I am ready to roll!!! (And a question for those with Kenmores)

[Persephone]

I have been stalled with my sewing for a long time, because I bought a 20 something Kenmore off Ebay, and it had hardly been used, so I wanted to take it in for a tune up, and then when it came back, I was still having issues. Well, it turns out that despite really trying to follow the threading instructions in the manual, I screwed it up. : But I know what I'm doing now, and I'm ready to go! My machine was also kind of squeaky, and I wanted to get that taken care of too. Now, I have a question for you sewers: He was turning the hand wheel, and he said that's the typical Kenmore sound. I have not had any experience with Kenmores, really, because the last sewing machine I used was a brand new Singer. So, those of you who have Kenmores, is this truly the typical sound? It's kind of a "crik crik crik" when you turn the hand wheel.

Anyway, here's what I'm planning on doing:

Hemming my pants! (done!)
Altering a shirt that hangs too low to fit me properly. (done! And it looks very cute if I do say so myself.)
Fix the hems on some of my other shirts (halfway done!)
Hemming a skirt to fit me. (done!)
Turn a pair of jeans into a skirt! (done!)
Make a patchwork pillow for my mom. (3/4 done, I ran out of stuffing.)
Make some more long skirts for me
Teach myself how to make those cute patchy clothes
make some cloth pads!
make some baby clothes (the diapers I'm buying and covers I'm knitting)
Make some renfaire clothes for me and dh
make some patterns that I've collected over the past few months.
Maybe make some bellydancing clothes too. (Especially some harem pants! )

Yay!! I can't wait to get started!

[KariM]

Babe's napping on my lap right now but when she wakes up I'll go give my Kenmore a whirl (it's a 1960's something model, BTW and my favorite machine so far).

--Kari

[KariM]

We have a sound here, but it's in the area of the needle mechanism (dunno what it's called, but the thingy that moves the needle up and down). I only noticed it when I turned the wheel by hand and not so much when I use the foot pedal.

--Kari

[boingo82]

Mine's pretty quiet.
Looks about like this:
http://www.sewusa.com/Sewing_Machine...ion_Manual.htm

[JennInSeattle]

My machine looks exactly like Emily's with the exception of a single button on the top.

Mine makes all kinds of fun sounds.. it clinks more during certain stitches because the little metal wire at the tension knob goes up and down a bit.. the plates at the bottom clink a bit and it's very noticable if something gets caught up because the clinking becomes very loud - which is an awesome way to avoid a snag.. just stop where you are and pull out the material!

Your projects sound like so much fun! You must be tiny to be able to sew a skirt from your jeans.. not to mention belly dancing! I'm totally jealous!

[boingo82]

OK - looked at my machine (now that I'm home) and while it's similar to the link above, it's not exact. They actually don't have my model on that site though they do have hundreds of others. So, I took a pic just now, here it is:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1.../158-17550.jpg

(DO NOT LOOK at the piles of stuff behind the machine LOL! My table is not exactly organized. )

[KariM]

Mine's the model 1802, if that makes any difference.

[Persephone]

Oh, thank you guys for going to your machines to listen!

I don't think it's the model as much as the make that makes a difference. I mean, this guy has seen tons of sewing machines (he's a repairman). Anyway, I'm not going to worry about it, because it's working fine for me right now, and I am just so sick of worrying about it. The sound I'm hearing is coming from a belt somewhere inside. I'm wondering if with more use it will completely go away. I mean, I bought this machine that's 20 years old, and had only been used twice. So, I'm sure it was suffering from neglect. I'm hoping that the more I use it, the less noisy it will be.

As for my projects! (A much more fun topic)

Here is how I'm modifying my jeans to make a skirt: http://www.fashion-icon.com/fall_2001/jeansplicing.html

Short, but not small! And I'd bellydance no matter what size I am! The more you have to shake, the better it is!

[JennInSeattle]

Interesting pattern for the skirt! I will have to see what you end up with!

Oh and Emily - just for fun, this is my sewing machine (the exact same color as yours but camera stinks): http://pic18.picturetrail.com/VOL934...4/90294204.jpg

[boingo82]

Originally Posted by JennInSeattle

..
Oh and Emily - just for fun, this is my sewing machine (the exact same color as yours but camera stinks): http://pic18.picturetrail.com/VOL934...4/90294204.jpg

Wow, they are actually very similar!

[JennInSeattle]

[Persephone]

Oh, I'm very close to finishing all the clothing alterations, and then I can start in on the fun stuff! *bouncy bouncy bouncy!*

BTW, my sewing machine looks a lot like yours, but I can't take a pic of it, no digicam.

Edit: Here's a pic of a very similar one: http://tinyurl.com/47o8s

[willowsmom]

I was searching for info on sewing machines (I think I'm going to purchase a Kenmore 158 off of ebay) and saw this thread...

Persephone, did you finish your skirt??? I had the same idea when I saw the state of my jeans...lol

Anyway...just saying hi

[Persephone]

Everything but the hemming! I had a BEAR of a time with the crotch, and if you looked at it inside out, you'd be shocked at the threads going everywhere, but yeah, it's done, and it looks pretty good from the outside. I think I'm going to do it with all my pants as they wear out. I've got another pair of jeans, a pair of black pants, and a pair of red corduroys. I almost want them to wear out now, lol! I wish I could post pics of it.

[nym]

I have made a ton of skirts out of old pants. The other thing you can do if you find an old pair of pants that you like the material of, and they are too small, is too put inserts in the side hems too

[willowsmom]

Very cool!!! I've got a great pair of jeans that has two red stripes down either side...i want to get a matching red panel for the centers...anyway...I need to get a sewing machine again first... Hehehe

Happy sewing!

[Persephone]

Nym, yeah, I might do that thing with the pants with a pair of red corduroys I have. I don't look good in straight legged pants, I look better in flares, and I might add something to those, so they're flared.

As for the skirt, it's finally finally done! And I wore it yesterday, and it was really nice. I'm having dinner with my MIL tonight, and I'm going to wear it there too. I wonder if they'll say something, and then I can say I made it myself.