In my opinion, that Walmart clerk doesn't know what the dickens she's talking about & is full of BULL! For 50 years, I've made tension adjustments for fabrics, stitches etc. on every machine I've ever owned.

For many years, my Dad sold new sewing machines as well as ones he refurbished and had the largest sewing machine parts dept between St. Louis & Houston. I watched him adjust tensions thousands of times!

Can't wait to see other experienced folks posts come in on this one...
Suzi

I think your walmart clerk gave you false information.When you take your machine to a reputable service place.They do in fact clean it,oil it if necessary(some of the newer model don't require oiling)and they check and adjust your tensions.They can clean out places that we can never get to,deep inside the machine,They go over everything,and make any necessary adjustments.

Sometimes you do need to adjust the tensions yourself,depending on what you are sewing.Now you don't normally have to touch your bobbin tension as that is set at the factory.

On my older Bernina if i wanted to use speciality threads,yarns etc in/on my bobbin,then the bobbin Case did need adjusting.But to get around that,i bought an extra bobbin case and marked it with nail polish,so it was always availabl for the special threads.I never wanted to mess with adjusting the tension on the bobbin case,not always easy or quick to get it back to the original setting.

Yes the older machines are heavy,but you could use a luggage carrier to take it to classes.But if DH wants to buy you a new one,go for it.However you'll get more for it if you sell it yourself,rather than trade it in.There are lots of post on here about buying a new machine,look them up and do your homework b4 plopping down your money.
Make a list of what you want in a machine,what and how often you will use it etc.Good luck.
Kathi

PS,don't be afraid to ask questions on this board,these ladies are awesome and are a great help.

First, you did the right thing by taking your machine in to be serviced if you hadn't used it that many years. Second, I agree the Walmart clerk was way off base and out of line for commenting about machine repairs.

It's always good to have a backup machine so having two machines is preventing sewing withdrawl should one machine act up.

This last summer after dd2 was born my mom was trying to sew up some curtains. The machine was breaking thread and acting bad all the way around. My mom took it in and they cleaned it up, found that the needle was backwards:) and that it just needed some cleaning and oiling. Mom brought it back and now it sews even better than ever before;)

Stacie

Mercy! I wouldn't ask that clerk for any more advice. She might suggest a chopping axe instead of a rotary cutter for cutting your fabric! When you use a sewing machine, you have to adjust the tension. For example, I use one tension setting for sewing and another for free-motion work. And yes, I touch the bobbin tension too!

You did the correct thing to take the machine to a good professional to be serviced. Your husband would not drive a car that had been sitting in the garage for 10 years without having the oil changed and the car check-over.

As far as Singer machines - Consumer Reports said they are not longer very good. Your machine is old enough that you have a good one. Don't trade it in if you decide to get another machine. Keep your Singer as a back up. Good luck. Monica

Finally I can post! I wanted to thank you all for your support re my machine but I haven't been able to post until now. Also, I could not join again because I am in Canada and it would not accept my postal code and there was no province to select. I am getting excited about starting to do some sewing now. My machine will be ready in a week or so. I don't plan to trade it in if it works well. I think I will just use Walmart to buy fabric.

Mirren, just got back online with forum, that was a mess.
saw your post, so glad you found a pattern that works for you at a reasonable price.The problem I see with patterns now are the multi sizes, I use to try and perserve the different ones, but not any more, let's face it, we will probably be the same size from now on ! haha
Glad you had your machine cleaned, I have my mom's singer slant needle from the 70's I guess, it is very heavy but it still sews great. As far as the new Singers, I do agree with the repairman, I have a computer Singer, that does embrodiery, and it does OK, but a lot of features need to be re-thought by designers, as far as the machine sold at Walmart, etc. they are a econonic machine, there are good for learning and I always thought for classes, I bought one in August for a friend, only paid $120, got it home and it didn't work, but returned it and got another one just like it, it works fine. So there are lemons out there, as far as the lady at Walmart, she was not an expert, just trying to give what the thought of as good advice, when that happens to me I thank them and that is the end. Happy sewing. Rene