We’re back with the first episode of the spring 2025 season! We chat about our sewing machines – the ones we learned on, the ones we have today, and the ones we want in the future. Plus: we catch up about what we did on our winter break, name our fave sewing machine features and pet peeves, and share what our machines are named!
The transcript for this episode is on this page at the end of the show notes.
Show Notes:
Photos From our Winter Break:
- Helen’s Game On quilt was part of the QuiltCon show!
- Helen, Sam, and Emma snowshoeing
- Caroline’s cozy Christmas
- Caroline did a bunch of sewing over the break, including these Syd Graham Lane Pants in cactus-coloured linen from Blackbird! The top is a Carrie Crop Top.
Photos of (Some) of our Sewing Machines:
- The Singer Featherweight Helen learned on
- The Sears Kenmore that Helen’s neighbour gave her
- Pfaff Expression 710 (both of us have this one)
- Juki MO654-DE (the serger we both have)
- Caroline’s Bernina
- The Industrial Juki at Blackbird
Excerpts from Caroline’s Sewing-Themed Art Book:
Transcript:
Caroline: We are recording today on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish and Kwakwaka’wakw peoples, including Tsleil-Waututh, Squamish, Musqueam, and K’ómoks first nations.
Hello and welcome to Love to Sew. I’m Caroline, the owner of Blackbird Fabrics and BF Patterns.
Helen: And I’m Helen, the designer behind Helen’s Closet Patterns and Cedar Quilt Co.
Caroline: We’re two sewing buds who love to sew and it’s essentially all we want to talk about.
Helen: In this episode, we’re chatting about our sewing machines – the ones we learned on, the ones we have today, and the ones we want in the future. Plus, our favorite features, pet peeves, getting machines repaired, and more.
Caroline: If you love to sew, this is your show.
Woo! Hi Helen!
Helen: Hi, Caroline!
Caroline: We’re back!
Helen: We’re back, baby. It feels so good to be back. Happy spring.
Caroline: Yeah, it doesn’t feel like spring yet here, but I can’t wait for it to feel like…
Helen: It’s around the corner. I can feel it. Gardening season, flowers, sunshine. It’s happening, baby.
Caroline: Yeah. Yesterday, when I left work, there was still, like, a glimmer of light. It was not pitch black. So that’s a win, right?
Helen: That is a total win. Yes, a hundred percent.
Caroline: Oh my gosh. No, it feels so good to be back recording with you, Helen. Catch me up. How was your break? Tell me what’s new. What’s going on?
Helen: My break was really great. Lots of cozy Christmas vibes, as per usual, time with family, lots of quilting. I do love the winter months for the cozy indoor hobby time vibes. Yeah. That’s one of the benefits, when it’s so dark outside that you’re like, “I don’t need to go out there. I’m going to stay right here in my sewing room and just sew, sew, sew, sew, sew.”
Caroline: I love it. Oh, so you had a cozy break. That’s perfect.
Helen: I did. And I haven’t gone to QuiltCon as of this recording, but by the time this episode comes out, I will be back from QuiltCon. So I’m very excited to catch up with you, over on Patreon, all about that. It’s going to be so much fun to talk about.
Caroline: Oh my gosh. I don’t know that we’ve mentioned on the main feed that your quilt was accepted into QuiltCon, right?
Helen: Yes. So I will get to go and see it. And yeah, I have a feeling that’s going to be a pretty momentous occasion. It’s going to be amazing to see it hanging in the show. I still can’t believe it got accepted. I’m so pumped.
Caroline: Congrats. I can’t wait to see all the pictures of you, like, proudly standing in front of your quilt at QuiltCon.
Helen: I’m trying to think, already, of the kind of content I want to make. ‘Cause it’d be fun to have some dancing in front of the quilt, some goofing off. But we’ll see. Maybe there’ll be hundreds of people crowding around it talking about how amazing it is and I won’t even be able to get a photo. Who knows?
Caroline: There’s going to be a lineup of people wanting to get photos with you and your quilt.
Helen: Fingers crossed.
Caroline: Oh my gosh. Yeah. It’s so great. And you are turning it into a pattern, right?
Helen: Yes, I am working on the pattern for it. It’s going to be called Game On because it’s inspired by board gaming. So you can look out for the pattern for that quilt over on Cedar Quilt Co. And yeah, we’ve got a new pattern coming out on Helen’s Closet very shortly here. too. So I’m very excited to share more about that with y’all. It’s going to be a pair of pants, which is always exciting because I love sewing pants. And pants are just so much fun to make because you can make them perfect to your size and then you have the perfect pair of pants.
Caroline: Ooh, exciting things coming up. I love it.
Helen: Yeah. How about you, Caroline? How was your break and what’s going on with you lately?
Caroline: My break was really good as well. I felt like it was also very cozy and relaxing and nourishing. I ate delicious food. I slept a lot. I went for lots of walks with the dogs. And it was really nice. And I didn’t get a puppy, so I’m feeling a lot better than last year.
Helen: Yeah. Good. Good resisting.
Caroline: But yeah, it was an interesting new year ‘cause I was feeling really excited to, like, put 2024 behind me. I feel like it was a year of, like, highs, but also a lot of lows, personally. So I was like, “Yes, good riddance 2024. Hello 2025!” And I’m feeling, like, strong and grounded going into this year. And that’s a good feeling. So, looking forward to all the things that we have planned. And it’s going to be a good year.
Helen: Yeah. Oh my gosh. You’re not going to give us anything that’s coming up with Blackbird or BF Patterns?
