Vintage sewing machine
 

I would like to buy a vintage sewing machine but what I want it for is free motion quilting. What type of machine would be a good one for this or are they best for piecing? Please help!!!

I'm not an expert, but I'm thinking they would not be the best choice for free motion quilting because of the distance between the needle and sewing machine. You'd probably want that area to be larger than the vintage one seems to be (but I'm not sure). Unless you plan on free motion quilting little things (placemats, wallhangings, etc.)....I'd say it probably wouldn't work for you. You will also want the feed dogs to be able to be lowered....not sure if the vintage ones can do that. I'm sure some of the vintage machine enthusiasts would be able to better answer your questions. Good luck!

Many vintage machines have feed dog drops, or some you can easily take them off entirely. I've never tried FMQ so I can't answer beyond that. Howdy from KS.

I use my vintage Singer 15-91 for FMQ. The feed dogs can drop easily and it makes a lovely stitch. The throat space is 7 inches. Once I started using it for FMQing, I will never go back to using a cheap plastic machine again! I feel like I have a lot more control.

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This quilt pictured here is a Full size quilt. It wasn't hard at all.

Thanks for your help. I think I will get a vintage sewing machine.

Singer 15 is a favorite for quilting and free motion. The later one with the stitch length lever can drop the feed dogs. The earlier ones require a feed dog cover, they have a sort of screw and nut stitch length adjustment. I have seen people set up model 66 to use on a frame, I guess they remove the feed dogs. Some have set up 201 exclusively for free motion quilting and even embroidery. They do full size bed covers with the thicker type cotton wadding (batting?).

I am on the look for an early cast iron zigzagger, and I have read good revies on Necchi BU. You can't really go wrong with the old straight stitchers, it probably have some advantages to a lot of new machines. My favorite machine to use is a 201. The advantage with a 15 is mostly for quilting, it has the CB bobbin case many like, though it doesn't entirely exclude models with drop in bobbin case.

The Singer 15 was also my fav for FMQ Though I bought a LA pretty early on so only did specialty stuff on the 15.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...psc10bdb62.jpg

I was putting glitter thread accents and didn't want to attempt that thread on the LA

I agree with those who prefer the vintage straight stitchers. They usually have a narrower body above the needle area which gives a better of sewing area than the more boxy new machines. I tried free motion on my Singer 9960 and oof...it was a struggle. Then I tried a vintage straight stitch Monarch (classic black Singer 15 clone) with feed dog drop and it was a lot easier. I finally understood why people actually enjoyed free motion quilting!
One note, some of the foot controllers on the vintage machines are kind of zero to sixty in speed. If this is the case on the machine you get, it's pretty easy to change it to a new electronic foot controller. That really helped me with variable speed control and my stitching improved. There are videos and tutorials on how to change a foot controller on the internet. Good luck and let us know what you get.
MJ

If your vintage foot controller "goes from zero to sixty" too quickly, your controller needs servicing. There are online tutorials and YouTube videos that will walk you through the steps. It's pretty easy.

John Thomas in NC

Yesterday I went to visit my mother-in-law and found this sitting in her garage. I had my husband load it in the back of his pick up and we brought it home. All I know is it's a Minnesota A, a treadle machine and it is very rusty and its missing a few parts. I'm not sure if it is worth trying to get it running or no.
Sorry for the blurriness. There's not lighting in her garage.