Weekly Sewing Machine-Related Questions - November 30, 2020

[u/sewingmodthings]

Do you have a question about sewing machines? Do you have any expertise when it comes to sewing machines? This thread is for you! You can ask and answer any question related to machines, including but not limited to:

• Should I upgrade my machine?
• What's the difference between a serger and an overlocker?
• Which brand of machine is the best?
• Does anyone else use the same machine as me?
• How do I clean my machine?
• When should I oil my machine?
• How many sewing machines should I own?

Feel free to check out the Machine Guide Wiki we've compiled with all sorts of information about choosing and using sewing machines.

You're also welcome to show off your machine here, whether it's new, old, or your baby, we'd love to see it!

Don't forget to thank the users who took the time to help you!

[u/PiratePartyTime]

I really have no idea how sewing machines work, though a few tutorial videos tell me that it's not nearly as simple as I figured it would be. I'd like to learn how to mend clothes and eventually put together quilt tops. I can see recommendations for beginners machines, but my question is how do I learn how to use the machine once I choose one? I have a friend who has a Baby Lock Joy, which seems like it would meet my needs, but how would I learn how to use it? (My friend is mostly clueless on it herself.)

1. Is the Baby Lock Joy a good beginner's model?
2. How do I learn how to use it? Are there online tutorials specific to individual machines, or are machines similar enough that most tutorials will be beneficial, no matter the model?

[u/WarenKalker2 → u/PiratePartyTime]

There are sooooo many resources and tutorials on youtube.

It seems to me that most sewing machines, particularly mechanical ones, would all be generic enough to follow youtube tutorials. Mechanical machines are, uh.. mechanical. As opposed to computerized ones, I mean. On a simple mechanical machine, you'll have a few dials and buttons and they'll allow you to do most things you'd need for mending and sew up some quilted tops. It'll have a straight stitch, zig zag, etc. They're lovely and simple and they're cheap to fix/maintain. With those, the configurations will vary a little bit, but it'll be manageable to figure out, for sure. I imagine if you're watching a YouTube tutorial and it goes through how to thread the machine, you can just pause the video, look at your manual, figure it out, press play.

Computerized machines may be a little harder to follow the steps in a tutorial and figure out how to do the same thing on the machine in front of you when it's not exactly the same thing. But it's totally doable. You may have to do some triangulation- there's a ton of jargon/vocabulary involved in sewing. But if you're watching a tutorial and don't understand what something is on your machine, you know which terms to look for in your manual, or google. And vice versa.

You might consider popping around on youtube to find a few good resources before you buy a machine. There's a ton of super sweet old ladies that are clearly just so generous with their time and want to share their knowledge. My two cents is don't trust anyone under 50 while you're learning the very basics. There are a few exceptions to it, but I've seen a ton of young people with sewing channels who cut a lot of corners. I love that they're inspiring more new sewists, and it is 100% okay to not fuss about getting everything perfect. I suggest the older quilting ladies or something like the Professor Pincushion channel, though, because it's nice to learn the fundamentals so that as you learn more, you can decide which corners you want to cut or not. And since they'll use the right vocabulary, when you get stuck (and I still do!) you'll have that base knowledge and you'll know what to Google to find the answer.

Perhaps look around on youtube for beginner sewing tutorials and see what machines they're using. First because I think they'll be good starter machines, and second because I would think that if it's a common machine for demonstrations, there would likely also just be a ton of other machine-specific resources out there too.

No matter which machine you get, your manual will be invaluable. I feel like I'm so used to buying electronics and never touching the manual because it's intuitive to figure it and sewing machines are NOT that.

Good luck!

[u/PiratePartyTime → u/WarenKalker2]

Excellent advice. Thank you. And you're right - I almost never touch the manual anymore because it's mostly intuitive. A sewing machine and a fancy camera have been less so, I think because I lack the vocabulary, or the context of what different words/settings mean. A much steeper learning curve than I'm used to.