Sewing machine for work clothes

[acer66]

Just saw the thread about sewing machines for upholstery and it got me thinking.

I am considering getting a sewing machine for fixing my work clothes.
I wear nothing special, the usual mix of regular working gear from the usual brands but some more heavy winter clothing geared towards general construction.

Most heavy duty task would be to sew a patch onto pants which means double the thickness of the already thicker work clothes.

Does a regular sewing machine do the trick or does it need to be a more heavy duty one?

The upholstery thread https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=406639&page=2

Thank you.

 

[dfiler2]

I bought this one about two years ago for light upholstery work and so far it has worked well. We do lot of furniture re-purposing, so chair and bench cushions mostly. I think there is also a pretty good used market out there if you are in a more populated area.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003VWXZQ0/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[acer66]

I bought this one about two years ago for light upholstery work and so far it has worked well. We do lot of furniture re-purposing, so chair and bench cushions mostly. I think there is also a pretty good used market out there if you are in a more populated area.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003VWXZQ0/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Cool and good that you brought up furniture because I often get old chairs and a lot of them need upholstery work.

 

[Mirage]

I'd look around and see if you can find something older for cheap, way more metal parts and most are built like tanks. I took the best sewing machine my wife's grandmother had when she passed, no one else in the family was interested, IIRC it's a singer 416 from the early 70s. I later got a Singer 500 "Rocketeer" made in '59 because I got a hell of a deal off Craigslist and it has way more settings/options than the 416 had. Gave them both a thorough cleaning and oiling and they have been quite reliable for the little sewing jobs I've done.

Sent from my SM-G975U using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[lilredex]

Look for an older model with a cast iron frame, a free arm feature is a big bonus.

I have a Brother from the early seventies with both of the above.....does all my fixin'.

 

[welder4956]

When my wife had her alterations shop she used Singer and Juki commercial machines that worked well on heavy material. But one of the workers had a walking foot Bernina household machine that worked very good on jeans and leather vests.

 

[CTyankee]

Look for an older model with a cast iron frame, a free arm feature is a big bonus.

I have a Brother from the early seventies with both of the above.....does all my fixin'.

X 2 on the free arm, can make certain tasks like hemming pants a heck of a lot easier.

 

[Bretny]

After a lot of research about sewing machines a few years ago I bought a Juki. All said Singer where ****. I paid $139 shipped for it. It's there lower end model but does many dif stitches so idk what else's one would need to do.

 

[stokefire7]

I've been in the market for some time for a used commercial unit with a walking foot. Wife wants me to make some drapes.

 

[Whitworth]

If buying new get a Baby Lock.

 

[rlitman]

I've been in the market for some time for a used commercial unit with a walking foot. Wife wants me to make some drapes.

What the hell kind of drapes does she want that requires a commercial walking foot machine?!? Do you live in a 2000 seat theater?

 

[rburke65]

Years ago, I wanted to repair my jeans like you, but the singer we had wouldn’t go through the 2, 3, 4 layers denim....breaking needles n not enough “***” to penetrate the material. At a Home show in Cleveland I saw a demo of a Viking sewing machine made by Husqvarna. It was able to sew10 layers of denim, as well as leather and it made no difference if it was going one mph or 60 mph. No problem. I bought it on the spot. So you might want to look at a repair shop or Craig’s list.

 

[cvairwerks]

For patches, just learn to use a needle and thread and whip stitch them down. Faster and easier than trying to wrestle a heavy leg onto the machine arm.