New Sewing Machine

If you follow me on Twitter, you know how devoted I am to Weeknight Dinner, a good drink, and The Vampire Diaries. You also know that a few weeks ago, we welcomed into our urban home a long-awaited arrival: a new sewing machine. I took my time choosing a new sewing machine, because from experience I knew exactly what I wanted, and I was willing to wait until I located it. We are lucky that in Astoria, there are still numerous small businesses, from a hardware store that sells canning supplies to an upscale home store. There are sewing stores – which always sends my mind ricocheting back to Friday afternoon strolls along the hometown business district with my grandmother – and a few of that unfortunately rare breed: the small appliance store. At one such, while John completed negotiations for a new vacuum cleaner, I test-drove a half-dozen machines.

I learned to sew at my grandmother’s apron strings – literally by practicing on aprons – by doing basting stitches, replacing worn pockets, even embroidery by hand. A sewing machine lurked in the corner of “the back porch” – the enclosed room where she did her sewing – but because of the moving needles I wasn’t allowed to work it. She let me watch over her shoulder as she sewed. How struck I was by the magic of fabric flowing through the chomping needle. I don’t remember the name or make of that machine, just that it was beige with olive trim, and that she kept her notions in a hinged tin in the same colors that I suspect came with the machine.

As I’ve written before, when I first moved to the city, knowing how to sew literally kept me fed as I worked in a costume shop sewing circus costumes for cash. Having a grandmother who sews followed by working in a professional costume shop is the best training for a home sewer I can imagine. In that shop, the machine of choice was Husqvarna. I still remember feeding stiltwalker pants through my Huskie, nearly having a nervous breakdown as the shiny satin slithered all over the sewing plate in a determined effort to queer my seams (it lost, and those pants got sewed), and stringing my Huskie with fishing line to sew acres of ruffles on stacks of leotards.

Along with good ol’ American Singer, Husqvarna was the finalist for the choice of a new sewing machine in my urban home. I love Huskies, but one consideration for a sewing machine is ease of repair, and while there are technicians who can fix Huskies and parts are fairly available, the fact is that in most repair shops, Singer parts are on hand. Ultimately, with a nostalgic nod of appreciation for Husqvarna, which really is a great sewing machine, I ordered and a few days later unpacked a Singer 2273.

This machine is more than a fundamental stitcher but still works with wheels and levers. In testing electronic machines, which manage such settings as thread tension and stitch style and length with automated key sequences, I felt that having to learn and remember those was more than I wanted to do. Having used them forever, I preferred a wheel-lever machine, which allowed me to set all of the controls quickly and correctly and get on to the actual sewing. Other considerations were the ease of threading the machine, the ease of winding and installing the bobbin, the machine’s ability to maintain thread tension, the stitch library and versatility. The Singer met all of these needs while having a reputation for durability, plus it is lightweight and with its case it is easy to store.

As with any device, getting to know a new sewing machine is half of the fun. Just as my grandmother taught me to sew with patches and pockets, at the costume shop you got used to your machine by seaming together squares of muslin. While going through clothes for donation during spring cleaning, I held back an old pair of corduroys. I cut the cords down into usable squares of fabric. The best pieces I'm reserving for a project that is lurking, rubbing its paws and chuckling, in the back of my mind for Halloween. I used the remaining pieces of corduroy to practice sewing on the new machine. I put together straight seams and felled seams, placed a zipper, and made buttonholes and hems.

Mending and repair are the most fundamental and important skills for the home sewer. In the next sewing column I will publish the directions to sew hems than any tailor would respect. I'll also discuss mise en place, which is as important in sewing as it is in cooking. It doesn't matter whether you are blessed with a dedicated sewing space or work, as I do, at the dining room table.  With a portable, versatile machine and a well-stocked sewing kit, any home sewer can practice this creative, useful skill anywhere there's a flat surface, a good light and the desire to mend something, make something, gather pieces and join them together.