Dipping my toe into sewing; Advice requested

[Sam83]

Oh wow! I'm beyond grateful for all the wonderful advice you've shared. Thanks to each of you for taking the time.

I realized after posting that I'm in over my head since I'm so new to sewing. I was so excited about my designs being well-received that I started to dream big, but now I wonder if I'm skipping over the essential starting blocks.

The first thing I'm going to get is a domestic machine to work on my bag linings and inner pockets, which I'm hoping will also help me learn to stitch cleanly and in straight lines. Presumably that's not too difficult to pick up, but since I've never used a machine, I'm focusing on learning the basics. Since these are just my sample pieces as I hone my skills, I can continue to use contact cement for the leather outers of the bags until I get my basic leather equipment in place.

In the meantime, I'll contact suppliers and see which of these leather sewing machines they can source for me (at least now I know the Consew is out, but Juki and Cowboy could be an option).
The local dealers did say that they'd assist me if I could narrow down which specific machine I wanted, so this attempt should yield results. I'll also start contacting international suppliers to see if they have authorized dealers in India or China that I could order from. Thanks for that suggestion, Wiz. It hadn't occurred to me at all.

One of my greatest concerns as I take this first step is getting an industrial machine that I just don't have the skill to work on at this stage. So, I'll do some more reading and learning, see what the suppliers tell me, then make my decision based on what is available, practical for the stage I'm at, and affordable as a starting point.
Unexpectedly, there is now a niggling voice in my head that tells me I should start on a hand-crank (probably the Boss, thanks Dwight) and just manage my workload each day so that I don't mess up my joints. I can always upgrade the machine later if my shop actually gets some customers. It's the exact opposite idea I had when I started this thread! 

I'll see what comes out of my enquiries and then decide the way forward. Thanks again everyone. I hope I'll be able to contribute to the community in some small way as I learn and grow.

Edited July 16, 2022 by Sam83

[RockyAussie]

On 7/15/2022 at 3:20 PM, Sam83 said:

Materials:

- I'm using goat/lamb/chrome tanned leather and suede, ranging from 0.6mm-1.2mm in thickness. For some designs, I would need to stitch up to 3 layers of leather. 
- I'm using reinforcements/interfacing  on the thinner leathers so they don't tear or stretch out when the bags are full.
- I'm also lining my bags with thin microsuede fabric.

Budget: I'm trying to save up to $2000 (usd) for my first leather sewing machine (including shipping).

Mostly this tells me you need a medium small cylinder arm machine. This video I made recently should be considered I think. A look at my Wild Harry web site shows a wide range of products we make and most of them can be made with the machine in this video. The machine is a clone of a Juki dsc 246. There are quite a few other brand copies of this machine including the Techsew 2600. Here is the video link - Note that the open end table is important in my opinion.

 

[Sam83]

Thanks for the video, RockyAussie! I learned a lot! It actually seems perfect for where I'm at.

____

A quick update for now. Local dealers cannot supply the Consew (260RB), Juki (1341 or 1541S), Cowboy or Techsew machines. This is not the right part of the world for this pursuit. 

They offered me these alternative options after I explained what I would be making:

1- Reliable Barracuda 200ZW- USD 1800
2- Consew CP206RL Portable Walking Foot Machine- USD1500
3- Juki DDL-8100 Lockstitch- USD 2800 (already way over my budget, but I'll save up if it's a suitable alternative)
4- Janome HD 1000/3000 (which Tandy is marketing as a leather sewing machine?)- USD900
Edit: Just got called back with an additional option
5-JUKI TL-2000Qi walking foot machine- USD 1200

Having read the threads here over the past couple of months, I'm thinking none of these are good leather sewing machines, but I'll ask again in case I'm just confused. Are any of these an option for my limited usage? I'm making small bags and wallets, and my max leather thickness would be 5mm of soft leathers. Could any of these work as a starting point or would I be throwing money down the drain? I don't want to make the mistake of buying a bunch of wrong machines. I'd rather invest once on the right bit of kit.

I'll wait until Monday to reach out to international dealers and see if there are options to ship in proper walking foot/triple feed machines, but I am asking about these local options in case I have no other choice. 

Also, I found that I can get either a Boss or a Sailrite shipped directly from them (so no chance of getting scammed) but the shipping would cost as much as the machine. 

Would really appreciate some thoughts on these other options. Thank you so much! 

Edited July 16, 2022 by Sam83

[kgg]

29 minutes ago, Sam83 said:

They offered me these alternative options after I explained what I would be making:

The prices they have quoted are nuts.

