I’ve been cross with my Janome 920 for quite some time now. It’s been causing me trouble since the day I got it. The thread tension’s been way off (I even had to adjust the bobbin thread tension the first thing I did). The needle refuses to go to the right, left to centre are my only options. It’s noisy and the fabric feeding feels jerky and wonky.
Long story short, because of these issues I’ve been thinking about getting a new machine. After contemplating my needs, I’ve realized that I don’t really all of them fancy stitches you get with new machines. All I need is straight-stitch and maybe zigzag to make button holes. Other reasons why I don’t want a new machines are:
- Good ones are crazy expensive
- They’re so plastic -> shorter life-span.
- It’s hard(er) to fix a broken electronic machine
Thinking about what the ideal sewing machine would look like takes me back to my mother’s old Husqvarna ZigZag. At first we didn’t really see eye to eye, the machine and I but after some fiddling I’ve come to treasure it. There are seldom any problems and it just keeps on sewing year after year. I would love to own a machine like that!
Then one day I stumbled upon an ad for an 8 year old Singer 20U53! After arguing a bit with myself (and convincing my fiancé), I knew that I needed (wanted) the machine. Still a bit afraid that an industrial sewing machine wouldn’t be my cup of tea, I contacted the seller and went to try it out.
Isn’t it pretty?
Sit down and hold on tight to your desk. This baby is one bad-ass machine. It manages 2000 stitches per minute with a stitch width up to 9mm, and an astonishing 2500 s.p.m with a stitch width of 0-5mm. That’s over 40 stitches per second! Another epic feature of this machine is the knee control pedal. Simply pushing the lever with my knee raises the presser foot. How cool is that? Now that I have both hands free, it’s easier to control the fabric.
Buying this machine could be one of the better ideas I’ve had, or possibly one of the worst. At the moment, it’s hard to tell which one it is, but so far I’m happy :)
The beautiful singer20U53! Check out the knee control right in front of the engine.
Yuki Clothing 
August 19, 2013 at 08:55
Wowie!!! That is one badass sewing machine…..! *jealous*
August 19, 2013 at 09:44
:D It sure is, I can’t wait til I get to try it out! I don’t have the guts to use it for the rest of the wedding dress. Curtains is a much more suitable first project :P
August 22, 2013 at 22:05
looking good that :) looks like the industrial one i have got at work, can start a busness with something like that. but how is the dress comming allong then? must be about ready right hope to see some pics soon goodluck bluppie talk soon. dan
August 22, 2013 at 22:22
It’s coming along nicely :) I’ve attached all the skirts and right now there’s just a shitload of hand-stitching that needs to be done. Hopefully I’ll finish it during the weekend :)
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