Sewing Machine Beginner Advice

[brownbear]

My daughter just received a "Singer Start 1304" for her birthday. Neither she, my wife, nor I really know how to use one and what types of "things" can be made on this machine. Any suggestions for beginner classes? Online tutorials that have helped you? I'm a big YouTube watcher for sure... Stepping in to day one without any background knowledge can be a bit daunting. Thanks for sharing.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

If YOU want to sew up some gear you'd be much better off looking around goodwill and craigslist for some older all metal machines which are typically pretty cheap as sewing is sort of a lost art and folks get rid of mom's old machine etc. which was expensive in the day but they don't see a value in it now.

 

[brownbear]

Funny you mentioned... I have my grandmother's Pre-WWII Tikka upstairs. The directions (which I still have) are in Finnish... Never used it, but didn't want dad to toss it when she passed. Girls just left for JoAnne Fabrics to pic up some thread. We'll be playing around with it this afternoon. I'm thinking a few wool clothing storage bags (like Kuiu includes) could be a good first project. Did you take any classes, or dive right in? Whatever experience you have has been good, as the pockets you made are awesome!

 

[gudspelr]

See if there’s a machine repair shop near you. With my old Good Houskeeper, I had no directions and the Internet wasn’t super helpful. I got pointed to the sewing machine shop and it was the best thing I ended up doing. They showed me what did what on the machine, how to thread it, etc. I ended up paying them $45 or so to give it a tune up and it was well worth it. I’ve since been back a few times and they’re always good enough to help me with whatever questions I’ve had.

For my first projects I did some zipper pull outs that I gave to the boys. I followed a tutorial that was done here on Rokslide and it was really helpful. Then I sewed up some quilts with Apex insulation, followed by a silpoly tarp, then the pyramid tent. Shockingly enough, they all came out okay. As long as you can get the machine threaded properly and make a straight stitch, you’re pretty well set. The zig zag stitch can come in handy at times, but that’s really about it. Check out Ripstop by the rolls site and YouTube videos. They show one way to make stuff sacks and also sell kits with the material to make some. They also have a closeout/sale area on their site which I find dangerous to look at. You can get whatever amounts of silnylon or whatever you’d like to mess around with that’s cheaper. It definitely helps to do some sewing with the thinner, coated materials so you get used to how it runs through the machine and you can figure out your tension.


Jeremy

 

[mtnrunner260]

Find a widowed grandma who sews and she would be more than happy to mentor your daughter and family.

 

[gumbl3]

Zippered Box Pouch Tutorial- How to install a zipper - YouTube

I had this one bookmarked for help on how to make pullouts. It's a pretty good starter project for your daughter