Perfect little sewing machine for on the boat

[BlueStringPudding]

So I was tinkering last night with my Boatwoman's Bonnet kit that I got for Christmas (thank you Monkey ), when I realised it had a rather hefty 21 metres of piping cord in it.

 

As some of you might know, I was a costume designer and maker for many years, and only gave up my trusty sewing machine when I moved onto the boat. The idea of sewing by hand piping cord channels whose cumulative length is longer than my boat, didn't appeal so I did a bit of interweb research to find a super cheap sewing machine that I could run from a Maplins laptop inverter from the cigarette lighter sockets on the boat. I saw that Poundstretcher stocked a 6v machine and so I read some reviews, watched some YouTube vids of it and thought it was worth a go.

 

When I got to Poundstretcher this morning they actually have 3 types of sewing machine! I opted for their middle-of-the range one in the end, as the cheapest one which was a mere £15 looked like it did straight stitch only. The one I bought was the Hyundai Mini Multi-purpose 8 Stitch Sewing Machine reduced from £49.99 to £29.99.

 

I got it home and was delighted to find it can be powered by 4 x AA batteries! Didn't say that on the box! Considering I'm used to Brother industrial sewing machines and sturdy metal-cased Husqvarnas, this isn't a half bad little machine for something so small and lightweight. Because it takes batteries I don't have to be near a socket on the boat, which is helpful. And it works perfectly. I wouldn't want to try and sew leather or canvas-backed vinyl on it, but for clothes repairs and boatwomen's bonnets it's ideal! It says it has 8 choices of stitch but that includes stitch length, so there's not a separate function for lengthening or shortening stitches. If you exclude varying the stitch length there's really only three (straight stitch, ziggy and stretch-stich/hemming) - but quite frankly, other than buttonholing which is a glorified zigzag, I've rarely used any others in 19 years of costume work anyhoo. Oh, and it can be operated by a hand button instead of the foot pedal if you prefer.

 

The only glitch, which isn't a problem but has made me chuckle, is demonstrated in the photos below:

 

This is the sewing machine in my little studio on the boat:

 

 

 

My sacrificial sock, which I used to test each of the stiches and check I was happy with the bobbin tension - it was fine (the bobbin tension, that is. Not the sock. Sock has been stitched up good and proper). I've numbered each stitch in this photo.

 

 

 

Spotted Hyundai's cock up?

 

Anyway, I'm not knocking it - a little Russian roulette stitch selection will keep me on my toes. It's a great machine for under thirty squids that can run on AA batteries - but if you're a boater with a 240v inverter you could run it from the adaptor it comes with if you prefer.

 

I've missed my costume work so I'm looking forward to having a play, albeit on a slightly smaller scale than musicals containing 400 costumes!

Edited January 4, 2014 by BlueStringPudding

[BlueStringPudding]

And I've just finished draughting the paper pattern for the Boatwoman's bonnet.

 

[Lady Muck]

I've got a half size one as well. Janome Sew Mini

 

[BlueStringPudding]

They really ought to advertise the fact that they can be battery powered. It's a useful selling point, I'd have thought

[Dyertribe]

It will depend on how long the batteries last

[jodansgang]

Wow. Joanne has asked me to ask you if you think it would be upto the job of making curtains and cushion covers?

[BlueStringPudding]

Depends on the fabric. Thick brocade or heavy jacquard, I wouldn't have thought so. But any light to medium weight fabric I'd have thought would be fine. It's not powerful but it's pretty good.

[jodansgang]

Cool. I think she'll have me popping to the shops tomorrow. Have you been trying it on batteries or on the adaptor?

[BlueStringPudding]

Only on batteries so far

And as it's less than £30 at the moment, it seems a fair price

[jodansgang]

Jo is intending to make new curtains soon so I think we'll be investing our(her) Christmas money in one of those little machines. Thanks BSP.

 

(I'll have to lend her a tenner so she's got enough)

[BlueStringPudding]

By the way, this YouTube video seems to be of the same model, It says it's by Tivax rather than Hyundai but in all respects, right down to the colour of the thread that comes with the machine and the numbers (if not the letters) of the serial number, it's the same. Only the colour of the buttons is different.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXILmvoCmJs

 

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On a completely unrelated note, look at this:

 

That'd look amazing on my pink work surface in the boat!

 

It comes with a bag of diamanté's you can customise it with... essentially inviting you to vagazzle your sewing machine! (Step away from the scary pink sewing machine, Pud. Step away)

Edited January 4, 2014 by BlueStringPudding

[jodansgang]

I'm not going to show her that picture otherwise she'll turn the cabin into some kind of soft sequinned pretty palace lacey affair with frilly bits and tassels.

But we're gonna watch the clippy.

[wrigglefingers]

Or you could borrow my Singer treadle machine and zigzagger for nowt!

 

The little battery operated machines are proving popular in quilting classes - especially the tiny Janome. I was quite tempted but realised it'd take me into double figures for sewing machines. Which is too many for a boat dweller. I may have a couple of handcrank Singers to destash in the next few months - they need a fettle first. However, you're straight outta luck if you're after me 222k Featherweight or 201K ...

[BlueStringPudding]

Or you could borrow my Singer treadle machine and zigzagger for nowt!

 

The little battery operated machines are proving popular in quilting classes - especially the tiny Janome. I was quite tempted but realised it'd take me into double figures for sewing machines. Which is too many for a boat dweller. I may have a couple of handcrank Singers to destash in the next few months - they need a fettle first. However, you're straight outta luck if you're after me 222k Featherweight or 201K ...

 

The treadle machine are great, but big. And I've tried the hand cranked ones (my mum used to have a beautiful one) but I need both handles to sew so I find those tricky.

 

One drawback of my little machine is that because the needle isn't manually repositionable you would be able to run it using standard zipper foot. Luckily I hate doing zips.