Ok, this forum seems pretty knowledgeable on and happy to talk about pretty much anything and everything. Gonna put that to the test.
What do y’all know about sewing machines?
My mother’s 70th is coming up and I reckon she’s due to replace her 20yo machine. Just had a quick browse and yep, just like synths you can pop into your local store and drop anywhere between $300 and $30,000. I got no idea what I’m looking at and yet even now I can feel the gear lust kicking in haha.
She’s just shown me a work in progress quilt she’s making from all my old band shirts that’s looking amazing, the way she’s stitched around Eddie on an Iron Maiden shirt makes him pop like he’s 3D.
So on that note, I’m considering a quilting machine which she’s never had but they’re a fair bit larger and space becomes a bit of an issue, and I’m not sure if they’re as versatile as a regular machine. Dunno, where do I start?
Singer is the name brand, as far as I know. I still have one from the 70s, one of the very first electrics. Works like a charm. Does variable stitch patterns too. My boyfriend who does sewing seems happy with it haha.
My wife researched sewing machines two three years ago. She ended up buying a Brother FS-70WT. She says most machines today are Chinese made (that’s a factor apparently), something eg made in Germany will run a lot more expensive, not sure if it is that much better though.
EDIT: this is a much mentioned point with Singer machines specifically, because they used to be made in Germany — not sure if they moved their production to China or if a manufacturer ended up buying the brand.
If your mom works with it a lot (ie is a bit of a pro :)), you’re probably best off choosing a nice machine with her together. Make it an activity — it’s your mom, there’s no greater gift for a parent than quality time with their kids
My mom is pretty good at sewing and has used a whole arsenal of machines for decades (Pfaff, Husqvarna, Bernina etc)…and I just remember every time my dad tried to surprise her with a new machine, we ended up bringing it back and exchanging it for something more suitable
My girlfriend has a Husqvarna she swears by, but it is also an older unit… and I think there is a degree of they dont make them like they used to with sewing machines. She also teaches sewing in a maker space a few times a week and thinks the newer machines are pretty junky. There are nice new machines though they are just spendy.
If its a commercial machine she wants, cant go wrong with Juki. My wife is a seamstress by trade, and she had her first Juki for over 30 years before we replaced it couple years, never need servicing, just the occasional clean and defluff…
Echoing others who suggest that you shop together rather than surprise. Replacing a 20 year old machine with a new one may be like replacing a 40 year old Juno 106 with a modern Jupiter Xm: maybe appreciated, maybe not.
Maybe she wants a Singer from the first half of the 20th century, maybe she wants a fully programmable modern machine with a Windows host machine.
My wife and I both have mechanical sewing machines - mine is an old Pfaff 1222e which is just bullet proof, and hers is a new Janome HD2200. Couldn’t recommend either of them enough, they are wonderful machines, but like @obscurerobot says some people like older vibes or newer vibes. But both are delightful in thier own ways.
Do I take this to mean mechanical with a decent amount of power and high stitch speed?
Yeah, I’ve definitely considered this problem. How do you buy for someone with 50 plus years of experience with sewing? She’s had two machines in my lifetime, an Elna and a Pfaff, both I’d say uncomplicated models and I think she only bothered to learn how to use the buttonhole foot recently, so I don’t think a stupid amount of computerised features is what she’ll want. My only thing is I don’t want the price of a new machine to be an embarrassment in the shopping trip - it’s likely to be the last one she’ll own, so emphasis is going to be on quality, ease/joy of use.
Haha, I considered making an Xm i-arpeggiator gag in my first post. I reckon there’s just as much knob per function love and menu diving/touchscreen hate in the sewing community as there is in this one.
I had a stint as an engineering contractor for SVP who consolidates tge Husqvarna Viking and Pfaff brand… Both brands are great you get the same hardware under the hood… so I’d say go with Pfaff which is a bit cheaper then Husqvarna Viking
First shop for a really cool card. Write the usual birthday wish inside, and add something like “your gift is new sewing equipment that we will shop for together!”
If you want to do more, you can make up shopping trip coupons, specify a price limit, etc.
Another approach is to take mom shopping before the birthday, for something she already wants/needs, and then also stop by the sewing machine shop (do they even exist anymore?) to see how she reacts.
TL;DR: you don’t shop for someone who has 50 years of experience doing X. You assist them as they shop for the tools they want for X.
I don’t know if she still has them, but my grandmother was stockpiling manual sewing machines that looked like they were from the 1920s or earlier. She didn’t want to use a machine with a motor, much less a computer.
Definitely check with her. My mother (83) is still quilting with her Pfaff (something like a model 360, I haven’t seen it in a while) that she bought in the early '60’s. I know “built like a tank” is a cliché, but that machine looks more like a tank than most machines the phrase is applied to. My partner has a much newer Brother machine, and it looks like a Kinderegg toy in comparison. I personally use a older Kitchenaid stand mixer made by Hobart, because the newer ones aren’t, and aren’t nearly as good. Sometimes it is not a good idea to update. (I’m sure many forum members can chime in with synth examples, but I can’t!)
I hear you. Solution might just be a voucher. We do have at least one local sewing machine shop thankfully (which I’m assuming is where her current machine is currently at for repair). Seems to stock singer, brother, husqvarna, pfaff, janome so plenty to choose from.
I know it’s not about me but the Brother PQ1500SL is triggering GAS for me haha.
