I want a geeky sewing machine

August 4, 2006 9:25 AM

I want a geeky sewing machine.

There have been other threads on sewing machines, but while I'm sure a sturdy, reliable, basic model would probably be the best thing for me, I kind of want one that can do programmable embroidery- I really want to sew the logo of my punk rock band into my underpants.

I've used a sewing machine maybe twice in my life, but would have more if I'd owned one. I don't expect to become an instant crafter, but I assume I'll have it for life. How do I get a fancy one that won't go out of date? I saw one the other day that was advertised as having a floppy drive!

I'm going to "The Place That Sells Sewing Machines" this weekend. What do I look for?

posted by squishy to home & garden (13 comments total)

Husqvarna.

Besides being high quality machines, there are many interim models between 'basic' and 'holy crap I didn't know a sewing machine could do that'. I believe the resale value should also be reasonable should you decide to upgrade in the future.
posted by effigy at 9:51 AM on August 4, 2006

Husqvarna? Bernina!

Obviously, tell the person at The Place That Sells... that you need a machine with embroidery capabilities. Most of those machines will let you load up pre-made embroidery patterns, which you can buy all over the place. However, the machines that allow you to load up and embroider your own design are the pricier models, and tend to require additional, expensive software.

As an example of prices, my wife has a Bernina 440 that cost $4000. The embroidery software -- again, only necessary if you want to create your own patterns -- was another $1300. She loves the machine, and uses it to make some great stuff, but ended up ebaying the software.
posted by schoolgirl report at 10:27 AM on August 4, 2006

I don't know much as far as sewing machines go, but if you're looking to do your own designs, I recommend Corel DRAWings. It is spendy and you'll need Corel Draw to run it, but it's really awesome and the possibilities are endless. The downside? Sharp learning curve.
posted by bristolcat at 10:35 AM on August 4, 2006

Embroidered undies sounds uncomfy. No?
posted by rbs at 10:40 AM on August 4, 2006

One thing to keep in mind is that most places that sell sewing machines sell one or two particular brands. You might want to check out more than one place that sells sewing machines to see if you find other things that you like.

Talk to the people specifically about the software that comes with it and the loading method. There are machines that come with a set of pre-created patterns and then putting your own custom things in is a nightmare from hell or not possible at all. If you want to be able to create your own designs or scan and have them created automatically, you'll want software that supports that. It may be extra. A lot extra.

Alternately, if you're not in a hurry, you might want to watch for a sewing expo in your area. These usually feature classes where you can try various projects on one or two different types of machines, and trade shows where you can do slightly less in depth tests of all the various models. They're also often relatively inexpensive places to buy machines - you can usually buy the classroom machines at a fair discount, and because of the competition, the trade show booths sell with reasonable sale prices, as well.
posted by jacquilynne at 10:52 AM on August 4, 2006

I have an Elna Supermatic that was built in 1958, that I use regularly, and it is still a fine machine for general sewing. Elna is a very high quality Swiss machine for home sewing, and they make a number of fully programmable embroidery type machines, as well.

A few things to keep in mind:

1) Programmable machines with embroidery capability will cost more, and be slower in sewing tasks than mechanical machines. If you are going to decorate, perhaps only the embroidery type machine will suit you, but if you are going to sew, you'll be much happier to have a well made mechanical machine, which can feed all fabrics easily, at good speed. Only a mechanical can do complicated construction stitches like a faggoting stitch (used in lingerie and lining work) at speed.

2) Some embroidery type machines are actually mechanical machines, driven by a switchable cam stack. The needle bar oscillates under cam control to produce various effects like alphabet letters, or little symbols. Such machines will be less capable of producing identical results in all fabrics, because of the timing issues an oscillating needle bar introduces for lockstitch machines. But they are less expensive than the best frame feed electronic embroidery machines.

3) The best embroidery machines generally have compensating thread tension mechanisms, to accomodate the variable stitch length and direction of true embroidery. A machine that is just doing satin stitching will have a simpler tension system, but will only be able to put it's stitches in a small range of directions, not a full 360° range of stitch direction.

For the price of a top end decorative embroidery system, you can get:

A) A very good mechanical lockstitch general purpose home sewing machine, and
B) A 5/4/3/2 thread overlock machine (serger), and
C) A dress form (perhaps personalized), and
D) A cutting/craft table, and
E) A sewing table, and
have enough left over for some lovely fabrics and trimmings for several projects. With the above 5 items, and your choice of pressing alternatives, you'll be fully equipped to cut, sew and finish real garments.
posted by paulsc at 12:07 PM on August 4, 2006 [1 favorite has favorites]

MetaFilter: Because paulsc knows everything.

