Full Review of the Singer 8280 Sewing Machine
This sewing machine looks very basic and it is. The Singer name for it is the Scholastic, implying that it is for the beginner and so it does not have too many bells and whistles although it does have an automatic buttonhole and three needle positions. By removing the storage you get a free arm and there are seven stitches, which is pretty much as basic as a sewing machine can get. That said, for the price the Singer 8280 Sewing Machine should deliver enough to make basic dressmaking and mending tasks easy.
What I like about the Singer 8280 Sewing Machine
Hardly anything, if Im honest. I have had nothing but trouble with it and I seem to spend more time unravelling yards of wasted thread from the back of my work than I do in sewing. I am not a genius when it comes to sewing but then neither am I an idiot and I really cant seem to get the hang of this machine at all. I have a friend who has and swears by an Singer 8280 Sewing Machine and she says there is a knack.
Well, to give her credit where its due she has tried to teach me the knack and all I can say is that it must be very subtle, because every time she shows me how to thread it up and I listen to the little click she insists is happening, I cant tell at all whats going on. And, friend, if you read this, you know you will have to admit that even you dont get it right all of the time!
What can it do?
I dont know, really, because I havent been very lucky with getting it to work but on the few occasions it did it went through two thicknesses of curtain fabric and a header tape with no problem at all. The stitch mechanism sounds nice and positive and the foot control is also easy to use. It is quiet so can easily be used where other people are and they will be there for moral support for when you have to rip things out and start again.
The seven stitches are very basic, adjustable by length and width of course, but for this price it isnt reasonable to expect anything else. The manual of the Singer 8280 Sewing Machine does need serious work and I cant imagine it would take too much redesigning to make it easier to thread consistently. The arrows should be more useful, and then I could spend more time sewing, less time swearing at my projects. Very disappointing, generally.
This sewing machine looks very basic and it is. The Singer name for it is the Scholastic, implying that…
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It is difficult for me to understand why this machine is so highly rated. My friends seem to really love it. Personally this machine has given me nothing but problems. I used only singer needles. Often my sewing work takes me twice as long than it did with my previous machine. After struggling with this machine I finally gave up and purchased a Necchi sewing machine which worked like a charm. The customer representatives at Singer were not very helpful.