I have just found a Singer Sewing machine in the attic having moved house a few weeks ago. It is lock and has no key so I can’t get it open therefore can’t find out the serial number etc.. All I have is a picture of the wooden case and its handle. How can I find out which model it is with only this information?

A small screwdriver inserted into the lock and turned will open the lock as it is a simple lock design. Use a screwdriver about 1/8 to 3/16 across the widest part of the tip. Once you have the serial #, ask your local dealer for the date of manufacture. Please bear in mind that Singer made thousands of these machines which seem to never wear out due to their simplicity, and that therefore there are still a lot of them in basements, attics, etc. The value of these old machines actually lies in the cabinetry. The better shape the cabinet is in, the number of drawers, etc., determines the value.

It will sew a few stitiches and then it gives the broken thread error and never is the thread broken. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong and it get very frustrating. Can anyone help?

You are not threading it right. It does not thread like all those other sewing machines. Or any that you have ever had before in the past. Go look here and follow all the instructions- because it has a very unusual/uncommon way of threading it.

www.futura-support.com

In a nutshell, when you put the thread in/through the top tension device (which is a plastic roller device not round metal normal tension friction disks at all) you need to hold thread with both hands and more "pull and pop it in" pullling it towards you. After you think it is in right, still holding it in both hands, one on either side of the top tension device, you need to move your hands back and forth sideways, sort of like flossing your teeth with dental floss, to be sure you have that upper thread fully in there. It’s threading is just very different from other machines in that one weird, unusual way. So, if you do not get the thread fully into your upper tension device, it will give you that broken thread message over and over again, even if your upper thread is not broken at all.

I want to learn how to sew. i want do be able to make dresses for my two little girls and start selling some I make but first I need a sewing machine. I saw a Singer Futura CE-150 Sewing and Embroidery Machine at walmart because I would also like to embroider but costs $539 and I cannot afford that. Does anyone have any suggestions on a good sewing machine.

For embroidery, consider learning to do free motion embroidery on a sewing machine… any sewing machine will do. Here’s a pro working — though his setup is a little easier, it’s the same idea:
http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/3833/video-manuels-free-motion-embroidery-technique
And something less fancy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8hFRab26BE

As far as a sewing machine, I’d definitely suggest you want to get a model with a blindhem stitch… otherwise my basic suggestions are below. Please note that using a home sewing machine for business voids the warranty (they’re not meant for the duty cycle of sewing for a business), and that as soon as you learn the basic machine operation, I’m going to strongly suggest that you want to borrow Carol Ahles’ book, Fine Machine Sewing, from the library and at least learn her methods of machine blindhemming — it’ll save you lots and lots of time.

If you truly are going to use home machines to make stuff to sell, I’d buy a basic sewing machine (see below) and a decent 4 thread serger ASAP. Add computerized embroidery to that if you wish later.

My basic beginner sewing machine rant:
Take a look at Kate Dicey’s essay on choosing sewing machines at
http://www.katedicey.co.uk (and take a look around at her site…
there are a lot of nice little tutorials there!). The FAQ she
refers to is at http://preview.tinyurl.com/l5rzu6 now.

What I want for beginners in sewing:

- a machine that doesn’t scare you

- a machine that isn’t balky (cheap new machines are often very
balky or need adjustments often and are rarely repairable — just
too frustrating to learn on!)

- very good straight stitch

- good zigzag (4-5 mm is fine, more than that is gravy)

- a method of making buttonholes that makes sense to you

- adjustable presser foot pressure (which helps some fabric
handling issues)

- accessory presser feet that don’t cost an arm and a leg
(machines that use a "short shank foot" typically handle generic
presser feet pretty well. Some brands of machines use proprietary
or very expensive presser feet)

If the budget stretches far enough:

- blindhem and stretch blindhem stitches

- triple zigzag (nice for elastic applications)

- a couple of decorative stitches (you won’t use them nearly as
much as you think)

- electronic machine because of the needle position control and
because the stepper motors give you full "punching force" at
slow sewing speeds — mechanical machines often will stall at
slow speeds.

