About to buy my first sewing machine….

DYI Gear Supply has a lot of good choices especially if you want something a little stronger than you typically find locally. However, the Gutterman at Joann or other fabric stores works well for most projects. There are some threads on this site that go into this subject in depth. Enjoy!

I would buy Gutterman polyester thread, the extra bobbins too. I started with a Brother from Amazon, and it broke down right after the warrantee expired. The feed dogs spring kept breaking, which meant no fabric could be fed through the machine. It also had a problem maintaining proper timing. I had it fixed twice at my expense, and threw it into the recycle bin on the third occasion. The money to keep fixing it was more than the cost of the machine. I wish you all the best with your's, but I ended up buying a used Juki, and have been very, very happy with it. Read the reviews and roll the dice, but I will never buy another Brother product.

I just use regular Gutterman from local fabric store

For something like attaching shoulder pads you need lots of stitches to sppread load across many threads. I usually do 2 rows of stitches for anything that carries a lot of weight to spread load across many threads. With heavier thread you might save some time and use less stitches which would be more important for commercial sewer.

More expensive thread may be heavier and not sew as well on your machine

I'm using guterman Tera 80 Tex 35 from DIY gear supply. $3.75 for 765 yards. I used many spools of fabric store guterman. It costs $3.75 for 274 yards. The thread you get from DIY gear supply is a much better value an is stronger than the fabric store. Great if your using black thread. I just ordered some guterman Mara 70 Tex 40 from DIY gear supply. Try the guterman Mara 70 & Tera 80 at DIY gear supply. BPL has a wealth of information about thread. Just type in THREAD in the BPL search. Have fun making gear. God Bless

I would buy about a dozen bobbins, and an assortment of needles (I'd start with a pack sharp points in every size that fits the machine.), and some thread. I buy a lot of this sort of stuff from wawak.com (or cleanersupply.com, same place, different sales). Good prices, good service, fast shipping. They sell most of the gutternman threads mentioned, at good prices, in a wide range of colors. I think gutterman's mara 100 (what's sold in fabric stores as 'sew all') is good for most purposes. it's about 2.50 a 1000 meter spool from wawak.

Also, you'll want to get some good shears, a decent set of thread nips, and some tape measures, if you don't have that stuff already. And an assortment of seam rippers! (you'll figure out what style you like.)

unless you have already sent the money, i might consider that sewing machines are a "handed to you" sort of item. nearly everybody knows somebody with one that sits unused.
gutermann works fine, but of course, Roger C. has his own special stuff that may be more optimal (and no doubt is).
you will find that silnylon will/may not feed evenly as regards the top sheet staying in place indexed to the bottom piece. they do make a needle feed machine at $1250+ that does not suffer from this, or … you can glue the bits together prior to sewing. (much cheaper).
it seems generally accepted that older 60's vintage machines were made of metal and sew better than economical new plastic units. really sweet new plastic machines cost hella a lot, and seem to work fine, but you are looking at many hundreds to start with in their case.
you may find that roll cutting silnylon is vastly easier than scissors. the sewing store cutting mats work ok. and the bigger, the better.
all you machine really needs to do is forward and back. zig zag is so nice though, it's sort of needed too. every other lock stitch will not pertain to gear.

happy sewing !

v.

Thanks for all the advice!

Who knew a bunch of nerdy guys would be the ones teaching me how to sew.

"it seems generally accepted that older 60's vintage machines were made of metal and sew better than economical new plastic units."

I used my mom's machine in 1960s/1970s. It had to be oiled frequently at about 30 places.

Modern machines have sealed bearings that don't require this. I'de buy new machine, like a Janome which is just what I happened to get. Actually, my wife bought it and never used it so I've taken it over.

Hi Jen

What kind of thread? Well, what are you sewing??? That does matter a LOT.

I use standard Gutermann for clothing – lots of matching colours, but I won't use it on silnylon or UL fabrics. Instead I use (German) Amann Rasant 120 for that, but it seems to be unavailable in USA. For critical seams I use Rasant 70.

