Zigzaggers

Singer 247

by Karencilla, who has such a fun blog at Little Sweet Hearts -- her mix of sewing projects, photography, and pop culture criticism is really unique.

Love it, hate it, or something in between? It's my first love and always will be. It is my first sewing machine, and without a doubt my favorite. I kind of rescued it from obscurity and weather inclemency. Sometimes she (I like to think it is a she) is little bit stubborn but most of the time, sweetness.

When did you buy this sewing machine? Actually, it belongs to my mom. She doesn't use it as much as I do; usually, she uses it for repairs and fitting. She lent it to my sister and me when we began sewing classes. My sister stopped sewing, so now I'm almost the only one using it.

When was it manufactured? Sometime between 1974 to 1980.

Where did you buy it? I asked her and she can't remember -- oh, well.

How much did you pay for it? She paid around $100 in 1979. Now, if you are lucky you can buy one for $50.

How many projects have you done on this machine? A LOT! All my creations were made with this beauty. The only things I haven't sewn are jeans, coats, and knit sweaters. Originally, this machine series was not made to sew stretchy or thick fabrics. It was made to sew lighter fabrics.

Describe the kind of work you've done with it. I have made dresses, blouses, skirts, home décor accessories, bags, and done repairs.

What do you like and what do you hate about it? I like how easy it is to use -- no complications. I love that it has a dial that adjusts the pressure of the presser foot, and I like the configuration of the thread tension dial because it uses numbers (better than + and - symbols). The best thing about this machine is the durability; the metal body makes it almost indestructible. I couldn't believe it when my mom told me that she bought it in 1979-1980 -- it's 28 years old, and still working wonderfully. I just need to oil it once in a while. The few things that bother me are not having a zipper foot, which makes it almost impossible to sew a zipper; and the weight. 

Husqvarna 21

by EmilyKate, who collects and sews in Australia and posts about her adventures at her blog, here. (I love the bell-bottom jeans, blogged about here, that she made on this gorgeous Husqvarna!)

Love it, hate it, or something in between? I pretty much love everything about it, from the retro-tastic styling to the performance. It's such a happy shade of grasshopper-y green!

When did you buy this sewing machine? Two months ago.

When was it manufactured? The Class 21 series of Husqvarnas were made from 1955 until 1966, and there were 3 versions that I know of, called 21, 21a [ed note: see Jessicah's review of the 21a here] and 21e. In North America they are branded as 'Viking'. It was touted as having the world's first 100% jam-proof hook. So far that's proved true in my use of it. It also has a reduction gear that allows the machine to run slower but keep the full piercing power of the motor, which is great for sewing heavy or thick material like leather or denim.

Where did you buy it? I scored it at a local opshop -- that's a thrift-store to North Americans, or a cancer shop for Brits. I have another Husqvarna from the 1970s and it's a dream machine, so as soon as I saw the magic Husqvarna logo I knew I should snap up this one too. I didn't even try it out properly before I bought it, and the handwheel actually felt a little stiff when I tried to turn it but the ladies at the shop assured me it had been tested, and once I got it home, I opened it up along the arm and took a vacuum to the bobbin race area, and brushed out the feed-dogs -- there was what looked like decades-worth of compacted fabric-dust and oil in there. Once that was gone and a few drops of oil were administered, all the parts moved freely and the stitches were perfect.

How much did you pay for it? $50 Australian. There's NO WAY you would be able to purchase a new machine of this quality and with as many features at even quadruple the price. Plus they just don't make machines this cute anymore.

How many projects have you done on this machine? One so far- a pair of jeans. It handled the denim beautifully, and actually, even though it has the special reduction-gear for denim, I didn't need to use it -- it just went through like butter.

Describe the kind of work you've done with it. Aside from making the jeans, I've had a bit of a fiddle-around with the various bits and bobs it came with. It can do embroidery stitches by inserting cams into the back of the machine. As it didn't come with a manual, I've been experimenting and making notes about what combinations of settings make which patterns.

What do you like and what do you hate about it? There's nothing I hate, but in a perfect world the Fates would have put a stitch-length DIAL on my machine rather than the lever-type selector -- later versions of these models do actually have the dial. It does an absolutely beautiful buttonhole, but it's not automatic, so it could be a bit of a pain to try and get all your buttonholes the exact same size. But if you get an old Singer mechanical buttonholer attachment off ebay that problem is solved! The motor makes a nice little hum, and because it's an all-metal machine it's nice and solid-feeling, not clattery or shakey.