Please go to the best sewing machine dealers around and ask them
to show you some machines in your price range, *especially* used
machines you can afford. You’ll get a far better machine at a
specific price buying used than new and a good dealer is worth
their weight in sewing machine needles when you get a machine
problem — often they can talk you through the problem over the
phone. While you’re trying things out, try a couple of machines
(sewing only, not combo sewing-embroidery) over your price limit,
just so you can see what the difference in stitch quality and
ease of use might be. You may find you want to go for the used
Cadillac. Or you might want the new basic Chevy. Might as well
try both out.

Suggested reading: John Giordano’s The Sewing Machine Book
(especially for used machines), Carol Ahles’ Fine Machine Sewing
(especially the first and last few chapters) and Gale Grigg
Hazen’s Owner’s Guide to Sewing Machines, Sergers and Knitting
Machines. All of these are likely to be available at your public
library.

Used brands I’d particularly look for: Elna, Bernina,
Viking/Husqvarna, Pfaff, Singer (pre 1970), Juki, Toyota

New "bargain brand" I’d probably pick, if new, decent and budget
was my choice: Janome (who also does Kenmore).

I’m looking for a machine that is not overly expensive, but also works well. It just needs to be able to hem pants, sew seams, and to be used in making simple garments for home use (mostly children sized!). I took fashion/sewing classes in school for three years, so I’m competent in most functions and the basic parts of a machine, so that shouldn’t be a problem.

One I have been looking at is the Singer Prelude 8280. The only issue I have found so far is that the bobbin is loose and can tangle thread… But I have read that its adjustable and fixable.

What are your opinions? Thanks in advance!!

I strongly discourage sewers from buying the Singer brand today. When I was a child, it was the best brand around. In subsequent years, they moved their engineering and manufacturing operations off shore and the quality disappeared.

Buying a used machine from a reputable dealer will be a much better use of your money. Just make sure that it has a 90 day parts and labor guarantee and when you take it home, sew the stuffings out of it right away. That way, any marginal components will fail during the warranty period.

I sew on Bernina machines. Janome and Viking are also reliable brands.

I would like to know if I would be able to sew a very thick fabric with a basic Singer home machine. The fabric would be one of those quilted moving blanket. If my machine can do it, what kind of needle should I use. Also, at the moment, my machine is bundling/knotting up at the bottom, under the needle, inside the machine. What should I do to fix this? Thanks.

Depends on the model of the machine… Singer made some fine machines pre-1970 that can handle anything you put under the presser foot. After that, it really, really depends on the model, it seems.

The loopies on the bottom are the result of not enough tension on the upper thread. Take a look at the pairs of photos at http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/22521551 — the first pair show normal stitching with blue thread on the top and red on the bobbin. The others show what sort of stitching you get with minor misthreadings and improper seam starting. When you thread the upper part of the sewing machine with the presser foot in the down position, the thread does not enter the tension disks and then loops form on the bottom of the stitching. If you try to sew with the presser foot up (an easy mistake to make when dealing with quilts and thick fabrics), likewise there is no tension on the top thread because the presser foot is up, causing the tension disks to be open.

The needle you want for quilting is called a "quilting needle" by Schmetz… slightly different eye style and point. If you’re working with a knitted fabric, like fleece, you’d use a large universal or ballpoint needle.

Here’s the 10 minute fix for what ails most sewing machines:

– Dig out the manual. Take all the thread out of/off of the
machine. Pull the needleplate and the bobbin case if it’s
removeable. Clean and oil per the manual’s recommendation. Use a
brush and vacuum, not compressed air (which blows lint in
farther), and real sewing machine oil, not 3-in-1 type oil (it
hardens and freezes the machine) nor WD-40 type stuff (it’s a
solvent, not a lubricant).

