Best Sewing Machine Guide

The sewing machine has had an enormous impact on the lives of ordinary people around the world. Because of this ingenious and unassuming invention people are able to afford the kind of well-made and durable clothes that were a luxury to our ancestors and all at an affordable price. It is probably not an exaggeration to say that the humble sewing machine has been one of the top 10 or 20 inventions of the last 200 years.

With high speed, accurate and sturdy stitching came the ability for garment manufacturers to churn out high quality clothes en masse at a very low price. Styling was also transformed by this remarkable machine. Home based businesses specialising in fine sewing, embroidery and bespoke styling were now a possibility for thousands of entrepreneurs. In short, the sewing machine has led to a tremendous betterment in the conditions and opportunities for vast numbers of people.

In Ireland a wide selection of sewing machines are available for almost every conceivable application, from home repair to industrial and business use.

How Sewing Machines Work

Unlike hand sewing, machine sewing cannot put a thread through a garment, let go and pull back up through the other side. Rather in a sewing machine ingenious use is made of what is known as a loop stitch.

Essentially the thread is pressed down as a loop by the needle, held by a looping hook while the needle moves back up again, the garment moves forward a little, the needle moves down through the garment again and completes another loop, causing the previous loop to tie into place.

The simplest kind of loop stitch is the chain stitch. It’s ingenious but not very durable. More usually a slightly different variation of the process is used which results in a lock stitch, a more sturdy kind of stitch.

Sewing machines for sale – things to look for when buying a sewing machine

When buying a sewing machine be clear abou what your needs will be and purchase a machine hat will fully satisfy them. Not being clear about your requirements or scrimping on the purchase price only to be left with a machine that doesn’ do what you need will lead to hours of frustration.

At the same time it is important to know your spending limit and the kind of features you won’t be using in order to avoid overspending on a machine that does far too much.

Often what looks like a bargain turns out to be far from a bargain in terms of cost of spare parts and time wasted in repairs or fixing low quality output. Always inspect any apparent bargains carefully, contact the seller of the sewing machine with any questions you have and if you’re not fully satisfied with the answers move on and find another machine. Try to find out about the dealer/seller, check their track record either by asking for references or by looking up their feedback score on sites such as ebay.

Visit online forums dedicated to sewing and textiles and ask the members their opinion of the particular machine you are thinking of buying as well as their knowledge of the seller if they know them. Forums are great places to get really pertinent advice from a community of like-minded individuals who often have many years of experience and tons of valuable advice. Forums are frequented by amateur sewing enthusiasts, knowledgeable arts and crafts people as well as professional sewing machine dealers and manufacturers so the quality of advice that one can get here can be invaluable.

If you’re buying online check the address and phone number of the company as well as their shipping and returns policy. Contact them to see how quickly they respond to test the promptness of their communications. If you sign up for their newsletter you may also be alerted to great deals they offer only to their subscribers.

There are certain advantages to buying your sewing machine locally rather than online, for example the dealer will often have a repair department that will be available if ever a problem pops up with your machine. They may also give classes in sewing for all levels as well as in the use of sewing machine software should you choose to go that route. Buying from a local dealer will also give you the opportunity to meet up with them and hand them a list of the types of sewing you undertake so that they may advise you on an appropriate machine. You can also bring along different types of fabric to their showroom to test them out and see which machine is best for your needs. Make sure to do a through test that represents the kind of sewing you’ll be doing and even some that you may not yet but could in the future, test seams, collars, stitches, button holes, dressmaking, patching, loop stitching etc. A proper sewing machine dealer should be impressed with someone who is serious about their craft.

Above all learn as much as you can about sewing from the information resources available – the net is a tremendous resource. And a final tip – when you’re testing a machine keep an eye on the seam guides on the machine rather than on the machine needle.

Threading a sewing machine

When threading a needle through a sewing machine it’s important to have a good eye and steady hand. A first it might seem like a difficult process but once you get the principles right and after a few practice runs you’ll be able to thread almost any machine within just a few seconds.