Caroline: We do have a bag, the Mia Messenger Bag, coming out in a few weeks. So I can’t wait for that. By this time, I feel like we’ll be doing the photo shoot, this week, potentially, when this episode comes out. So that’s exciting. And we’re also working on a top and dress for the summer that I definitely have already teased over on Patreon, so if you want a sneak peek you’re gonna have to go over there and join up. But it’s a fun, kind of girly, almost like nightie-inspired dress that you can also make into a top. It’s really cute. It’s gonna look so good in block prints. I feel like I’m gonna wear it all summer. Very excited about that one.
Helen: You had me at nightie.
Caroline: Yeah. How stress people unite.
Helen: Yeah, totally.
Caroline: Oh my gosh. Yeah, no. And I think, like, for 2025, Shea and I have committed to doing a no-buy year, or I guess, like, a low-buy year, because we do have to buy some things, like, you know, essential things, but we’re basically committed to not buying anything that isn’t essential. So outside of, like, food or things that we need for our house repairs or whatever random stuff that comes up. And yeah, I’m nervous. But it’s been going really well and it’s kind of a huge commitment for us ‘cause we are, we’re very lucky that we’ve been able to kind of, like, be comfortable and buy things when we feel like we need them or want them. So it’s going to be a great year of, like, saving money and kind of rethinking our consumerist habits and just, like, checking in and being a little bit more careful with that kind of stuff.
Helen: It’s so easy nowadays to just buy things left, right, and center. ‘Cause there’s advertising everywhere and there’s so much neat stuff out there. And it is really cool to reprioritize and save money, especially now when everything is so expensive. I mean, even just the grocery bills are, like, maxing out.
Caroline: Oh my gosh. I know. And we’re kind of approaching the whole year in the spirit of saving money. So even, like, groceries and other sort of “essential things,” we’re trying to use what we have as much as possible. And with hobbies as well, like, just trying to use what we have and not buy more supplies when we already have a lot on hand. So, yeah. It’s gonna be a good year.
Helen: I can’t wait to hear more about this as time goes on.
Caroline: I feel like I’ve said that a lot of times. It’s gonna be a good year, okay?
Helen: We’re, like, manifesting over here. It’s, like, March also when people are hearing this, which is kind of hilarious. Sorry we’re talking so much about the new year.
Caroline: Well, it’s our first time catching up with our listeners, so.
Helen: Yeah. I know. It’s true. And I’m so glad to be back. And we have a fun episode today. We’re just going to have a fun chat about our sewing machines past, present, and future. And future, which is really cool.
Caroline: Oh yeah, I am so excited for this episode. Before we jump in, we just want to say that if you want to support Love to Sew, the best way to do that is by joining us over on Patreon or Apple Podcast subscriptions. We talk all about our personal lives over there and what we’re sewing and you’ll get access to this bonus content every month. We have tons of fun catching up. And those episodes are more casual too, which is kind of fun. It’s so fun. Did I say that it’s fun?
Helen: It’s pretty fun. No, it means so much if you’re able to support us, even if it’s just for a month or two, and you can listen to as much of the back catalog of bonus content as you want, and then you can peace out. We really appreciate the support, regardless of how often you’re able to, or even if you’re not able to, that’s cool too. We know you’re here listening and cheering us on and we love you.
Caroline: Yeah, we love you. Okay, let’s get into it. We want to talk about our sewing machines and Helen, I’m actually so excited to talk about our first sewing machines. We’re gonna take it back, take it back to the beginning. Please share with me, what was your first sewing machine? What was the brand? What was the model? Give it to me. Come on.
Helen: Okay, I learned how to sew on my mom’s sewing machine, which I’m sure many of our listeners can relate to. And it was her mom’s sewing machine. It was a Singer Featherweight, which is a vintage machine, for sure by today’s standards. Very vintage. It only does straight stitch. You can change the length of the straight stitch, but you can’t do a zigzag or anything fancy like that. But it does a killer straight stitch. That’s what those machines are known for. For sure. It’s like a perfectly straight straight stitch. And it was a great machine, honestly, like, it had its quirks, you know, it would make thread nests and, like, all that kind of stuff. But it was really good at just going slow and steady and a good introduction to a machine, because all of the parts are visible on those vintage machines, like, all of the tension discs, when you’re threading it, you can see where the thread is going and what’s happening. So that does kind of help you to get a better sense for the machine. Nowadays, a lot of that stuff is hidden. For good reason, but…
Caroline: Yeah.
Helen: I have so many fond memories of sewing on that little black Featherweight machine. They call them Featherweights because they’re super lightweight compared to other machines, at the time, especially, like, they’re super, super light. They fold up. It has, like, a little bed that folds up and you can make it really small and compact and it, like, barely weighs anything. I mean, it still probably weighs, like, 15 or 20 pounds, but, like, by a sewing machine standard, it barely weighs anything. And yeah, it’s a great, solid machine and my mom still has it. She doesn’t sew on it anymore. She has a new machine now, but we definitely still have it in the family. So I am glad for that because I have a lot of fond memories, for sure.
Caroline: Oh, yeah. Next time you go to your parent’s place, you’ve got to visit that machine and give it a little kiss. A little pat and a little kiss. “Thank you.”
Helen: “Thank you.” How about you? What was your first sewing machine?
Caroline: I also learned on my mom’s sewing machine, and it was a Singer, and it was a machine that my mom received as a wedding gift from her mom. So it was purchased in 1980 and it was, like, an all-metal Singer. And one of the selling points was that it was portable. It was, like, one, I guess, I don’t know the history of portable sewing machines, but when my mom was telling me about this, she was like, “It was portable, which was a big deal. It had, like, a handle and everything.”
Helen: Uh huh.