– Put in a new needle of the correct point style for the fabric
you’re sewing (ballpoint for knits, sharps for wovens) and the
right size for the thickness of fabric (10/70 for shirting weight
fabrics, 12/80 for heavy shirtings or light pantsweight. 14/90
for medium to heavy pantsweight, 16/100 for very heavy fabrics.
Make sure the needle is in right way around — a needle in
backwards will skip stitches or not stitch at all.

– Take a good look at the bobbin. If it’s lumpy or you spot
loops, strip off the thread and rewind. Bobbins should be
smoothly and evenly wound. Wind at a slow, steady speed — it
helps with tension issues if the thread isn’t stretching as it’s
being wound.

– Rethread, with manual in hand. Make sure the presser foot is
UP when you thread the top — it opens the top tension so that
the thread actually gets in between the tension disk (loops on
the bottom, not enough tension on top).

– Fetch up the bobbin thread. You need about a 4" tail of thread
top and bottom. Run both threads under the presser foot and
behind it.

– If you’ve been playing with the top tension, set it to 4. If
you’ve been playing with the bobbin tension, let me know and
we’ll try to rebalance it, but you’re likely to have to take it
into the shop.

Now, each and every time you start to sew a seam, this is how you
do it:

1) Place the fabric under the needle, and use the handwheel to
lower the needle into the fabric (be sure to turn it the right
way… seee the manual).

2) Drop the presser foot.

3) Hold the thread tails behind the presser foot with your left
hand.

4) Take a couple of stitches

5) Drop the thread tails and sew normally.

If this doesn’t fix your problems, you may have some thread
caught farther in the machine than you can spot… doesn’t take
much for some machines to start pitching a fit. Or you may have
accidentally knocked the machine out of time with one of the
jams. Bad timing is actually a fairly rare event, often preceeded
by broken needles and loud noises, but a good solid jam is
another way to throw off the timing. You can check here to see if
you think timing is the problem:
<http://www.sewusa.com/Sewing_Machine_Repair/Sewing Machine Hook
Timing.htm> or http:// tinyurl.com/ smtiming (you’ll have to
paste that back together) but that’s generally something that a
repair shop needs to adjust.

Really good habit to cultivate: whenever you sit down at the
machine for the first time that day, take two minutes and give it
a basic cleaning. You’ll save $$$ on repair bills and extend the
life of the machine.

:

I got this old sewing machine from my great aunt and i cleaned it and now i want to know how to thread it. It sold not like the newer ones so i dont even know how to insert the bobbin. please help if you know there are no two slots on it and ive watched so many videos and none of them have the same slot for the bobbin as a do. The sewing machine is a singer zig zag 785 model. thanks!

I’m not even finding a Singer 785 on the Singer website for old manuals. Sure you got the right number?
http://www.singerco.com/accessories/manuals.html

How to find the model number: http://www.singerco.com/support/model_number.html

In any case, it’s going to be a round bobbin, either drop in or in a bobbin case. See the bobbin sections under "sewing machine" here: http://www.singerco.com/resources/operation_basics.html

If it still doesn’t make sense, could you please put up a photo of the bobbin case and bobbin someplace like phototrail or flickr and give us a URL?

I am a non-korean (specifically Vietnamese) and I am almost sixteen. What are the chances of passing korean auditions and becoming a korean singer? I can sing and dance pretty well.

I’m Korean and I’m just gonna be honest with you and tell you that it won’t be very easy. It’s already really hard for the Koreans, and I bet you that it’d be twice as hard for non Koreans. Entertainments such as SM actually takes trainees at the age of 7-10 and trains them until they’re in their early twenties to actually debut them as singers. It’s not impossible though. There are non Korean singers in SM such as the Chinese member in SJ and Thai member in 2PM, but they’re both pretty fluent in Korean. To make debuting in Korea as a possibility you have to be at least fluent in Korean. I hope this helped. Good luck to you!

AKON

p.s. this is a song and not a single hymn of kabir

*If u mention the name of the film …… it would help !
Also, is it a male or female voice ……!!~☺