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an HONEST & DETAILED review of Singer Heavy Duty sewing machines — Transcript

by haileyisonthemoon · 6,343 words · 889 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00If this machine was a person, we would
0:02be scrapping in the parking lot of an
0:04abandoned Jo-Ann's. In my last video, I
0:07may have said some flippantly
0:09disparaging comments about the Singer
0:12Heavy Duty machines. This is my
0:15unfiltered, totally biased, and negative
0:19review of the Singer Heavy Duty series.
0:21Important note, if you have this
0:23machine, do not worry. The best sewing
0:26machine is the one that you can get your
0:27hands on. This is this is this is us
0:30just having
0:32having a little talk. We're just being
0:33chatty, that's all. Okay, don't take it
0:35seriously, but also maybe take it a
0:38little seriously. At first, I was going
0:39to go through like this long history of
0:42Singer, but I'm really not a history
0:45teacher. I'm just a 30-year-old with
0:47ADHD. So, TLDDR, Singer has been around
0:51since 1851. That's before the Civil War
0:54ended in the United States. Okay, keep
0:56that in mind. That is a long time. They
0:59were incredibly influential and
1:01innovative in the 20th century, leading
1:03in the industry in market share and
1:06quality and durability. That's important
1:08to keep in mind. But in 2004, they were
1:11acquired by
1:14that was really bad [laughter]
1:16by private equity. And if you go on any
1:20discussion board, if you go on any like
1:24Reddit thread, there is always someone
1:27saying that the quality of Singer
1:29machines have gone down. Mind you,
1:33Singer has led the market for a very,
1:36very, very long time. They've been
1:38around for like 160 years. But there is
1:41a general consensus among seists that
1:44their domestic sewing machines at the
1:46very least the quality has gone down. If
1:49you've used a vengeance Singer and
1:51you've also used a modern machine, let
1:53me know your experience. I would be
1:55really curious to hear about that. Why I
1:57bought the Singer heavy duty and some
1:59things that I actually like about it. To
2:01start off, I was looking for a basic
2:04mechanical sewing machine because I was
2:06under the impression that mechanical
2:08machines were like more durable and more
2:12reliable than computerized machines. I'm
2:15not sure how how based in reality that
2:18is anymore, but it is something that
2:20people say that mechanical machines are
2:21more reliable than computerized
2:23machines. That was a part of my
2:24criteria. I very specifically bought the
2:27Sinker heavyduty 4432 and I paid
2:30anywhere from $250 to $300. But the
2:34reasons I bought this machine were
2:36number one brand recognition, number
2:38two, the price, and number three the
2:40number of stitches, specifically the
2:42onestep button hole. And I'm not just
2:45going to sit and bash on this thing.
2:46Some things that I like about the
2:48machine are the price. I think the price
2:50is great for I think that's a perfect
2:53price point like $1500 to $300 for your
2:56first sewing machine especially if you
2:58don't know if you're going to really
3:00love sewing. Two, the parts specifically
3:03presser feet are really cheap. Um if you
3:05ever have like if you ever buy an a
3:08semi-industrial or industrial machine or
3:11just a sewing machine with like one of
3:12the long where the shaft is like an
3:14actual long arm. Long arm is not the
3:17right word cuz there are sewing machines
3:18that are long arms. Anyway, you know
3:19what I mean. If you if you know what I
3:21mean, you know what I mean. It higher
3:23priced machines typically have higher
3:25priced parts, specifically presser feet.
3:27And with the Singer Heavy Duty, you can
3:29buy a nice little pack of presser feet
3:32and get a lot of functionality for
3:34pretty cheap, which I think is a major
3:36major plus. Number three, it is really
3:38easy to use. Um, as someone who has
3:41threaded machines as a child, it was
3:43like when I was, you know, threading it,
3:46it just was like muscle memory. very
3:48simple. Really nothing to write home
3:52about in terms of use. You don't really
3:54have to train yourself or anything to
3:56use this machine. And number four,
3:58they're really cute. Right now, I see
4:00people are buying like pink ones and
4:02black ones. And if I if they had had
4:04pink and black ones when I was buying
4:06them, which they probably did, but I was
4:08so laser focused on just getting the
4:10machine that I didn't really do that
4:12much research. [laughter] I probably
4:14would have bought a pink one cuz pink is
4:16my favorite color. Uh, so I do think
4:18that that like the cuteness of the
4:19machine is definitely
4:21a reason why I bought it. It's adorable.