Caroline: I’ve told this story before, but I basically forced my mom to show me how to use it. Like, I really wanted to learn how to sew. So I was like, “How do I use this thing?” And then I would make bags for my friends, upcycled from old jeans and pants. And I, like, charged for them. Y’all, if you’ve been listening to the show, you know the story. But, so I learned when I was young and then I kind of used it on and off throughout high school. And then I did a school project in high school where I made an outfit inspired by, like, abstract art. And I have this whole, like, laminated book that I found. You know when you go to your parents house in your 30s and they’re like, “Here are all of your childhood memories in a box. Like, take it or I’m throwing it in the garbage.” So I have this box of, like, old stuff and in it was this book that is, like, full of pictures from, like, a photo shoot that I did with my friends of this outfit and, like, the whole process. And there’s even pictures of me sewing on this machine, which is what I would think of as, like, my formative sewing machine.
Helen: I love it. We need a video of this, like, stat.
Caroline: Yes, maybe I will. Oh gosh, it’s so embarrassing. But maybe I will take a video and we can, like, post a reel or something.
Helen: It’s not embarrassing. I know the photos are like, you’re posing, but you were a teenager! It’s so cute.
Caroline: I was taking myself so seriously. There’s, like, pictures of my friend doing my makeup, too.
Helen: Oh my gosh. I love it, though. Like, how seriously you’re taking it is just a testament to how amazing it is. Like, you were committed. It’s so cool. You were taking it seriously and now you work in this industry. So it paid off.
Caroline: Yes. But that machine also stayed with my mom when I moved out. And I hear it has since stopped working, so we won’t talk about where that machine is now, but I don’t think it’s with her anymore. RIP. But I also think of one of my first machines a lot because when I moved to Vancouver I purchased, like, an entry-level Singer at Walmart and I feel like it was $100 or maybe $150. And I put a lot of miles in that machine. And it has since been passed on to two separate friends. It now lives with my friend Cam, who’s a Girl Guide leader and she uses it to, like, sew her patches. So I love that it, like, still lives on. It’s such a trusty little machine. So it just kind of proves that, like, you don’t need an expensive machine as your first machine. Like, that was a great machine and it was pretty inexpensive.
Helen: Yeah, that’s so true. Well, and those old vintage machines, too, like my machine that I got as a young adult and the machine that I started Helen’s Closet with, was a gift from my neighbour when she was moving back to Ontario. She was clearing out her whole house and I was like, I think, either still living at home or I had just moved out and I’d come back and went to this garage sale next door. And Teresa, the woman who gave it to me, was like, “Oh, you can just have it if you want it.” And I was like, “Sure.” And I hadn’t been sewing in a while. ‘Cause I had been distracted with graduating high school and going to college and figuring my life out. And so I had put down sewing for a minute and when she gave me this machine, I was like, “Oh, yeah. Sewing. I used to love doing that.” And so I started sewing again and now here we are. And I got that machine for free, which was very generous. And when I opened it, it was spotless. Like, I don’t know if it had ever even been used. It was a Sears Kenmore from the sixties or seventies. So an all-metal total workhorse of a machine. And it was just absolutely wonderful. I loved that machine. I almost regret, sometimes, upgrading because I’m like, “I could have gone the whole way with that machine!”
Caroline: Yeah, you could have. Do you still have it?
Helen: I do. I do. And I also love my new machine. We’re going to talk about our current machines in a minute here, but I have so many memories on that machine. I’m so grateful that moment happened, you know, and that moment where she’s like, “Yeah, just take it.” And now here we are.
Caroline: Did this machine inspire kind of, like, your blog and your journey into, like. getting back into sewing? Or whether, was there time in between, like, getting this machine and like…
Helen: It was pretty instantaneous because, at the time, I had been really interested in blogs and I had been reading a lot of blogs and I had a couple of blogs before I started Helen’s Closet. Our long-term listeners will know about that. I had a personal style blog and I had a craft blog. So I was definitely, like, working my way towards finding this niche. And when she gave me the sewing machine, I was like, “Oh, great. Now I can make some sewing projects and I’ll put them on my craft blog,” which I did. And then immediately just fell head over heels in love with sewing again. And was like, “Oh no, I only want to do this. I don’t want to do any of this other stuff anymore.” Yeah.
Caroline: Oh, wow, that’s so great. Oh my gosh. Thank you, Teresa.
Helen: Yes. Shout out to Teresa. Thank you so much.
Caroline: Oh my gosh. Okay. So have you ever worked with, like, any specialized or unusual sewing machines over the years?
Helen: I have, actually. I used to work at a trade show exhibit company. Before I started Helen’s Closet I was, like, a graphic designer. And one of my jobs that I had for a few years was working at this trade show company, doing graphic design for the trade shows. So we would design the, like, graphics for the booths and then we’d print them out and laminate them and put them on the booths. And we’d also do banners and all sorts of, like, really large-format graphic design. So we decided to move our banner production in-house. And my boss, Mark, was like, “Does anyone know how to sew?” And I was like, “Yeah, I know how to sew.” And he was like, “Okay, I’m going to buy an industrial sewing machine for us so that we can make the banners in-house.” And I was like, “Okay.” So I was sewing banners for a little while in this industrial sewing machine. And it was so fast. And the banners we were making were like 40 feet long. So we had like six people holding the banner while I was running it through the machine. And it was just like, vroom! It was so much fun to sit there and just, like, literally hold the pedal down while everyone else just, like, fed it through. I’m like, “I’m doing it!”
