The Blog of The Bride of Sesshomaru

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Welcome to my sewing, historical reenactment, and CosPlay blog! Here on this blog you will find all of my random thoughts about sewing, the SCA, manga, anime, CosPlay, costume making, embroidery, sewing historically accurate Japanese costumes, and my fandom of Lord Sesshomaru whom I CrossPlay as.

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Monday, May 12, 2008

Sewing Machines


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Sewing Machines

Ah! More question and answer thingies for me to fill out! I love those! I found this one on CosPlay.com. Here are the questions and my answers:

[B]1) What Machine do you own? Include the maker and model number please![/B]

    Brother LS-2125, which replaced a Singer that was very similar in type

    I also still have my old machine which is a JCPenny one from the 1970's that I keep because it does like 200 decorative top stitches. I literally used that machine to death, there was a while when it was running steady day in and day out for weeks on end, I was using it like a "professional" machine and killed the motor as a result. It'll still sew, but it goes slow and stops after an hour or so (I think it over heats), so I only use it for top stitching now.


[B]2) when did you purchase it/how old is it?[/B]

    Well, the flood that destroyed my old sewing machine, happened in May of 2006, and I got this one the fall of that same year, so its about 2 years old

[B]3) How much sewing experience do you have? (how long sewing, how advanced your projects are)[/B]

    My mother was a seamstress. I sewed my first cloth doll at age six. At age 12 I sewed my first ball gown. At age 14 I enrolled in a two-year college course in pattern making and fashion design. At age 16 I sewed my first dress made from my own pattern designed by me. Today, 13 years later 90% of my clothing consists of historical re-enactment costumes all designed and sewed by me, made from my own patterns. In my most extreme, things are hand embellished with embroidery and bead work, I do a lot of hand sewing in addition to machine sewing. Though I do not sell my work, I sew on a very advanced professional level, such as compared to designers in France and Italy. I have devoted a great deal of my life to perfecting my sewing and designing skills, my ultimate goal is to open my own shop selling Gothic apparel, historical reenactment garbs, and CosPlay costumes..

[B]4) what do you like most about the machine?[/B]

    I like that it is a light weight "travel" model, making it easy to pack up and take with me, just about anywhere.

    Initially I bought it because, as I said, a flood pretty much destroyed everything, and me living without a sewing machine is just out of the question. I was short on cash and needed a machine that would go anywhere and do all the basic things (straight and zig zag), and I needed a machine that I could buy right than, instantly without having to save up for it or take out a loan for it , so I ended up in WalMart and bought the one machine they had that, judging from the display machines, was the best buy for the money.

    Basically it's a good, inexpensive machine that will get the work done. It has no special features, no computer, basically it is no different from a machine you would have bought in the 1950s - 1970s I think it was like $149 or something like that.

[B]5) what do you not like?[/B]

    I wish it was a more "heavy duty" machine, like my old JCPenny one was (which cost like $300 back in the 1970's, when the average machine was just $50).

    There really isn't anything to not like about it, I mean it's a cheap "student's" machine, so it does what it's made to do and nothing more. I'll have to dish out more money if I want a better quality machine, but for now it suits me, as I don't sew quite as much as I used to. If I start up full time sewing day in and day out again though, I'd need a better machine as I don't think this one is built to take that kind of steady use.

[B]6) Would you recommend your machine to a fellow cosplayer?[/B]

    Oh, most definitely. It's a good reliable machine. Great for the occasional sewer, who only makes a costume once every few months or just wants to make a few crafty gift items for birthdays and Christmas, and such. For the average home sewer this'll do just fine.

    If you wanted to go professional, though, and start whipping out a couple of costumes a week, than you'd need a better quality than this one though.


In the past I've sewed on several other machines as well, including one of those old green Singers from the 1940s! (boy did that thing drive like a tank! I think it would sew through a block of wood if you told it too!)

From the machines I've used, I'd say most any Singer built before the 1980 would be a good buy, so long as it's still running.

I tend to steer clear of digital and computerized machines, simply because they seem to focus more on the little details, lie embroidering logos and such, and I do all my embroidery by hand because it looks so much better than machine, even if it does take 2 weeks to hand sew what a machine can sew in under 5 minutes.

I'd recommend getting 2 machines. One cheap, light weight travel/student type that you can take on the road with you and use for you basic small stuff on a daily basis; and one heavy duty (possible older) model that you can use for years and years and sew through any fabric you feed into it.





What's your take on this? I'd love to hear what you have to say about this post. Leave a comment and share your views!



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