4:24So getting into my criticisms, I have
4:26two parts to my criticisms. One part is
4:29quality issues, objective things that
4:31I've observed while using the machine.
4:33And the second is what I like to call
4:36quality of life things or things that I
4:38noticed after having used it for a while
4:41and kind of doing different projects and
4:43kind of figuring out what it is I wanted
4:45out of my out of my sewing journey. For
4:48the quality issues,
4:50I think that my [laughter] experience
4:52with the quality of this machine is
4:54summed up really well by this comment
4:57from Kenny Joy. I just ditched my Singer
5:00heavy duty for an industrial. I felt
5:02like I was being gaslit by all the
5:04people recommending it.
5:07I really identify with this because I've
5:10been fighting for my life with using
5:13this machine. Okay, so let's get into
5:15it. Number one, the lack of a physical
5:18manual. This one's not that big, but for
5:20me, I really love like I bought this
5:22machine so that I could work with my
5:24hands. I don't want to have to download
5:27a manual for it. I also want to be able
5:31to, let me show you some of my
5:34other manuals that I've gotten with
5:35other sewing machines. I tab them. I
5:38refer to these. If I have a problem, I
5:40don't Google it. I go straight to the
5:42manual. A good manual has illustrations,
5:45good illustrations with like examples of
5:48exactly what's going wrong. They have
5:50tables of like issues and stuff like
5:52that. This is my serger. I I tabbed it
5:55as well. This is my EB1 Jukie button
5:58holder. Like look at how thick this is.
6:00Of course, some of it's like in other
6:01languages and stuff. The one that came
6:03with the Singer heavy duty was more of
6:05like a pamphlet. Like I didn't even take
6:07it out because it was like of no use to
6:10me. Um it's probably in the basement
6:12somewhere. For a company that's been
6:14around for so long, I would think that
6:16they would really have their
6:18documentation and their manuals like
6:20locked in, ready to go for people who
6:23buy these machines. Also, I think if you
6:25buy anything for like over $75,
6:29there should be a nice meaty little
6:33documentation booklet to go with what
6:35you bought. It's just a personal belief.
6:37You know, you can roast me in the
6:40comments for that. But I just feel like
6:41there should be something really robust
6:44coming with the machine. And I remember
6:46opening it and being like, "This is it?
6:49Damn." Like, there should be more.
6:52[gasps]
6:52Number two, the plastic and the moving
6:55parts. Everybody says the frame is
6:57metal. The frame is metal,
6:59but the outside of it is very plasticky
7:03and feels very cheaply made. Like when
7:06you like, you know, like tap on it,
7:13it just doesn't feel durable. And I'm
7:16not sure how you can call something
7:18heavy duty and have like the whole
7:22exterior of it made out of plastic.
7:26I just don't like the way that the
7:28plastic looks. It's not even like a hard
7:30acrylic. Um like my Juki comes with like
7:34a sewing table that comes with it and
7:36that is like a hard acrylic. Um and it's
7:41not even hard like that. It's like
7:43literal. It's just plasticky and it
7:45feels it feels cheap. Honestly, it does
7:48sew really fast and it does pierce, but
7:52also the like the shaft. I don't exactly
7:54know what the name of it is, but you
7:55know the part that goes up and down with
7:56the needle. I'm just calling a shaft.
7:59It's very easy to move it.