Caroline: Oh my gosh. Industrial machines do feel so powerful. Like if you’ve never, you know, I don’t know. Like, I encourage anyone who has an opportunity to, like, sit down and put pedal to the metal on an industrial machine: do it. It is thrilling. Low-stakes. Like. definitely make it low-stakes because it’s easy for it to, like, get away from you. But try it out. It’s really fun.
Helen: It was really fun. And he also had me sew a cover for his boat.
Caroline: Yeah. Oh my god.
Helen: Which was really an interesting project. And in hindsight, I’m like, I should have asked for a raise.
Caroline: Yeah. A hundred percent. That is not in your job description.
Helen: No, it definitely wasn’t. Okay. What about you? ‘Cause I know you had an industrial machine for a hot second, right?
Caroline: Yeah. When I moved into my first apartment, my roommate and I had just graduated from fashion design school. So we were all about industrial machines. That’s what we used in school. So we bought one on Craigslist or something. And like, we had to go and pick it up. And it was quite harrowing to, like, get it up into our apartment. And then I actually remember, like, when I moved out of that place, my brother had to help me bring it down the stairs. And we had, like, a truly near-death experience. Like, he was pinned. It was a, like, Montreal triplex with the, like, winding staircase. And there was a point when he was, like, pinned against the wall with this incredibly heavy industrial machine basically, like, up against him and we were like “Pivot! Pivot!” Like, we couldn’t get it and it was like, I was like, “Oh my god, my brother’s gonna die. Like, this is so crazy.” We managed to get it out, but it was really touch and go. So yeah, don’t underestimate the weight of these machines. There’s a motor. There’s oil. There’s, like, an oil pan underneath. Like, they’re just, like, heavy-duty machines. You need many people to move them.
Helen: Some sewists really swear by them, though. I know there’s lots of folks in the community that prefer to sew on an industrial sewing machine because it does go so fast and it does a really great straight stitch, which is nice. And I’m sure there’s lots of other benefits, too. I don’t have that much experience making one…I’ve never made a garment on one. So I can’t speak to that.
Caroline: I should mention that we have one at Blackbird HQ now.
Helen: Oh, I didn’t know that! That’s cool.
Caroline: Yeah. We purchased a Juki industrial machine because our pattern maker and sample maker, Janna, she has a lot of an industry background making jeans and she’s really used to working on industrial machines. And she just felt like it would be, like, a great thing to have around because she can sew samples way faster. She was, like, getting really frustrated with how slow, like, domestic machines are going. So we got one for the office and it’s great. She purrs. She’s beautiful.
Helen: Oh, nice. That’s cool.
Caroline: I think, for me, like, the main downside of an industrial machine is it’s a little bit less versatile. It only does straight stitch. Like, there’s a different machine for each type of stitch or finish. So if you’re just getting a regular industrial, it’ll only do straight stitch. You are dealing with, like, oil, which I think is a little bit intimidating. Like, the whole kind of mechanism of the machine is different.
Helen: Yeah. It’s more like a lawnmower or something.
Caroline: Totally. and it’s harder for, like, the home sewist, I think, to troubleshoot issues if you end up having issues with that machine.
Helen: Well, and the speed could be a downside, too, for a newer sewist, for sure. Like, on a home sewing machine, you can control the speed. And you do want to go slow because you need to have control.
Caroline: Totally.
Helen: But I could see how, if you learned on an industrial or if you were in a workplace where an industrial sewing machine was used frequently, how it would be hard to go back, you know?
Caroline: Yeah, totally.
Helen: Yeah.
Caroline: But you know, that power, it’s intoxicating.
Helen: It’s true.
Caroline: Oh my gosh. Okay, well I guess sergers or overlockers could be categorized as specialized machines.
Helen: Totally.
Caroline: And we’ve both worked with sergers for a while. So, tell me about your first experience with a serger.
Helen: My mom had one when we were growing up, but it was always unthreaded, always messing up, getting into tangles, unthreading itself. Like, I just remember her cursing at it. I remember getting out the serger was, like, a big deal. And then you have to set it up and it’s just like, “Oh, it’s so annoying and it doesn’t ever work the way you want it to.” And it’s like, what’s wrong with it? So I definitely didn’t have, like, positive feelings towards sergers. And then in high school, we had some, like, set up and ready to go that worked pretty well. So I got to use them more when I was in home ec. And I’ve told this story on the podcast before, but I was serging this beautiful dress that had been given to us by a local fashion designer. She gave us, like, a whole bunch of samples to our high school home ec class so that we could alter them and mess with them, make them our own. And she was just, like, “You know, these are just samples. So, like, go nuts.” And there’s this gorgeous dress and I was serging something in the inside and like, it got folded up underneath and I chopped this massive hole in the front of the dress using the serger blade. And so that was my first, like, really memorable serger experience where I was like, “Oh, these things can really mess up your project if you’re not careful.”
Caroline: Yes. I know, there’s so much, like, serger, almost, lore. And I feel like sergers get a bad rep. People just are scared of them. There’s, like, horror stories. There’s just, like, more room for things to go awry with a serger.
Helen: Right? It’s like, “Let’s take a regular sewing machine and add a knife.”
Caroline: Add a knife. Add a couple more threads. Everything is intersecting. Like, it’s just, you know, there’s a lot going on. And I understand why it can be intimidating but it also, sergers open up, like, a whole world of possibilities and make your projects look so much more finished.
Helen: Oh, for sure. Like, with all that said, I would not go back. I absolutely love my current serger. We have the same one and we talk about it all the time on this show because it’s such a great serger.
Caroline: I know. I feel like it needs a song. (singing) The Juki ME-6-5-4-DE. Right. Or MO?
Helen: It’s the M O, yeah. (singing) Juki, Juki M O 6 5 4 D E. Eee!
