When we think of sewing, we automatically think of the sewing machine. But there are some wonderful specialty sewing machines that can make sewing quicker and easier and more professional. In addition to a quality sewing machine, a fully outfitted sewing studio will include: a serger, a blind hemmer, and an embroidery machine.
The serger seams, overcasts, and trims in a single pass at roughly twice the speed of the home sewing machine. It is used as a mainstay in garment construction and home décor, but has great usefulness in all areas of sewing. It even has some wonderful decorative capabilities. Also note there are many different kinds of sergers. The most common is a 2 -3- 4 thread serger, but you can also get 5 thread, 6 thread, even an 8 thread serger.
The blind hemmer is a single purpose machine designed to produce professional blind hems in garments and similar applications. If you plan to alter or construct clothing this is a vital tool.
Embroidery is where the action is today. Each year more and more people are discovering the thrill of embellishing for clothing, home décor, and much more. The embroidery machine may be a stand alone
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machine doing only embroidery or it may be a combo machine. A combo machine is a combination of a quality sewing machine and an embroidery machine. Sewing machine features make sewing easier, faster, and more care free. These are some of the neat features available on modern sewing machines that you may look for when exploring for your next purchase. Electronic Foot Control: Older foot control devices are made of resistance devices using varying degrees of resistance to increase or decrease voltage to the AC motor. Users often complain that they get really hot when being used and sometimes when they are just sitting. Electronic foot controls provide much improved control over the drive system. They are safer and remain cool under pressure.
Pulse Motors: Mechanical machines use AC motors that are noisy, often undependable, and difficult to control; but sewing machines with electronic control and pulse motors are like sewing on a dream. They use the same force whether sewing fast or slow. They are fully responsive and provide full control. They are whisper quiet.
Thread Trimmers: It may not seem like much, but having a thread cutter mounted to the end of the sewing machine, makes sewing so much easier. May older machines required you to grab the scissors whenever you wanted to cut the threads, but a thread trimmer makes it easy. Just pull the thread to the trimmer and cut.
Automatic Thread Trimmers: Now this is a true advancement. The regular thread trimmer was a step forward, but the automatic thread cutters or built in scissors are wonderful. Imagine your are sewing along
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and you want to stop sewing. You lift your presser foot, adjust your hand wheel, and pull the fabric and thread out to use the old style thread trimmer. Or, you are ready to stop sewing and you touch the scissors button. The machine automatically trims threads top and bottom. It is wonderful.
Reverse/Anchor: Machines have had reverse levers for years, but the newer machines have a little button conveniently located just above the needle. Hold it in and the machine back stitches two or three stitches to anchor your seam. Or hold it in a bit longer and it will continue sewing in reverse. So convenient and easy. Needle Up/Down: Older machine just stopped wherever, but more modern machines empower you with control over the position your needle stops when you stop sewing. If you want the needle up, touch the button. If you want the needle down, touch the button. Set it to consistently stop in the up or down position. Just the way you want. This makes pivoting quick as a flash.
Adjustable Foot Control: Older foot controls responded only to the amount of pressure you used to push down with your foot. Adjustable foot controls enable you to slow the machine response down or speed it up depending on your desires at the time. If you adjust it slow, you can push the control all the way to the floor and the machine will still sew slowly. Adjust it fast, and zoom on down with even a light touch on the control.
Lighting: Remember that rear mounted light on the old singers. What a wonderful addition they made at the time. Today, better machines have great cool lights in all the right places.
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the touch of a finger, your machine sews. You no longer need that foot control, though you may want to use it sometime. The Start/Stop Button gives you a whole new way to control your sewing machine.
Slide Speed Control: On some machines this device works exclusively with the Start/Stop Button giving you full control over the speed of your sewing. On others, the slide control may also control the foot control or serve as a manual stitch width control.
Free Hand Sewing: The knee lift lever lifts the presser foot with a gentle nudge of your knee. How great it is to lift that presser foot without having to reach to the back of the machine manually.
Presser Foot Control Button: Like the knee lift the automatic presser foot button is a God send. It is so convenient to touch the button and watch the presser foot rise automatically.
Semi-Automatic Threading: Most modern machines have what we call automatic threaders. Wrap the thread and turn a lever to thread the needle. You don’t even have to be able to see the eye of the needle anymore.
Fully-Automatic Threading: A few spectacular sewing machines have fully-automatic threading. Just touch the button, and the machine robotically threads itself. Whalla!
Magnifiers: A great aid for sewing is the machine mounted magnifying glasses. They really help you see what you are doing.
Thread Stands: Many machines today come with multiple thread stands. Some have two spool pins built in. Others have secondary spool pins as accessories to
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attach to the top of the machine. Still others offer special tread stands that sit or fasten to the back of the sewing machine offering as many as ten spool pins with guides for easy color changes.
Presser Feet Systems: Perhaps the most elegant and rugged is the presser feet system by Bernina. Over a hundred special feet enable the Bernina user to achieve things with their sewing machines others just dream about. Most other companies offer a line of specialty feet for the snap on systems. Using the right presser foot can make any sewing project quicker and easier.