8:09And whenever you're sewing with multiple
8:12layers, a quilt for example, which this
8:15machine is not made for quilting, so you
8:17can ding me on that, but even if you're
8:18doing like a little mini quilt, which is
8:21good for like quilting mini things like
8:22vests and like mini quilts and stuff
8:24like that, but like a full quilt, you're
8:26going to struggle, which I will get
8:28into. [laughter] But if you're sewing
8:30something with multiple layers, like a
8:31jacket or a quilt or a bag, I find that
8:35the shaft shifts really easily. And I
8:38just feel like for something that's
8:39marketed as heavy duty, you shouldn't be
8:42able to move the parts that easily. I
8:45could be wrong. Maybe because it is a
8:47zigzag machine and I'm very used to my
8:49straight stitch machine where the shaft
8:51is like it is locked in there. So if you
8:53have like insight on that, like please
8:55let me know. I would love to hear other
8:57people's perspectives about this. From
9:00my experience, the plastic and like the
9:02shaft moving were just like, "This
9:04doesn't feel as advertised as heavy
9:07duty." Number three, the uneven feeding
9:11and tension issues. [sighs and gasps]
9:13So, I first noticed the uneven feeding
9:16when I was piercing, not piercing,
9:18piecing a quilt top together. It was
9:20just like slight puckering. Like if two
9:23pieces of fabric were like the same
9:24length, and I knew that they were the
9:26same length. When I would get to the end
9:27of sewing them, they would be a little
9:30uneven. And that uneven feeding is
9:33really not what you want when you're
9:35piecing two things together that really
9:37should be the same length. Once I saw
9:39the uneven feeding, I really couldn't
9:41unsee it, and it was really, really
9:43annoying. I tend to not reach for this
9:46machine for anything where I need like
9:48real precision in terms of the tension
9:51issues.
9:53So many bird's nests. Now y'all, I know
9:57I know how to thread a sewing machine. I
10:02know how to thread one. I'm not an
10:04idiot. But this sewing machine when the
10:06when I take it down and I go to use it,
10:09I have to rethread it two or three times
10:11because I get bird's nests on the
10:13bottom. It makes me think that there's
10:16some kind of like timing issue or just
10:20like you can
10:22I don't know. I don't know. And you
10:24know, here's the thing. I don't want to
10:25have to figure it out. You know, I
10:27bought this machine thinking that this
10:28is going to be a workhorse. This is
10:30going to be a good general machine. I
10:32don't want to have to rethread it
10:33multiple multiple times when I'm just
10:35trying to do something simple like take
10:37in a shirt. And I know some people are
10:39going to be like, "Maybe you didn't
10:40maintain your machine or maybe you need
10:42to like put oil in it or d this, this,
10:45this, this, this, this, this, this,
10:45this, this, this, and that." I clean the
10:46dust out. I give it oil. And not only
10:48that, but I went to a community quilting
10:51event where we were making a community
10:52quilt in Detroit. And they had a bunch
10:55of these Singer heavy duty machines.
10:57They actually had the like I think it
10:59was more like the 44 40 4411 or
11:01something like that, the really base
11:02one. I was experiencing
11:06the same kind of threading tension
11:08issues at this event with my machine and
11:12I, you know, went to the event
11:13organizer. I was like, "Hey, like I
11:14can't get this to work. I've rethreaded
11:16it multiple times. I've redid the bobin
11:17and they couldn't get it to work either.
11:19They're just so finicky. Like once they
11:22start having those tension issues, it's
11:24just so freaking annoying. I know what
11:27you're thinking. Go get it serviced. The
11:28cost of getting it serviced is probably
11:30going to cost more than the machine. Not
11:31that that should be an indicator for
11:33getting it serviced or not, but I don't
11:35even know where I could find a sewing
11:38machine servicing place or repair shop.
11:40Those are becoming far and few in
11:43between. I don't know the that that
11:45phrase, but you know what I mean. It's
11:47hard to find those things, especially if
11:49you live like in the middle of nowhere.
11:51Number four, I don't think these
11:54machines perform very well with lighter
11:56fabrics. This machine, it tends to like
12:00swallow fabric into the feed dogs, like
12:02into the little slits of the feed dogs
12:04underneath the presser foot. Especially
12:06if it's on the light side, like sewing
12:08with like a light rayon,
12:12forget it. Forget it. Especially with
12:14all of the like quality issues I have
12:16very specifically with my machine. Now,
12:19I saw several people in my last video
12:21saying that they sew denim, they sew
12:23corsets, they sew bags. Like, they can
12:25do it. And so what I will say is that I
12:28think this machine's really good with
12:29sewing thicker fabric. I want to read
12:31two comments from my last video because
12:33I feel like it's funny how polarizing
12:37this machine can be. Um like some people
12:40think it's good for one thing, other
12:41people think it's good for another. Some
12:43people have problems, some people don't.
12:44But these two comments very perfectly
12:46kind of demonstrate that. So comment
12:49number one says, "What's your take on
12:52the Singer Heavy Duty? I've been using
12:54it for a long time, 5 years, and I love
12:55it. That's great. It's totally
12:58unimpressive. Sewing multiple layers of
13:00heavy denim, which is what I think she
13:02she was trying to say in this, but works
13:04beautifully sewing jersey t-shirts, too.
