Sewing Machine Purchase Advice

[Nifty-Chicken]

... BTW, I remembered when I was 21 or so, I got my first "Palm Pilot" PDA device.

I got faux-leather and designed / sewed (using a machine) my own belt-clip holder. It was actually pretty damn amazing! I'm SUPER upset I didn't keep it or at least have pics of it.

Too bad sewing (for me) isn't "like riding a bike"

... my learning to sew now will be pretty much 100% from scratch!

 

[DuckLady]

Don’t buy a Brother sewing machine from Walmart. They are made to lower quality standards so the price point is lower. Thrift stores can have awesome deals. Hope you got one!
Once you get hooked on sewing, go to a sewing machine authorized dealer for the brand you want. They usually give great support and lessons that offset the higher price due to better made machines (compared to the Walmart ones).
Happy Sewing!

 

[21hens-incharge]

... BTW, I remembered when I was 21 or so, I got my first "Palm Pilot" PDA device.

I got faux-leather and designed / sewed (using a machine) my own belt-clip holder. It was actually pretty damn amazing! I'm SUPER upset I didn't keep it or at least have pics of it.

Too bad sewing (for me) isn't "like riding a bike"

... my learning to sew now will be pretty much 100% from scratch!

You can do it!

Maybe practice on straight seams making simple things before tackling big awkward items....

 

[DuckLady]

Well I got excited that you are going to sew. And replied before I finished reading
I love Brother. Looks like you got a good one. You can go to a sewing machine dealer and get a cord or maybe find one on Amazon.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Ok, a bit of a snag

The cord that "came" with the printer is a double-barrel "shotgun" type female connector...
like this:
View attachment 3559402


...but the sewing machine wants a female plug that is square one side and round on the other, like this:

View attachment 3559403

So, at the thrift-store, either:

1) Hot/Neutral doesn't matter for this machine
2) I got SUPER lucky and inserted it just right when testing (50/50 chance)

I'm nervous to plug it in again

Does anybody have one of the ROUND/SQUARE plugs, especially for their sewing maching?

Can you tell me if the "ribbed" part of the cord goes into the square or round part of the female side of the plug?

On most cords:
Smooth = hot
Ribbing = neutral

... I just need to know which side (square or round) is hot vs. neutral.

On mine ribbed = square.

 

[DuckLady]

You can do it!

Maybe practice on straight seams making simple things before tackling big awkward items....

Yeah and then you can start quilting, then embroidering and then long-arming.

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

On mine ribbed = square.

SUPER helpful!

What brand is your machine?

Anybody else want to double-check before I blow stuff up? LOL!

 

[Sally PB]

You know we're going to ask for pictures of your creations, right?

 

[21hens-incharge]

SUPER helpful!

What brand is your machine?

Anybody else want to double-check before I blow stuff up? LOL!

I have 2 that have that set up. One is a Singer the other is my newer large Brother. My old Brother has a weird plug with 3 holes.

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

I have 2 that have that set up. One is a Singer the other is my newer large Brother.

Well, that did the trick!

Since the male part of this plug is also not hot/neutral demarcated, I made sure that the "square" (neutral) part followed the ribbing/rough side (neutral) all the way back to the left terminal of the outlet (which is neutral).