Sewing machines that can't cope with particular fabrics.

AskAlice, very well done. I uderstand fully your ecstacy on getting the machine working again. I have downloaded every bit of servicing info I could find on my bernina record 930

I clean my machines every time I use them, never blowing, always sucking with computer ends on my vac cleaner hose. I have never had any of my machines serviced. My babylock overlocker does not need oiling either and is 16 years old

I would consider taking my machines to an accredited service engineer but parking is a big problem and the older machines are massively heavy. I did look online at bernina travel trolleys, just in case but they are around £300. I will carry on doing what I do. I still have thoughts about the elna air, I took to a sewing repair shop in Kendal and it came back worse than when I took it in

At the risk of preaching to the converted, did you use a new needle as I find that can solve a lot of problems? I have sewn flannelette without any trouble.

Mine has a problem sewing flannelette. I bought a pattern and fabric to make a dressing gown and ended up sewing it all by hand because both my machines refused to sew it.

@AskAlice There is a documentary on YouTube called The Singer Story - Made on Clydebank which is the history of Singer Machines made in the UK and it’s well worth watching. Today’s Singers are very iffy as some are excellent and others are real dogs depending on when and where they were manufactured. I have an elderly Singer inherited from my MiL which I use as a back up if I’m really desperate as it uses cams most of which have deteriorated over the years.

I think the only machines still made in Europe are the top of the range Berninas and all other models are made in their factory in Thailand. I’ve been told that Pfaffs are made in Germany but assembled in the Czech Republic but I don’t know how true this is.

I bet it's still going strong Callistemon! Yes, mine has the buttonhole foot, just no specific settings on the knob for a specific buttonhole stitch - not even a 4 step one!

grandtante you're right, of course, tension, foot and stitch are the key but it's finding the right combination on these new all-singing, all-dancing machines that seems to be my problem! Sometimes I think the less features a machine has, the better it performs...

Astitchintime, I didn't know that about Singer! I will watch that episode of Factory on catch-up. My mum was a professional dressmaker and would use nothing else. But when I took my Singer machine (a computerised modern one) in to be serviced the guy who owned the shop made that hissing noise through his teeth and said that they are not the excellent machines they used to be . I've read the same on several online sewing forums. Very sad...

My one weighs a ton too, because it is all metal, no plastic casing

Yes, it was all metal, AskAlic.
I can't advise re the pressure foot adjustment, sorry, as I must have given it away about 35 years ago.
But I'm sure it had a buttonhole attachment, which you could use instead of the pressure foot.

Singer Sewing Machines featured during the BBC2 programme Inside The Factory screened last Sunday evening.
I didn't know that Singer is in Scotland and was named so at the time the sewing machine industry was set up there. Apparently, thousands of locals were employed by the Singer factory. Great machines too, I must add

My relatively new Pfaff machine takes against some fabrics, but the problem can be solved by making sure that the tension is correct and that you use the correct presser foot for the task in hand and that the stitch you select is right for the cloth involved.

My 1926 Singer rarely has fits of temper, although if the thread tension is wrong problems can occur, but are more readily put right.

AskAlice - have you tried altering the pressure on your machines as I find this can make a difference. Also I never use the lightning stitch as it's a real pain to unpick.

My one weighs a ton too, because it is all metal, no plastic casing. I tried to put it on top of the shelving in my sewing room yesterday and nearly put my back out! It's now under the cutting table in its case and I'll be having another play with it this afternoon. I have some nice wool-mix fabric to make a coat/jacket and I think it will be ideal to use for that when the new pattern I have ordered arrives.

It does do buttonholes, not automatically but basically by raising and lowering the feed dogs, adjusting the zig-zag width several times and turning the fabric by 180 degrees half way through. A bit of a faff - I might have to revert to one of my other machines for that!

One thing that puzzles me is that it has three settings for the pressure of the foot. In the instruction manual, it says 0 is for free-sewing (darning, embroidery etc), 1 is for normal/light fabric and 2 is for thicker fabric, denim, leather etc. But 2 is the highest pressure - I would have thought that I needed to reduce the pressure for thicker fabrics. Any thoughts, anyone?

My old Singer couldn't cope with blackout material and smoke started pouring out of it.
I've never really got on with the Brother machine I bought to replace it.

Determined to bring my old Jones machine back to life
I had my MIL's Jones machine when she could no longer sew. My word, that was a sturdy workhorse but so heavy. I advertised it for free locally (having moved it from house to house when we moved) and someone was very grateful for it.
It wasn't fancy but it did have a buttonhole attachment.

I sometimes find a walking foot helps with difficult materials.

No - you're not daft to be happy to have your sewing machine now working; My favourite machine is a Singer slant-o-matic made in 1959 which I purchased a few years ago. I was at secondary modern school in 1959 and a representative from Singer came to demonstrate it to us (it was a revolutionary model at the time as it did fancy stitches) and I longed to have one (I was using my grandmother's hand crank Singer made in 1899 at the time) but it cost a lot of money even at the special price for buying from the demo. I did get a basic electric machine for my 16th birthday and I used it a lot. Then around 10 years ago I saw a slant-o-matic for sale - so I got one at last. Another machine I like using is one given to me after my neighbour died, this is fifty years old. I find these older machines sew much better than the modern plastic ones.