Portable Walking Foot Machines:

 

The Reliable Barracuda 200ZW sells for $579 US in North America and the Consew CP206RL sells for $549. These portable zig zag walking foot machines can be had from from China (without the name tag) for even cheaper off of places like Aliexpress. Those sellers would probably quote shipping to Dubia.

Of the machines that you were quoted on what I think would work for your small items would be the portable walking foot machines. They may need some small modifications to the pressor foot and feed dog to do thin linings. The Sailrite portable walking foot is a better quality machine but comes at a much higher price tag. Those portable walking foot machines originally were made to repair sailboat sails while at sea.

The other three you were quoted on are drop feed machines that would be best suited for your linings and the Juki TL-2000Qi is not a walking foot machine.

For your linings you would be better off getting a used vintage Singer 99k type / style machine. A lot of these domestic manual sewing machines can be purchase from India if you can't find one locally.

Remember no one machine will do everything. That is why a lot of us have a few different types (flatbed / cylinder bed / patchers / portable walking foot / etc) of machines with varying capabilities.

I would suggest starting out with either a domestic sewing machine or a walking foot machine like the Juki DU- 1181N to do your linings and to learn on would be a wise move before jumping into the more capable machines.

kgg

 

[Sam83]

1 hour ago, kgg said:

The prices they have quoted are nuts.

I was utterly shocked by the prices to be honest, given that they're not even industrial leather sewing machines. I feel like I'm getting scammed. Industrial machines aren't as accessible here as elsewhere, which I suppose is due to the fact that they import leather goods rather than produce them locally. I had no idea it would be this hard to get my hands on equipment!

1 hour ago, kgg said:

I would suggest starting out with either a domestic sewing machine or a walking foot machine like the Juki DU- 1181N to do your linings and to learn on would be a wise move before jumping into the more capable machines.

Thank you very much for that suggestion (as well as the vintage Singer suggestion). 
I plan to buy a separate domestic Singer or Brother for my drop-in linings along with the leather sewing machine for the outer leather portions; so I'll get started on the domestic for now and learn those inner pocket techniques, whilst I continue looking for a machine that will be able to take on the main leather bodies of the bags.

I haven't touched sites like Alibaba or Aliexpress yet, but I will probably do that next, as well as look into Indian dealers who can ship machines here at a fairer rate.

It's quite frustrating. It's been so long since I've felt as much joy as I have since I started playing with leather and crafting my bags.  I don't want to quit before I give it a proper go. Fingers crossed it gets easier once I get in touch with the right suppliers.

Thanks again for taking the time to advise!

 

Edited July 16, 2022 by Sam83

[Tequila]

@Sam83  I wanted to chime in with a couple of thoughts.  I started with a Janome 3000HD and while it will technically sew leather it was a royal pain in the posterior, then I moved on to a Cobra 26, put the Janome away and haven’t taken it out since.  Remember that machines like Cobra, TechSew and Cowboy, etc. are Juki knock-offs, doesn’t mean that they’re not as good or any better, so when you compare one to another it may come down to availability or warranty, etc. as to which you decide on.  Back to a couple of things to know, threading the Janome was a nightmare compared to my Cobra, same with bobbin winding.  The Janome had a lot of stitch options that I never used, the Cobra has one stitch that is fine for 99.99% of leather projects.  With the Janome I found it very hard to control the speed and the thicker the leather the faster you had to go or else the machine didn’t have enough oooomph to get through it.  My Cobra (and most others) have a servo motor which means that you can slow it all the way down and it doesn’t effect how thick the leather is that you’re trying to sew and it runs quiet.  And as @Wizcrafts said you may need 2 machines one for linings and one for leather.  Being in Dubai I would’ve thought finding an importer would not have been too big of an issue, but I’m pretty sure you’ll have to pay a good bit for shipping since the leather machines ship on a pallet.  Another thought would be to get the head, motor and stuff without a table, that would mean that it could be shipped in individual boxes which could cut down on shipping.  Keep us in the loop on what you decide. 

[Wizcrafts]

Why don't you search for any nearby upholstery or shoe repair shops. These businesses use leather sewing machines that sometimes get taken out of service when a new one is purchased. You just might be able to buy a half decent walking foot machine for a fraction of the prices you are looking at now.

Regarding the shoe repair shops, they also use universal feed "patchers" that sew in 360 degrees and have long, tapered cylinder arms. Some are mounted on foot treadle bases, others are motorized, and some are manually turned with the wheel in front, or on the back. If you can find one that has a so-called large bobbin, you can sew 16 to 20 ounces of soft to medium density leather, with thread sizes up to T135. Small bobbin models would be best limited to T70 or T90. Patchers are great for sewing gussets as the needle hole is about 3.2mm from the left edge of the arm.