13:08That's interesting that the person says
13:10it that they can do jersey t-shirts cuz
13:14I've had a terrible experience doing it
13:16with that kind of stuff. And if I go any
13:18lighter than that, that's when I really
13:19start the machine really starts
13:21swallowing things up. The second comment
13:23says that she teaches, I'm going to
13:25paraphrase, she teaches sewing classes
13:27and has a Singer heavy duty in the class
13:30and that there's nothing wrong with the
13:31machine if you get a basic one.
13:33Interesting that she says get a basic
13:35one cuz I do have the 32 which is like
13:38kind of one of the higher tiers of them
13:40cuz they have more stitches. If it's one
13:42that has all the different stitches and
13:43it's more electronic, that one is not
13:45good. I have to say though that any
13:47heavy duty machine is not good for
13:49lighter weight fabrics. I disagree with
13:52that especially because Singer heavy
13:54duty machines are not [clears throat]
13:55marketed to make pairs of, you know,
13:57denim. And this is not picking on this
13:59person at all. I think this is just
14:01difference of opinion, difference of,
14:04you know, our understanding of what a
14:06heavy duty machine is. My Juki, which is
14:08definitely more heavy duty than the
14:10Singer heavy duty, can handle light
14:13fabrics beautifully. I think the problem
14:17with the Singer heavy duties is that
14:20it's called heavy duty and so maybe we
14:21think, oh, you shouldn't like it's just
14:24to use for heavy duty, but really it's
14:26it's marketed as a general purpose
14:28machine, a general use, like the perfect
14:30thing for a beginner. And realistically,
14:33a beginner is not going to be making a
14:35pair of jeans straight out the gate.
14:36Unless that is you, in which case, I
14:38think you're a very cool person to just
14:40be like, I'm going to make a pair of
14:41jeans. All in all, I think a sewing
14:44machine it especially one marketed
14:47towards beginners should be able to do a
14:49large variety of tasks, which is what
14:52this machine is marketed for [snorts]
14:54and at towards beginners. Also, I don't
14:57think it's a big ask that something
15:00that's marketed as like a general use
15:02machine be able to do general things. I
15:06don't think it's a big ask for this
15:08machine to be able to sew things on the
15:11heavier side. Doesn't have to be a pair
15:13of jeans and also be able to sew a
15:16lightweight skirt, which if we're really
15:17being realistic is what a lot of
15:19beginners are going to want to do.
15:21They're going to want to make a little a
15:23little lightweight skirt with an elastic
15:24band. It does need to be a little more
15:27heavy duty to handle the elastic. It
15:29does need to be delicate enough to
15:31handle the lightweight fabric. I want to
15:33know if anybody else has had any of
15:35these experiences. These are my what my
15:37mom would call personal problems with
15:39this machine, which if we have similar
15:41goals, this may be useful for you into
15:44knowing if like this is a machine that
15:45you should get or it would be useful in
15:47your in your studio. I only learned
15:50these things after sewing for 6 months
15:52to a year. And I will get into what my
15:55breaking point was, which is just it's
15:58funny because it has nothing to do with
15:59sewing clothes. So, number one, the
16:01stitches. The stitch quality, in my
16:04opinion, it's not great. It's not bad,
16:07but over time, the stitch quality
16:10degrades. When I first bought it, the
16:12stitch quality was actually pretty good.
16:14But as time has went on, a lot of the
16:16special stitches look horrendous. Like,
16:18I don't even touch those. I didn't touch
16:20them the entire time I've had the
16:22machine, which we'll get into. I just
16:24think the stitch quality is just kind of
16:25like, nah, you know, eh. for top
16:28stitching. I don't think it's going to
16:30do anything special. Will it piece two
16:32things together? Abso fuckingutely.
16:35There's nothing wrong with it. But I
16:37think I was just looking for something
16:38that had a little bit more punch that
16:40was that to me as someone who really
16:43enjoys the craft was just like
16:45delicious. And this machine to me is not
16:48really like delicious in the way that it
16:50delivers the stitches. So the second
16:52thing about the stitches is that you
16:53probably don't need all of those decor
16:54decorative stitches. Uh, going back to
16:57the other comment about how the base
16:59models are better than like the ones
17:00with all the stitches, definitely go
17:02with a base model because you're not
17:04going to use all the decorative
17:05stitches. If I'm going to do a
17:07decorative stitch, which I do them
17:08sometimes with like my mini quilts and
17:10stuff like that. Um, I'm just going to
17:13do it by hand.
