As our skills have grown so have our requirements for our sewing machines so we thought we would share “our stable”.

Vintage Singer 201K – Kay’s first purchase for the very start of the AMUSF course, a proper workhorse and only 80 years young! This is a brilliant machine and hugely reliable. Only due to the fact that it is a straight stitch machine, that it now only gets used for certain fabrics or if one of the other machines require a service.

Bernina Record 930 Electronic – A masterpiece of Swiss engineering, purchased off a local classified website and still the most expensive machine in the workshop, second-hand. All metal gears and brilliant to sew with, even the sewing machine service man advises never to sell it….”they don’t make them like this any more…”. Manages with a variety of fabrics but not keen on thick thread. The fancy stitching it is able to produce means that it can replicate an overlocking type stitch.

Janome Sewist 525s – Cally’s machine of choice and beloved of sewing programs and highly recommended in many reviews. This is a favourite with many of our fellow upholsterers as it copes with all different types of fabric and thickness’s. Very capable without breaking the bank.

New Home Overlocker  My Lock 134D – Believe it or not this was nearly thrown out…In fact out of all the sewing machinery this is the one which can be a complete nightmare and behaves like at teenager. One of Cally’s purchases many many years ago and left in the attic until our “Bee” cushions became popular. It was bought to the workshop to see if it could be of use and provides a very professional finish to the cushions. One needs a degree in threading to get the machine up and running and it’s not keen on different fabrics or zip seams. Or if there is a “y” in the day. It doesn’t like the cold either. Causes tension with it’s tension. Loved and hated in equal frustrated measure but we could not do without it.

Vintage Singer Featherweight 222K – Our baby. Found lurking in a house clearance shop that really should have known better. Complete with box, keys, manuals and attachments. We managed to knock the price down from the already sub £30 price tag due to the fact it wasn’t working, but as any vintage Singer aficionado knows, it’s very rare that these machines break. On closer inspection back in the workshop, the bobbin casing had been put in the wrong way and once this was rectified, ding dong. Taken out once in a while to keep her ticking over and a complete dream to use.

Wimsew 3300-1 Walking Foot Industrial Machine – The “Beast” came into our lives via a retired local upholsterer. It took a good few days of faffing and fiddling to get to grips with it but it powers though vinyl and more importantly many layers of fire retardant coated fabric. Piped boxed cushions are a breeze with this monster.