I prefer vintage machines because they have few plastic parts and are readily fixable. Kenmores from the 60s to mid-70s are my favorites. Friends have showed me their computerized machines, and while they can do some handy things, there's nothing I'm willing to spend several thousand dollars more for.
I said I have more than 8 machines, but actually, I only have two, really. One is a Singer Featherweight, and the other is a Kenmore 158.1760 from 1975. The others are all in the process of being cleaned up before being donated. One of my hobbies is sewing, and the other is fixing up old sewing machines - two quite different things. I'm no collector, so I found a nonprofit that takes old machines to teach sewing to refugees. I get to play with them and then give them to people who can use them. Plus it keeps them out of the landfill.
I love the sewing machine postcards, thanks.
(Apologies for the long answer to short questions.)
Who do you donate them to? I currently have 3 working that I need to rehome (I have 20, with #21 coming in December). I'm not keeping any machine made after the mid 1960s.
My favorite machine is an Elna SU I bought in the late '70's from a Salvation Army store for $25. It has a feel like no other machine I've owned. During the pandemic I purchased various vintage machines I'd always admired, spruced them up, and donated them to people or replaced machines for people who had lost machines in the Sonoma/Santa Rosa fires. I grew fond of vintage Pfaff's from the '70's and '80's as well as the Viking green machines from the 1960's. I also bought a new Juki HZL- DX7 which has done very well by me in terms of making buttonholes and sewing thick fabrics using the floating foot feature.
I have two newish machines and one 1958 Singer. I find I use the 58 far more than the other two machines. It is tried and true, and seems indestructible.
LOVE my Kenmore machine. Had a top of the line Pfaff and paid $$$ for it which didn’t have a whole lot of time on it. Now that the motherboard needs replaced and none to be found I will NEVER buy an expensive machine again. Now it’s an expensive paper weight.
I sew garments but my BF and I also demonstrate hand cranked sewing machines at living history events. I enjoy machines from treadle and hand-cranked to computerized. Right now my preferred garment making machine is a 1991 #1 Husqvarna 1200. It is an early computerized machine. That could change if we find something else I enjoy more. :D
I’m curious--do many people use both older machines and new ones? I have three ‘vintage” machines--a Singer 201, a 1970s Pfaff and a 1960s Montgomery Ward machine--that I’ve inherited but never used.
Clean them up (it often just means a lot of oil wherever they should be moving), and then try them out. You may find that each has a feature you like better than another. I love making buttonholes with my Singer Featherweight. Those cam driven buttonholes are so much nicer than the newer zig-zag ones. It is okay to have a dedicated machine for one function.
Couldnt change my machine preferences so they are Janome, Bernina, Brother Singer.
I grew up playing on a Singer 219k as a child and several others in my mums manchester factory.
I collect machines to play and use, both new and secondhand often throwouts. I love nothing better than getting a screwdriver and dismembering a machine to get it right! I love free motion embroidery best...
I HATE computerised machines so only have a basic computerised... this is because my dream machine Janome MC bought 1985 was WONDERFUL but got fried by an incompetent repairer who was only supposed to change the foot capacitor. I sent it to him working and got it back dead. Another guy sent me photos of the melted circuit boards. I cannot work out why ALL machines dont have a deep throat... soooo much easier for everything...
I feel they are basically misogynistic designed, enslaving women with pathetic unnecessary technical limitations, creating... "If a woman designed them they would be wide throat, easy to thread, lightweight, non technical, have magnifiers and LED lights built in, self sensing pressure feet, info on the machine itself, not in a 56 page book and could be thing of BEAUTY!"
I donate them to Once We Were Refugees in Kansas City. It’s a really wonderful local organization. But (assuming you don’t live in this area) you can do what I did - Google something like ‘refugee nonprofit sewing’. Or maybe just ‘sewing nonprofit [your area]’. Surprisingly, I found several. OWWR is up my alley because they want only portable machines, all or mostly all metal, and with zigzag capability. Also, I like it that they have no agenda beyond helping people.
I make garments, quilt, do utility sewing and mending, make items for the home and family. Way too hard to pick the one I do most! I own one computerized Bernina, several vintage mechanical machines - Bernina, Kenmore, Singer. But what I love the most are the antique machines I have restored and use - Singer, Willcox & Gibbs, Davis, Frister & Rossman, New Home. I have antiques that are electrified, many hand cranks and several treadles. I've had many other brands and ages of machines over the years, and they've all gone on to new homes.
I have a Babylockserger, but I bought it needing repair. I'm learning.
