Hi Ladies and Gentlemen…
To date I have bought my essential
bits for my sewing tool kit and now my attention turns to the main item – the
sewing machine. Sewing machines were first patented in the 1790s and Mr Singer
commercialised the sewing machine in the 1850s giving everyone the opportunity
to sew and stitch at home and now there are many different brands covering a
wide range of functions and prices. This was my first hurdle as I did not
appreciate there was such a variety - all targeted at different skill level and
functionality – I thought it was one size fits all. In some ways I was pleased
so I did not have to get an all singing all dancing machine that would leave me
in a mess and not continue
with my goal.
A good friend of mine, who is a stitching wizz, said as long as it
has 10 or so stitches and can do some button holes it will be a good beginning
machine. With this sound advice (and advice from my sewing book and the Thrifty
Stitcher website) I looked extensively over the World Wide Web at Singer,
Berina, Brother, Janome and other brands. I started to get overwhelmed at the
possibility and found a few I thought would fit the stitch. But then I thought
- how large are they and what do they actually feel like? So with list in hand
I went to John Lewis on Oxford Street. Here they offer a great range of sewing
machines (including their own brand) and I was able to touch and caress the
machines there. I like square machines over rounded (this principle also
applies to cars – especially old Fords – but I digress) and I liked the fact
that the ones I viewed were not that heavy and also not too expensive. With
this in mind I was a bit blinkered to the task at hand and not focusing on the
functionality. Then the sewing machine which I had researched was there and in
my grasp and it was the……
Singer 2250
It was like love at first glance – I
knew this would suit my capabilities to the ground (which are basic in sewing), matched my price tag (always a good thing to keep
the husbandy happy), did not weigh a tonne (so I did not incur an injury
getting it home), small enough to fit in the space allocated at home (although
now I have made my favourite shoes homeless).
When I got the Singer 2250 home I took it out of the box and made
sure all the items were there (which they were plus an extra bobbin) and read
the manual…. I wanted to thread it and get cracking but it was getting late, I
had no scrap material to test on and other general life things needed to be
done – boo.
So now I am all set to go… sewing tool box and sewing machine. I
just need to cut up on old bed sheet and start practicing…. Oh I can’t wait!!