Caroline: Whee!
Helen: It’s like a cheer.
Caroline: Yeah, it totally is.
Helen: Yeah, it’s affordable. It’s pretty quiet. It runs like a charm. It’s, yeah, it’s the perfect serger, in my opinion. But it doesn’t self-thread, which some sergers out there do. And that’s pretty cool. You can just hit a button and it will, like, blow the thread for you.
Caroline: Yeah. It’s like, poof! And then it just throws it in and things happen, and then it’s threaded.
Helen: Yeah, I still get in fights with my serger every once in a while and I have to unthread it all the way and then rethread. You know, you know, when it’s bad, nothing’s going right. You’re just like, “I, we’re starting from scratch. I’m taking all the thread out. I’m cleaning it.” I’m like, “I want to wipe the slate clean and I’m going to start fresh with new thread because it might be the thread that’s a problem.”
Caroline: Yeah. Sometimes new needles help, too. If I’m really having issues, I’ll change out my needles and often it’ll be something, there’s a kink in the needle or something, you know?
Helen: Yeah. Totally.
Caroline: No, I, I love my Juki for sure. I actually, my first serger was a gift from my parents before I went to college. And it was a Sears Kenmore, which is funny because one of your machines was also a Sears Kenmore. But I loved that machine. I used it all the time. I remember when I was gifted it, it came with, like, a free lesson in this, like, lady’s house. So I, like, went to this lady’s house with my new serger and she, like, showed me how to use it. And it was really cool. And I used it throughout college. I moved to Vancouver with it and it was only in the last, like, few years, maybe five years, that I upgraded to the Juki and ended up shipping this serger back to my mom and now my mom has it. So it lives on.
Helen: They are great, though. Like, it just speeds up the process. And it makes the garments last a little bit longer, too, in some cases, depending on how you’re finishing your seams beforehand. Like, French seams are obviously super strong, but if you’re just doing, like, pinking shears or leaving the edges raw, sometimes that can result in things unraveling. Whereas a serger makes sure that your seams are really nice and secure. And if you’re just really interested in making a bunch of garments, playing with fashion, or just learning a lot about sewing, I think the speed and ease of a serger can really help that process along. So I would recommend.
Caroline: 100 percent I would recommend. Yeah. What do you think are, like, the most annoying things about serging? Not to pile on, add to the lore.
Helen: I mean, really, just the threading. I’m trying to think if there’s other things. The threading, and like, if you have tension issues and you’re looking at it and it’s like all loopy and messy. But honestly, even sometimes when the tension’s not that great, I’m like, “Eh, good enough.”
Caroline: Yeah. As long as I’m not using it as, like, a all-in-one, like, sewing and finishing, I’m not as worried. If I’m sewing knits only on a serger, I’m a little bit more concerned about tension and, lik,e making sure that the seam doesn’t, like, open and get that, like, laddering.
Helen: Yeah. Yeah, for sure.
Caroline: I think threading is the most annoying troubleshooting. Like, we touched on that. I think troubleshooting on a serger can be, like, intimidating, especially if it’s a newer machine for you. One thing that my Juki does is, like, my threads get tangled. Like, my thread at the top, like, even before it goes through, that, like, sometimes like they’ll sort of get tangled up and knotted up. And it’s probably my actual, like, thread cones are really old or something, but I’ve been using these like the same stash of thread cones since, like, college, because you never go through a whole thread cone unless you’re…
Helen: Only, like, some colours.
Caroline: Yeah.
Helen: But yeah, they last for so long.
Caroline: I’ve had them for so long that, like, the plastic inside is, like, disintegrating, you know? Like, it’s just, like, because I, they were in the sun for a while at one point, in one of my apartments, and so I, like, touch one and it just, like, goes, like, poof! Like, the plastic just…
Helen: It might be time for an upgrade, Caroline.
Caroline: No. It’s a no-buy year, Helen.
Helen: Oh, right. Non-essential.
Caroline: But no, I think, yeah, that’s causing me to have some, like, thread tangling issues. So I have to kind of keep my eye on the top area as I’m sewing to make sure that things don’t get nesty up there, but. Nesty and nasty.
Helen: Every serger is a little bit different. I’m sure some listeners out there are like, “What are they talking about? My serger is the worst. It’s so annoying.” And yeah, I feel you. Sometimes machines are just not your friend.
Caroline: Yeah. And sometimes they just, like, they have their issues that are hard to solve. Like, we’ve definitely had serger chats at the office where a team member’s like, “My serger will not work,” and then they, like, bring it in and we’re all trying to rethread it and, like, no one can get it to work. Like, sometimes it just needs to go in for servicing or needs to be retired, you know?
Helen: Yeah, well, you bring up a good point about servicing because it can be helpful to get your machine professionally serviced if you’re having recurring issues, like your thread being tangled at the top. Maybe that’s something to do with the machine or you’ll just take it in and they’ll be like, “How old is this thread cone?” But sometimes you just need to hear it. You know?
Caroline: Yeah, totally. Oh my gosh.
Helen: I’m not that good about getting my machine serviced. I’ll dust out my serger every six months or so. And my sewing machine, I try to be a little bit better with and get it serviced at least once a year. But it’s hard, it’s hard to, like, commit to actually taking it in to go and get it done. And it costs money, so that’s not nothing. And, yeah, you can do a lot yourself, at home. There’s lots of great tutorials online about how to service your own machine at home. So that is also possible. And just getting the dust out is really important if you’re not planning on taking it to get serviced very often.
