Optimization

For about a year now, I’ve been telling myself that I was going to start up a little business on Etsy selling stuff for kids.  It was originally going to be just baby carriers, but I keep getting ideas for other stuff to make and sell.  I have yet to open up my shop, but I’m hoping to have it partly stocked by Christmastime.

In an effort to actually realize my goal, I thought I should organize my sewing room in such a way that would allow me to be as efficient as possible.  Part of this organization involved acquiring several more machines, [ Okay, so truth be told, I got the machines because, well, I’m a sucker for free vintage machines=) Once I had the machines, then I figured I needed to find a way to justify having all of them!] and then assigning a task to each machine.  Sure, I could do most of my sewing on one or two of the machines, but it is sooo much more efficient to have each machine set up to do a different task.  So yes, I do us all seven of my sewing machines.  Yep, you read that right  . . .  S-E-V-E-N.  Seem excessive?  Maybe.  How about let’s take a peek into my sewing room and then you can decide/see for yourself. (For some reason the pics look really blurry. If you click on them they are bigger and much clearer.)

The south wall

Singer 201-2

I don’t really have a main machine, but I DO think that this one is my favorite.  It just looks cool and will sew they basically anything you throw at it.   It’s a straight stitch only machine and is super consistent, so I use this one when I have to sew long seams (blankets, baby carrier straps, pants seams, etc.)

Kenmore 1570

I learned to sew on this machine. There’s nothing particularly spectacular about it, but I keep it around because it has some nice stretch stitches on it as well as a triple step zigzag, which is useful for sewing with elastic.

Singer 237

This is another “will sew anything you throw at it” machine. I once sewed through a little more than half an inch of wool, it didn’t so much as hiccup. But the real strength of this machine is it’s satin stitch. Sooo very consistent and problem free. I use this one to sew my labels onto the clothing/bags/etc.

The north wall

Necchi Supernova Ultra

One of my newly acquired machines, it is quickly becoming one of my favorites. I daresay that if this had been my first machine, I don’t think I would have gotten anything else. But it wasn’t my first so it isn’t my only machine. This machine has a HUGE variety of fancy/decorative stitches. The options are almost limitless. So I will be using this to spice up the stuff I make. (See the linen shorts in this post.)

Necchi Lelia 515

This is the latest addition to my sewing room. It’s your basic sewing machine, no fancy stitches, just straight and zigzag. It lives right next to the serger and I use it to do a quick zigzag stitch to secure the ends of the serger seams.

Macy’s Own Brand Herald

Here is your basic Singer clone. I think it’s a class 15 clone. Anyway, it’s sole purpose is to pink. My vintage pinking attachment permanently lives on this machine. (I am thinking about getting rid of this one and finding a cheap Singer 201 or 15-91 to replace it because the pinking attachment isn’t a perfect fit. Close, just not perfect.)

Singer 14u13

My one and only serger, which I love! I use this to give a professional and finished look to the raw edges.

In the middle

Singer 403

Please excuse the disastrous pressing and cutting tables in the background, we were mid project when I took these pics.

Out of all of my machines, this one gets used the least. I use it to do twin needle stitching or when I want a particular fancy stitch (it has 15 or 16 options).

So now that my sewing room is optimized, I guess I don’t really have a good excuse for NOT starting up a business. Oh, wait, there’s the whole “where will I find the time” thing. Hmmm . . . . better go find a solution to that conundrum!