Calculating the Power of a Sewing Machine
Very good article I came across analyzing sewing machine power.
I’m in a lot of various Facebook sewing groups and one thing I see posted all the time, particular those that have a lot of people sewing bags, is if someone should get a higher end domestic, “semi-industrial”, or industrial machine. I have one from each group: a computerized domestic (Janome Memory Craft 6500P), a semi industrial (Juki TL-2010Q), and industrial (Seiko STH-8BLD-3 compound walking foot). My point of this post is to give honest feedback from someone who is an experienced home sewer of 20+ years and has absolutely nothing to gain from someone buying one type or brand of sewing machine vs another.
I also want to add that my focus is on new machines, not vintage. Yes, vintage machines are often great but you’re often taking a chance on their condition, not to mention it can be hard to find exactly what you want depending on where you live and when you want to buy.
Domestic Machines
These are the machines everyone who is a home sewer is familiar with and I assume you already have, so I don’t need to elaborate much further. I just wanted to note here that my Janome Memory Craft 6500P, which was probably a midrange to higher end model at its time, can do about 1000 stitches a minute and the motor works out to about 1/10 horsepower. I’ve sewn some heavier stuff on this machine, but one occasion have also pushed it to its limits and knocked it out of time in the process of doing so. My mechanic was able to fix it, but it was still a pain to get repaired. Just because it can fit under the presser foot it doesn’t mean your machine can necessarily handle it without a lot of extra help in the form of jump jumpers, slow speed, or even just manually turning the wheel yourself. The higher end models are probably stronger, but are stupidly expensive (think $10-20k) and IMO you’re primarily paying for more capabilities (like the ability to embroider) and more throat space rather than strength. People make a big deal about having a free arm too, but I’ve never seen the use for one. (Haven’t they heard of turning it inside out and working from the inside??)
Semi Industrial Machines
The Juki TL series falls under this, along with the Janome HD-9. There is sometimes some controversy about the term “semi industrial” (particularly among the prior but I think it is a fairly accurate term. These machines retain the lighter weight and portability of domestics (along with creature comforts like automatic thread cutting) while taking some of the features of industrials like the reverse stitch lever (SUPER handy to not have to look for a button when wanting to backstitch) and ability to use industrial machine feet. Industrial machine feet can be found very cheap if you go generic and often perform better than domestic machine feet. I bought a bunch of compensating feet from Amazon and they just work so much better than the regular topstitching feet on my Janome.
Many of the semi industrials, like my Juki TL-2010Q, also have speed control. These machines tend to be a bit faster and able to better handle heavier projects. They do just one thing but they do it well. I LOVE sewing shirts on this machine.
The disadvantage is that unlike an ordinary domestic they are straight stitch only, and not as strong and durable as an actual industrial. You can technically do buttonholes on the TL series, but you need a separate attachment. Then official Juki buttonhole attachment is $500, which is why a lot of people end up buying a separate domestic just for buttonholes if they don’t already have one. Vintage Griest/Singer etc buttonhole attachments can be found much cheaper (under $50) but since you’re depending on the secondhand market, you never know about availability and if all the pieces are included. These vintage buttonholers also depend on separate metal templates so you’re also limited to whatever size you have on hand instead of being able to set whatever size you want, like with the Juki buttonhole attachment or a domestic.
After using it for a couple of months, I find that the Juki TL-2010Q is not as strong as some claim. It is stronger and faster for sure than my Janome, and I think the motor works out to 1/6 horsepower (vs the 1/10 of the Janome). But when I was sewing a tote bag made from a tightly woven medium weight 100% cotton twill and nylon webbing straps, it tripped up. When sewing the section where the strap goes over a lot of layers of the twill, it just stopped. It didn’t steady to struggle, it outright stalled and would not go. I had to do the hand wheel to get it through that particular section. I know my industrial would have gone through this section without all this extra effort. I’ve seen various videos of how the TL series can “sew through anything” and pretty much all of them are going slowly and you can hear the machine motor working harder. That doesn’t mean it isn’t strong, but I do feel like many people overstate its capabilities because they’re coming from having only used a domestic before.
I also feel like the Juki is not as solidly built as some claim. Sure it doesn’t have as much plastic, but some of the parts (like the thread guide) feel a little bit delicate. The good thing though is that these machines are generally more user serviceable than the domestics, and as you can see Juki Junkies sells a lot of replacement parts and has information on how to replace them yourself. You’d probably still need a mechanic for something like a timing issue, but at least some issues can be resolved yourself.
One last annoyance with the TL series is that you can’t stick a magnetic seam guide past the needle plate. With my industrial I can stick the seam guide anywhere on the machine.
While it has limitations my TL-2010Q is my favorite machine to sew on. I feel like I have the most control over it, and it feeds the fabric beautifully. I love the automatic needle position down and the ability to cut the thread from the foot pedal. It has a decent amount of speed and I have far less issues topstitching collar bands now. Even though I feel it is overrated for heavy projects, I can see why it has such a cult following. It is heavily marketers towards bag makers and quilters, but I also think it is a great machine for garment sewers in my position that want to step up their game but don’t have the room for an industrial.
