Sewing machine needed !

[tdunlap]

One other thing, a walking foot and a long stitch length are exactly what you want to sew Sunbrella. It helps to avoid puckering, and having the material on the bottom moving along with the material on top. This is why your mother's old Singer is not ideal. Can you make the old Singer work, sure, but if you plan on getting the best and easiest results, a long stitch length and walking foot is what pros use for a reason.

[tdunlap]

It's a bit like discussing anchors, there are lots of opinions. But...you see the Consew 206 in just about every canvas shop around. It is an industry standard. As such, there are many around. Sometimes you can find a nice used one for a reasonable price. They are certainly worth considering and a joy to work with.

[Captn_Black]

Originally Posted by tdunlap

One other thing, a walking foot and a long stitch length are exactly what you want to sew Sunbrella. It helps to avoid puckering, and having the material on the bottom moving along with the material on top. This is why your mother's old Singer is not ideal. Can you make the old Singer work, sure, but if you plan on getting the best and easiest results, a long stitch length and walking foot is what pros use for a reason.

My only objection to the walking foot is that when/if you have more experience, and move on to tougher jobs, it makes things harder, and if you are used to using a walking foot, then you have to relearn to work without it.
However, a straight stitch on flexible fabric (or rather, fabric that needs to do work and will experience stretching during its use)is objectively bad for anything but upholstery - it stops the fabric from being able to stretch along the axis of the stitches, resulting in sagging panels.

[tdunlap]

Not sure why one would go back to a non-walking foot machine after having one, but yes, you are correct, it's harder to sew many materials without one. This is especially true with most popular material used in the marine industry, acrylic Sunbrella. It's a slippery material. Without a walking foot, the material on the bottom can slide out of position as you sew it. As in many things, the tool isn't the whole answer, but a good tool can certainly make a job much easier. Why do you think Sailrites have a walking foot? Seriously though, just walk into any shop doing marine canvas and I'd bet you'll find several Consew 206 machines there. There is a reason. With acrylic Sunbrella, a walking foot and long stitch length makes a huge difference. Whatever machine one buys, these are two features you'll appreciate. The 206 is just one such machine and it's not limited to just acrylics. I've sewn many other materials, be it leather, sail cloth, cotton canvas, and many others specialty fabrics. Also nice is the Consew 206 has a lot of room under the arm. If you want to go crazy on your budget, they have an extended arm version that is really sweet.

[Captn_Black]

I don't really see a walking foot as a problem, for the kind of jobs most people will normally do, I just think that you will be a better skilled and more flexible fabric worker if you learn to work without one. You getting paid by the hour or by the word? Seems strange that this thread continued pretty normally until the working week began in the US...

[vann.cochran]

Hi, I read your post about sewing machines your daughter may have. Would she possibly have another to sell?

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by tdunlap

Not sure why one would go back to a non-walking foot machine after having one, but yes, you are correct, it's harder to sew many materials without one. This is especially true with most popular material used in the marine industry, acrylic Sunbrella. It's a slippery material. Without a walking foot, the material on the bottom can slide out of position as you sew it. As in many things, the tool isn't the whole answer, but a good tool can certainly make a job much easier. Why do you think Sailrites have a walking foot? Seriously though, just walk into any shop doing marine canvas and I'd bet you'll find several Consew 206 machines there. There is a reason. With acrylic Sunbrella, a walking foot and long stitch length makes a huge difference. Whatever machine one buys, these are two features you'll appreciate. The 206 is just one such machine and it's not limited to just acrylics. I've sewn many other materials, be it leather, sail cloth, cotton canvas, and many others specialty fabrics. Also nice is the Consew 206 has a lot of room under the arm. If you want to go crazy on your budget, they have an extended arm version that is really sweet.

OP has already made his purchase. Fine. But for other's consideration:
-For mostly canvas work a walking foot is helpful. However double sticky tape, especially the super tack variety, will keep the bottom layer of cloth from slipping.
-If you do a lot of sail repair or sail making then you need as much throat as you can get and a zig-zag is essential.

I do a lot of both types of work and I use a long arm zig zag machine with tons of room under the feed foot and it does not have a walking foot.

[Goodxcharly]

I have a Sailrite and it works great!

Excellent resale too!

[Robert Kriegel]

I have a SailRite I bought a couple years ago; hemmed several pairs of jeans, and haven't used it since. Is in new condition. Id sell it for $250; postage/transportation extra!
bob K (850 455-7695)

[Captn_Black]

Originally Posted by Goodxcharly

I have a Sailrite and it works great!

Excellent resale too!

Great! And what do you recommend for the non-US people reading this thread?
Or is the plan to simply hide all the useful info behind spam comments?

[Gnilias]

I purchased a Sailrite LSZ-1 last year and I have been quite disappointed. I ordered a 240V version to be shipped to Australia and was sent one with a European plug. It would have been a small matter for the company to include a plug adaptor with the delivery if they weren't prepared to include the correct cord, but when I phoned to suggest it to them, they were not interested.

The machine got out of alignment quite quickly in normal use and access to the internet is needed to see the Youtube videos to realign it - this is not something that is suitable for a cruising sailor.

And although it comes with a toolkit, Sailrite acknowledge in their Youtube videos that you need additional tools eg a flat screwdriver with a wide end and a shorter handle than the one supplied. Basically we had to go to hardware stores to buy tools in order to follow the re-alignment instructions. I'd bought it thinking I'd be set for long passages but in fact a sailmaker's palm is a better tool than a new Sailrite on a long passage unless you've already worked out what extra bits you need that they didn't send.

