For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for March 16, 2011

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    EarlWash  over 13 years ago

    Get out grandma’s old treddle machine from the attic.

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    JanLC  over 13 years ago

    Nabuquduriuzhur I have never heard of mending socks on a sewing machine, and a 1920’s vintage machine wouldn’t have done buttons. My mom had such a machine, and that’s where I learned to sew, as well. (I did take home-ec in 7th grade, but I already knew how to use the sewing machine.) She gave it away when she got a newer fancier machine in the 80’s. I’ve always regretted losing that old Singer. It had it’s own custom fitted cabinet and matching stool that had a compartment under the seat to hold notions and thread.

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    WebSpider  over 13 years ago

    Yes, Elly. The sewing machine has a personal grudge against you.

    (Psst. Someone call the guys with the straitjackets and the padded room…)

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    monkeyhead  over 13 years ago

    I had that day yesterday. I have a Necchi that’s older then me. It has outlasted 2 of my moms sewing machines (the new ones just don’t hold up) and it’s a work horse.

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    sbwertz  over 13 years ago

    Bought a brand new Brother. It was dead out of the box and had to dig out my 38 year old Singer Futura to do the job. They just don’t make them like they used to.

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    summerdog86  over 13 years ago

    I can do better than that, sbwertz. I still use my old, lavender color, metal SINGER sewing machine I got for HS graduation in 1965. I think it came from Sears.

    Elly deserves a machine that works. Where’s that cheapskate husband of hers?

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    KnittingDragon  over 13 years ago

    Sbwertz, That is because Brother has more bad models than they have good.

    I have 5 sewing machines and EVERYONE calls me when they have issues. sigh I just wish I actually knew how to repair them. My friends just tend to have silly mistakes to deal with.

    You can mend socks on a sewing machine, but I wouldn’t. The thread alone would not make for good socks. It is called Darning. I would rather use an darning egg and proper yarn/thread.

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    gofinsc  over 13 years ago

    Yikes, DrMoses, nothing about St. Patrick’s Day here either, just as in “Ziggy”!

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    Dewsolo  over 13 years ago

    I wish I had my mom’s old Necchi. That’s the machine I learned to sew on 46 years ago. Summerdog, I had a 1970 Singer/White from Sears that I used until Mom decided she wasn’t using the Necchi enough and gave it to me. Sbwertz, my sister had a Brother…terrible machine. I passed the Singer/White on to her when I took possession of the Necchi. I have a Viking that was top of the line 22 years ago, it’s probably better than anything on that market now ( that I could afford), but I still miss that Necchi.

    WebSpider…sewing machines are just as capable of hating their users as cars, computers or any other mechanical device.

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    coffeeturtle  over 13 years ago

    coffee fixes most things.

    sewing is a dying art.

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    meandkage  over 13 years ago

    Why on earth would they bleep darning?

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    meandkage  over 13 years ago

    @ DewSolo, I learned on my mom’s Necchi too! She got hers in 1957 and it’s still going strong. I still have my old Brother from 1972 and it’s also running like a champ. Doesn’t have a bunch of fancy stitches, just forward, reverse, zigzag, bleeep and three decorative stitches but it’s never let me down. Only part I’ve ever had to buy was the belt. Old is good lol!

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    gobblingup Premium Member over 13 years ago

    I think it was just an excuse to call a friend and talk over coffee. It could have been the washing machine, the car, anything.

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    diggitt  over 13 years ago

    The Singer Featherweight was also a wonderful machine. My Mom bought hers in late 1946 – just when postwar production really swung into line – and it came with attachments for various zippers, pleats, ruffles, bias tapes, and many other fancy ways of twisting and bending fabric. It went forward and backwards, period. It was, of course, totally mechanical – and any user could fix practically any problem. It came with its own little toolbox of tiny screwdrivers, etc, a tube of oil, and a wonderful technical guide.

    I bought my own Featherweight in 1968, so now I own two. Some aficionados own a dozen!

    My husband wanted to buy me an up-to-date computerized model in the early 80s and asked the Singer store to take my two as trade-ins. They refused! AND they told him I could never get a machine as good as the Featherweight.

    I did receive the one with all the bells and whistles, but I do need to ask – unless you run a monogramming business, or at any rate have a commercial need for it – WHY do you need a machine that embroiders little rows of ducks?

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    vzs1022  over 13 years ago

    I agree, lightenup. She was thinking of coffee with a friend from the get-go which made her hurry and jam the machine.

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    Gretchen's Mom  over 13 years ago

    My sewing machine hates me too … but not nearly as much as I hate it!!!!!

    No matter how hard I try, I just cannot get it to work properly on the material my turtleneck shirts are made of and I’ve got as least five with the bottom hems coming apart that need repairing! I’ve tried just about everything I can think of in order to correct the problem but it’s simply no use! I don’t know if my thread tension is too tight, too lose or if it’s something else wrong altogether. Since there seems to be so many people here that know how to sew, would anyone happen to know what I’m doing wrong and how I can fix my problem??? Thanks!

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    vldazzle  over 13 years ago

    I still have my Brother from at least 30 years ago (bad memory of dates) , but I was doing dressmaking for others with it back in the 70s and have made most of the clothes that I needed and many for my kids. I only envy the new machines where I might program my own design and have it done automatically.

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    Dewsolo  over 13 years ago

    @GretchensMom, try changing the presser foot pressure, either more or less. Or try a different foot. There are fabrics that my Viking will only work properly on if I use the see-thru plastic foot or the one with the bit of teflon on the bottom.

    If the problem is that the material is getting dragged down into the feed dogs, change the throat plate (if you can) to the plate made only for straight stitching, it had just a tiny hole that the needle barely fits through, not that wider hole that lets the needle do things like zig-zag stitched.

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    MarnieAus  over 13 years ago

    GretchensMom, if it’s a stretch fabric that your turtleneck is made from, you may need to use a needle especially for stretch fabric (i.e. a ballpoint one), and also gently stretch the fabric in front of and behind the foot as you sew it. That might make life easier for you -I hope!

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    Gretchen's Mom  over 13 years ago

    Thanks, DewSolo. I’ll write your suggestions down and see if at least one of them will work for me. And if they don’t, I guess I’m just going to have to take them to a professional to be fixed. They’re practically brand new and too good to get rid of just because they’re coming undone at the bottom and I’m not talented or skilled enough to fix them myself.

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