:-)
posted by baylink at 3:15 PM on August 4, 2006

Thanks, everyone.

Woah, I didn't realize we were talking about an expense on that scale...

Sounds like I may be getting in over my head with an embroiderer, and should get one of those reliable general purpose sewing machines, and just make friends with someone who has an embroidering machine for my underpants.

I"ll check out the mentioned brands.

Thanks for the advice!
posted by squishy at 3:15 PM on August 4, 2006

schoolgirl report: your wife's stuff is indeed great! those are some styley bags...
posted by squishy at 3:17 PM on August 4, 2006

If you have only used a machine twice, I would suggest not getting one of the $4,000+ machines. I would try the Singer Quantum Futura CE-200. Unfortunately, their site is horribly flash heavy so I cannot link directly but this is as close as I can get you: http://www.singerco.com/products/index.html Navigate down to the Quantums and go from there. This machine, instead of embedding all the embroidery smarts inside, uses your computer to do the heavy lifting. On the plus side, this makes it upgradeable to new embroidery formats. On the downside, you must be tethered to the computer to do embroidery (regular stitching works fine without a computer). This is the machine I went with when I had the exact same urge you have. It has worked splendidly for me. It's cheap enough (I got it for ~$700) that if you really get into the embroidery you can upgrade to a better machine without guilt.
posted by JJtheJetPlane at 3:17 PM on August 4, 2006

If all you want to do is a few items, you might try one of those mall kiosks that does custom hats.
posted by Marky at 6:05 PM on August 4, 2006

Seconding the general idea from JJ and paulsc. You might be happier getting a good basic sewing machine first, getting comfortable with the various skills required, and then getting into embroidery and digitizing. It's a steep learning curve and you may find it's not your cup of tea after all.

Sewing machines have different engineering requirements from embroidery machines: sewing involves moving the fabric with feed dogs, whereas embroidery machines hold the fabric in a hoop and then move the hoop. Many home embroidery/sewing machines currently on the market don't sew as well as older pre-embroidery machines, due to engineering compromises. I have a Pfaff 7570 embroidery/sewing machine which I got about 10 years ago and it sews better than the current top-of-the-line Pfaff - the new machines improved their embroidery at the expense of their sewing abilities. Since I use it for sewing about 1000x more than for embroidering, I'm not about to trade up!

I don't know how keen you are to embroider, but I'd recommend you first develop your sewing skills. In that case, a good used sewing machine might be your best bet, along with the other paraphernalia paulsc mentioned plus a rotary cutter, mat, and some other doodads. (I'd skip the serger, though, since it's too scary for a beginner - sergers are fast and furious and they cut off the seam allowance as you go, meaning that you have only one chance to get it right!)

You could always avoid sewing altogether by purchasing ready-made items and embroidering on those, in which case you could look into an embroidery-only machine. There are a few for the home market but I have no experience with them.

Regardless of what type of embroidery machine you want, one thing to consider is the embroidery software: how much control do you have over the stitch placement? AFAIK, all digitizing software comes with default "fill stitches" which fill in areas of your design. You may be satisfied with this, but you may also want to use other fills, or satin stitches, or fancy "blackwork"-type patterns. Since I don't want my embroidery to look like the stuff at the mall, I don't use the default fills and I love being able to edit stitch by stitch if I want.

Regarding electronic obsolescence, the sewing machine and embroidery software cost more than a computer so I will keep a "legacy" computer with OS 8, ADB port, and the software as long as I have the 7570.

Finally, avoid embroidery machines with floppy or hard drives - the machine vibrates a lot as it stitches and the drives eventually crash. Machines that read off a card or other non-moving device are much better.
posted by Quietgal at 8:06 PM on August 4, 2006

Hey, JJtheJetPlane, I din't know about the Singer Quantum Futura CE200 -- many thanks, for pointing it out.

squishy, if you haven't used a machine much before, then lessons make a lot of sense. So factor in that cost, or the value of the lessons which may come free with a machine from your local dealer.

Do watch the price of add-ons, which can be remarkably expensive. Don't get bounced into buying expensive specialist feet. You don't need many, and most machines will accept the cheaper generic ones.
posted by Idcoytco at 4:56 PM on August 5, 2006