have you done on this machine? approximately 15

Describe the kind of work you've done with it. I started with baby pouches, repaired heavy-duty items like wrist and knee braces, sewed a hideous (not the machine's fault) canvas handbag, two cloth grocery bags, a few little gift bags and pouches, a summer dress, three skirts, two tops, several pairs of elastic-waistband toddler pants, a fleece monkey costume, and started working on a sail cover made of heavy-duty marine canvas called Sunbrella.

What do you like and what do you hate about it? Thread jams. Seriously, all the time. In fairness, they became rarer as I used the machine more, so I really do think that I was doing funky things in the beginning that set it off -- I went through a phase where I loaded the thread into the bobbin case backward, and that wreaked havoc; I often forgot to put the presser foot down before sewing, and I just wasn't very adept at moving certain fabric types through. Still, it often jammed when I think I was doing everything right, and my White almost never jams, so I'm pretty sure the machine is highly susceptible to thread jams.

One of its biggest problems, aside from the thread jams, was that the plastic reverse lever got shredded inside the machine -- apparently the mechanism was too tight. Singer sent me a new lever (they did suggest I return the machine for a replacement, but with a tiny baby and a complicated living situation at that time, I couldn't drag myself back to Target in another state), and after doing some complicated jerry-rigging and being oh-so-careful, I did manage to keep it working reasonably well. And then one day I decided to drop some sewing machine oil down in the hole, and, well, the problem was totally fixed. So I see it as an indication that care was not taken in making the machine in the first place, but, again, if I'd known my way around a sewing machine better, I probably could have cleared it up right off the bat and saved myself a year and a half of grief.

As long as the thread wasn't getting all balled up under the needle plate, it worked great. The stitches looked good, and it even had enough power to get through some thick fabrics -- when I was sewing the sail cover, the needle seemed to go through the heavy canvas without too much effort, but the overall project was really too heavy for the feed dogs to move through very effectively. Also, I don't think it had any way to adjust the presser foot pressure or to lower the feed dogs, which I've since found to be a handy feature.