I prefer my Bernina 1001, but I have couple of Singers (1 vintage), 1 Kenmore, 2 Janome. Comes in handy doing projects to have more than one machine.
While I don't have an embroidery machine, I do like the sewing machines with embroidery stitches and have used them.
I used to make doll clothes, and I made baby/child clothes for my children. I made my own clothes for many years, even while growning up.
I've worked in Minnesota Fabrics (briefly), Hancock Fabrics (4 mo until they closed) and then Joann's Fabric and crafts for 5 months. Unfortunately they don't pay well, but I did learn a lot.
I like and use several different sewing machines, depending on the task(s), location, and my motivation or curiosity and interest. Fun to vary and learn! Treadle (including chain stitch Wilcox & Gibbs), old Singers (221, 201, 301, 401), Husqvarna #1, Bernina 730, 153qe, and most recently a second-hand 770qe plus.
I have three old black Singers (15-91, 201 and 221 Featherweight), two Berninas from the 70s/80s( 930 and 830), a Husqvarna/Viking serger (wonderful machine) and a Brother inovis 40 my only computerized machine. My everyday machine is a Bernina 930; backup machine is a Bernina 830. I had to replace the motherboard in the 930 a few years ago. That's when I bought the 830. I use the Featherweight as a travelling machine, the 201 for topstitching, the 15-91 for jeans and keyhole buttonholes and the Brother inovis 40 for shirt/dress buttonholes because I can place the buttonhole exactly where I want it. If I had the space I'd have a Bernina 950 with a servo-motor. My favorite mechanic is now retired but he does side jobs. I keep my machines cleaned and oiled and rarely need to take them in. The retired mechanic gets my oldies and the serger and computerized machine go to the dealer where I bought them. I've been sewing since I was 12 and I'm coming up on 70 this year. If I had the time I'd train as a sewing machine mechanic. I prefer vintage machines for their reliability but do like certain features of the newer machines. I'm enjoying reading your posts.
I prefer vintage machines because they have few plastic parts and are readily fixable. Kenmores from the 60s to mid-70s are my favorites. Friends have showed me their computerized machines, and while they can do some handy things, there's nothing I'm willing to spend several thousand dollars more for.
I said I have more than 8 machines, but actually, I only have two, really. One is a Singer Featherweight, and the other is a Kenmore 158.1760 from 1975. The others are all in the process of being cleaned up before being donated. One of my hobbies is sewing, and the other is fixing up old sewing machines - two quite different things. I'm no collector, so I found a nonprofit that takes old machines to teach sewing to refugees. I get to play with them and then give them to people who can use them. Plus it keeps them out of the landfill.
I love the sewing machine postcards, thanks.
(Apologies for the long answer to short questions.)
Hi. I donated my Pfaff 1171 to a Congolese refugee sewing group in Utah
Who do you donate them to? I currently have 3 working that I need to rehome (I have 20, with #21 coming in December). I'm not keeping any machine made after the mid 1960s.
I also donated mine to a refugee organization in Denver.
My favorite machine is an Elna SU I bought in the late '70's from a Salvation Army store for $25. It has a feel like no other machine I've owned. During the pandemic I purchased various vintage machines I'd always admired, spruced them up, and donated them to people or replaced machines for people who had lost machines in the Sonoma/Santa Rosa fires. I grew fond of vintage Pfaff's from the '70's and '80's as well as the Viking green machines from the 1960's. I also bought a new Juki HZL- DX7 which has done very well by me in terms of making buttonholes and sewing thick fabrics using the floating foot feature.
my favorite machine is a Kenmore.
I prefer mechanical machines over the computerized ones.
I have two newish machines and one 1958 Singer. I find I use the 58 far more than the other two machines. It is tried and true, and seems indestructible.
LOVE my Kenmore machine. Had a top of the line Pfaff and paid $$$ for it which didn’t have a whole lot of time on it. Now that the motherboard needs replaced and none to be found I will NEVER buy an expensive machine again. Now it’s an expensive paper weight.
I sew garments but my BF and I also demonstrate hand cranked sewing machines at living history events. I enjoy machines from treadle and hand-cranked to computerized. Right now my preferred garment making machine is a 1991 #1 Husqvarna 1200. It is an early computerized machine. That could change if we find something else I enjoy more. :D
I’m curious--do many people use both older machines and new ones? I have three ‘vintage” machines--a Singer 201, a 1970s Pfaff and a 1960s Montgomery Ward machine--that I’ve inherited but never used.
I used vintage alongside modern for awhile, until I realized I kept going to the vintage first, so I got rid of the modern one.
