My first sewing machine

[Marco A. Sánchez]

After some time thinking about it I decided to buy a sewing machine.

Looking at the basic models, some allow you to modify the stitch width and others not. Is this an important feature for the typical MYOG projects?

[Mark McLauchlin]

Start cheap and see how you like it, at the end of the day so long as you can straight and zig-zag stitch thats about all you will need as a beginner.

I purchased my s/hand for $15.00, works great.

The ability to do rolled hems is also nice however with some practice you can get quite good at it with a normal foot on your machine.

Keep us updated on how you go and what you end up making.

Cheers
Mark

[Marco A. Sánchez]

Thanks Mark for the suggestions.

As you points out, my idea is to begin with a sewing machine as simple (and cheap) as possible.

[Tohru Ohnuki]

Agreed, straight stitch and zigzag are all you need. It doesn't even need to be very powerful since ultralight materials are thinner/lighter than most clothing and certainly less than traditional camping gear.

I would suggest looking on craigslist for a used, non-computerized, totally mechanical sewing machine, but not an antique (made before 1950?) Look for one with a traditional bobbin, not a 'drop in.' Get new needles and do a cleaning and lube job on it. Try it out, if it doesn't stitch well, check the thread tension, both top and bobbin. If it still doesn't then it may need a trip to the shop.

[Kevin Beeden]

Of course, it depends what things you want to make with your sewing machine: lightweight tarps etc, or clothing.

I'd suggest the following additional features can be useful for clothing:

– ability to sew an edge-locking seam up to the edge (without needing trimming). This is useful for fleece seams; the first machine I borrowed (a Toyota) did this. The machine I bought (without thoroughly testing: bit of a 'Buffalo Bill' moment with the old biddies working in the sewing machine area of the department store…) had an edge-locking stitch, but it can't sew up to the edge, so seams have to be trimmed afterwards.

– ability to adjust the foot pressure, to cope with thicker materials (fleece again).

[Marco A. Sánchez]

Thank you everyone for the suggestions and advice. Very helpful stuff.

I hope to soon have the sewing machine to start a simple project!

[Tohru Ohnuki]

Foot pressure is useful, but my experience has been that fleece is a pain to sew. I never was able to get good results, maybe i need some tear away carrier or something to give the feed dogs something to grip.

Edge-locking (serging?) is useful, but i've managed to use french seams for my clothing projects (ala thru-hiker.com's designs.) I've also done it with a zig-zag stitch that overshoots the edge slightly.

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