I've been left with the impression that this is a company that has great 'how to' videos but other than that is not interested in improvements to it's machine design - after a month or so of using it I could see a number of ways it could be improved. If I was making the decision on what to buy again I'd make the most of their 'how to' videos but I'd pick another brand of machine.

[Captn_Black]

Originally Posted by Gnilias

I purchased a Sailrite LSZ-1 last year and I have been quite disappointed. I ordered a 240V version to be shipped to Australia and was sent one with a European plug. It would have been a small matter for the company to include a plug adaptor with the delivery if they weren't prepared to include the correct cord, but when I phoned to suggest it to them, they were not interested.

The machine got out of alignment quite quickly in normal use and access to the internet is needed to see the Youtube videos to realign it - this is not something that is suitable for a cruising sailor.

And although it comes with a toolkit, Sailrite acknowledge in their Youtube videos that you need additional tools eg a flat screwdriver with a wide end and a shorter handle than the one supplied. Basically we had to go to hardware stores to buy tools in order to follow the re-alignment instructions. I'd bought it thinking I'd be set for long passages but in fact a sailmaker's palm is a better tool than a new Sailrite on a long passage unless you've already worked out what extra bits you need that they didn't send.

I've been left with the impression that this is a company that has great 'how to' videos but other than that is not interested in improvements to it's machine design - after a month or so of using it I could see a number of ways it could be improved. If I was making the decision on what to buy again I'd make the most of their 'how to' videos but I'd pick another brand of machine.

Yea, my general feeling is that the average sailor would not need anything more than an average quality semi-industrial machine for most of the work aboard, or even a good domestic one - if it can take a number 18 needle then it is good for most work, though you may be able to make do with less. Upholstery and sunbrella fabric can be handled by most machines if it is only 2 or 3 layers, thicker parts can be done by hand. They may do perhaps a meter or two of sewing on their sails per year, and hand sewing is fine for that.

[SuW]

Originally Posted by Captn_Black

Great! And what do you recommend for the non-US people reading this thread?
Or is the plan to simply hide all the useful info behind spam comments?

A bit harsh to say that these are spam comments; a company like Sailrite has a lot of fans among owners of their sewing machines, with good reason.

I have used a 2nd-hand older LSZ1 for many years. It works well. I have made dodgers (2), biminis(3), repaired sails, made cockpit curtains, cockpit cushions, all boat interior cushions, replaced several house awnings (thanks to a very good video from, yes, Sailrite) and countless other boat and household fabrics.

I have never found a need to go larger than a size 18 or 19 needle or use the extra-strong threads.

I recently made over 100 cloth face masks to give away to members of my community (size 12 needle and domestic thread).

The walking foot feature is excellent, imo. I have a small Singer to do small stitching that would be visible for clothing as the stitch length regulation at small sizes isn't that repeatable on the Sailrite.

Some tips on using Tenara: this is tricky. You need to spend some time practising. The stuff is slippery and needs very high tension. You can wind it around the tension adjustment twice if needed.

It also doesn't work well when you sew into the adhesive on double-sided tape/basting tape. The glue seems to grab the thread and cause it to bunch up. It also does this with Tenara sewing into hook side Vecro. No issue with loop side Velcro.

My solution is to only sew next to the adhesive tape not through it. Carefully position the tape so that you can do this.

For Velcro, I use polyester in the top thread and Tenara on the bobbin, making sure that the Tenara will be on the side that's exposed to sun.

I made my latest dodger without using any basting tape. If you're careful and mark the edges of the layers (cut notches or use marker pen) to prevent slippage it can be done. You can also use clamps, staples (bookbinding stapler) or pins.

Sailrite brands another lifetime thread now which they recommend for the LSZ1. They used to recommend Profilen. Allegedly it's easier to use but I haven't tried it. I'd be interested in any experience anyone has.

[SuW]

Originally Posted by Stomp

Does anyone have any recommendations for a reasonably priced sewing machine that would be able to cope with making cushions, enclosures,dodgers and maybe smaller sail repairs ?
Ive bought a boat that needs all the usual bits and being a tradesman recon I can get the hang of a sewing machine after some practice.

One thing that you can also save money on is making your own bias binding. There are small devices called bias tape makers into which you insert strips of bias-cut Sunbrella or whatever and then use a steam iron to make the binding flat.

It helps to have a rotary cutter and mat but it can be done with pencil and scissors (not a hot knife). You can use up lots of scrap Sunbrella this way. Joining the binding is a bit harder, but you can learn to do it.

I wouldn't bother with 3/4 inch binding for edges - even with a binding-feeding attachment, 1 inch binding is the smallest that I'd recommend, except for putting around the backside of plastic windows in your dodger.

[sailah]

I'm in an interesting predicament. I have a beast Juki LU-1508 walking foot straight stitch in perfect condition. It excels in canvas work and I've put it through the paces. This is an at home machine clearly and that's fine.

I have some light sail repairs to do like spreader patches but nothing really structural. Also have a lot of dodger work but I'll use Juki for that.

I understand that zigzag is important for sail repair but is it a requirement for things like spreader patches? I'm hoping I can just do the sail repairs with what I have and keep it to 1 machine.

On the other hand I'm thinking of selling the Juki as it is very overkill for me and getting 1 machine that does both like the Sailrite. Since I've become used to a real industrial machine, I'm worried that I won't like the downgrade.

Any ideas?