Tag: Pfaff

It Had to Go! (Bye-Bye Passport, Hello Presto!)

Yesterday, in a moment of pique, I packed up the Pfaff Passport 3.0 sewing machine and took it back to the dealer.  Time to trade it in for something better, even if a bit heavier for taking to classes.  I’ve tried to like the damned thing, but too many little frustrations mounted up.  After only two months, it was time for it to get lost.  I felt no love for it, only a liking for the fancy, decorative stitches.  I had a problem with too-flexible plastic presser feet and a bobbin cover that was capricious, sometimes jumping out of its holder in the middle of a seam.  As well, the reverse button would work sometimes – and other times it would not.  Why bother?  I hate to say it, I gave it a two-star review somewhere on the net . . .

Enter the Baby Lock Presto II.  My dealer gave me full credit on the Passport, and I walked out with a brand new machine, marked down incredibly to be a very good deal.  To me, that is great business.  And, I really am liking the Presto II.  It’s not full of decorative stitches, which I admit I do like and imagine using them to create some interesting things in the future, but the practical side of me finds that a machine that works, has solid feet, a good stitch, and a good reputation is more important than fancy stitches.  (Oh, the Puritan speaks!)  It also has damnably good buttonholes!

There are 7 buttonholes on this machine, some of which I did multiple times to check out their quality. The default ones are very good as they are, but I prefer the ones where I lowered the pressure on the presser foot from 4 to 3 and shortened the distance between the stitches, for example from 0.5 to 0.3.  My trimming is not spectacular as I just cranked them out after putting some medium weight Pellon between two layers of a fine, soft natural muslin.  The buttonholes are actually quite nice . . . I wonder if computerized sewing machines produce some of the best ones?  I know that my Berninas do a really fine job and they are mechanical machines.

Anyway, this machine is probably 5 lbs. heavier than the Passport and does not have a case.  I have a turquoise Tutto trolley (say that 3 times real fast!) to transport the Presto II.  The machine also has a handy dandy handle on top to make carrying it easier.  Classes will not be a problem as far as weight.

Below is a frontal view of the Presto II, a promo image from Baby Lock.  There is a Presto (I) prior to this one – the II has the addition of a thread cutter.

Image result for presto ii babylock promo image

The promo picture below gives you an idea of the location of various buttons for your sewing convenience.  On the right is the digital display, which is very easy to use.  A few things aren’t intuitive, but you can read, right?  Easy peasy afterward.

Beneath the index finger is the thread cutting button, to the left of that is the needle-up / needle-down, then a button to push to terminate a pattern when it is complete, and the reverse stitch.  One thing the Presto II has that the Passport does not is a sensor which won’t let you sew if the presser foot is up.  What is not shown is the fact it has an absolutely fantastic automatic needle threader!  Oh, how my old eyes like that!  To the right of the index finger is the speed control – slow to fast, up to 850 stitches per minute (faster than I need!).

Image result for presto ii babylock promo image

Finally, in the Baby Lock promo picture below, you see under the top of the Presto II.  The top of the machine flips up.  In the picture I took above, you can see the 100 stitches printed on the lid.  The spool holder and bobbin winding mechanism are also under the lid, and the bobbin winder sports its own thread cutter.  Under the lid and along the thread paths are clear markers on how to set up the upper thread (solid line) and how to set up the thread to wind the bobbin (broken line).  The bobbin case itself has a picture showing how to place the bobbin it it.

Image result for presto ii babylock promo image

I’ve never sewn or used a Baby Lock prior to yesterday.  I know their sergers are supposed to be phenomenal, so why not their sewing machines?  There are a lot of thoughtful little conveniences – small touches – which make this an outstanding machine, more so considering that this is not one of their fancy embroidery machines or even top of the line sewing machine.

After having the Presto II in my possession for a little over 24 hours, I can honestly say that I have “bonded” with it – I like it a lot! – and do not regret getting rid of the Passport 3.0.  It’s sad that I feel that way as there is a lot of potential in the Passport, but the poor quality of its plastic feet and the bobbin cover coupled with the reverse button’s finicky quality were not worth working with.  Sewing should be a pleasant experience, not a wrestling match with faulty equipment and shoddy materials.

In Search of the “Perfect” Buttonhole, Part I

I don’t know about you, but sewing a good-looking buttonhole, without a mistake, seems to be a nearly impossible task.  There are attachments for machines.  Some machines have 4-to-6 step built-in buttonholes.  Sew a buttonhole by hand?  Hmmm.  I’ve been tempted and then reconsider:  it’s not worth the stress (even though there are some great YouTube tutorials I have watched!).

In each of these, something can go wrong.  A perfect buttonhole can be destroyed with a slip of the seam ripper when making the final slash.  Birds nests of thread can collect under what looks like a beauty of a buttonhole.  Stitches can be skipped.

I have a small (compared to some people) collection of sewing machines, ranging from a treadle with a long bobbin (The Free #5), two old Singer handcranks (a back-clamping Lotus 66 and a 99), a Featherweight 222K, a Necchi hiding out in the garage in a horrid French Provincial table), some Kenmores (158.1030, 158.1400, 158 904, 158.19802), a Bernina or two (801S and 930), a Janome 6500, and a Pfaff Passport 3.0 (which I may trade in as it seems to have a few too many quirks).  I also have a Viking 19e, fixed at long last, which was my mother’s machine, and the one I used throughout my school years.  I also have attachments for the treadle, Singers, Kenmores, Berninas, and Janome – anything to make life easier.  Or purportedly easier.  Buttonhole attachments are included in the mix.  And as adjuncts, a coverstitch machine and a serger.

Not all attachments fit all machines.  Most are proprietary.  For instance, did you know that Singers of yore come with rounded corners and Kenmores are squared?  Round pegs – or rounded corners – do not fit in square holes – or squared holes.  And in reverse.  Thus, Singer attachments are not likely to work on a Kenmore, and Kenmores might not work on a Singer or a Bernina – but they might.

For awhile, Singer made slant-needle machines, and must have slant-needle attachments.  Kenmore machines range from low-shank, to high-shank, to super-high-shank.  These might require specific buttonhole attachments or shank adapters.

Let’s not talk about Kenmore buttonholers of some variety – many are proprietary to given machine models, and are not clearly identified.  Did you ever look at all the models than Kenmore made?  Maybe even more models than Singer.

I have 4 Singer buttonholers (gotten cheap off eBay – some for a couple of bucks) and a generic, low-shank one I bought 20 years ago at a local sewing machine store.  That last buttonholer is the easiest to use of all of them, but the old Singers are a lot of fun and do a pretty good job.

A good or great buttonhole attachment or machine function is a gift from the gods.  Imagine making clothes at home on a straight-stitch machine in a few hours – or several – and then spending the same amount of time (I would think) sewing in 12 buttonholes on a shirt or a blouse or a dress. Even if funky and weird, a buttonholer is up there with a washing machine and a paperclip and a safety pin as far as being this side of miraculous.

Whoever invented the automated buttonholer, thank you, thank you, thank you!

Stay tuned for Part II!