So I’m getting a new sewing machine.
I have an old Singer 327. The manual was printed in 1968, though “June 22, 1970″ is written on the inside cover so I assume it was purchased then. That still means it’s seen about (to date) 38 years of heavy use, which is pretty darn good for a machine. It was somebody’s, then it was my Mom’s, and then it slowly became mine as I would sneak into her room while she was out making projects. It moved with me to my first apartment and has turned me from an ocasional dabbler into a full-fledged sewer, though my talents are still pretty limited.
I’ve been toying with replacing it for years, but it seems like a shame to get rid of a perfectly good machine. The fabric doesn’t crawl on its own anymore and the clank and clatter of the moving parts (no matter how greased up they are) makes me worry about sewing projects at night while my neighbors try to sleep. Occasionally the bobbin thread will become inexplicably tangled, it didn’t always feed right, but it’s a machine and it did everything I needed it to, which for me right now means: it can sew a secure straight line. With (somewhat) consistant, even stitches. I don’t do clothes, I don’t do many heavy-duty bags, I do napkins and hot-bowl rags and sew bits of fabric together to make quilts.
The plan wasn’t really “run it into the ground,” but more like “milk it for all it’s worth”. Nurse it along until it will not run any more. So last week when I hit the pedal and nothing happened, I turned knobs and cleaned it out and greased it up to see if it just was needing some love. When I floored the pedal and the needle barely moved, I knew that this required skill beyond my own to repair, if it was possible. I took it to Montavilla and explained what was wrong with it. Adam took one look at my elderly machine and gently told me that when the motor dies, there’s very little that can be done. There are replacement motors out there on used websites, but for the price he said it might almost make more sense to buy a new machine. He said “just use it until you can’t any more.” I said, “I think that’s where I’m at now.” And he began to show me around some new machines.
I know he is wont to do this anyway, since they sell machines at his shop, but really I’m okay with getting a new one. I cannot use the Singer as it is, and there are a lot of drawbacks to fixing it and letting it limp along. I want to learn more about sewing and do more complicated projects. At this point I feel like my machine might be more limiting than enabling, which defeats the whole purpose of using a machine in the first place. I’ve never had a new machine and it would be really nice to do something like sew a zipper without worrying that I am stressing the gears too much. I doubt a new one will last almost forty years, but you never know.
Adam and I played around with a few machines and I told him I’d be back Sunday to make my final decision. I’m trying to researach a bit into brands, but I think ultimately for me it’s about what it can do, not about who makes it. If it breaks I can take it there and have them fix it, so I’m not too worried about that.
A bit sad though, in a faraway, nostalgic type of way.
