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Industrial Singer for newbie?

17 years ago

Hi all

I am keen to get sewing so I can do interior decorating projects, ie curtains, recovering furniture, etc as well as make the odd bit of clothing. I haven't sewed much. When I was a teengager I used my mother's vintage electric singer machine.

Now I am tempted by a machine on an online auction but don't know if I can handle it. It is a vintage electric singer machine described as fully working in very good condition and of "industrial quality". It comes with original stiching patterns and extra attachments and what looks like an electic foot pedal.

What exactly does "industrial quality" mean? I imagine it will be useful for heavy upholstery fabric but may be too hard for me to use.

Would love any advice, thanks, Elly

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Comments (3)

kybell
17 years ago
I say a Singer machine advertised on the Internet, don't remember where, but it said inudstrial quality. I haven't seen the machine in person, but I would doubt that it is an industrial machine. The only industrial machine I have seen with anything but a straight is a light industrial machine that zig-zags too.
shadylady2u
17 years ago
No, it's not an industrial. What industrial strength means, is that it can handle the same jobs an industrial can. Well, maybe it can, as long as you can get it under the foot. It also won't be as fast as an industrial. You'll have no problem handling it, cuz it's really a home machine. The only thing is a Singer doesn't hold much value, so I wouldn't pay much for it.
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Willing to answer any questions! http://pub.brother.com/pub/com/ism_manual/catalog/s7200a.pdf#search='Brother%20S7200A' not sure you have seen that, I tried to get to it from the brother site, and was unable to. The presser foot looks just like a regular square foot. There are no other feet available for this machine at the time. One note, I like to know everything about my machines, and my nearest dealer is an hour away, this machine is heavy, so there was no way I could run it out for repair easily, not to mention down time. (I sew at home for http://www.grampasgarden.com) So I emailed the tech person right at Brother, and he sent me free of charge the CD with the technician manual on it! I would take the material that you will be using right into your nearest dealer and try it out. What type of heavy fabric are you using 7-9 layers of? If I have something comparable, could try it out. I would think with the right needle, foot adjustment, etc, it should handle it, but don't know for sure. The table is roughly 19 1/2x 45 inches, I couldn't find my tape. There is a picture at the bottom of the PDF file. I love this machine for work, the only time I don't like it is when I am quilting, and want to do a decorative stitch, but I have a smaller machine if I really wanted to drag it out! Another note, this machine seems noisy, but I think it may be because I don't have the feet padded with a heavy felt to absorb vibration, and I'm not 100% sure it's level! Check out the pdf if you haven't seen it, and ask away!!! Lisa
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bug_key
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A real industrial machine has a motor seperate from the "head" (in other words the top of the machine). There are many industrials and some can do zigzag and other stitches as well (Bernina 910 can do all the same stitches as a Bernina 930 home machine). The old Singer industrials are the work horse of the industry, this is not true about many of the newer Singers. Since you are a beginner I would suggest that you get a heavey duty home machine in place of an industrial which take up tons of room, are expensive, need specialized repair people, and weigh a ton!!!! An older, but well maintained, Viking, Bernina, Phaff or Singer with several stitich options including a zigzag, blind hem and cover stitch could handle everything you mentioned. Remember it will take you a while to build the skills in making these items and in handling sewing equipment. Good luck and welcome to the wild side of sewing!
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