Vesta

and another review by Michelle Jensen, of naughty little epoch

Love it, hate it, or something in between? I was completely bowled over by this hand crank when I saw it. It was at the height of my sewing machine fascination and I had never seen a vibrating shuttle machine. (I love the long thin bobbin and the way the bobbin holder looks like a bullet. It's a joy to wind that bobbin!) I never really sewed a whole lot with this machine -- its stitching isn't perfect and it seems to have thread and fabric preferences -- but I always thought it would be great to have something to sew with in a power cut!

When did you buy this sewing machine? I bought it a couple of years ago, purely on a whim. I think I was seduced by those lions.
 
When was it manufactured? It was made by a German manufacturer called Dietrich. I'm not sure when mine was made, really. Its badge is from the 1890s, but the decals are from around 1903 (according to needlebar.com).

Where did you buy it? I bought it in a charity shop in my hometown. There is something about seeing something like that in a charity shop that makes it hard to pass up. It seems like such a stroke of luck.

How much did you pay for it? It is the most expensive machine I've bought at £25. The others didn't cost that much all together.

How many projects have you done on this machine? Only a couple, but I love the challenge of the hand crank option.

Describe the kind of work you've done with it. I made one appliqué completely in its honor with Nahmaschine written in ribbon across the top. Mostly I've just played around with it.

What do you like and what do you hate about it? I think this machine has real character. It isn't something that I would use all the time -- just when the mood takes me. There is nothing to hate; it has great character and I'm sure that like most sewing machines it just requires the right touch.

Singer 185K

by Michelle Jensen, who blogs at naughty little epoch about sewing, appliqué, and her amazing op-shop finds

Love it, hate it, or something in between? I loved this machine for quite a while, and still do have a soft spot for it, but it has been eclipsed -- first by my Elna Grasshopper and more recently by my Husqvarna Automatic (both of which you can see amazing examples of on this blog!). It has always sewn pretty well. The foot pedal broke at one point, so that’s been fixed. I find the way it sews to be a bit heavy compared with the whizzy little Elna, and it is really quite loud. Despite that, the stitching is dependable.

When did you buy this sewing machine? I bought this machine about three years ago. I had been living abroad for about four years and coming back to a sewing machine-less existence was a hard thing to take.

When was it manufactured? 1959-60

Where did you buy it? I bought it at a village fete in a tiny little place called Staplefield, in the village hall -- a place I’ve known since childhood (Saturday night discos, etc.).

How much did you pay for it? £2! I tried to give them more because it seemed like such a steal, and the money was going to the church fund or something, but they wouldn’t hear of it.

How many projects have you done on this machine? I’d say I got at least 15 finished items done on it before I got the Elna. But that doesn’t include the ‘experimenting.’

Describe the kind of work you've done with it. I’ve made appliqué wall hangings, bags, accessories, the better part of a quilt, and some creatures. I used it again recently because I bought a button hole attachment and a zigzag attachment, but then I found the Husqvarna. So the poor Singer is sidelined once again.

What do you like and what do you hate about it? I hate that it isn’t getting any use. I’m on the verge of finding a good home for it, but it is hard -- I let myself get attached. I like how sturdy it is and the design of it. It came with all the attachments and the manuals. Vintage sewing machines seem to have such nice manuals. I also love that vintage sewing machines have a history all of their own.

Bernina 830 Record

 by Lesley Zampatti, who blogs here about her craftsy life in southern California; she's a transplanted Australian, so she doesn't have her much-loved Bernina with her at the moment -- she had to make a special trip down under to photograph it for this review!

Love it, hate it, or something in between? I love my Bernina SO much that at one stage I knew it would be the first thing — after husband, kids, and pets — that I'd rescue if my house was on fire.

When did you buy this sewing machine? 1971-72? My dad bought this for my mum soon after we moved to Australia from England, which was in 1970. My mum used to have it serviced regularly and I still have all the log books showing when she oiled it! Mum gave it to me when my two youngest kids were little, in the late 1980s.

When was it manufactured? It was a new model when Dad bought it, so very early 1970s.