Industrials
These machines are strong and powerful. They have a dedicated table (typically 48” x 20”) the machine head sits into, and the motor, which is around 1/2 horsepower, is bolted under the table on the side. I’m focusing on lockstitch machines (straight stitch) but there is also dedicated double needle, zig zag, etc industrials. They are not only for heavy materials! Plenty of them, like the Juki DDL-8700, are designed just for light to medium weight fabrics. (Think about it: the factories pushing out silk blouses and crisp buttondown shirts are using industrials, not domestic or Juki TLs.)
My Seiko STH-8BLD-3 is a compound walking foot machine. These machines are designed for medium to very heavy materials. The foot is actually a two section foot with a small inner foot and larger outer foot. The foot, needle, and bottom feed dogs all synchronize to feed the fabric through. It is awesome for thick layers and sewing things like canvas, multiple layers of foam, and cowhide leather. Unlike my Janome and Juki, I don’t have to baby it at all. It just sews through everything as fast as I want without needing hump jumpers or stopping and using the hand wheel. I’ve hemmed bull denim weight jeans for my dad with flat felled seams on this machine before and there was no need to slow down. It just punched right through even the flat felled section without any struggle at all. When I sewed my denim Jalie tote I was able to turn on a dime and fly through whatever section was being sewn without having to do anything special. I think it can do 2000-2500 stitches per minute, with that range depending on the stitch length.
While the Juki TL series maxes out at a size 18 needle, my Seiko can take up to a size 24 needle. I have to use at least 40 Tex weight thread (Gutermann Mara 70) because the tension simply isn’t made to handle lighter thread like Gutermann Mara 100/120. Unlike the Juki TL series or a domestic it excels at handling the really thick stuff like Gutermann Mara 30 (Tex 100 weight).
Another nice thing about industrials is that there’s none of the gatekeeping of domestics. You can tweak them however you want and can make it last a lifetime. My owners manual for the Seiko has sections on how to adjust the timing, adjust the height of the feed dogs (not just drop them but actually adjust how high they are), and all sorts of other stuff that a domestic manual would need, ever show you how to do. Check out the post by Wizcrafts for an example of just how much you can do to customize a machine like this for whatever it is you want to sew. There is a decent amount of information out there on maintaining and repairing industrials yourself, and parts are typically not difficult to get if you have one of the more common models.
My Seiko is around 14 years old now and uses the old fashioned clutch style motor. Clutch motors suck because speed control is difficult (though I’ve gotten better) and they are running whether you are sewing or not, which is noisy and energy consuming. I don’t think they even sell new machines with them anymore. Fortunately industrial motors are pretty easy to swap out. My plan in the next year or so is to swap out the current clutch motor for the Kinedyne 750SL. The Kinedyne 750SL, in addition to letting me sew more easily at a much slower pace while keeping the same torque, also has a needle position sensor option which would allow me to always stop with the needle up or down (a feature I love on my Juki and Janome).
As far as price, it depends on the type of machine you get but in general they are not that much more than the Juki TL series, especially considering the table is usually included. However shipping costs push it up another $200-300 because they tend to be drop shipped by freight. The flipside is that depending on your market you can find these used for much less. Look around for tailors that are retiring or sewing factories going out of business.
The main disadvantage to industrials is the size and lack of portability and versatility.
As I mentioned before, the machine head sits into a dedicated table. The table top is custom cut to fit the machine head and can only be used for that machine. While you can get casters to help with moving it around, this is not a situation like with the Juki TL series or a domestic where you can easily bring it up or down stairs or travel to a class with it. And with a 48×20” table, you’re going to need to have a decent amount of space to put it in. Not something you can tuck away when it’s not being used. The machine heads are also VERY heavy compared to a domestic. My Seiko STH-8BLD-3 machine head is somewhere around 65 pounds. It is entirely metal and feels like a tank. The table is another 50 pounds and the clutch motor is another 40 pounds or so (though the newer servo motors are much lighter). Not easy to transport to the sewing machine mechanic. You’re probably going to have to have one come to your house.
These machines are made for very specific purposes. When I sewed the bag lining of my tote I had to switch to a domestic because between the heavier feed dogs and immense pressure and tension, I simply wouldn’t have gotten acceptable results on the Seiko. It would result in a puckered fabric with thread about to snap. For lighter stuff like that you’d need something like the Juki DDL-8700. Which means another machine with a 48×20” table. Not something that works in my current lifestyle. But with the Juki TL series you can sew a lining on the same machine as you’re sewing the rest of the bag on.
One particular machine that someone specializing in bag making may want to look into is an industrial cylinder bed machine with a flatbed attachment. They make getting into really tight areas much easier (they are kind of like the free arm of the industrial world). This is what they sew shoes, little wallets, etc on commercially. The downside is that they are not nearly as good at sewing big flat panels, even with the flatbed attachment. But some bagmakers have them and love them.
Conclusion
While I am very happy with my Juki TL-2010Q, if I had the space I would have bought the Juki DDL-8700 instead.
I would say go with an industrial if you:
- have the space
- don’t need portability
- want a true “buy it for life” machine
- want the ability to repair and customize it yourself
- want to quickly and effortlessly sew medium heavy materials and/or do upholstery projects in addition to bag making (this is more specific to compound walking foot machines)
- have a good local market of used machines – you can find one used for 1/2 or even 1/4 the price of a new TL series
Look into the TL series if you:
- have limited space and/or need to stash the machine away in a separate space between projects
- want to travel with the machine
- work primarily with light to medium weight fabrics and want something more powerful and refined than a regular domestic
Clothing Engineer 