17:15You know, I could see how if you have
17:17arthritis, if you are not particularly
17:20keen on hand stitching where you might
17:23want your machine to do some of that
17:24hand stitching for you. But considering
17:28the quality of the stitches isn't great,
17:30I think you're better off getting a
17:32machine that specializes in decorative
17:34stitching, like a more expensive
17:38computerized machine or an actual
17:41embroidery machine. Third thing about
17:42the stitches, the button hole sucks. It
17:44just does. It was fine when I first used
17:46it and like what I going back to what I
17:48said the stitches really the quality
17:51degraded after a period of time. Button
17:54hole was fine at first.
17:56Now not so much. A lot of like the first
18:00row of stitches like going up and down
18:02the the button hole will be fine and
18:04then the second one it'll be like super
18:05unevenly stitched. Just not high high
18:09enough quality for um like a college
18:11shirt for my husband to wear to work.
18:13just it's simply like the quality is not
18:15there. I wound up buying a J the Juki
18:18EB1 button holder which is like a little
18:21computerized thing that you can add to
18:23your mechanical Jukie machine. It's
18:25really cool and it has like a bunch of
18:27different um button holes which I didn't
18:30even realize I wanted different styles
18:32of button holes and also has bar tacks
18:34because the Juki is straight stitch that
18:36wind up being my solution to it. Um, the
18:40stretch stitches. My last thing about
18:42the stitches, [laughter]
18:43um, after I bought a serger and I'm
18:45going to buy a cover stitch soon, I'm
18:47saving up. Stretch stitches on the
18:50Singer machine are just not necessary if
18:53you don't plan on getting like multiple
18:56machines, which more power to you. You
18:58do not need to be um, gripped by a
19:01sewing mach machine collection like I
19:04am. More power to you to use the stretch
19:06stitches. I just personally don't care
19:08to use a zigzag stitch to construct a
19:11garment. I don't think it looks good
19:14personally. I also don't like the
19:16overcast stitch. I prefer a st serger
19:19stitch if I'm going to finish a seam
19:21with an with some kind of overcasting.
19:23The only stitch I really reach for is a
19:25triple the triple reinforced stitch,
19:27which I've reached to once or twice. And
19:29even then with all the quality issues
19:31and like birds nesting and tition issues
19:34and this this and that, I just wind up
19:37being like, I don't want to touch this
19:39machine because it's just too annoying.
19:42I would say if you think you're going to
19:43sew a lot of stretch garments, you
19:45should probably just get specialized
19:47machines for that. And you can get
19:48cheaper machines at the same price level
19:50as the Singer Heavy Duty. It's just
19:52personal opinion. Just my opinion. just
19:55my opinion that you're probably better
19:57off getting like a cover stitch or a
19:59serger or something if you'd like. I'm
20:01working actually on a
20:04comprehensive sewing machine buying
20:06guide where I talk about all the
20:08different kinds of machines, the
20:09projects that you want to do, and what
20:12sewing machines would be best. Not
20:14necessarily giving you direct
20:15recommendations, but giving you the
20:18tools, the resources to do the critical
20:21thinking for yourself. Number two of my
20:23personal problems is the lack of quality
20:26of life features is what I'm calling it.
20:28After I'm a little spoiled after getting
20:30my Jukie TL, um I didn't even realize
20:32these were things that would make a huge
20:34difference, but when I go from my Juki
20:36to my Singer, I find myself looking for
20:40these features just out of like muscle
20:42memory. Even when I use my Brother
20:45serger, I find myself reaching for some
20:47of these and I'm like the this machine
20:49never had any of these. So, I don't know
20:50why I'm looking looking for the looking
20:52for these features. Number one is a knee
20:54lift. It's where you it's like a little
20:57lever and you put your knee against it
21:00and it presses up the presser foot uh
21:02just so that you can like turn the
21:04fabric or you know lift your you know
21:07your garment out of it or your whatever
21:08you're working on out of it. Super
21:11useful and it becomes muscle memory
21:13whenever you're using it. It is probably
21:15my favorite feature and I don't think I
21:17will ever buy another like normal sewing
21:20machine. Maybe cover stitch and serger.
