Cheap Shots! (What Items Have You Noticed Are Increasing in Price, But Decreasing in Quality?)

My Grandmother and one of my aunts were still using this type in the 1950's.

One of my aunts that is. sorry...

What Items Have You Noticed Are Increasing in Price, But Decreasing in Quality?

Certain vintage Singers that were all metal. They competed with Sears Kenmore for quality and features.
Nothing against vintage Singers.
The Kenmores are the ones I have inherited and am familiar with though.

Everything these days is fragile built to break. Back in the days of pride of precision craftsmanship, they didn't have the issues of disposable plastic products.
The metal ones are highly sought after incredible machines. I've heard a few repairmen say that you, your children and grandchildren can use one full time every day and not wear them out.
I use one of mine hard on military grade fabrics, keep it oiled and no problems since I learned how to adjust it properly. My back up has only been tested, but will remain in the case. I never expect to need the back up since spending time talking to an older sewing machine man who reconditioned thousands of used for resale back in the day for a big company.

I find that a lot of clothing stores have low inventory, both in store and online. I do online shopping for clothes as there are more options, even then some items are removed from the cart because they are "out of stock." This is true especially during sales.

These are all European based. Here’s the Japanese equivalents:
Honda: Kawasaki: Yamaha: Suzuki:

Politicians.

Those Kenmore machines aren't messing around.

I have a friend who is a self-taught professional seamstress, has had her designs featured in fashion shows and has had the chance to sew on all kinds of new-fangled machines, but she always goes back to her trusty Kenmore (affectionately called "Kenny.")

I learned how to sew on a Kenmore, but it built into a cabinet (I think most were back then?) and the bobbin was a pain to load. I later moved on to the Husquarva Viking, and finally, in 1999, I bought a Janome. It's the machine I still have today and I still have the receipt.

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Funny story -- my siblings had moved to different areas for jobs and asked my grandparents for help with moving costs. The story goes that my grandparents were eating, and my Grandpa said, "Hmm. We helped the other grandkids with such-and-such. What did we give to Seoul?"

My Grandma, with her trademark dry humor, answered, "Seoul didn't get didley squat." And so they decided to do the same for me as what they'd done for the others.

I took that money along with what I saved and excitedly went down to the local sewing/vac place. (It is just me or does anyone else find it funny that sewing machines are always lumped along with vacuum cleaners?!)

Every now and then, I like to stop into shops to see what the latest and greatest is.

I was blown away by the machines that can now stitch sideways , but my little Janome will most likely last me forever and hopefully be passed down to someone else.

I'm amazed that people started a little conversation about sewing machines! How awesome is that!

Its a weird hangup of mine from playing tennis for many years. Grips are good but they changed how they made racquets at the end of 2013, etc.


Also KTM, Husqvarna, and Gas Gas motorcycles have also steadily increased in price up to about $10K for a regular dirt bike. (Another weird hang up of mine).
KTM Husqvarna GasGas

Those Kenmore machines aren't messing around.

I have a friend who is a self-taught professional seamstress, has had her designs featured in fashion shows and has had the chance to sew on all kinds of new-fangled machines, but she always goes back to her trusty Kenmore (affectionately called "Kenny.")

I learned how to sew on a Kenmore, but it built into a cabinet (I think most were back then?) and the bobbin was a pain to load. I later moved on to the Husquarva Viking, and finally, in 1999, I bought a Janome. It's the machine I still have today and I still have the receipt.

View attachment 264963


Funny story -- my siblings had moved to different areas for jobs and asked my grandparents for help with moving costs. The story goes that my grandparents were eating, and my Grandpa said, "Hmm. We helped the other grandkids with such-and-such. What did we give to Seoul?"

My Grandma, with her trademark dry humor, answered, "Seoul didn't get didley squat." And so they decided to do the same for me as what they'd done for the others.

I took that money along with what I saved and excitedly went down to the local sewing/vac place. (It is just me or does anyone else find it funny that sewing machines are always lumped along with vacuum cleaners?!)

Every now and then, I like to stop into shops to see what the latest and greatest is.

I was blown away by the machines that can now stitch sideways , but my little Janome will most likely last me forever and hopefully be passed down to someone else.

I'm amazed that people started a little conversation about sewing machines! How awesome is that!

Do you have a vintage Singer?

This is a slightly older variant, same model, of the one that I use. It takes the biggest needles to handle the bonded nylon thread used for highest quality commercial mil spec backpacks and guy gear. The motor isn't as powerful as the bigger commercial duty SailRight Sail Boat machines, but it's a blessing for my tasks so far. My next challenge is to use it to make a 500 D Cordura coated nylon pach that will make hemming jeans seem like a shirt.

I agree with the bobbin replacement on the front loading machines. I've spent 20 minutes trying to replace them, getting everything lined up just right. It was frustrating for many months. I finally watched the right videos on the replacement and learned the secrets to get them in around one minute. There should be clear instructions in the manual and all over the place. I had a hard time finding them.

Now I can take my clothes and Tailor them to fit right without regretting the pain of changing thread.

Anyhow, what do you like to make on your Janome?

I love that this has turned into a low-key conversation about sewing machines!