Caroline: On a serger, for sure. I mean, on a sewing machine, too, I’d say also, like, if your sewing machine has, like, a thing that you need to oil, do that regularly. I think that will make a world of difference. Whenever I oil my sewing machine, it runs, like, so much quieter and I, like, forget how much of a difference it makes. You know, it’s just, like, smoother. It’s less clunky. Okay, wait, I feel like we need to talk about what sewing machines we’re currently sewing on. Can we move on from sergers? Talk about our current loves.
Helen: Yes. For sure. Okay. So we both have the same machine right now. I know you have, too, we both have the Pfaff Expression 710.
Caroline: She’s purple. Yeah.
Helen: Yeah. You may know her. She’s purple. Great little machine. Like, the price point, I think, is around, it’s more expensive, for sure. It’s around 2000, I believe?
Caroline: Canadian. Yeah.
Helen: Yeah. Canadian. So definitely a pricier sewing machine, a more top-tier. Not the most expensive; you can spend pretty much as much as you want on a sewing machine. It’s, it’s wild out there, but.
Caroline: Just ask yourself, do you need all those stitches?
Helen: Yeah, exactly. Yeah. I think, for what it does, it’s really smooth. I’ve never had any issues with it. Love the buttonhole function. Love the built-in walking foot. Pfaffs have, like, they call it the IDT system, and it’s, like, this little extra foot that flips down from the backside of the machine and acts as a little walking foot. So you can just engage that whenever you want. I pretty much have it on all the time, because why not? And I think that is a really nice feature of the machine. One of my favourite things about switching from the old vintage Kenmore to this one is, on my old one, my threads would constantly get tangled and I would always have to hold on to the threads at the back of the machine when I started my project. And I got really good at always remembering to do that. It was just, like, muscle memory at a certain point. But on the Pfaff, I don’t have to worry about that. It just pretty much always starts out beautifully and I never have any issues with that. So that’s really nice.
Caroline: Yeah. I mean, that Pfaff has a lot of bells and whistles, and I’m gonna just say it: I like that machine. I don’t love it. I have some gripes. I have some complaints. We can get into them.
Helen: I’d love to hear them, because I feel like, sometimes, even though you get the same machine, they’re different, somehow.
Caroline: Yeah. Well, okay. What I love about this machine, it’s like a love/hate because I like that there are certain automations. Like, I like that there’s the automatic backstitch. You can set it to backstitch right away at the front and the, at the end of your seam. You can also set it to cut your threads when you’re finished sewing, which is fun. Takes some getting used to, but it’s very fun. I love the built-in walking foot. It makes for, like, a beautiful sewing experience. You’re not dealing with things like shifting as much. My biggest pet peeve thing that I don’t like about this machine is that there’s no manual foot lever. So you can’t raise and lower your foot with your hand or with, like, a knee pedal. It’s a button, and that…I’m not over it. I can’t, I can’t get over it. I thought I would get used to it and I can’t.
Helen: It did take me months to stop reaching behind the presser foot to lift the bar.
Caroline: And there are just, like, certain instances where I want that control of being able to do that with my hand versus a button. Like, there’s not as much…
Helen: To position the fabric and, like, pin it down,
Caroline: To position the fabric, exactly.
Helen: That’s fair.
Caroline: So that’s, like, my biggest complaint about that machine. I do still use it, and I think it sews beautifully. It also has, like, a, an alert when your bobbin thread is running out. Which, it means well, right? Like, it’s like, “I’m letting you know that you’re gonna run out of bobbin thread.” But like, I like living on the edge. Like, I like taking it to the end, you know? And…
Helen: Well, you still take it to the end. You just have to leave the alert on the screen.
Caroline: Yeah, it just, but it just taunts. Yeah, you can’t, I guess you can’t exit the alert, because if you exit the alert it just keeps taunting, like “It’s almost out! It’s almost out!” But sometimes I’m just like, I don’t want you to tell me, like, I want to learn for myself, I’m an independent woman. Don’t tell me what to do. Don’t tell me I need to change my bobbin.
Helen: Have you had the alert that it gives when you hit, like, a really hard surface and the needle breaks and the machine, like, goes, like, chunk-chunk-chunk-chunk-chunk.
Caroline: Yeah.
Helen: And it just, like, won’t work. It’s like, “I’m resting. Give me a break.” Okay.
Caroline: Oh my gosh. Yes. Okay. But so, my Pfaff: love/hate, right? But my Bernie, it’s love/love. It’s true love. My Bernina, it’s love forever. It’s, I can’t tell you enough how much I love my Bernina. She was acquired very dramatically because it was when I was working with Sewaholic Patterns. I was sewing a lot of samples for photoshoots and I had a very dramatic day when the Singer machine, my, like, entry-level Walmart Singer, was giving me major issues. It was, did not want to sew the knits that I was sewing. It was skipping stitches. I couldn’t figure it out. And I was on a tight deadline. So I took it as a sign and invested in this Bernina. I was like, I’m getting a new machine. Like, I can’t handle the stress of these skipped stitches. And I’m so glad that I invested in this Bernina. Yeah. She’s just my favourite. She’s my one and only, like, ride or die. Honestly.
Helen: Okay, hold on one second though, because you got the Pfaff after you got the Bernina. So if she’s your ride or die, then why’d you get the Pfaff?
Caroline: Wow, I feel attacked. So, a few years ago, during COVID, there was a really long wait for machine servicing, and I wanted to get my Bernina serviced, but I had to leave it with the person who was servicing it for like three months. There was a really long wait. So I just said to myself, “I feel like I need a backup machine. Just in case, like, something happens to my beloved or she needs to go in for servicing, like, I need to make sure that I’m taking care of her and servicing her.” Right? So I went with the Pfaff, which, like, no hard feelings…
Helen: Upon my recommendation, probably.
