Budget sewing machine at Hancock fabrics

**fin** · 08-10-2008, 08:45

Hancock Fabrics is having a yellow tag sale. They have a Janome 3125 on sale, marked down from 129.99 to 79.99 thru Aug 12th.

http://www.hancockfabrics.com/Janome...1_CT_yellowtag

**Ramblinrev** · 08-10-2008, 12:35

just looked and it is listed "out of stock" Janome is a super machine.

**HappyCamper** · 08-10-2008, 15:15

Yes, I have a Janome Sewist that I like. Basic machine, easy for me to use and it does what I need it to do. -- like sewing 2 layers of webbing.

**JaxHiker** · 08-10-2008, 20:24

Thx FF. Finally got home after being out all day. Too bad that's out of stock.

I did end up picking up the Singer today. The lady was real nice and showed me what it can do. I even ran my own stitches. Watch out, I'm a pro now!

I picked up some ripstop and webbing at JoAnn's and the thing handled both with ease. She said she's done 10 layers of denim w/o it skipping a beat.

I'm hoping to play with it a little tonight so maybe I'll post some pics of my masterpieces. Tnx again for all the help. But don't go away, I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions for you to come.

**HappyCamper** · 08-11-2008, 05:30

JaxHiker,

What type of webbing did you get at JoAnn's? Our JoAnn's closed down, but there is one in next town over.

**JaxHiker** · 08-11-2008, 08:33

You'd have to ask wouldn't you?

I believe it's called cotton belting material. Looks like the stuff on my backpack. It's not nylon webbing like I'd hoped. They had 1" and 1.5" and I got the latter since I was looking to make tree huggers. If you're interested I can try to take a pic tonight. I can't remember the exact price but it was about $7.50 or so for 12'.

I did have a problem last night but I think I figured out a solution. I folded the webbing over about 3/4" at the end, and then folded over again to make about a 2" opening. Well, this meant the foot didn't sit flush so it wouldn't feed. I think I just need to put a small piece of webbing on the other side so it's flush and then it should feed ok. I liked the end results even if it didn't look 100% clean.

I had fun at least. I can tell I'll need a lot of practice with the ripstop.

**Ramblinrev** · 08-11-2008, 08:44

Danger Will Robinson Danger....

I would NOT use cotton belting for tree huggers (or any suspension component) at least not long term. IMO it lacks the stability and strength for the job. When Cotton gets wet my experience is that it weakens and stretches like a piece of taffy. It also ROTS. Polyester or polypro seems to be the favorite around these parts but nylon has it's advocates if the lengths are short enuf to minimize stretching. www.strapworks.com seems to be a commonly used vendor. Their products are top drawer and their customer service is excellent.

**JaxHiker** · 08-11-2008, 09:03

Yeah, I figure I won't be able to use them long. I was disappointed that's all they had but I guess it makes sense based on what most of their customers will be using it for. Didn't even think about it stretching. ****. At least I used a 40% coupon so I didn't waste too much money.

Maybe it was polyester I was thinking of and not nylon. Whichever is more common on packs and similar items. I'll show some more ignorance here.

Thanks for the link. That place looks great!

Here's a funny anecdote from yesterday. I was over at the in-law's working on their computer and the lady I bought the Singer from called my house. She told my wife she felt bad. She said, "It didn't seem like he knew anything about sewing machines. And it felt strange to sell a pink sewing machine to a guy."

Then she offered to give me any help I need. I thought that was pretty cool. Of course she's right on the money about my knowledge. **** near drove myself crazy trying to pick up the bobbin thread.

**HappyCamper** · 08-11-2008, 09:25

JaxHiker,

Another option for webbing is Walmart. I bought 1 inch polyester ratchet straps there and cut off ratchet. Info below. I like 1 inch because they work with JRB tri-glides and 1 inch cinch buckle.

-------------

Got 1 inch ratchet strap by Cequent at Walmart. I called the company's toll free number and gave them the product number. The product engineer told me the straps are polyester. The phone call took about 2 minutes. If newbies are ever in doubt about a product, like I often am, I recommend giving a call to any company's customer service.

The strap is 14 feet long and costs $7. It's not as cheap as Strapworks webbing but since I'm not buying a lot of webbing, it's cheaper for me due to Strapworks shipping charges.

If weight is a concern, I believe the Strapworks 1" seatbelt webbing may be lighter. Something to check into.

Product Specs: Company: Cequent - Product # 11601 14' Standard Duty Ratchet

Break strength 1500 lb. Black webbing

**JaxHiker** · 08-11-2008, 09:33

Cool. I'll have to look into that. That would give you a lot more to work with. That's something else I realized last night. We've got some big pine trees around here and I don't even know if the 72" strap I made last night would be long enough w/o coupling it to my stock HH straps. Looks like a trip to Wally World.