Clean them up (it often just means a lot of oil wherever they should be moving), and then try them out. You may find that each has a feature you like better than another. I love making buttonholes with my Singer Featherweight. Those cam driven buttonholes are so much nicer than the newer zig-zag ones. It is okay to have a dedicated machine for one function.
I live in Australia.
Couldnt change my machine preferences so they are Janome, Bernina, Brother Singer.
I grew up playing on a Singer 219k as a child and several others in my mums manchester factory.
I collect machines to play and use, both new and secondhand often throwouts. I love nothing better than getting a screwdriver and dismembering a machine to get it right! I love free motion embroidery best...
I HATE computerised machines so only have a basic computerised... this is because my dream machine Janome MC bought 1985 was WONDERFUL but got fried by an incompetent repairer who was only supposed to change the foot capacitor. I sent it to him working and got it back dead. Another guy sent me photos of the melted circuit boards. I cannot work out why ALL machines dont have a deep throat... soooo much easier for everything...
I feel they are basically misogynistic designed, enslaving women with pathetic unnecessary technical limitations, creating... "If a woman designed them they would be wide throat, easy to thread, lightweight, non technical, have magnifiers and LED lights built in, self sensing pressure feet, info on the machine itself, not in a 56 page book and could be thing of BEAUTY!"
Just my view!
I donate them to Once We Were Refugees in Kansas City. It’s a really wonderful local organization. But (assuming you don’t live in this area) you can do what I did - Google something like ‘refugee nonprofit sewing’. Or maybe just ‘sewing nonprofit [your area]’. Surprisingly, I found several. OWWR is up my alley because they want only portable machines, all or mostly all metal, and with zigzag capability. Also, I like it that they have no agenda beyond helping people.
I make garments, quilt, do utility sewing and mending, make items for the home and family. Way too hard to pick the one I do most! I own one computerized Bernina, several vintage mechanical machines - Bernina, Kenmore, Singer. But what I love the most are the antique machines I have restored and use - Singer, Willcox & Gibbs, Davis, Frister & Rossman, New Home. I have antiques that are electrified, many hand cranks and several treadles. I've had many other brands and ages of machines over the years, and they've all gone on to new homes.
I have a Babylockserger, but I bought it needing repair. I'm learning.
I prefer my Bernina 1001, but I have couple of Singers (1 vintage), 1 Kenmore, 2 Janome. Comes in handy doing projects to have more than one machine.
While I don't have an embroidery machine, I do like the sewing machines with embroidery stitches and have used them.
I used to make doll clothes, and I made baby/child clothes for my children. I made my own clothes for many years, even while growning up.
I've worked in Minnesota Fabrics (briefly), Hancock Fabrics (4 mo until they closed) and then Joann's Fabric and crafts for 5 months. Unfortunately they don't pay well, but I did learn a lot.
favorite machine: Elna 62C SU blue top!
I couldn't answer the questionnaire properly because I enjoy sewing as a hobby AND alterations & repairs equally.
Yes! I wanted to change my answer after I checked a box too quickly.
I like and use several different sewing machines, depending on the task(s), location, and my motivation or curiosity and interest. Fun to vary and learn! Treadle (including chain stitch Wilcox & Gibbs), old Singers (221, 201, 301, 401), Husqvarna #1, Bernina 730, 153qe, and most recently a second-hand 770qe plus.
My favorite machine is a Montgomery Ward that I purchased when I left home for college in 1973. It's still going strong!
I have three old black Singers (15-91, 201 and 221 Featherweight), two Berninas from the 70s/80s( 930 and 830), a Husqvarna/Viking serger (wonderful machine) and a Brother inovis 40 my only computerized machine. My everyday machine is a Bernina 930; backup machine is a Bernina 830. I had to replace the motherboard in the 930 a few years ago. That's when I bought the 830. I use the Featherweight as a travelling machine, the 201 for topstitching, the 15-91 for jeans and keyhole buttonholes and the Brother inovis 40 for shirt/dress buttonholes because I can place the buttonhole exactly where I want it. If I had the space I'd have a Bernina 950 with a servo-motor. My favorite mechanic is now retired but he does side jobs. I keep my machines cleaned and oiled and rarely need to take them in. The retired mechanic gets my oldies and the serger and computerized machine go to the dealer where I bought them. I've been sewing since I was 12 and I'm coming up on 70 this year. If I had the time I'd train as a sewing machine mechanic. I prefer vintage machines for their reliability but do like certain features of the newer machines. I'm enjoying reading your posts.
Theresa in Tucson