Garment/upholstry Leather - Singer 19?

[summerfabian]

Hello All,

Seamstress just getting into making leather garb and very light armor. Much like the peices at Ravenswood leather. I'll never sell them - personal use. But I'm a perfectionist

I need to sew garment and upholstry weight leather. I was told at Tandy that the Singer 19something was theh best and sworn by machine.

I need to know:

A. What year?

B. Will is really work? I've tried to digest the criteria from teh master class topics on sewing machines but there is no box to tell me if a 1920 something sewing machines is a walking foot etc.

Thanks so much for the help. I'm looking forward to a new creative medium.

Summer

[Wizcrafts]

Hello All,

Seamstress just getting into making leather garb and very light armor.

...

I need to sew garment and upholstry weight leather. I was told at Tandy that the Singer 19 something was the best and sworn by machine.

I need to know:

A. What year?

B. Will is really work? I've tried to digest the criteria from teh master class topics on sewing machines but there is no box to tell me if a 1920 something sewing machines is a walking foot etc.

Thanks so much for the help. I'm looking forward to a new creative medium.

Summer

By model 19 something, my guess is they meant a 31-19. This is a fine machine for tailoring and alterations. It will do a good job on leather garments and chaps. These machines are not true walking foot machines; but are called trailing foot. The outer foot is spring loaded and follows the top layer as it moves backward (no reverse). When the feed dogs drop the spring loaded foot snaps forward and waits for the needle and inner foot to rise, then it drops for the next cycle. This pressor foot is best suited to sticky materials, like garment leather.

The maximum thickness under the foot is 5/16" and the largest needle size is #22. It can be used with thread sizes not exceeding #138.

These old machines can be had for a couple hundred bucks. They are out-dated by today's standard of real walking feet, with triple feed and high lift.

[summerfabian]

By model 19 something, my guess is they meant a 31-19. This is a fine machine for tailoring and alterations. It will do a good job on leather garments and chaps. These machines are not true walking foot machines; but are called trailing foot. The outer foot is spring loaded and follows the top layer as it moves backward (no reverse). When the feed dogs drop the spring loaded foot snaps forward and waits for the needle and inner foot to rise, then it drops for the next cycle. This pressor foot is best suited to sticky materials, like garment leather.

The maximum thickness under the foot is 5/16" and the largest needle size is #22. It can be used with thread sizes not exceeding #138.

These old machines can be had for a couple hundred bucks. They are out-dated by today's standard of real walking feet, with triple feed and high lift.

[summerfabian]

Thankyou that helps quite alot.

Can you recommend something in that range for that purpose that can handle up to 7/16?

Mostly for suede at that thinkness.

Also, I'm bring given a Singer Futura gold leaf model.

It says it suitable for heavy weight/garment leather? Is that true? Don't know if it's worth keeping.

I want two machines for garments.

Thanks!

[Wizcrafts]

Thankyou that helps quite alot.

Can you recommend something in that range for that purpose that can handle up to 7/16?

Mostly for suede at that thinkness.

To sew to 7/16 inch, the minimum machine you will require is a Consew 1508H, or Cowboy 1508NH - flat bed, or a CB2500 (GA1) cylinder arm machine. That is the sewing capacity for those machines. The 1508 machines can use up to #207 thread, while the CB2500/GA1 types can use #346 thread.

Most leather workers who want to sew to almost a half inch go to the next level and buy a high lift, super heavy machine, which is a clone of the Juki 441 or Adler 204, or 205. These machines use a very long needle, system 7x3 and 794 and can sew beyond 3/4" with #415 thread.

Also, I'm bring given a Singer Futura gold leaf model.

It says it suitable for heavy weight/garment leather? Is that true? Don't know if it's worth keeping.

I want two machines for garments.

Thanks!

Useless for leather. This is a home sewing machine, for cloth, that is limited to using $69 thread and smaller. You are going to run into feeding problems when you try to sew garment leather on a home sewing machine. The top grain tends to stick to the pressor foot. To get around this you'll need to change to a roller foot. The so-called walking foot attachments for home style machines are not true walking feet at all. They have a spring loaded outer foot that follows the top layer, then snaps forward. They reduce the sewing thickness to about 3/16" under the feet.

Leather garments are fabricated in factories by little old ladies wearing babushkas, sewing on walking foot Juki and Seiko machines, that go tapokita, tapokita, all day long. Buy yourself a new triple feed walking foot machine, with high lift (Juki 1508H or equivalent) and be done with it. Get one with a new high-torque, small pulley servo motor, rather than a clutch motor.

[summerfabian]

Thank you so much. Now I won't bother moving it. I'll stick with the Singer 31-19 until i get enough profficiency to justify something better.

At that point I'll simply make the investment. I'm not afraid to do that, just want to be sure its something I'll get value out of (meaning that I stick with the hobby).

Again, your quick adn precise replies are a reliefe in this world of questionable Google results.

Appreciate it.

Summer Fabian