21:23I don't really care. But a a normal
21:25sewing machine I don't think I would buy
21:27without a need left. Golden Girls Break.
21:32Sidebar. Golden Girls are my my sad
21:35show. It's like the show I watch when
21:37I'm like PMSing. I get my my Golden
21:40Girls mug. I drink my tea. I watch my
21:42girls. Those girls are so funny. My
21:45husband was like, he was like so against
21:48watching it. I don't know why. And then
21:50he started watching it. He was like,
21:51"These girls are actually kind of
21:52funny." I'm like, "No, they're
21:53hilarious. [laughter] They're so funny."
21:56So so so so funny. Anyway, sidebar over.
21:59Second quality of life feature that I
22:02just it this machine doesn't have that I
22:04am partial to is a thread cutter.
22:07[snorts] Thread cutters are nice.
22:09Really, really nice. It is really like
22:12you can just press a button and it cuts
22:14the thread and you don't have all these
22:16long tails everywhere. So snipping is
22:19easier and it just it it's like an extra
22:22it's like one less second of things you
22:24have to do when you're working really
22:26fast. And I find when I'm like making a
22:29pair of pants and I I know the steps to
22:31do the pants, it's really nice to just
22:34be able to like
22:36press the button or do the knee lift,
22:38you know what I mean? And that's just a
22:40second that I don't have to like think
22:42about and worry about. Third thing is a
22:44needle up and down. The really nice
22:46thing about my Juki is that the needle
22:47always ends down in the fabric. And this
22:51is just a feature I think you're going
22:52to get with a machine that's a little
22:53nicer or a machine that's computerized.
22:57You don't realize how many problems can
22:59happen because you don't know what point
23:03the needle is completely down and what
23:04point the needle is completely up. You
23:06can also use that needle up and down to
23:09like
23:11slowly sew a little bit. I don't do that
23:13as much, only if I'm doing something
23:15like really tricky. But it's just a nice
23:17little thing to have that when I'm using
23:19my Singer, and this might just be like I
23:21have muscle memory for a different
23:22machine now, but I'll be like, why is
23:25the needle like acting so strange? But
23:27it just doesn't have the feature. And I
23:28I think it's a good feature to have,
23:30especially for a beginner. Like these
23:32are quality of life things, but also as
23:34a beginner, they do help you and they
23:36help your workflow and they help it be a
23:38more enjoyable experience. And then the
23:40last one is speed control. I didn't
23:43think I would use this at all, but I use
23:45it all the time. I don't even have my
23:47because the juke goes super super fast.
23:49And of course, you can control the speed
23:51with the foot pedal, but it is sometimes
23:53nice to just slow down that speed and be
23:56able to just kind of move slowly over a
23:58top stitch when I'm doing a collar or if
24:01I'm doing like stitch in the ditch. It's
24:03nice to be able to just slow that down
24:05so that I don't get carried away with my
24:07foot. And the Singer just doesn't have
24:09that feature. And again, these are
24:11features that are just more premium.
24:12They are. And I only learned that I
24:15wanted these features after having used
24:17another machine. And also after having
24:20sewed for a little while, these little
24:21things in my workflow really make a
24:24difference and they make sewing more
24:26enjoyable. And I think sewing should be
24:28a joyful and enjoyable thing. The third
24:30thing, the thing that threw me over the
24:32edge, okay, was trying to quilt a
24:35throwsiz quilt on this machine. This
24:37machine is not meant for quilting. And
24:39when I made my quilt, I fell in love
24:43with quilting. I fell in love with it.
24:46And
24:47I think that when I was doing it, the
24:51shaft was shifting. The throat space was
24:54so little. I really was like, "Wo, I
24:58need a machine that has more throat
24:59space. And I also need a machine that
25:02has really, really beautiful stitches
25:04because when you're doing a quilt, you
25:07do want those stitches to be gorgeous
25:10because that's what quilting is about."
25:12Um, and I even did a little bit of hand
25:14stitching on that quilt. And it was kind
25:17of like this aha moment for me that was
25:19just like, I've outgrown this machine.
25:22But at the same time, there were always
25:24problems with it. Always. At the end of
25:27the day, I came to a lot of these
25:29conclusions after having used the
25:31machine for a really, really long time.
