New sewing machine!

Click on the picture to view PDF brochure 

Finally decided to buy a new sewing machine!
Actually I will get one for my birthday (which is still 2 months away) from Mr.X.
He saw my frustration last week and thought I was so miserable that I needed a new, reliable sewing machine of my choice. My current machine a Singer 507 was handed down from someone else and worked ok until a few months ago. Well, 40 years is not bad.

Nowadays, there are many computerized machines and the choice of mechanical machines is limited. I find it kinda weird that fabricants label computerized machines with 20-30 different stitches and many features as 'beginner' or 'entry-level' machines. What are they talking about?! During the past years I have worked on quite a few advanced projects on a machine with only the basic straight and zigzag stitches. I don't think I will ever use more than a couple of stretch stitches. All those fancy embroidery stitches would be there unused. Anyway, it is remarkable that all fabricants use the same standard for what they call beginner, advanced or professional machines.



Stubborn as I am, I still decided not to buy something with much more features and things I wouldn't use. I set a limit for myself and wanted to spend around the 400, max. 500 euro's (is actually quite a lot...)

First I started with making a list of what features I was looking for. After sewing on a very old and basic machine I didn't had many things on my list. There were a few things I definitely wanted to have this time:
- a free arm (almost every new generation machine has this as standard feature)
- a strong machine that can sew through different layers of fabric (I'm not going to do quilts or something but it would be nice to be able to sew a denim zoom)
- a decent fabric transport system
- a one step buttonhole program (I didn't have any and bound buttonholes are pretty but just don't work for small buttons)
- a choice of stretch-stitches for sewing knits

I preferred three different brands: Pfaff, Janome and Bernina, but this is my personal choice. There are so many great machines out there, it is really hard to choose one!
At first look in reviews everyone mentions great quality of the Bernina's. Looking at the price tag I quickly decided I wasn't ready to pay that amount of money for my weekend-hobby. Janome's are good quality as well and next to Bernina machines the Janome's have the most raving reviews. Pfaff is German make, usually reliable as well.



Stitch selection of the Janome DC 3030

Then I made a list/table with all features of the machines next to each other in the right price range.
Interesting fact is that I wasn't able to track the engine-power of the sewing machines. When I did my research I found this: "You should have a motor with at least 120 Watt." Well, fine. Those numbers are apparently top secret! Or fabricants doesn't think that it would be interesting information next to all the special features of a machine?...

I ended up with a list of the amount of elastic stitches, one-step buttonholes and other things like 'are bobbins etc. universal', is there a special  fabric transport system?
The Janomes seemed to win.
- There weren't any Bernina's on my list (way too expensive, the cheapest computer Bernina was almost 2x my max. price) I did look at the Bernette's. This is the cheaper, not-made-in-Switzerland-line of Bernina. Those machines seemed to have a lot of features but apparently not everyone was enthousiastic about the quality of the machine.
- I looked at the Pfaff select 3.0, it has a dual feed IDT transport system, but this one had only one buttonhole option (!) next to it's 27 stitches. Weird!
- The Janomes in the same price range had more buttonhole-programs and also have a Superior Feed System (SFS) that makes sewing thicker fabrics easier. (many Janome sewing machines have this SFS: a 7 point feed dog system. This means that there are 7 feed dogs below the needle plate which work to feed fabric through the machine.

When looking online for the different Janome models I found this one: Janome DC 3030. It seem to be discontinued now but still available for 599 euro's. BTW Mine comes cheaper, for 399 from an online store. There are great reviews of this machine all over the internet, especially on websites specialized in quilting.
Now waiting!

EDIT:
Fun fact: just found out that my new sewing machine runs in the UK and US with different names:
UK: Janome 8077 and US: Janome Magnolia 7330
Read an extensive review of the sewing machine here.


I thought about this 'review-thing'.  
How important is that the machine has good reviews?
Nowadays we are so used to the internet that it seems logical to do the research there. After all there are so many reviews of sewing machines! Fact is that I never spend my time on writing a review but I do read them. Interesting, ha? Imagine there is a really great sewing machine but 1 out of 10 buyers seemed to have trouble with it and at the end only that 1 person writes a review? Your conclusion could be that the machine is worthless, you wouldn't even bother to look at it. I think most people rely on good reviews from people they know or think to 'know'. We would rather buy a machine that a good friend, mother or other family member, neighbor loves. Or what our favorite television personality loves? Fabricants make use of this by making those people use their machines and write raving reviews of it. Like Janome and the popular television presenter Kirstie Allsopp from the UK. Oh yeah, she uses the almost 4000 euro model and she loves it. Well, probably I would love it too. Won't you? At the end of the day, it is a rather personal choice which brand you buy. As long as you are happy with it!

