My youngest dgd got a sewing machine for Christmas, so I was looking forward to working with her for sewing. I went to visit for her birthday, taking along a project (pillow case) for her to work on while I was there. It turned out the machine she got for Christmas was a toy. It does actually sew, but is clearly not the best. She was having severe trouble sewing a straight seam with her little machine, but we managed to get the pillow cases finished.
While I was there, I went shopping with my sister, and just for fun, we went into a Babylock store. There, in one corner, we found shelves full of used machines for sale. I chose a Kenmore, probably from the '90s that looked complete, had been serviced, and the price could not be resisted at $24. So, I bought it and took it back to my dgd. Before anything else, I checked it out to see how well it worked and adjust the tension. Then we had lessons on threading, handling the bobbin, and adjusting the tension for good stitches. Then we began working on a pair of pajama pants. My ddil took it fairly well, although she did ask me how I was going to get my machine back home with me. I just told her it wasn't MY machine.
So, here is the $24 machine.
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