Straight polyester thread is NOT as good as core-spun polyester, for lots of reasons. It can tangle in the tensioner. If you are sewing clothing, most of the reasons may not matter too much.

Needles: the books tell you to use a large needle, but most experienced users (I am not going to write 'sewers' as it can be mispronounced!) usually use a smaller needle quite happily.

Also buy a good packet of good very fine pins – the finest you can get. And use them copiously.

Cheers

Let me amplify what Roger stated. Buy a packet of very fine pins and use a magnet as a "pin keeper."

I keep eight or ten different types of threads on hand all the time. I use some fine serger thread for low-risk sewing that won't see much stress. I can buy it in large cones which makes it economical. I use some rather heavy polyester thread for critical places that do see stress, but I have to shift over to some large needles for it to clear the eye without problems. As a general rule, most of what I sew on is a very thin fabric, so I use a rather small needle. It took me most of two years to figure out how to out-smart the thread tensioner.

I think the modern term for a sewing person is now a sewist.

–B.G.–

I would recommend buying used from Craigslist. After doing a copious amount of research here and at hammock forums, I decided to buy a used mid 70's vintage Kenmore sewing machine. It was $25 out the door with a portable carrying case and in super mint condition. I think it sews far better than my mom's expensive Babylock sewing machine.

The model(s) to look for are any Kenmore with a 158.xxxx model number. They made a huge number of models with the 158. prefix. They range from 6 stitches to 12 stitches or more. Just know that with the increase of stitches, the complexity of the machine also increases, which means more points to oil. And besides, you're only likely to ever use 3 stitches anyway. That said, most of the models out there are 12 stitches, and I would/will pick one up if the price is right.

The Kenmore that I picked up this last week was my third machine. I have found that I really enjoy fixing up and cleaning vintage sewing machine, and generally replacement parts are readily available and cheap. My stable now includes my Grandmother's straight stitch only Singer 301A (She bought it new in 1953), a 50's or 60's Universal Zig Zag that looks like 1957 Plymouth Belvedere and a Kenmore 158.12411 6 Stitch.

If you do decide to buy used, this pdf about cleaning vintage sewing machines from sew-classic.com is very helpfull: http://goo.gl/bdzKyq There's a gazillion vids on youtube and articles on the web on cleaning and restoring sewing machines as well.

Good luck with whatever machine you decide to buy.

Oh, and if you do buy used, don't pay too much. A great deal will always pop up on CL. I think up to $40 for any fully working Kenmore is a good price.

Cheers,

Mike

Mike, thank you for the link.

I just want to put in my 2 cents for this particular Brother sewing machine. I have had mine for a few years, and I have made a couple of duffel bags, a ski bag (pattern from quest outfitters), curtains, clothing alterations, and I am in the process of making a MYOG pack. I have sewn through 1000D cordura, XPAC, and various types of webbing.

I have also sewn with my mom's Singer, my Aunt's Kenmore from the 1970s and a slightly more modern Kenmore and I would take this Brother over all of them.

It has a fantastic user interface – it is extremely fast and easy to thread, you don't have to raise the bobbin thread (saves time), switching needles/presser feet is a breeze. The needle always stops in the down position when you stop sewing, which makes it easier to be exact and execute pivots. It also has a setting which limits the max sewing speed, which was really useful when I was getting used to it.

It sews through a lot of tough fabric easily. I discovered its limit when I tried to sew through 5 layers of XPAC and 2 layers of webbing, however, I was able to hand crank the machine through that section. When I hem jeans, it smoothly rides over the thick vertical seam without missing a beat.

I find the feed dogs to feed very well. At some point I tried sewing lycra binding with my mom's Singer, and the lycra kept getting sucked into the feed dogs, but the same lycra binding was easy to sew with the Brother. I rarely have tangles with the bobbin thread.

In short, I instantly became a better "sewer" when I got this machine.

As for thread, I have only used the Guterman from Joanne's. I have tried the thicker Guterman from Joanne's and it worked, but I felt like the tension was off and I couldn't fix it, so I've stuck with the standard thickness.

This is the one I have as well. I like it a lot, and so far all malfunctions were due to my own stupidity and learning.