#sewingmachines — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #sewingmachines, aggregated by home.social.
-
Not near me, but I bet those could be de-rusted and would work again. I am curious how deep the rust goes. (given how well they are built). #sewingmachines
-
The appropriate thing to do for a good machine is to buy a 1950's or 60's zigzag machine (if you need that functionality), one of the all metal machines, and get it serviced or service it yourself; it will last forever and ever. The inappropriate thing is to do what she is doing, which is "oh, I don't need a good machine, I won't be sewing very much at some indefinite point in the future because I am getting older, so I will buy the cheapest model possible". Then, she borrows everyone else's sewing machines (at one point at her retirement villa she had 3 machines, all borrowed from other people, because her "new" machine she hated or was broken or whatever). 🤷 #sewing #sewingmachines
-
MIL's fancy schmancy new sewing machine is broken (again). Apparently they're going to have me look at it, because the estimated repairs are more than the cost of the machine. 🙄
At least they're having me look at it rather than just buying another one that will break (which might happen anyway... they have not learned that "spanking new machine" is code for "plastic pile o'crap"). Going to offer up the use of the "fancy" stitch machine (all metal) from the 1960's, maybe they will remember what quality sewing machines were like and get off the crappy-sewing-machine consumer treadmill.
-
Because we love our Fedi friends, you get to find out first:
When it opens at 11am tomorrow, Bolt Fabric Boutique will have three more refurbished machines in stock! There'll be a beautiful Necchi, a sturdy ol' Brother, and a Singer Featherweight.
Yup, we've got a Featherweight for sale, priced at only $400. We kid you not.
Learn all about it and the others here: https://evergreensewing.com/category/for-sale/at-bolt/
-
The model(s) for these labels are available from https://makerworld.com/en/models/2992354-sewing-machine-needle-labels
-
A Tale Of Two Sewing Machines
I’d like to tell you about the two sewing machines that I own: one old, and the other much older!
The Elna 2004SP
First up is the younger one that I bought 25 years ago. It’s an Elna 2004SP, a mechanical machine that I paid around $300 for at the time. I bought it on layaway and I was so proud to own it. I’ve sewn countless things on it – it’s the machine that’s powered my blog! Its given me no trouble the entire time, aside from not always being able to handle layers of heavy fabrics easily. I’ve always been conscientious about maintaining it: brushing away lint often, regular oiling, and I think that helped contribute to its long life. Would you believe I’ve never taken it into the shop for any reason in all that time? It’s true.
Elna SP2004, the machine that’s been with me for the past quarter century.Why It’s Broken (With Video)
The main problem it’s having lately is that the presser foot/bar won’t lift all the way up. This is a deal breaker for me, I can’t work with it in that condition long term. It takes a lot of hand strength to pull the foot up manually, and to do it every time I need to stop and start sewing is out of the question. You’d be surprised how much weight is actually being lifted every time you move the presser bar up. I’ve opened the machine up and looked at it and my conclusion is that it’s an old part that needs to be replaced. Its a spring driven pressurized mechanism that isn’t lifting to the correct height. The following vid shows the what happens because of the problem, and btw it’s the first time any of you have heard my voice!
The presser bar mechanism – as you can see, it ‘s powered by a long spring:
Another view of a different part of the presser bar:
This is the part that’s directly attached to the presser bar lever. That silver piece may be a pressure adjustment pin, but getting to it would mean removing the light bulb, which isn’t easy. Then I would have to figure out how to remove the presser bar assembly, which is under pressure and might require a special tool. Not sure but my best guess. It isn’t something I’d want to do, and even if I did, I don’t know if I could find a replacement.
I’ve decided to give the Elna away to Goodwill. It still runs, and maybe someone who has the resources and time can fix it.
