I have been traveling with this machine in my motorhome for over 2 years now. I have hemmed clothes, made curtains, made pillows, made director chair replacement seating, made picnic table cloths and on and on.
This thing just keeps on purring, methodically turning out nice neat strong stitching. It only does one type of straight stitching, so you can not do a zigzag for knits. I have never used it for knits and wouldn't even try, it's not made for that. But for regular woven cloth it's a charm.
My blog shows many of the projects I have done with this machine. I don't think Amazon will let me post my blog link, but if you look at my name above then add "dot com" you can find my webpage blog and then use the search built into my blog, to search on "sew" to see my articles and pictures of me using this machine.
It only does a forward stitch, not a reverse. But to start my seam, I do about 5-10 stitches, then stop, rotate the project 180 degrees, sew the 5-10 stitches back to start, then rotate 180 degrees again, then continue my seam to completion and do the same curious moves at the end of the seam again. This has worked flawlessly so far and locks the seam in place.
Also, before you sew your project, use a scrap of material to practice on first, to make sure the seam is doing nicely before you sew the project. A scrap of the same material you plan to sew on next is best all around. I always do a practice run on a scrap first.
I had an old quilted bedspread that had some holes in it. I wanted to cut it down to make jumbo pillow covers, because the colors were perfect for my RV. It sewed through the double layered quilted material perfectly. I was truly amazed. In case you are wondering, I sewed velcro on the 4th side of the pillow covers. Then I was able to stuff the pillow, then velcro it very neatly together. You can't even tell the 4th side is velcro. Zippers are hard work, and I've never tried to do a zipper with this machine, I just use velcro instead.
Recently I used old bluejeans for some projects and sewed right through the triple stitched side seams of the bluejeans just fine. The cheap needles that came with it did not last. Buy only Singer machine sewing needles as they are the best and milled correctly. Since installing the Singer needle, it has not broken in over a year. So don't even bother with cheaper or off brand needles, buy Singer needles only. They work.
Also, if your thread is breaking too much, throw it out and buy new thread. Sometimes thread can dry-rot and get cantankerous. New thread will generally fix this. It has a bobbin winder that works on the machine.
I store mine in the original box, in plastic so that the machine remains dust free between uses. This is very important for any sewing machine. Every day dust will eventually clog up and shorten the life, so always cover your machine completely when you are through sewing. Don't let it sit even overnight uncovered, if you like to protect your machine so it will last a long time. If you leave yours uncovered when not in use, you will be very sorry down the road. Sewing machines need to be undercover at all times except when in use.
Some reviewers had trouble with the bobbin, but they didn't do it standard style. First you thread the needle to have the thread go straight back about 4 inches. Then you insert the bobbin, making sure it is seated correctly. You may have to hand turn the knob on the end of the machine towards you very slowly, to get the bobbin to seat correctly. You need to leave about 3 inches of the bobbin thread pulled out. Leave the slide door to the bobbin open for the next simple step. Afterwards, close the slide door.
Now turn the knob on the far right towards you very slowly to make one complete stitch (do not insert material!) As the needle comes back Up (from going down!) it will have a tiny loop, where it picked up the bobbin thread. Now pull that loop out carefully (it will be poking through the hole beneath the needle), so that you now have TWO threads pointing towards the back of the machine, one is the threaded needle, the other is the bobbin thread. Now you can close the bobbin door and start your seam. Later you can trim the excess thread off the item you are sewing.
If you don't understand this very basic step which is universal to ALL sewing machines with bobbins, then you need to buy a how-to book or take a beginner sewing class to learn the basics about handling a sewing machine. Once you know the basics about handling ANY sewing machine that has a bobbin (and all do except the unique chain stitch machines which I am not even sure they make anymore. Anyhow, the basics of handling a big machine are identical to handling this compact machine. So LEARN the basics if you expect to make things with this machine.
I have sewed on regular sewing machines, but my motorhome has very limited storage, so I bought this tiny machine and do not own a regular sized sewing machine anymore. I applied the SAME basic principles to this compact machine as I did on the full sized machine and it has worked flawlessly for me.
If you buy this machine because you are NEW to sewing, then you need some scrap material to practice on, before you begin a project. Just because the machine is smaller with less options that a full sized machine, does not mean you can instantly "know" all about sewing. Learn the basics and you will LOVE this little machine as must as I do.
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