Cavalli goes Renfrew! - part 1

Even if I can't work on this project right now I'd like to show how far I am in the process of refashioning an original Cavalli shirt!
My boyfriend had about 7-8 years ago a period of buying really expensive clothes. Well, if you wonder we didn't know each other by that time.  As he were a bit older and gained a bit weight he didn't fit those pretty shirts anymore. These two with the cutout motives were just too pretty to throw or give away and I kept them for years and years in the closet:



Now, after sewing up the Renfrew muslin I thought the Cavalli shirts were ready for a makeover!I satred out with the purple one. Since the shirt shrunk a bit it was already closer to my size than to the former L of my boyfriend. Let's say they aren't bigger than a women's size medium.

This means there wasn't much fabric to work with. First I carefully took the shirt apart. This was a lot of work!

The front, back pieces and the sleeves fitted just right but then all of the available fabric was used. It would be nearly impossible to find the same color fabric so I decided to introduce another color. I took a basic black shirt to supply the sleeve and neckline bands. Decided to keep the original seam at the bottom of the shirt for now, I'm going to decide about the waist band after assembling.
   

I decided to cut in the motifs at the front and the sides:




Used the good old zigzag stitch everywhere, at the end two rows next to each other.
 

I reinforced the shoulder seam with satin bias band, cut in half lengthwise and folding the sides under:
 

Here is visible that the stitches aren't perfect, this was the moment that I decided the sewing machine needed some reparation again (though I'm really satisfied with the overall look!)

Sewing machine in reparation again...

Made an enthusiastic start with a Renfrew top but my sewing machine thought it was time to quit again.
Worked hard all week long, long days at work and waited, waited for the weekend and dreamed about starting with great sewing projects. And now I ended up with a half-finished top and a sewing machine in reparation again...
I'm so disappointed! The problem is as indicated above: it is a bobbin-problem. The bobbin doesn't sit tight in the bobbin case. When the loop is created by turning the shuttle hook the bobbin pops up and the thread gets caught around the bobbin several times. This pulls the fabric down under the needle and then breaks the upper thread. See picture above. Sometimes I was able to sew about 15 inches before this happened, other times I had to stop every minute because breaking the thread. Very annoying.

Renfrew top muslin

  

Well, all the plans for the weekend has changed. Instead continuing working on my Marfy dress I made anther muslin. I ordered the new Sewaholic pattern, the Renfrew top a couple of days ago and it arrived on friday!

The Renfrew top is a fitted knit top with banded hems and variations for the sleeves and neckline. I've seen a lot of pics around on sewing blogs and thought the fit was great. Also I love wearing V-neck tops with 3/4 sleeves and somehow, there aren't many out there to buy. This was the second pattern I ordered from Sewaholic Canada (there are no resellers in the Netherlands). Ordering the pattern was easy, and the delivery quick.

Of course I had to start with the construction of a muslin!
Since I haven't sewn knits for a long time I did not have knit fabrics in the house. But I did have a giant pile of crew shirts from my friend. I used an old, man's x-large sized crew-shirt which has been worn and washed for years and years. I thought long enough to make it a bit sturdy to qualify as a 'stable knit'. Since I don't have a serger I can't sew with really stretchy knits anyway.



 
Sizing is always tricky, so I pulled out my other Sewaholic pattern, the Lonsdale dress. I used size 8 for the bust tapering to size 6 in the waist and hips on that dress. I used the finished garment measurements and compared to the Renfew top finished measurements. Decided to go with size 8 at the top part (shoulders and bust) and tapered to size 4 at the waist and hips.

The V-neck neckband was a bit tricky, an interesting construction. It didn't turned out perfect, but will get better next time around.  I followed the instructions and used zigzag stitch around the neckline to secure the seam allowance and I think it looks good. (When I was young my grandma used to make almost all our clothes and she used to sew knits with zigzag stitches too.) Next time I might try to use a double needle, that way there would be two straight stitching lines instead a zigzag.

I think the results are not bad! I didn't have enough fabric to make the waistband, so I just folded the seam allowance back and stitched with a zigzag stitch. It is just a muslin, but surprisingly, the length of the top turned out just right! With a waistband would be a bit longer, but also perfect.
(I never wear my shirts tucked in) There is enough room under the arms, the top feels roomy enough but still nicely fitted.

  

  

Fabric Marfy 2440 dress

Finally I've bought fabric for the Marfy dress! It is very dark blue with white polka dots and flowers.
It took some time to lay out the pieces on the fabric in the shop, because this fabric is slightly narrower than 140 cm. Finally I've got 2,5 meter of the flowery polka dot cotton and because it is quite thin another 2 meters from a plain dark blue poplin for lining the skirt.
It wasn't really cheap, but I think still worth the money. First they have go on 50 C in the washing machine to shrink. I haven't decided yet which color buttons I should buy. I guess white would look good...
Can't wait to get started!

Similar designs

A vintage Butterick pattern 6081 envelop and Marfy 2440.
How similar! Actually, it looks like only the collar and the back are different...

 

Craftsy Starlet suit jacket course

Today I decided to describe for another online sewing course on Craftsy, The starlet suit jacket course by Gertie Hirsch.
I don't know if I'm going to make a suit, but I think it is like the Bombshell dress course a great source of tailoring techniques. I enrolled in the Bombshell dress course but didn't make the dress itself yet.