First off let me thank everyone that has followed my PFAFF saga thread,I appreciate all the help.

My wife must be sick of watching me toil over that old rig,because She just came home with a new Janome JS 1008 for me.

I know it is an entry level home-owner rig,but it sure beats pounding my head against the wall over that old PFAFF until I can get it fixed,if I ever do.

I will upgrade when I get the money,but this should serve me for a bit.

I am just doing light weight for now anyways.

I am one of those perfectionists that wants INSTANT success,taking on sewing sure has taught me to have patience...as much as I hate the P word,sewing really is fun.

Wow,off on a tangent here.Back on topic...have any of you started on a home-owner machine and then graduated to a real machine. If so I am wondering what tricks you have learned along the way...such as needles,thread,tensions,etc. where you tricked your machine into thinking it is capable of more than it was designed for. I know this is a stretch,but thought I would ask.

Again,thanks for all your help. I have learned a ton on this sub-forum.

Buy a LARGE box of very fine dress-maker pins, and use LOTs of them. It keeps the seams aligned so your sewing looks neat.

Hold the front and back of the fabric under slight tension as you sew. This makes the seams much straighter.

I use needles finer than recommended, but the recommended sizes are way to big to stop people from breaking them.

Buy good thread! Poly-cotton vs nylon vs polyester ? Each one has merits. Do NOT use 100% cotton.

Tension - always do a practice seam first (on scrap) and twiddle the tension to get a balanced stitch.

Cheers

You never know, that machine might do everything you want, to everything you want.

Back about 25 years ago a friend and I sewed two pyramid tents on a basic machine (straight plus zig-zag). Each tent plus fly had about 23 panels to sew.

I had been tempted to buy a sewing machine last year when I got interested once again in hiking. Luckily my wife requested a sewing machine for Christmas. I jumped and bought her an electronic Singer. Now I'm a bit worried that I'll destroy it if I try to sew another tent!

At least I can do pretty floral design bartacks.

Anyway, congratulations on the new sewing machine.

Jim

PS- She hasn't touched "her" new machine but I've fixed three pair of my son's pants and two pair of mine!
PPS- After typing that I fixed the bad seam in a "second" Sherpa Adventure Gear puffy jacket.

Edited by jimqpublic on 01/13/2009 21:58:01 MST.

And what, pray tell, is wrong with the 1008? It does the common required stitches, with adjustments. It should serve you for 5 - 10 years.

cheers

James,glad to see you are getting into it again,very cool !

Roger, I was hoping you would tell me the 1008 is OK. I really do think it will serve me well. Not heavy-duty,but probably plenty strong for what I will ask of it.

Edited by oknowa on 01/13/2009 23:26:38 MST.

I started with a cheap singer, and still use it occasionally. I can sew through really thick webbing with thick thread if I hand crank it and not rely on the motor to push through. It is slow, but it is a LOT faster than hand stitching. Right now I am waiting for my Bernette to get out of the shop. It had a broken piece that I could have made myself, if I had a milling machine. Frustrating.