sewing machine for curtain hem

frankie

adandem wrote: »

You can buy eyelet tape.

Thanks for your suggestion.

However having looked at tutorials etc on U-Tube it seems even more involved that doing the hem, particularly with my non existent skill set working with fabrics.

EmmyLou30

I bought a Brother one for about £120 for the same reason you want one, curtains are never the right length! I've made a roman blind, sweedish blind, table mats, cushions and taken up multiple pairs of trousers and lined curtains with it. It's gone through many layers of curtain fabric just fine. When doing the blind it went through 4 layers with the velcro strip on the top with no problems and says it can handle denim (though I haven't tried).

If you want to use the blind hem stitch for your curtains (like they have when you buy them so it's like dots of stitching on the front as oposed to a solid running stitch) you'll need a machine that has that stitch option and maybe a new foot to make it easier (I got that for about £12) so you want a reasonable machine with a good few stitch options.

frankie

EmmyLou30 wrote: »

I bought a Brother one for about £120 for the same reason you want one, curtains are never the right length!

If you want to use the blind hem stitch for your curtains (like they have when you buy them so it's like dots of stitching on the front as oposed to a solid running stitch) you'll need a machine that has that stitch option and maybe a new foot to make it easier (I got that for about £12) so you want a reasonable machine with a good few stitch options.

Thanks for your advice EmmyLou, can I ask what model Brother you have please. What stitch options are there that I should look for? I've seem machines that say there are 12 - 14 stitch selections?

Mayflower10cat

I had several very old Singers one after another which taught me a lot about how to disembowel them, fix problems and put them back together again! All weighed an absolute ton so husband used to carry them from the cupboard to the table for me.

Finally I bought a cheapish Brother machine (less than £100) which does 8 stitches and buttonholes. It weighs hardly anything, it's never eaten up a load of thread or gone wrong and I've no idea how to take it apart! It's been brilliant.

The best tip I can pass on is; whatever machine you use, always use the correct type of needle and appropriate thread and you'll be fine.

EmmyLou30

It's the XN1700 in John Lewis but Amazon and Hobby Craft and plenty of others sell it too. There's a 14, 17 and a 25 under various model names depending on who sells it but essentially 14, 17 or 25 different stitch option. I just went for the mid model of the 3 as it seemed to get all round good reviews as a beginer machine. I'd never used a machine before so taught myself so it must have been a fairly user friendly model ;-)

Stitch wise I've only used a few of the running stitches of varying lengths which all machines would have and the blind hem stitch which I think all but the very basic ones would have (looks like a dotted line with a triangle at regular intervals a bit like this: ...^...^... ).

glennevis

Have a look on Gumtree or any other selling site for a local secondhand machine?

NeasaGreen

I have a Janome and it can do all sorts, I actually added additional lining to some curtains so they’d block out more light (my fianc! used to work lates and try to sleep in) so I think they’d definitely take them up no problem.

Before I got my Janome I had a lightweight machine from John Lewis-just their own brand little value machine about £70. They were advertised specifically for lightweight materials and I still managed to get through quite thick denim without any problems.

frankie

NeasaGreen wrote: »

I have a Janome and it can do all sorts, I actually added additional lining to some curtains so they’d block out more light (my fianc! used to work lates and try to sleep in) so I think they’d definitely take them up no problem.

Before I got my Janome I had a lightweight machine from John Lewis-just their own brand little value machine about £70. They were advertised specifically for lightweight materials and I still managed to get through quite thick denim without any problems.

Hi Neasa, what model is your Janome?

elf06

I have too many machines to mention BUT I o my use 2 of them regularly. My old heavy duty singer which was bought 2nd hand for £20 and will see anything and everything but only does straight lines and my new singer which I bought from ald1 last year for £120. It's a decent little machine (despite me having now broken it) and if you take your time I'm sure it will see through curtain fabric. I make to sell and gave it too much of a hard time. Should be an easy fix.......i Hope!!

Golden_Glow90

I bought a Brother sewing machine for £70 a few months ago. I turned up my curtains and replaced the lining with blackout fabric. I had no issues with the fabric bring too thick.