School me on industrial thread for kilts

[The Wizard of BC]

Does everyone realize the main difference between an industrial machine and a home machine?

First off - an industrial machine has a knee lift. You lift the pressure foot with your right knee. This allows you to keep both hand on your work for better control.

Second - Most industrial machines are designed to do one single thing. They do not usually have 1500 computerized special stitches or other 'special' features. Button holes are done with a special button hole machine and that is all it does. My Pfaff 138's sew dead straight stitches all day, every day for 8 hours a day.

Third - Most industrial machines are repairable and adjustable. On mine the pressure foot is adjusted to open to 3/4" so I can fit all the layers of a kilt underneath. If anything breaks on my machines parts are readily available and replaceable with a minimum amount of down time.

A lot of home sewing machine sellers will brag about how their machine will sew through layers of leather. Well heck any machine will sew through leather with the proper needle. But will it sew leather all day long for three years?

I don't advise anyone to buy an industrial machine if you are not planning on making kilts as a profession. An older home machine will be able to do 90% of the kilt with no problem for the occasional kilt. Where a professional needs to fork over a couple of thousand dollars for an industrial machine is if they will turn on their machines in the morning and sew all day only turning if off before going home, and then return the next day and do it all over again.

[ratspike]

I have a computerized Pfaff that does a ton of stitches and it's computerized and a joy to sew with, and a terrible choice for making kilts. It's been in the shop for the last few weeks waiting on parts because I beat it nearly to death. After it comes back good as new I'm going to sell it. It's been a workhorse in spite of the lowest presser foot height on a sewing machine ever, but it's totally the wrong tool for the job. The mechanical machines I have are so, so, so much better.

I'm at an in-between point with my machine needs. I'm sewing a lot but an industrial machine is more of a really-should-have rather than a must-have. I'm also short on space, so a table dedicated to a single machine would require a lot of rearranging.

[Canuck]

I find t45 kinda light for my use. T69/70 is my go to thread for my hemp kilts. T135 for sporrans and t210 for my belts and the like. I buy it by the pound. Now of course I'm using industrial machines. My regular machines I run up to T70 the walking foots T135. The Seeger I will use T45.
My zigzag will use a T70 but is happier with lighter.
On a side note some industrial machines are equipped with a foot pedal to lift the presser foot which is kinda handy.
Also if you can get a machine with a needle position/thread cutter is a nice feature as well.
Walking foots deal with heavy fabrics like denim and canvas extremely well. They're less likely to give you grief when stitching pleats down in prep for attaching waistbands or dealing with multiple layers.
Cheers
Actually used industrial machines can be had for a few hundred dollars.
Good luck

[ratspike]

That's great info Robert, thanks. I'd have thought T70 would be too heavy even for the canvas I use, though to be fair it's only 9oz. Just curious, what's the weight of the hemp you use? Does it behave and sew like canvas duck?

[Canuck]

That's great info Robert, thanks. I'd have thought T70 would be too heavy even for the canvas I use, though to be fair it's only 9oz. Just curious, what's the weight of the hemp you use? Does it behave and sew like canvas duck?

I guess you would have to experiment, but I found it worked well with "Carhart" fabric. You can get hemp woven like duck but I generally use twill and it's 10 -13 oz.

[Stoff]

If you are looking for a true workhorse of a sewing machine, find an old cast iron treadle machine. If it is in good repair it will be almost indestructible. I currently use a Model 12 Singer which is about 102 years young. It only does straight stitch. When I want to do button holes I pull out the handy button hole machine that came with it when it was given to me. I have several old electric machines that have been gathering dust since I got the treadle.

Once you have used a treadle sewing machine you willnot want to go back to electric.

Stoff

[ratspike]

Heh. I did end up getting an industrial machine since I originally posted this. After using it pretty hard for the last couple of weeks I can say I'd never want to go back to working with anything less. It's definitely reset my idea of how I define "workhorse", both for sewing as a hobby and doing it for a living. I haven't been able to get rid of my domestic machines fast enough.

[Stitchwiz]

If you live in an area where Mennonites live, check out the local sewing machine dealers. I saw a brand new machine with a flywheel which had a groove to run the belt on a treadle platform. It had hundreds of fancy stitches which were mechanical rather than electrical or computerized. Apparently these machines sell like hotcakes to the Mennonite ladies - my local repair man has a Mennonite cabinet maker making up new cabinets on old treadle platforms.

If anyone needs more particulars, I will check it out for you.

Happy stitching!

Stitchwiz