You’ve probably guessed by the title what my opinion on this product is. But, this post wouldn’t be much information (or fun) if I didn’t tell you about my experience.
Argh, Evilllll!
A sewing machine is so useful to have, even if you only have a basic knowledge of how to mend a rip. At one time all of my sewing was done by hand. Let’s get real though- I’m 34 and my eyes are not what they were in my early 20′s. It is harder to see the hole in the needle, harder to keep a stitch straight and I surely can’t hand sew tiny ones any longer.
My old machine (A Brother, $88 bucks at Wal*Mart back in 2003) died. Drove me nuts that I couldn’t patch up things or recycle/re-purpose cloth lying around. O.K., I could, but ,eyes- remember? Hubby and I escaped from the Asylum one day to do a bit of shopping. While out I came across the Dressmaker 2.
You may have seen this little machine on T.V. As an easy to use sewing machine. The ad says it comes pre-threaded, ready to use and with a bobbin in place. Lies! Lies I tell you!
The machine- if you want to call it that- came out of the package un-threaded, no bobbin in place. No problem, I can do that. I threaded the thing, which was as easy as stated. The bobbin was another story. The package and T.V. Ad claims you can drop the bobbin right in.
BULL. Only a demon from Hades that’s triple jointed and has one eye closed can claim they are dropping this in. I tried it. Before we go any further, let me make it clear that I’m not ‘slow’ in any sense of the word. Unless making a bad purchase makes you such. I dropped the bobbin- it fell on the floor. I turned it to an angle, slid it- fell on the table. I tried to wedge the thing in- it stared back at me and I swear, this thing winked at me.
I can feel my blood pressure rising just thinking about it. Eventually I did get the bobbin in. Pretty sure the cursing helped. Even a cheap piece of plastic knows when to give in. (Hint- if the person you are messing with can melt you with their gaze, it’s time to give up).
I was wrong, though. The Dressmaker wasn’t finished. Maybe I should say that it was finished with me.
Thread in, bobbin in. Ready to try this baby out. Plug in- nothing. Un plug, plug in. Nothing. Call customer service. Tell customer service what I think. Tell them more loudly. Compare Dressmaker 2 tand quality of customer service (offshore, no less) to what was in son’s diaper earlier. Hang up. Throw Dressmaker 2 at the wall. Tell children to stop laughing at their mother when she’s having a tantrum.
So. There you have it. $24.99 wasted. Unless you count the entertainment value for my children and all of you. That’s priceless.
Still on the look-out for a great sewing machine that won’t break my back when I move it from storage. Will update.
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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Julie–I love to sew, but I do not love to sew on a sewing machine that does not work properly. I learned from a lot of experience, that you can not sew with a cheap machine. There are lots of them out there. Stay away from the $89-$129 machines. This is one area where putting a little more money into the purchase will save you hours and hours of frustration. The sewing machine I have now cost about $359 in 2001, and has give me hours of pleasurable sewing. Save money somewhere else.
Have not tried that machine before, I will make sure that I never do! Thanks for taking one for the team!
Janome makes some really good machines at affordable prices, but I would definitely stay away from the sub $100 machines, they will break in no time.
Great point about the eyes. I sew a lot, but it is tougher on the eyes as you get older, so be sure to take that into consideration when you think about buying a new sewing machine. Nowadays, I wear my computer glasses to sew.
I understand how you feel. I once of twice bought something after watching the tv commercial. On tv the items works like magic and wonderful but when you actually received the items, it is not what you seen. So I stop buying things from tv commercial.
I do also understand how it feels the needles keeps on breaking and put the thread through the little hole. It takes a long time for me to do it. I still can’t believe my mom still hand sewing her clothes now days. She’s like in her 70s.
CAN’T……. THREAD…… BOBBIN!!!!!!!!
good grief – that looks a little too much like a toy lol course I’m used to commercial machines but there are some decent home machines out there that are affordable and do the job you need them for. Great sense of humor – thanks for sharing the story!
Well im a 15 year old girls and i actually bough this machine at a yard sale for 10 dollars. It came in the package and everything. I was actually able to use it with no experience at all. I dont know were your problems came in because mine works great and ive had it for atleast 2 years know, i think you just needed more patiance. I have made tun off cool stuff with it and i love it:)
I have the same machine and I cannot get it to even turn on, Iv had it for 5-6 years and its barly used and I thought I would pull it out and make something and I have plugged it all in and hit the on button in and it wont even turn on… has anyone had this problem with it
Thanks
Stacia