I love reading threads about sewing and sewing machines as I know nothing about them. It is like reading a foreign language.

I was so happy to have replaced the brushes in the motor of my washing machjne 7 years ago by following a brilliant young man's instructions on youtube. So I understand your happiness AskAlice.

Well everyone, I've had a bit of a success this afternoon!

Determined to bring my old Jones machine back to life, I rescued it from the loft and took the top cover off. A half of a small container of sewing machine oil applied to every bit I could see that moved when I turned the (very stiff) handwheel, a bit of jiggling and lo and behold, it came to life!

I've just spent a couple of happy hours playing with it. It has all the paperwork with and is in the original carrying case and I found the guarantee card that I filled in - but never posted. I bought it on 6 February 1982 from Argos in Wood Green, London. I must have been only a few weeks pregnant with my first baby!

Am I daft to be so happy to have it working again? I'm now running out of space to store all my machines...I now have four, and a mini-one for my granddaughter!!

Obviously banishing the sewing machine to the loft taught it a lesson.😂😂😂

SaltandShake
I was told that by my repair man.

As for difficult materials, I use spry starch.

The professionals advise to change your needle on every project.
My machine is an old Janome. I inherited it from my late friend. The sound of it is wonderful, it almost hums.
I was so impressed by it that I gave my 5yr old singer to a friend.

Do you always check that the arm is in the raised position when you thread the needle? This is necessary to ensure thread gates are open. You can get all kinds of thread problems if you don't do this.

AskAlice: I was told by a sewing tutor never to use Singer needles on my Bernina. She said that all needles fit Singer machines but Singer needles do not fit all machines.
I did a sewing class some time ago and at least three people had bought Toyotas and had exchanged them for Berninas.
Grandmama: I did a get to know your machine class when I bought my Bernina and three of the other attendees had had Toyotas previously and said they were the worst machines they had ever used.

It's probaby beyond me too, Lexisgranny, but I will give it a go. My Dad taught me to strip down and clean a carburettor when I was young (brothers weren't interested) and I've learnt as long as I don't take anything apart without remembering where the bits go back, I can't do too much damage! And if all else fails, I'll take it into the repair shop and plead ignorance!! With the advance of technology I can also take photos on my phone as I go along...

My grandmother had a Singer Treadle machine, which folded into a beautiful mahogany cabinet. She also had a series of manual and electric table models over the years, but whenever she was faced with a difficult material, it was always tackled on the treadle machine which happily dealt with anything it was faced with. Over the years she became quite an expert with sewing machine maintenance and would happily take one apart, clean it (often with a feather!) oil it and reassemble it.

Regrettably although she taught me to sew, maintenance of equipment was, and remains beyond me.

I now have a project for when I have some free time (lots of childcare at the moment with complicated arrangements, overnight stays etc.)

I will get out my old Jones machine from the loft and take the casing off and see if I can work out why it has seized up! I have some sewing machine oil that I bought from a specialist shop so will try to give it some TLC. Back-up plan is to get it serviced properly!

old mechanical machines are fab, I love the mechanics, the moving parts and the sheer stability and ease of maintenance. They do need to be used from time to time and all knobs need to be turned as that can seize up through lack of use, gummy oil or being kept in a damp place so the cams etc rust. My old bernina has over 24 points that need to be oiled, when I do a full oiling. Being older berninas, they need the lower viscosity bernina oil

AskAlice

I've not heard of Riccar before - do you live in the UK, eddicat78?

I also have a Jones basic sewing machine that I bought in 1982. It is all-metal, including the casing but seized up completely about 4 years ago. Does anyone think it is worth getting it looked at? It was a real workhorse and could sew through anything, even really heavy denim and furnishing fabric.

I’ve just had an old machine serviced that now goes like a dream. It’s very solid, half way between domestic and industrial. It’s especially good for heavyweight fabrics like denim and upholstery material. It cost me £50. Well worth it.

Modern machine just don’t do heavy fabrics so well, IMO.

In the 1970s I bought a Pfaff, it was brilliant, would sew perfectly anything from cheesecloth (I still wear the the cheesecloth top) to woollen fabrics. It was serviced from time to time but eventually it developed a tension problem and was told it couldn't be fixed - the top layer of fabric tended to pucker up. I bought a Toyota machine online, perfect at first but then the tension slipped on that one so I got out my Pfaff. It's very solidly built, very heavy and felt much more substantial than the Toyota.

AskAlice: My Pfaff had seized up when I got it out so I took off the top casing and put some drops of sewing machine oil in over several days. When that ran out I used olive oil. I kept gently trying to manually work it and eventually it freed up and would sew. The tension is still not good but I pin and tack very firmly so that helps but it wouldn't do well on finer fabrics.