Where did you buy it? Perth, Western Australia.

How much did you pay for it? My dad can't remember, but it was an extravagant present. I remember my mum was ecstatic. She'd never have been able to afford anything like this when we lived in England. This was one hell of a machine! Still is.

How many projects have you done on this machine? Too many to count. And the Bernina has never, ever, lost a beat.

Describe the kind of work you've done with it. The first thing I remember sewing on it, in mum's kitchen, was a leather shirt I made for my boyfriend (we were at university together in 1972), out of skins we bought from a tannery. It was like something a Native American would wear — with long fringes down the arm seams and natural edgings! I made him cheesecloth Indian-style shirts, and long skirts and flowing nighties for myself.

In the eighties and nineties, I sewed all the kids' clothes, in ordinary fabrics and stretch knits. I made their swimsuits and drama and ballet costumes. I made three quilts. I made slip covers for two settees and I re-upholstered a vintage armchair. I made Roman blinds for my family room. I mended shoes — re-attaching a strap to a leather sandal. Later, I discovered free-arm embroidery and made handbags and art pieces. I made an entire wardrobe of clothes for a neighbor going on holiday. My Bernina was my right arm!

What do you like and what do you hate about it? There's nothing about it that I hate. Its only slight flaw, to my eyes, is that it is very heavy. It comes in a big red plastic case the size of a sarcophagus. I'd be staggering in to quilting classes, huffing and puffing with it, while fellow quilters were skipping in with their little Elnas and Husqvarnas in their lightweight fabric cases!

This, though, is more than compensated for by the strength, endurance and sheer, non-complaining guts of this mighty piece of engineering. It's indestructible. It can handle anything. Seven thicknesses of denim? No worries. It just purrs along. Beautiful. It's easy to use, easy to maintain, and all its moving parts are steel (hence the weight) so I'll probably be handing it on to my daughter (she's making her first quilt right now — yay!).

While it is safely stored away in Australia, and because I simply cannot survive without a sewing machine, my darling husband has given me a Janome as a stop-gap. Not a top-of-the-range, but just a couple of rungs up from the basic model. It's okay, but when it stamps its little foot, I often tell this little Taiwanese-made show pony about my Immortal Swiss Warhorse. There's no comparison. I don't think I could afford this century's equivalent of my Bernina, so just as well I've looked after the one I do have. It will never die. I'll be unpacking it and getting it serviced for a longed-for reunion when we return to Australia next March.

PS: My foot pedal has broken in exactly the same way as Laurel's. I still have the piece that broke off, so I'll try fixing it, thanks to the comments Laurel received.

Singer Stylist 834

by Erin McKean, whose wonderful blog, A Dress a Day, is all about dresses, sewing, and the state of fashion in general; in case you don't read her blog, you should know that Erin recently bought a new Juki, and is actually giving this Singer Stylist 834 away -- I asked her to write a little about why she decided to retire it (see the end of her review)

Love it, hate it, or something in between? I'd only really used one machine before this (my mom's New Home, which my sister now has) so I didn't have much to compare it to. I loved it when everything was going well ... and when things weren't going well it was usually my fault.

When did you buy this sewing machine? I bought it in the summer of 1992, with my first real paycheck from my first real job. I carried it home on the bus! Took me three hours. Totally worth it.

When was it manufactured? I think -- think -- it was 1971. I liked that it was as old as I am. But I could be wrong.

Where did you buy it? At a sewing & vacuum-cleaner shop near Harlem and Irving Park in Chicago.

How much did you pay for it? I believe I paid $140 for it. $149? Not more than $150, which was my budget.

How many projects have you done on this machine? Too many to count! Hundreds, I would guess. I made two quilts with this machine, plus soooo many dresses. And one handbag. Never again with the
handbag.

Describe the kind of work you've done with it. I've mostly made dresses, natch.

What do you like and what do you hate about it? I liked how simple it was to thread; I didn't like that the feed dogs were permanently stuck on "HIGH". Towards the end it was really starting to give out, timing-wise, so I was babying it along.

It also made a very nice noise, actually. A soothing purr.

I decided to replace this machine because I'd had it for 15 years and it was time to give it a break. I was just sewing too much for the poor thing. (Yes, I anthropomorphize machines; I'm sorry ...)

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.