Caroline: No, you and our, our friend Tasia also recommended it cause she has a similar one. And I’m happy I have two machines because, like, if I’m sewing with a friend, like, my sister-in-law Adrianna is learning to sew, so we often sew together, or if I’m sewing jeans and I want to have like two machines going at once, one for top stitching, one for regular, like, it’s great having two machines. I like it, but my, my Bernina is, she’s perfect. Like, I have no complaints. So.
Helen: You know, I feel like one of the things you’re talking about with the Pfaff is annoyance about the foot. And because I don’t use any other machines anymore, I’m just, like, committed and I’m so used to it. And I know where all the buttons are and it’s like muscle memory, whereas you’re like switching back and forth. So maybe that’s contributing to the frustration a little bit.
Caroline: I think so. I think so. Helen, you did say you’ve never had problems with your Pfaff and I just want to point out, like, I just want you to tell the story. You know what story I’m talking about?
Helen: It’s not the Pfaff that was the problem. I know. Okay. So we were talking about servicing and how you should clear the dust out of your machine and like, you should always take good care of it and do a good job and all that. And I thought I was doing that because I’d open up the bobbin thing and clear it out, but I thought I was opening it all the way and getting everything that I could get at. And then it’s probably been a couple of years since I got the Pfaff or since I’d taken it to be serviced. So it’d been a minute, and it started acting weird. The feed dogs weren’t feeding the fabric anymore. And I couldn’t get the stitch length to be a consistent two and a half millimeters. It was always just, like, one millimeter, like it was barely moving through under the presser foot. So I took it in to be serviced. And I have to drive down to the next town over to get my machine serviced by a Pfaff specialist. And so we drove down there and we went out for lunch or whatever. And then I came back to go get it. And the lady was super nice. She was like, “Just so you know, there was so much lint under the presser foot it was jammed solid, like, it was like a solid rock of fiber, like, just, like, smooshed in around the feed dogs of the machine.” And she was like, “You really need to be cleaning that out.” And I was like, “I didn’t even know I was allowed to clean that out.” Like, I didn’t know I could get in there. So she, like, showed me how to, like, undo the screws and, like, open it up and get inside. And sure enough, you can see, you know, in between each feed dog, there’s like a little place where lint can gather. And now that I know that’s there, I can, like, get in and, like, pick it out with a pin and it’s very satisfying. So I do that more regularly now, but because I’d only had vintage machines where everything is really visible, I just didn’t realize that I was supposed to, like, unscrew stuff to get in there. I was like, “What you see is what you get. I’m just going to clean what I can see.” And then the people who service it will clean the rest of it. So this is a lesson in learning how to properly clean your machine and also getting it serviced more regularly. Cause I probably wouldn’t have run into this issue if I had done that. So.
Caroline: Okay, but, would you think this was in the manual? Like, how to clean it? Do you think it’s like a case of..
Helen: Yeah, the manual or, like, YouTube videos, like, you’ll often find people doing reviews of machines where they’ll show you how to take it apart and see all the different areas where you can clean and put oil and stuff like that. So, just wrapping your head around how to do it all.
Caroline: It’s kind of like when you buy a car, you need to figure out, like, what are the regular service appointments I need to make? Remember to change the oil. These things are all important with sewing machines, too.
Helen: I also didn’t get my tires rotated on the car that my parents gave me because I didn’t know that was a thing. And then when I finally learned it was a thing and we took it in, the tire lady was like, “Your tires are, like, really messed up.” We were like, “Oh no! Nobody told us.”
Caroline: People, yeah, there needs to be, like, an adult manual of how to do adult things.
Helen: Yes, there does. Thank you.
Caroline: Oh my gosh. Okay, there is another story that I feel like you’re glossing over.
Helen: Oh no, that wasn’t the one you wanted to hear.
Caroline: It’s the one that’s about the, like, collapse of your, like, foot.
Helen: You know what? I still am not a hundred percent sure why that happened.
Caroline: Okay. Yeah. Okay. I don’t know. You tell the story. Sorry. Sorry.
Helen: I was sewing and then all of a sudden the needle and the, like, screw that holds in the needle and the shank on the presser foot, everything just, like, fell apart. And it was just, like, in pieces everywhere. And I was just sitting there, like, with my mouth open, like, “What just happened?” And it was all broken and I couldn’t figure out how to put it back together because there was a lot of little pieces and I did not know how it went back together. So I was all panicked and I took it to the same nice lady.
Caroline: That poor lady.
Helen: She was really nice about it. And she reassembled it for me. And I remember her telling me that it was because I was, like, unscrewing the, you know, when you put your new needles in, you have to unscrew the little screw and then you pull the needle out and pop the new needle in and then screw it in nice and tight. And I was, I guess, unscrewing that screw a little too liberally. And it was, like, holding more than just the needle together at the top of the shank. So, that’s my memory. Am I remembering it wrong?
Caroline: No, I, I just remember, the way that you told us the story, it was like, “I’ve been sewing so many samples, I’ve been using her so much that she just collapsed under the pressure.” Like, the final stitch on your final, like, Brooks Jeans sample or something. And it was just like, poof! She gave up.
Helen: I ruined her. I drove her into the ground!
Caroline: Yeah.
Helen: I think it had been a while at that point, too, since I’d had her serviced. So that’s when your machine breaks like that. And then you’re like, “Oh no, I did this. I did this by not taking care of you.”
Caroline: Oh my gosh.
Helen: I do love my machines, though. Do you have any, like, fun names for your sewing machines?
Caroline: No, I don’t name my sewing machines or my cars and I feel like I’m missing out, you know?