25:33Not a really long time, it's like 6
25:34months. What am I saying? Really, really
25:36long time. For me, I think that I should
25:39have bought something different. I
25:42bought it because I recognized it and I
25:44saw everyone else using it and everyone
25:46was saying this is a good thing to buy.
25:49But the reality is that if I w and I did
25:51a lot of research. I felt like I did a
25:53lot of research and I knew that people
25:55were saying bad things about the
25:57machine, but I like didn't want to
25:59believe it because I was like this is at
26:01a good price, you know. D What's super
26:04important here and I want you to put
26:05your critical thinking cap on, okay? is
26:07that some people make corsets, jeans,
26:10bags, and everything under the sun with
26:12this machine. I clearly had a bad
26:14experience, but other people really love
26:16it. And I think I I shared those
26:19comments before with the two kind of
26:21varying different opinions about the
26:22machine because I think that
26:26Singer, going back to that brief history
26:29I gave, has a quality issue. Some people
26:31have a really great experience with with
26:33this machine, and others really don't.
26:36And I think it it's a quality control
26:38issue. It's just my theory that
26:41something's going on. Something's going
26:43on in the factory where they cannot
26:45produce a
26:47reliably high quality product. I am of
26:51the opinion that these machines are so
26:53popular because Singer has strategically
26:56marketed them, strategically branded
26:58them to a beginner audience. and a
27:01beginner audience that doesn't just want
27:02a sewing machine, but they want
27:03something high quality, lowcost that's
27:06going to be able to do a variety of
27:08things. There's not necessarily anything
27:10wrong with that. But what a lot of what
27:13you hear a lot of people saying is that
27:15you will eventually have to replace this
27:17machine. And I think this is just
27:20speculation. I think Singer knows this.
27:23I think Singer knows that there's a
27:24quality issue with this machine because
27:26the truth of the matter is that this
27:28machine is not amazing. It's not
27:31terrible, but it's not amazing. And
27:34they've really cornered the market on
27:36beginners who want good tools and
27:38equipment, but that group doesn't quite
27:41know what they want out of sewing or
27:44what a good sewing machine or a good
27:46sewing tool looks like. And I'm going to
27:50say, you know, I said before if you
27:51bought this machine, it's really not
27:53that big of a deal. Just use the
27:55machine. Any sewing machine that you can
27:56get your hands on is a good machine. But
27:59I think I just I have larger overarching
28:01problems with the branding and the
28:03marketing of [clears throat] this
28:03machine. I don't think it's heavy duty.
28:06I think that that is pure 100% pure
28:09marketing. Some people will disagree and
28:12if you disagree, I'd love to hear your
28:13thoughts on that. But who is this
28:15machine for? because I know I have not
28:17convinced all of you not to buy this
28:19machine or not to love this machine and
28:21that's freaking okay. We're all
28:23different people. All of our sewing
28:25journeys are different and I think
28:27that's a beautiful thing about sewing is
28:29we get to learn from each other and we
28:30get to be like that technique worked for
28:32you. It didn't work for me. I want to
28:34see how it worked for you. Like that's
28:36the beautiful thing about sewing. It's
28:38the beautiful thing about sewing
28:39communities is that we're all so focused
28:41on like the craft and making and doing
28:44cool things that a lot of times it just
28:45comes down to how'd you do that cool
28:47thing? I want to learn that cool thing.
28:49[laughter]
28:50I do think there are some people who
28:51could benefit from this machine. I'm
28:52going to say don't buy the higher
28:54models. Just buy the base model if you
28:57can. Like the 4411. I think it's cheaper
29:00really than it's like one of the
29:01cheapest machines you can get from
29:03Singer. I'm not sure. I didn't really
29:05look at their lineup, but I know I was
29:06looking at the 4411 when I bought it and
29:08it was maybe under $200, maybe just at
29:10200. I think if number one, you're only
29:13expecting to sew with sturdier fabrics
29:16like canvas, like maybe jeans,
29:20um like twills, like a pair of pants. I
29:24think you could sew a nice pair of like
29:26widelegg pants with this machine
29:29perfectly fine. It'd be amazing. I think
29:32if you're really just trying to do
29:33little projects here and there, like
29:35tailor woven material things that you
29:37get at thrift stores or that you buy at
29:39the store, uh tailoring some curtains,
29:42maybe like making pot holders or making
29:45little toiletry bags, like I think
29:47that's going to be fine if it's just
29:48like I just want to do like fun little
29:50projects here and there. I want to have
29:51the option to sew. I also think if you
29:54just want to try out sewing in the
29:56comfort of your own home, you've got the
29:58money. Girl, do you. But I do have some
30:03alternatives. So, here are some
30:05alternatives for buying this machine.