The Singer 404: It’s History In My Life
Meanwhile, I still needed a machine to sew with while I figure out what to do next. Enter the vintage Singer 404. It belonged to my parents and it’s the first machine I ever sewed on. One day when I was around 7 yrs old they sat me down at the machine and taught me how to sew. The project they started me with was sewing pillowcases cut from old flat sheets. It was a great idea because the seams were easy, long and fun to sew which gave me good practice at learning to use the machine. I remember being amazed by how the sewing machine worked and how fast it was. I was blown away by the new experience. It’s for those nostalgic reasons that I keep it, and honestly, it’s a great old machine. It’s solidly built and still runs well.
The 404’s Functions, Uses & Limits (With Video)
Problem solved, right? Just use this one from now on? Nope. I can use it to tide me over, but not for long term because it’s limited in what it can do. It’s a straight stitch machine only, it has no other stitch types. It’s very industrial in that sense – it has one function and does it well. Also, it was built to handle mainly woven fabrics. It can’t handle knits, even after using a ball point needle and adjusting the tension. It doesn’t have the right kind of feed. Lastly, it doesn’t have a free arm like many modern machines do. I do mostly garment sewing, and a free arm is a must for sleeves and hems. I hemmed a pair of pants on this machine the other day and it was definitely more awkward without a free arm. I got it done, but I did note the difference in ease of completing the task. Here’s a couple pics of it: it’s around 70 years old which is pretty awesome:
Close up of the cool glass light case it has…the glass is really thick!Back in the days, these machines were often bought with their own sewing cabinet. The cabinet has a fold out table and sewing chair with storage:
It’s a complete set…pretty cool huh? It’s great for sewing large items like quilts because of the extension table. As I mentioned earlier, it runs like a champ for it’s age:
I’m sewing a puff pillow here.Round Up & What’s Ahead
And those are my 2 sewing machines….1 unusable and off to charity, and the other usable but too limited in function to serve my sewing needs. One I’m saying a fond farewell to for all the years it served me, and the other I’ll eventually be folding down and putting away for the vintage heirloom that it is.
I’m now in the market for a new machine. I’m doing my research and shopping around, and I’ll soon be making a purchase. There are still mechanicals available, but the majority of machines are electronic/computerized, so I’m most likely going to buy one of those. I’ll be a total beginner at learning to use it because I’ve never had one before, but I’m sure that with some study I’ll catch on.
And those are the latest goings on in my studio. I’ll be rearranging my sewing room soon, and hopefully be getting back to some summer sewing soon. How do you feel about sewing on a mechanical machine versus a computerized one? Let me know in the comments.
#diy #Fashion #handmade #Quilting #Sewing #SewingMachines #VintageSewingMachines -
I don't think my sewing machine collection is what Hobbycraft had in mind, but it's good to know someone out there thinks it's a good idea to stock up on sewing machines 😂
-
#WellingboroughEcoHub - #SewSocial
Mon 1 Jun 2026, 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Weekly on Monday#EcoHub #SwanspoolPavilion
"Come to #EcoCrafters new sewing group, Sew Social!Whether you want to learn a new skill or are an experienced stitcher who wants to have a natter while you craft.
We have fabric and sewing machines ready for use, or you are welcome to bring your own.
Come and join us for FREE on Mondays, 6-8pm at ECO HUB
Refreshments available."
FMI:
https://wellingboroughecogroup.org.uk/eco/#SolarPunkSunday #DIY #SewYourOwn #MendYourOwn #SewingMachines #BuildingCommunity
-
Two freshly refurbished #SewingMachines are available at Bolt today!
• An Elna Primula 410 from the mid-90s. Perfect for beginners! https://evergreensewing.com/2026/05/24/elna-primula-410/
• A Kenmore 158.1336 from 1977. Will take on your toughest projects then ask for more. https://evergreensewing.com/2026/05/24/kenmore-158-1336/
Head on over to Bolt & get yourself something nice. ❣️
-
The longer we're in the business of fixing #SewingMachines, the more we're convinced that in the 1970s and 1980s, sewing machine companies lost their goddamn minds.