Helen: You are missing out. I name both my sewing machines and my cars.
Caroline: Okay, tell me.
Helen: Okay. My Pfaff is named Diana. It just feels right. She’s purple. I don’t know.
Caroline: She’s a princess.
Helen: It, like, yeah, she’s Diana. My serger’s name is Alex. I just give them, like, really generic names. But like, they have personalities, you know? She’s such an Alex.
Caroline: Yeah. Alex feels reliable. Your Juki? Yeah.
Helen: Yeah, definitely. Yeah. My Kenmore, her name was Rosemary.
Caroline: Yes. I remember.
Helen: Yeah. Kind of like a vintage name, but also she was like this teal-y, blue-y, green colour. It’s a little bit Rosemary-esque. And that’s it. I didn’t name my mom’s sewing machine because it’s not mine. So yeah.
Caroline: I call my Bernina Bernie, but I don’t, it’s like a nickname, you know? But yeah. Bernie.
Helen: That’s cute. She’s probably not the only Bernie out there.
Caroline: I know. It’s not very original. Do you have a dream machine on your, like, to-buy-someday list?
Helen: Not a specific model, but obviously since I’ve gotten into quilting, I am considering my future long-arm machine that I’ll inevitably end up getting.
Caroline: Oh my gosh, that is so exciting!
Helen: To fulfill my quilting destiny.
Caroline: You’ll need a second garage. For a long-arm.
Helen: I know. It would be so amazing to have one, and I’m saying this having never used one. I don’t know how to use it. I don’t know if I would like it. But I want one nonetheless. So there you go.
Caroline: Yeah. I mean, we’re talking dreams, right?
Helen: Yeah. We’re talking dreams. How about you? Do you have a dream machine?
Caroline: I still want a coverstitch. I’ve wanted a coverstitch for, like, the entire duration of this podcast. So we’re going on eight years.
Helen: And you can have one next year.
Caroline: I don’t know what the block is. Like, why I just have been hesitant to get one. Like, I want one, but maybe I don’t need one. You know, I have, I can do a twin needle finish on my knits. I have a serger. Like, what is it bringing to the table? You know. But it is something that I’ve always thought, like, rounding out my sewing machine arsenal. Yeah, collection. I feel like a cover stitch would do that, you know?
Helen: Yeah. When you guys do a knit pattern at BF Patterns, then you should get a cover stitch for your office. Justify it as a work purchase. Loophole.
Caroline: No, true. It’s also, like, another complicated machine to thread. You need more thread cones. And maybe I do need more thread cones anyway.
Helen: You’re allowed to have more than four from 1995.
Caroline: Whoa, whoa, whoa. I wasn’t in college in 1995, okay? More like 2008.
Helen: I have a coverstitch on loan from a friend. On indefinite loan. She gave it to me because she wasn’t using it very often and now it sits in my studio, not getting used very often, and it’s great. I do think it does what it does really well, and it’s so satisfying, especially when you’re making a whole bunch of knit projects at once.
Like, when I make a bunch of clothes for my nieces and nephew, it’s fun to bust it out to do all the hems, and it does do an amazing job at getting that twin needle finish with the stretchy backside. But yeah, it’s a little bit annoying to thread. It is definitely not a necessary thing unless you’re doing, like, knits all the time. But they’re pretty cool. And I do think that, Caroline, you’ve earned it. You should feel free. Maybe not this year, ‘cause I know you’re not buying anything, but there’s no, like, finish line that you need to pass in order to get a coverstitch machine.
Caroline: Maybe I need to talk to my therapist about why I haven’t invested in a coverstitch machine.
Helen: “I just don’t deserve it.”
Caroline: Oh my gosh. Okay. This was a fun chat. Thank goodness for sewing machines, y’all. We would not be where we are if they didn’t exist.
Helen: Oh my gosh, I know. I mean, I don’t even want to imagine a world without a sewing machine. And I really want to hear about our listeners’ sewing machine memories. If you have pictures of you and your early sewing machines, we’d love to see them, recommendations for sewing machines you love, things that drive you nuts about your sewing machine. Please email us, leave us a voicemail or comment on social media this week. We’ll have some fun pictures up.
Caroline: Yeah. I would love to hear your stories of, like, bringing your machine to be serviced and what the technician told you you did wrong.
Helen: Yeah. Hopefully I’m not alone on that front.
Caroline: The weirdest thing a sewing machine technician found in your machine.
Helen: “This machine is full of beans!”
Caroline: Oh my gosh, yes. Please send us your stories and thank you all for listening.
Helen: Yeah. We’ll talk to you next week.
Caroline: Bye!
That’s it for today’s episode of Love to Sew. You can find me, Caroline, at Blackbird Fabrics and BF Patterns and Helen at Helen’s Closet Patterns and Cedar Quilt Co. And we’re recording in beautiful British Columbia, Canada.
Helen: You can support Love to Sew and get access to more content by subscribing on Patreon or Apple podcasts. You even get access to the back catalog of all of our bonus episodes. That’s over 75 hours of Love to Sew. Go to patreon.com/lovetosew or check out our podcast page on Apple Podcasts for more info.
Caroline: You can head to lovetosewpodcast.com to find our show notes. They’re filled with links and pictures from this episode. And if you’d like to get in touch with us, leave us a message at 1-844-SEW-WHAT. That’s 1-844-739-9428. Or send us an email at hello@lovetosewpodcast.com.
Helen: Thanks to our amazing podcast team. Lisa Ruiz is our creative assistant and Jordan Moore of The Pod Cabin is our editor. And thank you for listening. We will talk to you next week.
Caroline: Bye!
Helen: Bye bye.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