Oh my goodness... Those sideways-aligning bobbins (not sure how else to word it) were a thing of nightmares. Adding to it, the machine was heavy, and the whole cabinet was stored in the back of my Mom's closet. There was no other place to put it, so every time I wanted to sew (and I was just a kid,) I had to haul up that heavy old machine -- and the spring often didn't cooperate when I set it up or put it away. I couldn't move it anywhere, had to push all my Mom's clothes out of the way, and was practically working in the dark because the closet light was dim. This didn't exactly encourage my creativity!

How awesome that you tailor your clothes!!! For me, the fitting is the most frustrating part and a good reason why I go a long time between projects.

My favorite things I've ever made were a series of khaki golf shorts for my Mom -- she's an almost perfect fit to what the pattern model must be, as the only adjustments I had to make was putting two tucks in the back of the waistband. If I fit the patterns that well, I'm sure I'd make a lot more.

My biggest challenge was an organizer like this:



But instead of separate pockets, each row was one long pocket with a zipper. I made it for my sewing supplies -- it had to be clear, to be able to see and access things easily, and the pockets had to zip closed so things wouldn't fall out.

Man oh man, I had NO idea what I was in for with that clear vinyl. Have you ever worked with it, HH? It was a BEAR for me and even though I tried all the recommendations, it constantly stuck to the machine and I thought I'd never finish!

What was your most challenging project?

Just a funny story to go with the talk about sewing.

I was visiting my seamstress friend and telling her that invisible zipper seemed to be the bane of my existence:

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The whole point is to make them, well, invisible, but you wouldn't know it if you saw my work -- lumpy stitching and definitely not a smooth, "invisible" finish!

My friend asked me, "What foot are you using?", and we talked for several minutes about which feet are best suited for the task.

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A sewing machine uses interchangeable (presser) "feet", and there are numerous different kinds for an array of tasks.

Well, her brother was listening to our conversation in the next room, and, not knowing anything about sewing, had a bewildered look on his face. When we asked him what was wrong, he said, "How do feet (as in, the ones on the ends of legs) have anything to do with zippers?!"

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Maybe you had to be there, but my seamstress friend and I burst out laughing! I'm sure to the observer, it must have sounded absolutely ridiculous -- zippers and feet!

I had also been telling a story about a pair of pants I had with an invisible zipper on the side, and when I couldn't get it to cooperate one day, I thought I was going to have to cut myself out my own pants.

I then made the joke that the real reason I couldn't get the zipper unzipped -- was because I couldn't get it open with my clubbed feet.

DON"T get me started!

A brand of chocolate, Schogetten, used to be 65% cocoa - only a mere 65%, but it was a delicious flavor - but when the price of cocoa spiked their cocoa content dipped. Now the first ingredient is sugar, and it no longer even tastes much like chocolate. It tastes like a sugar bar now.

Hey Everyone,

With inflation giving us nowhere to hide for a very long time, what things have you noticed have changed -- for the worse?

I was thinking of this topic last week while I was shopping for groceries.

I have a favorite brand of candles - - Tuscany -- they have great scents, colors, and are often on sale for half-price. They also have a sturdy metal lid that I find handy for snuffing them out when I'm done burning them for the day.

Lo and behold, I noticed a new crop of summer scents -- that now have corks for lids. I guess I'm going to having to save at least one metal lid from each candle (they have different sizes) to use as a snuffer from now on, just in case.

I moved on to picking up a replacement jar of a staple sensitive skin cream I depend on -- then noticed that unlike the other jars before, this one no longer had a lid with a pump. Thank goodness I didn't throw out the old jar, because now I'm going to have to save that pump to fit on future jars (and hope it lasts a long time.)

Yes, these aren't very earth-shattering things of course, but I just couldn't help noticing the stark difference -- while mumbling to myself about how cheap companies are getting.

My parents like to tease me about "saving all this junk" when they come over, but I always tell them I have a good reason as to why!

How about the rest of you?

* What things have you noticed have changed -- for the worse?

* Is your favorite pack of cookies, jar of spaghetti sauce, etc., now half the size -- but twice the cost?

* Have you noticed certain products disappearing altogether? (Such as, with some companies shrinking costs by eliminating extra varieties?)

* Is there some kind of staple you always bought, but has starkly changed over the years? Do you still buy it?

This past Christmas, I finally bought myself a pair of flannel jammies. Being a bit of a cheapskate, I'd put it off by just surviving with old t-shirts and sweats.

I should have stuck to those!

I'm not sure how they're even getting away with calling this "flannel" -- it's thin, hardly holds any warmth, and most certainly doesn't have that cozy, slightly "furry" feeling you get from REAL flannel. I was most dismayed by the fact that it was from a company that was supposedly well know to have good products, and had ordered from before.

What about you?

I would really like to hear all about your latest disappointments with products, services, and any other item you would like to tell us about.

DON"T get me started!

A brand of chocolate, Schogetten, used to be 65% cocoa - only a mere 65%, but it was a delicious flavor - but when the price of cocoa spiked their cocoa content dipped. Now the first ingredient is sugar, and it no longer even tastes much like chocolate. It tastes like a sugar bar now.