I’ve all the time identified my means round a needle and thread. I can reattach a misplaced button and even soak up a gown (simply do not look too carefully on the seams). I as soon as hand-sewed a whole bunch of particular person felt scales on some pants to make a Where the Wild Things Are Halloween costume. Yet for some purpose, studying to make use of a stitching machine all the time appeared too daunting a process. A number of months in the past, I made a decision I used to be lastly prepared to beat one.

I’ve now spent a great deal of time with the Singer C7290Q, and whereas I’m not but able to hit Project Runway, I can report that it was simple to study, gives quite a lot of sew sorts, and might deal with heavy-duty material like denim too. I’m not nice at rapidly choosing up something difficult. Try to show me a method sport and my thoughts will wander away whilst you’re nonetheless unpacking the items. I used to be nervous I would not be capable to sew with a machine, however my largest shock was simply how simple it’s to make use of one.

A Stitch in Time

Most trendy machines are set as much as make threading, bobbin-winding, and stitching a fundamental sew a easy course of. It’s every thing else that will get a little bit extra difficult, like determining what all of the equipment are for and studying patterns. (Or even reducing a straight line, if I’m being sincere.)

Basic stitching machines may need 10 to twenty sew choices. The Singer C7290Q has 200(!), damaged up into customary utility stitches, together with a number of buttonhole and eyelet choices, patterns like florals and hearts, and letters, numbers, and symbols. It’s not an embroidery machine, per se, however you’ll be able to add embroidery-like designs, and much more so in the event you pair it with a free motion presser foot. Your field comes with a smaller model of this for darning (repairing holes). You may not ever use most of those stitches, nevertheless it’s enjoyable to mess around with totally different designs.

Using this Singer, I added denim panels to the underside of denims I reduce too brief. To distract from the 2 barely totally different shade blues, I sewed over the seam with a line of lavender coronary heart stitches. They’re not good, however I like them.

An LCD display shows the sew you have chosen, in addition to settings like sew size and width. It even tells you what presser foot to make use of, which was useful for this newbie nonetheless attempting to study what every one does. You get 12 of those presser toes within the field for issues like including in zippers, making a blind hem, or making a one-step buttonhole. It additionally features a few bobbins, a small L screwdriver for opening up the plate, a seam ripper, further needles, and an edge/quilting information for stitching straight strains.

This machine is named a stitching and quilting machine, however I did not attempt the latter. It contains some options to make quilting simpler, like an extension desk, a strolling foot, beneficiant stitching house for bigger initiatives, and the power to drop the feed canines (the moveable plate that pulls the material). All of those are additionally good for normal stitching. One day I’ll deal with quilting, however I have to grasp stitching first.

Sew It Goes

The C7290Q has another options not included in some cheaper machines, like a begin and cease button that permits you to sew with out utilizing the foot pedal—it isn’t essential, however it may be useful. The needle threader is superb when it really works. But generally it simply did not wish to cooperate. The tiny piece of metallic that’s speculated to undergo the needle eye is sometimes pushed to the surface of the needle as a substitute. Some days I might fiddle round and get it to work, some days I simply threaded it myself.

A thread cutter mechanically cuts each the bobbin and high threads while you’re accomplished, which is sweet, however that additionally solely labored generally. Usually, it reduce the highest and never the bobbin thread. (These spring-action scissors had been beneficial to me for making quick snips whereas stitching, and they are much higher than this thread cutter.)