30:07Number one, beg, steal, and borrow. I
30:10think it's severely underrated. Like,
30:13ask around your community, your
30:15neighbors, your friends, your family.
30:18You know someone for sure that has a
30:20sewing machine sitting in their basement
30:22or their attict. and would get rid of it
30:24for a small like 50 bucks or would just
30:28give it to you for free. You know
30:29someone. And if you don't know someone,
30:31this maybe doesn't apply to you. Number
30:33two is to go to your local library. I
30:38actually didn't know this option. I
30:39haven't done it, but my husband did
30:41recommend it. Go to your local library,
30:44get a library card, and hang out. That's
30:47just advice for life. [laughter] Um can
30:50read for free. You can check out movies
30:52for free. And at some libraries, you can
30:53check out sewing machines, you can check
30:55out power tools. Um, libraries are
30:57really a great resource if you just want
31:00to try sewing. Number three, sewing
31:03classes either at local creative
31:05colleges or at other people have, you
31:08know, sewing studios and a way they make
31:10income is by teaching people how to sew.
31:12Those are great places to go learn about
31:15how to work a machine, learn how to sew
31:17in a straight line. There's this one
31:19place in Chicago, Google it, where you
31:21can go and have like open studio time
31:23and you can use all of their tools and
31:24their machines. And that's what I did
31:26before I bought a machine to make sure
31:28that sewing was really something that I
31:29was interested in. The fourth thing,
31:31eBay, estate sales, yard and garage
31:33sales. People are trying to get rid of
31:35their machines. There's no shortage of
31:37used, wellbuilt sewing machines that
31:41people are selling for very low cost.
31:43Especially if you're just like, I just
31:45want to try this thing. Nothing wrong
31:47with buying something used. And you may
31:48be able to find a gym. Okay, I see
31:52industrial machines for like 500
31:54[snorts] bucks on Facebook Marketplace
31:57all the time. And I kind of kick myself
32:00for buying my Jukie because I'm like I
32:02see Jukie industrial machines with a
32:04table and everything [laughter] for like
32:07500 bucks. I'm like, "Oh my gosh, I
32:09should have did that."
32:10But there is also no shortage of people
32:14on Facebook Marketplace who are trying
32:16to get rid of like their grandmother's
32:18machine or their late wife's machine. No
32:21shortage of people who are selling nicer
32:24vintage older machines that are durable
32:27that still are workh horses for very
32:30cheap. The same price you could pay for
32:33a Singer heavy duty. Number five is to
32:35save your money, do your research, and
32:37just buy something nice. And I think
32:39that this is what I should have done
32:40because I knew I had the sewing bug. I
32:43knew I knew I wanted to sew and I knew I
32:47wanted to sew clothes and I should have
32:49just kept going to that open studio that
32:52I was going to doing projects there and
32:54I should have saved up my money and I
32:56should have bought the machine that I
32:57bought, you know, winded up buying
32:59anyway, which I mentioned it before, but
33:01I am making a machine a sewing machine
33:03buying guide that will hopefully be very
33:06comprehensive and very helpful. And
33:07number six, if at the end of all of this
33:09you're still in it to win it to buy this
33:12thing, [laughter]
33:13um I would consider buying one, like I
33:15said, with the least amount of stitches
33:17and um because they're cheaper and I
33:19think they have a lot less fluff and I
33:21think they just they seem to have less
33:24problems than the computerized and the
33:26ones with more stitches and stuff like
33:28that. At the end of the day, at the end
33:30of the day, it's your money. Do what you
33:33want. I think if buying one of one of
33:36these machines at your local craft store
33:38or off of Amazon or whatever is the
33:41fastest way for you to be sewing,
33:45I think that's a good thing. I think
33:46more people in my generation should be
33:48sewing, should be learning this skill.
33:50So, if that's if that's what gets you
33:52there, kudos to you, girl. Kudos to you.
33:55That's all I have to say.

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