The goofy nonstandard "innovations" we see in these machines…sheeesh.
-
I'm in the market for a reliable sewing machine—I want to replace my old Singer. I made a mistake at first, buying an old Bernina Virtuosa with mechanical/electronic issues (luckily returned).
A sewing machine repairman told me that early digital Berninas are risky, and he recommended a mechanical Bernina 930, 1030 or 1031.
A serviced vintage Bernina 930 is now on hold for me at a dealer.
Anyone here with Bernina 930 experience? #Sewing #Bernina #SewingMachines
-
Hmm, the sewing machine gods have spoken. Broke a needle, and now all the stitches are skipping, and lubrication did not help... Wonder if the timing was knocked out of adjustment. (Singer 201). 🤔 (Update: BACKWARDS needle, doh) #sewing #sewingmachines
-
We're at Sewcial Studies today from noon-2PM. Come drop off your sewing machine for repair or a well-deserved spa day!
-
Despite what looks like decades of neglect, this gorgeous 70 year old Morse Super Dial (R5L) still runs…just not well.
But it will soon!
It's now in pieces on our workbench, about to get its first cleaning in who knows how long.
-
If you want to see some of our other refurbished machines in person, head on over to Bolt Fabrics on Alberta!
-
We're excited that today the Necchi 535 FA went to its forever home!
It's going to serve someone well and create a lot of great things with them. 🥰
-
Contrary to this instruction in an old Pfaff service manual, we will not be dousing any machine in any amount of kerosene.
-
Thanks to the class we taught last weekend (thank you, lovely attendees!), we can finally afford to buy shelves to get our backlogged refurb inventory off the concrete floor!
The shelves arrive next week and we've never been so excited about utilitarian furnishings.
-
We're just Pfaffing about in the workshop today.
(we can't promise that we'll make this joke each time a Pfaff is on an Evergreen workbench, but we can't promise we won't, either)
-
This stunning Domestic 151 is home, all sparkling chrome and purring like a kitten.
This one was fun to work on. We got to replace crumbling wiring, get confused by the archaic threading (twice), and rediscover the true colors of those front badges.
-
This is the upper tension unit from a Singer Stylist 834 and it's being a great big jerkface.
We do not like it when components are jerkfaces of any size, but especially not great big ones.
-
Would you just feast your eyes on this stunning hunk of mechanical beauty we just finished working on? 😍
And it runs as beautifully as it looks. What a fantastic machine.
-
Swing by Sewcial Studies tomorrow (Saturday, March 14th) between noon and 2pm to drop your sewing machine off for a much deserved spa day.
#PDX #Portland #Sewing #SewingMachineshttps://evergreensewing.com/2026/03/13/dropoff-at-sewcial-studies-tomorrow-2/
-
We are legitimately over the moon to announce that you can now buy our refurbished sewing machines at Bolt Fabric Boutique on Alberta in NE Portland! Learn all about it!
#Portland #PDX #Sewing #SewingMachines
https://evergreensewing.com/2026/03/12/get-our-machines-at-bolt/
-
We believe older machines are better, but are they? Or are we just getting caught in survivorship bias? #Sewing #SewingMachines
https://evergreensewing.com/2026/03/09/are-older-sewing-machines-actually-better-than-newer/
-
The branding will continue until morale^w sales improve.
Totally coincidentally, have you seen the great #SewingMachines we've brought back to life? You can give one a good home!
-
Think you can use any ol' thread in your project and it'll be OK? Think again. Learn how and why thread quality affects your sewing.
https://evergreensewing.com/2026/03/02/bad-thread-leads-to-bad-sewing/
-
We've a new machine available for sale today! It's a fantastic Husqvarna-Viking Classica 100 and it comes with a really helpful rolling case with a retractable handle.
https://evergreensewing.com/2026/02/21/husqvarna-viking-classica-100/