Anyone have some cheese for this?

[teakay]

... I really want to justify the cost of a sewing machine. When I'm not working on dolls and the like, foot after foot of running stitch gets a bit tiresome (to say nothing of when I'll have to go back and finish the seams and whatnot). But I have to ask myself if spending so much for a hobby I take up so sporadically is really worth it. So far the answer's been no.

At least I have fewer absurd worries about gruesome needle accidents. And more to spend to indulge my hankering for Old World of Darkness PDFs. If boning up on Vampire for eventual Bloodlines fic isn't enough, I'm tempted to diversify into Werewolf and Changeling.

Comments

[liam-sensei.livejournal.com]

I don't know what you tend to work on, but if you are making bigger projects like clothing and blankets and the like and plan on making more in the future, it might be worth looking into. Sewing machines are not cheap, but it depends on what you want to do with it. I just looked on Wal-Mart's website though and they do have a number of small, basic machines for under $100; they're not the computer programmable fancy stuff but they've got a needle and bobbin mechanism and that's all you really need. I was really lucky with mine: a friend of my grandmother's worked at their town transfer station and found a machine among items being dropped off. He did some tuning and cleaning and gave it to my grandmother, who gave it to me and it works great.

You don't have to worry about needle accidents. The foot is so close to the needle you would have to be sticking your finger under there without the foot lowered and your foot on the pedal. The worst needle accident I had involved the needle breaking and hitting me in the side of the face, which tickled a little and no more. But then remove the pins one at a time to not sew over them.

[tobykikami.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the reassurance. The sort of funny thing about the "gruesome needle accidents" is I remember an aunt let me use her machine when I was maybe eight or nine, and the possibility never occurred to me until my parents brought it up the next day ("Thanks a lot, Mom and Dad!" XD).

Given further consideration, I think I might ask after one for my next birthday on the theory that if I keep drifting back to sewing, it's got to pay off at some point.

[liam-sensei.livejournal.com]

Yeah parents are really good for making you feel paranoid about stuff. But, like I said, sewing over your finger is possible but you have to be really working close to the needle for that to happen so just make sure the foot is always down. I think asking for it as a birthday gift is a great idea and if your parents get you a cheap one it will be a good one to start with.