After reading about all the vintage machines that people love I took the plunge. Good things have been said about the old buttonholers making great buttonholes. My first thought was that I wanted a machine that could use the vintage Singer buttonholer. My Viking 750 makes very nice buttonholes, when it's in the mood. It doesn't like to repeat them reliably though which leads to a great deal of aggravation. I wanted to start making blouses that required lots of buttonholes that are actually the same size so I bought a Singer Touch and Sew 648 for $15 in a cabinet. It required picking up in New Jersey which became a day out with my dh and a great Korean lunch. Have I used it for buttonholes yet? No. It does handle topstitching thread a whole lot better than my Viking though and when I saw Debbie Cook's post about buying a 6010 Viking that would take my myriad of snap on feet and that it too handles topstitching thread like a champ, I thought one of those would be a good addition to my collection of machines. I could set it up as a topstitching station,especially for the jeans I intend to make.(when I get a pattern that fits of course) I vacillated back and forth, should I or shouldn't I. With some good advice from Debbie I bought one on Ebay yesterday. It should be here in a few days. That's it. No more vintage machines. Fortunately my sewing counter is deep so I can store it behind my coverstitch machine and pull it forward when I need it. Debbie is willing to guide me through cleaning it too. if I need help.
With all the heat we've been having and no central ac, little sewing. actually none at all, has been going on here. I have a great sewing room, but it's in the loft that surrounds my living/dining room. Heat rises and it is hotter upstairs than down and it has been pretty hot down. Not terribly conducive to sewing. Today is a whole lot cooler, but I have paying work to do, so not much sewing will be going on.
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Great. Now I'm feeling tempted to take the plunge. Thanks a lot! LOL :) Congrats on the new machine!
ReplyDeleteDo try the buttonhole attachment on the Singer. It makes wonderful buttonholes. I have the same problem with my Viking 500, but the Singer with attachment solves that problem.
ReplyDeleteLinda
I have a Viking 850 and am VERY disappointed with the buttonhole problems I've been having with it. Sometimes it will start a buttonhole then get stuck and build and enormous nest or it'll start sewing backwards indefinitely! I also find that the underside stitching isn't as nice as the top stitching which becomes a problem when you see both sides.
ReplyDeleteI've been searching for a vintage machine in Toronto, Canada and everyone wants big money, it's hard to find something in the $100 range. I almost bought a Singer 328 but the owner (who acquired it from her deceased aunt and knows NOTHING about sewing)decided she wanted more money. It wasn't even a collector's machine! And despite the fact that she knew absolutely nothing about sewing let alone sewing machines, said it ran and didn't need servicing. All of a sudden, she was a pro.
The search goes on. Forgive me for ranting on your blog?
I have no central air too. When I sewed in my cellar this weekend, I had the fan blowing directly on my while at the ironing station.
ReplyDeleteDuring the heat wave I am so very grateful that I live in a small studio with great air conditioning.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I'm not any more productive. The heat completely saps your energy.
DH has put AC in the window directly behind my machines. It blows right in my face. When I enter the studio, I turn it off.
ReplyDeleteYour machine sounds like a great buy at 15 dollars! Let us know how that buttonholer works.