I thought, I didn’t need one until…until I have difficulties in a row when making several projects (bags and doll clothes made by jeans fabric). I didn’t buy a high-tech one actually. I bought a Janome LR1122. What a machine. So far, I’m impressed with that tough lady.
What I like about this machine is it can sew “thickness” and flexible. For big project, small project (doll project). I don’t know, using my Singer machine, sometimes, I felt kinda the machine I have is ‘slippery’. Haha. It doesn’t bite (press) the fabric as strong as I thought. With Janome (i feel like i’m a promotion girl), the fabric is like ‘bitten’ (pressed) well under press-feet.
I’m looking forward to torture my Janome by sewing a very thin leather. I don’t have the material, yet. My friend has it. I wish, I can visit his workshop and scratch his dump basket to get that material. Haha.
I always love leather bag. After seeing someone’s flickr (she sew leather bag for her doll), I feel like, oh, we can sew it with ‘regular‘ home sewing machine? Well, I thought, there should be a super high-tech and super tough sewing machine to sew this. Her sewing machine is waaay better than my Janome but then, come to think again about my Janome, I feel like, perhaps, it can handle leather. I’ve consulted about this to my friend as well and he says, yes, it can. Of course, I told him that it’s not for bulk production. Just for 2-5 bags (not even a daily production). He said, the machine like mine can handle it.
After sewing some type of projects with a lot of designs and fabrics, I feel like, I have to keep testing the limitation of my machine; getting to know it better. I don’t want to limit myself up to ‘cotton’, ‘silk’, simple clothing, etc etc. It’s ok for a beginner/newbie but I don’t want to keep labeling myself as one. I’m a ‘student’ for every phase but not a beginner/newbie.
Perhaps, you want to test your machine limitation as well? If you love sewing, I mean, really-really love sewing, not just sew simple bags, simple clothes, simple hats, with regular cotton, and if you love challenge, I recommend you to ‘test’ your machine. Not for looking a reason to buy a new one while you don’t need it but to get to know the limitation. So, you know what you can do with that machine or not and be one of consideration whether you need a new one or not. For example: if you can’t sew jeans with it, think, are you going to work quite often with jeans fabrics short in the future. If yes, you probably need a new one but if you sew jeans occasionally, perhaps, you don’t need it right now. You can still choose another fabric to ‘replace’ the jeans/denim fabric.
