Looking At A Sewing Machine

[Jboyle1982]

Looking to reupholster boat seats myself with my moms help she is a talented seamstress but doesn’t have a lot of experience with upholstery. Been looking at using singer 15-91 that seems to be recommended as a low cost option. What kind of foot, needle size, and thread should I use on marine vinyl?

 

[Corjen1]

15-91 will do a good job for you. In terms of what foot, you will need the normal strait stitch and a piping foot. ( if you are using piping.) Those are different size, for the diameter of the piping being used. I typically use rubber screen welting for the cord. I would use a 18/110 to 20/120 needle with V92 bonded nylon thread.
Good luck, show us your projects!!

 

[Chris1956]

I had a machine similar to the 15-91. It was my Granny's machine from the sweatshops of NYC. It worked real well for a 60 YO simple machine, but a flood ruined it.

I recently bought a new Janome HD-3000. It is mostly metal and works pretty good. I was able to sew 6 layers of marine vinyl, but to be fair the Singer was a bit more powerful.

My only complaint is that the foot on the Janome doesn't rise as high as on the Singer. However, the Janome has every stitch you would ever need, and if I had some talent in sewing, I could make it sing and dance.

A leather needle is recommended for vinyl. I also believe you can get a walking foot for the Janome, which is recommended for upholstery and you probably cannot get for the singer.

JMO