The basic process to threading a needle through a sewing machine is this: raise the needle as high as it can go and then lift the presser foot. Place the spool of thread on the pin and use the spool cap if needed. Then threading the needle through the various needle p[oints bring the thread down to the tension assembly, under the assembly and then back up the machine. Make sure when needlethreading that it passes through the tension discs (2 of them) and also the hook attached to the tension dial.

Bring the thread through the lever on the top of the machine and then down again to above the needle itself, pushing it through the eye of the needle a few inches from either he front or back depending on your machine. Close the throat plate and pull some bobbin thread until it sticks out from the plate.

Grab the thread that has been put through the needle, turn the sewing machine’s hand wheel and see the needle move into the bobbin case, keep a hold of the thread and keep moving the needle up as high as it can go while the bobbin thread will also move up. Pull the thread out making the bobbin thread loop and then leave go of the thread while pulling the bobbin thread up. The top and bottom threads can now be placed under the presser foot and you’re ready to start sewing.

Remember to consult your machine’s user guide to make sure that the instructions provided here on threading a sewing machine also apply to your make and model.

This video gives a handy visual guide to threading your sewing machine.

Industrial sewing machines

Computerised industrial sewing machines come in a wide range of features and pricing. Horizontal & vertical design panels, 21 stitch pattern selection, 24 stitch with stitch length control, 25 stitch with stitch length and zigzag control, sewing and embroidery machines…the list is endless. For someone interested in starting a home-based business the important thing to remember is that huge productivity gains and affordable pricing are now everyday realities for sewing and embroidery entrepreneurs. The brother sewing machine range for example boasts a large number of affordable sewing machine pieces and accessories that allow individuals to set up shop with a home business practically out of the box. When one includes the enormous set of pre-programmed patterns, the easy to use software and the vibrant online user community who are always willing to share tips and advice it is easy to see why so many people are now choosing to step out on their own with a home based sewing machine and embroidery business.

Brother sewing machines

While singer sewing machines, pfaff, toyota and others are synonymous with the sewing industry it is Brother who have really set the pace in sewing machine development in recent years with their range of home based and commercial sewing and embroidery machines. The PR650 set a new standard when it arrived early in 2006 and the steady stream of innovative tools and software emerging from the Brother labs has been blistering in its pace setting to the industry. While singer sewing machines have long been a favourite with seamstresses the world over it is Brother who have in recent years stolen a march on their former near monopoly with the pricing, flexibility and durability of their machines.

Sosbrother.ie are the official agents for Brother sewing machines in Ireland.

Dressmaking patterns

There are many great resources on the web where you can find dressmaking patterns, applique tutorials, sewing classes and video lessons. There are also may great forums frequented by enthusiasts and professionals alike where you can get great information and advice. Some great ones that we know of are:
http://www.craftandfabriclinks.com
http://eu.dummies.com/WileyCDA/how-to/content/making-machine-stitches-work-for-you.html – machine stitches
http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/?p=480 – how to sew patterns
http://katiedid.squarespace.com/katie-did-journal/2009/1/27/quilt-how-to.html – how to quilt

We will add more links over the coming months and we have a number of free giveaways including patterns and software in the pipeline. Stay tuned!

Sewing classes

We hope to have a comprehensive list of sewing classes that are available around Dublin and around Ireland in the very near future. We are working on compiling the list and ensuring it is up to date so check back soon. Sewingmachine.ie is a new site and a work in progress so please bear with us while we build it into the number one resource for sewing in Ireland. We welcome all your comments which you can leave in the comments section below.

Articles on Sewing machine instructions, Stitches, Patchwork, Thread and threading, Sewing supplies, Haberdashery advice and supplies and much more will soon be online. We also welcome guest articles by knowledgeable contributors. Please contact us if you have a blog post you think may be of interest to our readers.

Check out the Brother Ireland website for a range of sewing machine software, accessories, garment printers and sewing & embroidery machines.