bwestman's Full Review: Singer 7442 Electronic Sewing Machine
In the past, I did a fair amount of sewing, but life got in the way and I sort of put it aside. Additionally, I've never had a "good" machine...until now.
I have pulled out may old machine on occasion to hem, or mend, and every time I do, I tell my husband "I want a new machine". And that is usually the end of the conversation and we move on. Not this time. This time I persisted until he agreed and got up off the couch to go with me. I did a couple of hours research on the 'net before hand, then headed off to Sears. We live in a small town so actual stores are limited to say the least. But I was determined.
There at Sears, there were 5 choices. This one was one of the ones I had considered and 2 of the other 4 were units that I had definitely vetoed. That left this one and two unknowns. One of the unknowns was much more expensive than I wanted to pay, so it came down to two...to be honest, at this point it was pretty much a coin toss...but this was one that I had looked into and found favorable, so I bought it.
Here's my story:
15 years ago, I made my husband a shirt for his birthday. It was a thing of beauty and I did a remarkably good job on it if I do say so myself. But the finishing touch was the button holes. I didn't know how to do them. And I couldn't find anyone to help me. And I was afraid to mess up my lovely handiwork. So the shirt hung in the closet, unfinished for 15 years.
Enter the Singer 7442. I got my new purchase home, took it out of the box, and sat down to read the manual cover to cover. That done, I took a deep breath, loaded the thread and bobbin, put the automatic button hole foot on the machine, and watched in wonder as the machine made a perfect button hole, just the right size. I was so amazed I was giddy. So I did it again. And again. Then I was ready. I got out "the shirt", measured, and put six perfect button holes down the front, sewed on the buttons (with the machine, mind you) and in under an hour after bringing this unit home, I had completed my 15-year old project. The only thing else I've EVER done that took that long is my 16-year old male offspring in the other room. He's not finished yet either (ha!).
I was so inspired by the ease and simplicity of this machine, that I ran to the fabric store in the next town over the very next day and bought 5 patters and some material.
My little chihuahua is now sporting a sassy new fleece turtleneck sweater with two more cut out and ready to sew and I have a new pair of pants almost finished.
Out of the Box Experience
In the box, you get the machine, the foot pedal, the power cord, a DVD (which I haven't watched yet), the owners manual, a warranty card, and bunch of accessories including several additional feet, empty bobbin spools, a cleaning brush, and other things I've yet to identify or need.
Setup is super simple and the manual is relatively clear to follow and understand. Each of machine functions is briefly described as well as each of the 30 built in stitches. In addition to nice illustrations, material types and/or usages are described for each stitch. This is a nice feature for those of us for whom "sewing" meant fixing the hole in the seam of a pair of pants, mending a hem, or replacing a button.
As I described, the machine has an automatic button hole feature. You take a button that you want to make the holes for and snap it into the holder on the foot. Then lock the foot onto the machine, choose button-hole (thin or thick) and step on the pedal. The machine does the rest and even stops when it's done. Take your foot off the pedal, remove your garment and voila!
Additionally, it has an automatic needle threader. This is a simple little device, but light-years ahead of that little gizmo with the ultra thin wire that always got bent out of shape (or lost). This is affixed right to the machine and very simple to use. The older I get, the more I appreciate little things like this.
Summary
Overall, I am very pleased with this machine. I have tried out several of the stitches and found them all to be very uniform, consistent, and well formed, even when I am a little sporadic in my application. I don't always apply a steady pressure to the pedal, causing the machine to speed up and slow down often. Despite this, the stitches remained even and uniform.
There are several decorative stitches included and they are really fun! All stitches easily selected by using the buttons on the right and lighting the appropriate LED. The buttons feel firm and solid and I don't fear breaking them ever time I touch one. On the other hand, they aren't "touch pads" either (which I hate). They are real buttons.
Each stitch, once selected, can be customized by width and needle placement by adjusting one or both of the bars at the bottom of the stitch display panel.
All in all, I love this machine and it makes sewing fun. Because it is so easy to use, I've become inspired to sew again. And I'm loving it! And because it appears to be so solidly built, I suspect I'll have lots of opportunity to enjoy it.
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