[Wizcrafts]

Before any further talk about importing a motorized sewing machine directly to Dubai, one should be aware of the power situation there. 

What is the mains voltage in Dubai?

Just like the rest of the Middle East, the voltage in Dubai is 230 volts and the frequency is 50 Hz. 230 V ~ 50 Hz

Any motorized machine, especially those with a built in or solidly attached motor would need to operable at 230 volts, at 50 cps and have this plug. 

 

[Sam83]

1 hour ago, Tequila said:

And as @Wizcrafts said you may need 2 machines one for linings and one for leather.

Oh yes, totally agree on that. The domestic for the linings is easy to get (even Amazon has them here), but the leather machine is proving a headache.
Also, thank you very much for sharing your experience with the Janome. The sales rep was pushing it above all the others so I am very grateful to have a more accurate description of its capabilities. 

I would love a Juki, Cowboy or Cobra, as you suggest. It just turns out they're harder to source than I had anticipated. This city is fantastic for getting a lot of things, but I dare say the leather crafting niche is not well-served!

 

55 minutes ago, Wizcrafts said:

Why don't you search for any nearby upholstery or shoe repair shops. These businesses use leather sewing machines that sometimes get taken out of service when a new one is purchased. You just might be able to buy a half decent walking foot machine for a fraction of the prices you are looking at now.

Brilliant idea! I'll contact some on Monday morning and hope that I get lucky!  Great info on the patcher, thank you. I saw a couple of them for $200 on Amazon this morning, but didn't look into them much because I am still unsure how my joints will cope with hand-crank options. It's on my (ever-growing) list of options. I'm so far down the rabbit hole, it's insane! 

Thank you for mentioning the voltage! Yet another thing I hadn't considered. For all the research I was doing, it seems I really didn't consider the fundamentals at all. I'm quite embarrassed at how naive I was jumping into this. 

A quick browse on Alibaba has shown that I can get a 'Typical' cylinder arm leather sewing machine shipped here without issue. It's not a brand I've run across anywhere, so I'll start researching that as well and see if it may be what I need.

I'll keep asking around and searching all the avenues you guys have mentioned. I am sure there's a supplier locally- it just seems ridiculous that there isn't one. I'll ask the shoe repair shops to point me in the right direction if they don't have anything they can offload on me.

Phew! That was another very jumbled reply from me as I try to keep all the facts straight, lol. Thank you all very much for your help! I'll be sure to post updates once I've got somewhere. 

[MtlBiker]

6 hours ago, Sam83 said:

Thanks for the video, RockyAussie! I learned a lot! It actually seems perfect for where I'm at.

____

A quick update for now. Local dealers cannot supply the Consew (260RB), Juki (1341 or 1541S), Cowboy or Techsew machines. This is not the right part of the world for this pursuit. 

They offered me these alternative options after I explained what I would be making:

1- Reliable Barracuda 200ZW- USD 1800
2- Consew CP206RL Portable Walking Foot Machine- USD1500
3- Juki DDL-8100 Lockstitch- USD 2800 (already way over my budget, but I'll save up if it's a suitable alternative)
4- Janome HD 1000/3000 (which Tandy is marketing as a leather sewing machine?)- USD900
Edit: Just got called back with an additional option
5-JUKI TL-2000Qi walking foot machine- USD 1200

Having read the threads here over the past couple of months, I'm thinking none of these are good leather sewing machines, but I'll ask again in case I'm just confused. Are any of these an option for my limited usage? I'm making small bags and wallets, and my max leather thickness would be 5mm of soft leathers. Could any of these work as a starting point or would I be throwing money down the drain? I don't want to make the mistake of buying a bunch of wrong machines. I'd rather invest once on the right bit of kit.

I'll wait until Monday to reach out to international dealers and see if there are options to ship in proper walking foot/triple feed machines, but I am asking about these local options in case I have no other choice. 

Also, I found that I can get either a Boss or a Sailrite shipped directly from them (so no chance of getting scammed) but the shipping would cost as much as the machine. 

Would really appreciate some thoughts on these other options. Thank you so much! 

Sam, you've gotten some great advice from the members here, and the real challenge for you is availability due to your location.  I'm jumping in only to say that the first two options you were given, in my opinion are not right for you, and they're way overpriced as well.  I have something similar (more high end) to those two, a Sailrite LSZ-1, but use it in combination with other machines I have.  I also have a Janome HD3000 (which can be gotten here for $600 Canadian, meaning about US$460!!!!) and the price you are being quoted is again quite crazy.  I really do like my Janome, but the thickest thread it can use would be a v69, and the machine would be great for your linings and to learn with, but really not the machine for leatherwork. 

I guess there's no used market where you are?