Simply Stitchy

  In a previous post, I went through 5 things you need to consider when you’re looking for a sewing machine. If you haven’t seen that blog post yet, it’s here. Now, if you haven’t read that article, nip across and give it a quick read. Then, when you know what you need your sewing machine to do, come back to this one. Because, in today’s post, I’m going to review what are, in my opinion, the best machines for beginners and experienced sewists alike.    I’ve searched the internet and marked machines of all shapes and sizes on the basic requirements of ease of use, durability, features, choice of accessories and, more importantly, value for money. The following are the machines I feel offer the best all round sewing experience. For both beginners and the more advanced. So let’s get started. I’m going to cover the elephant in the room first. Singer A number of people in the sewing world will tell you to give Singer a wide berth. Their reasoning...

  Hi all, When people find out I sew, I normally get two reactions. The first, total disbelief. Why would anyone want to sew their own clothes? It’s so… provincial.    The second, pure wonder and awe.  This second bunch are the people who express an interest in taking up the hobby themselves. So they ask what equipment they need. Most often it’s what sewing machine they should buy. It’s a tough question for me to answer. Last count, I had eleven, mostly vintage, Singers. Up until I got Grandma, a Singer treadle from 1912, most of my sewing was on Jerome. A Janome from 2004. My requirements for a sewing machine are a bit eclectic and differ depending on which machine is easiest to get to. Or less hassle to use. If you ask me today, I’ll say, “go Jerome!” Mainly because Grandma is being a bleep .  The question of what sewing machine to buy comes up in various sewing related Facebook groups too. All the time. More often than not the 100 ...

Hi all,  If you own or are planning to buy a second hand sewing machine, the chances are you will hear the terms industrial, antique, vintage or even retro as part of the description. The terms can be confusing and even misleading. Especially, if used incorrectly. The words tend to be interchangeable, used as key words or marketing devices to “sell” rather than describe an object accurately. Most of the time, this shortfall is due to a lack of knowledge rather than an attempt to deceive. Sellers often use the term "industrial" to refer to older Singers and other brands with models pre-dating the 1960s. This description is based on the machines being heavy, built from iron and rock solid when you sew on them. This robust sturdiness gives them the persona of being tougher, stronger and more hardworking than today's modern equivalents.  Take this Singer 15-91 from 1952 for example. When I purchased this, I was told it’s a heavy machine, so it must be a heavy-duty...

Hi all, I’ve been spending some quality time with Grandma over the last few weeks. Mostly discovering what makes her tick. Well, it’s more a clicky whir if I’m honest. I have a video of her in action on Instagram . The lighting is a little dark but if you watch with your sound on, you’ll hear the unique sound Grandma makes when she’s ticking over nicely.   It got me thinking about projects to make with her. We’ve already made some face masks but now I’m looking at bigger items. So we can really get some speed going on the treadle wheel. Wouldn’t it be great to make a vintage inspired item on a vintage machine? Ignoring the trench coat and skorts in my to-do pile, I started looking at fashion from the mid 1920s. A time when Grandma would have been approaching her teenage years. The style that caught my attention most was the flapper dress. A flowy, slightly boxy shift dress with a dropped waist and fringe detail. Romantic images of carefree girls kicking thei...