Advice On Purchasing A Leather Sewing Machine

[ccaster]

Hello all,

I am new here and have recently taken up the hobby of making and selling leather baby moccasins. I started out on an older Singer that belonged to my mother and about a month ago purchased a Singer 4452. Being new to this whole leather stuff, I figured, "it says it sews leather, AND everything else. I will try it." I do sew quite a bit of knit fabric, so the purchase seemed to be a good one for the time being and could hold me over on the leather moccasin making for awhile.I am obviously running into some convenience and mechanical issues with my Singer and wasting quite a bit of leather, so upgrading to the next step seems like the logical thing to do. From what I've gathered, a walking foot industrial sewing machine is what I should be using, and have done a fair amount of reading here and on other websites to try and gather as much info as possible to help me make a good choice in machine, although it's a bit overwhelming as I am still green and some of it is still over my head. So basically, I'm hoping someone can just tell me what machines they would think would be suitable for what I am doing. Here are some specifics:

-I'm sewing deerskin at the moment, hopefully calfskin soon, no more than 2mm at the thickest. Not very stiff and exceptionally soft. (Again, I'm a newbie, I don't know the technical terms for leather. (: )

-I live in a very small studio, I do not have space for a table/huge set-up.

-I have a limited budget, I can't justify spending $800+ when my profits are so small at the moment.

I have been contemplating and researching the portable Consew CP 206R because it is portable and I can set it on my very small kitchen counter and it has the walking foot. I have also read a review of the Alphasew PW200, but haven't gone much further with researching that machine.

Everything I have read about the Consew based on outfitting it with needles and thread has also been a bit confusing and overwhelming to me as well, all I know at this point is what I can pick up at my nearest Joann Fabrics. I really would like something that isn't going to be a struggle to find needles/thread for, I really enjoy the convenience of being able to run down the street and pick this stuff up, although I do realize that this might not be a reality anymore with a more specific machine. I really would like to find a machine that can get the job done, is affordable, and won't make me want to pull my hair out.

Any advice and suggestions are appreciated! I have attached photos to give you all an idea of what I'm making and maybe that will help with explanations/advice etc.

[Mariel]

I was in the same boat as you just a week ago. I ended up purchasing a consew 255b. It set me back $800 but I love it.

I'll leave the experts to answer but what I have learned that you should get machine that has a walking foot, compound feed and based on the item you make a cylinder arm or a flatbed. My product allows me to use a flatbed. And it also depends to on how think your material will be when its structured or seen up together. Then a machine. With a cylinder arm will work. But again. I'm not expert either :/ hopefully someone can shed some light on which machine will work for your product.

[biglew]

call bob at toledo industrial sewing.... he is very helpful. 866-362-7397

[Techsew Ron]

A narrow cylinder bed, walking foot machine would be best for this application. cylinder bed machines are great for sewing the inside contours and getting into hard to reach areas.

[retiredff]

On 4/8/2015 at 4:53 PM, ccaster said:

Hello all,

I am new here and have recently taken up the hobby of making and selling leather baby moccasins. I started out on an older Singer that belonged to my mother and about a month ago purchased a Singer 4452. Being new to this whole leather stuff, I figured, "it says it sews leather, AND everything else. I will try it." I do sew quite a bit of knit fabric, so the purchase seemed to be a good one for the time being and could hold me over on the leather moccasin making for awhile.I am obviously running into some convenience and mechanical issues with my Singer and wasting quite a bit of leather, so upgrading to the next step seems like the logical thing to do. From what I've gathered, a walking foot industrial sewing machine is what I should be using, and have done a fair amount of reading here and on other websites to try and gather as much info as possible to help me make a good choice in machine, although it's a bit overwhelming as I am still green and some of it is still over my head. So basically, I'm hoping someone can just tell me what machines they would think would be suitable for what I am doing. Here are some specifics:

-I'm sewing deerskin at the moment, hopefully calfskin soon, no more than 2mm at the thickest. Not very stiff and exceptionally soft. (Again, I'm a newbie, I don't know the technical terms for leather. (: )

-I live in a very small studio, I do not have space for a table/huge set-up.

-I have a limited budget, I can't justify spending $800+ when my profits are so small at the moment.

I have been contemplating and researching the portable Consew CP 206R because it is portable and I can set it on my very small kitchen counter and it has the walking foot. I have also read a review of the Alphasew PW200, but haven't gone much further with researching that machine.

Everything I have read about the Consew based on outfitting it with needles and thread has also been a bit confusing and overwhelming to me as well, all I know at this point is what I can pick up at my nearest Joann Fabrics. I really would like something that isn't going to be a struggle to find needles/thread for, I really enjoy the convenience of being able to run down the street and pick this stuff up, although I do realize that this might not be a reality anymore with a more specific machine. I really would like to find a machine that can get the job done, is affordable, and won't make me want to pull my hair out.

Any advice and suggestions are appreciated! I have attached photos to give you all an idea of what I'm making and maybe that will help with explanations/advice etc.

So how did the singer 4452 work out?