Delivery from Ripstop ready to start

[Roman3006]

I got my order from RSBTR today. I got some material to practice on. Got a yard each of: .9 ounce noseeum, 1.1ox ripstop, 1.6 ounce hyper d, 1.6 ounce silpoly, 1.7 robic XL, 1.9 ounce ristop, 2.2 ox hex 70, 1.1 ounce silpoly, some zippers, grosgrain and mara 70 thread. Not going to build anything per say just practice doing hems, zippers, grosgrain tie outs etc... plus $25 in samples.

I was surprised at how thin these are. Really like the 1.6 hyper d, the 1.7 robic is a close second.

I see now why you guys say any sewing machine including the cheap ones will work. How about some opinions/ advice on the machines below. I am also a beginner no experience what so ever it will be me and utube doing this.LOL

I am looking at several but walmart has one Janome mod 15 for $120 this one i really like. I did get to play with a mod19 at a sew shop the other day very smooth machine. I called Janome and talked specs seems the mod 11 to mod 19 is the same except for the number of stitches they do. The mod 19 sewed thru 6 layers of denim with just a reg needle in it was smooth and quit. Really like it so I suspect the mod15 will run the same. ANy of you guys use a janome mod?

Then there is the brother models LX 2763 $79 walmart, xm2701 $99, and the cs6000i $138 really more machine then I need but **** great reviews and a ton of them sold.

And last but not least the singer 4423 amazon for $120 seems to be a favorite on here. But after looking at the materials this machine may be over kill too.

I doubt very seriously I will ever do anything more then just gear stuff. Only thing is this Janome is just basic but built better then brother or singer. But I can get alot more features on a brother or singer cheaper. SO decisions decisions.

I am in the process of selling the pfaff 1222e I found at good will and this should fund my new machine and hammock project. Started to keep it but I think a modern machine will be easier to use. I will have to spend money on extra feet for it so it works out the same money wise so I should just get a new machine.

Thanks in advance for any help guys......

[IRONFISH45]

Most people do not use the array of stitches offered. You just need back and forward. Adjustible presser foot, good light, zig zag is nice. Have a look at the plate on the motor, take the stronger motor.

[cscornette]

I just picked up a new Brother cs6000i that works very well. It is very easy to select stitches and set the width and length. The reverse button is relatively easy to find without looking and it automatically switches to reinforcing stitch mode if the stitch you are using doesn't work well in reverse (like the invisible hem). The light is perfect and the threading is easy (with little pictures molded into the case, just in case you are old like me and prone to forgetting simple things...). My only complaint with the model is that I wish the pedal accelerated the stitching more smoothly. It seems to have only a handful of speeds and jumps between them. It does have a 3-step limiter that allows you to adjust the maximum speed the pedal can reach. That's handy. Ironfish45 is right though. I'd just add that the difference between a very cheap model and solid Brother or Singer is not all that much over the life of the machine, and for the reliability and flexibility, you may eventually regret not spending the extra few dollars.

[MoldyFrog]

All those machines will manage the lightweight stuff. I wouldn't sweat that part at all. Even industrial machines that are called out as lightweight mostly just change up the feed dogs to ones with less aggressive teeth and a throat plate that has smaller needle hole. Less space for the light fabric to get sucked down into. A few brands also swap out a spring or two for the tension. The dogs and throat plates can be bought for a few bucks each. My first quilt was 1.1 ripstop and 8mm silk in a basic brother sewing machine and it went fine. The silk was sheer, basically translucent and it never got sucked into the feed dogs.

For stitches you just need straight stitch, maybe zig-zag. That's it. From what I've seen all those other fancy stitches are mostly baby blanket decorative trim lines and such. Most commercial clothing if you ever move into that also generally only want straight-stitches. You really don't need anything else for hammocks and quilts and basic hiking wear/packs.

I don't think a modern machine will be any easier personally. Sewing machines are all old tech so to speak. Beyond modern computerized control panels they are built on the same underlying core. Biggest advantage of a newer machine is that in theory you open box and sew. You don't have to worry that someone messed up timings or tweaked something they shouldn't have. That said generally if someone did that they probably did a bad job so it's obvious real quick. Myself, I'd rather buy an old one cheaply and spend a few hours tearing it apart or playing with solutions so that I can learn how they operate. Old ones thanks to the lack of computers and being mostly metal tear apart nice and easy. Advantages of an older machine is it is probably all metal and as long as you don't hit it with a car you can't really break them. You can mess up the timings in a bad fabric snarl but that can be fixed. Parts are still available for a lot of the old machines too. I can service an old machine. There's no expensive computer panel or a multitude of motors for all those fancy stitches. It's just metal and the main motor.

Feet should cheap too. Don't spend twenty bucks on a basic low shank foot. Grab a twenty option pack from Amazon for 12 bucks. For basic sewing you're using the basic foot that comes with the machine, maybe a zig-zag foot if available. A zipper foot if you do that. That's about it beyond personal preference. Maybe you want a narrow foot instead of a standard foot, maybe you feel a Teflon foot would be advantageous. None of those are needed however.

[mhrands]

I have been looking at a singer commercial just so maybe it will do bartack stitches on webbing and go through by pack materials quicker/cleaner. I have done everything on a 79 dollar brother up until now.

[Codea1991]

I like my singer 4423. I’ve sewn quite a few of the materials you mentioned without problem. Enjoy the new hobby!

[Roman3006]

Thanks guys. Well I was able to get the pfaff1222E fixed found a presser foot lifter handle locally. Started out bad though I dont think the machine has beeen used in years and years. I guess it took some warming up. I started off with a hugh mess on the underside stitches. Tension was off in everyway possible. But after a couple utbe videos rethreading several times and a whole lot of cussing, I got it down to nice tight stitches took hours though. They may even be too tight its close i think. Today is the first day ever running a sewing machine and one more thing my god is it messy with all the trimming of the thread every time.LOL

Its going to take alot of practice though. I had to make a trip to walmart for some thicker material to lay down the practice stitches. I know one thing I really dont like this machine it seems slow. I really think newer is the way to go. Plus I was looking at my amazon account and I have $76 in points I can use didnt know I had those so that will make the machine even sweeter.LOL