Yay! Technically she was here two days ago but I haven't had a chance to take some pics until now. So far I have been test driving her with a thin knit fabric I am using to make
New Look 6098. This fabric is a pain in the butt to work with because it is a bit slippery but Phoebe is handling it like a pro. As I'm still learning to sew with knits I'm at the low end of the learning curve and had to quit last night when things weren't going so well with the bottom hem. I did the sleeve hems by serging the edges and then using a double needle to turn a 5/8" hem. There were no skipped stitches like I had when Betty did this hem and the stitching was nice and even. Then when I went to do the bottom hem I wasn't really thinking it through. There is an 1 1/2" hem and I tried doing it the same way as the sleeves. This is too deep of a hem to absorb all the curve because the top is quite flared and I just made a big mess that had to be picked out. I'll get back on it tonight folding the hem in for a double 3/4" hem. That is what I have done previously with good results so I'm not sure where my head was at this time. Or maybe I should try a blind hem. I also have another
New Look 6735 cut out in the same fabric and I want to try the faux coverlock stitch on that one. The sample piece I tried looks really nice.
There has been some discussion on
Pattern Review about the difference between the Ambition 1.5 and the 2.0. The dealer had said that the 2.0 has more stitches and a bigger motor. I have tried to find specs for the motor but there is nothing in the manual. I don't think anything on this plate refers to the motor but I'm not going to open her up to peek inside in case that voids the warranty. I would have been happy with the 1.5 (which is what I originally bought) so if this is a better motor then all the better and if not I'm sure I'll still be very happy with her. I'll know more about whether she has adequate power for my needs once I try my hand at making jeans.
And Mallory says the sleeve roll mom made me makes a great pillow. She likes to live dangerously that girl.
Yay! Technically she was here two days ago but I haven't had a chance to take some pics until now. So far I have been test driving her with a thin knit fabric I am using to make New Look 6098. This fabric is a pain in the butt to work with because it is a bit slippery but Phoebe is handling it like a pro. As I'm still learning to sew with knits I'm at the low end of the learning curve and had to quit last night when things weren't going so well with the bottom hem. I did the sleeve hems by serging the edges and then using a double needle to turn a 5/8" hem. There were no skipped stitches like I had when Betty did this hem and the stitching was nice and even. Then when I went to do the bottom hem I wasn't really thinking it through. There is an 1 1/2" hem and I tried doing it the same way as the sleeves. This is too deep of a hem to absorb all the curve because the top is quite flared and I just made a big mess that had to be picked out. I'll get back on it tonight folding the hem in for a double 3/4" hem. That is what I have done previously with good results so I'm not sure where my head was at this time. Or maybe I should try a blind hem. I also have another New Look 6735 cut out in the same fabric and I want to try the faux coverlock stitch on that one. The sample piece I tried looks really nice.
There has been some discussion on Pattern Review about the difference between the Ambition 1.5 and the 2.0. The dealer had said that the 2.0 has more stitches and a bigger motor. I have tried to find specs for the motor but there is nothing in the manual. I don't think anything on this plate refers to the motor but I'm not going to open her up to peek inside in case that voids the warranty. I would have been happy with the 1.5 (which is what I originally bought) so if this is a better motor then all the better and if not I'm sure I'll still be very happy with her. I'll know more about whether she has adequate power for my needs once I try my hand at making jeans.
And Mallory says the sleeve roll mom made me makes a great pillow. She likes to live dangerously that girl.
Comments
My dealer said that the 2.0 has a bigger motor and more stitches, among other possible upgrades. My guess is the 2.0 was designed to get rid of any bugs found in the 1.5. I haven't had any problems sewing through layers, although I haven't started sewing jeans yet (they are cut out and waiting). I have compared (online) the bobbin case with others that have the 1.5 and the general consensus was that the 1.5 bobbin case was hard to remove for cleaning but the 2.0 comes out like butter. There is a diagram in the manual for the 2.0 that is not in the 1.5 manual. This part may have been changed to work better.
IMHO you would not be losing anything to upgrade. I'm always in favour of a bigger motor (I AM an autoworker after all lol) and there are more stitch options if that is your thing. If you mainly sew delicates that don't need much power then that might give me reason to pause, but for the odd time that you need that extra piercing power it's nice to know it's there. If it were me I'd probably go for it, but your mileage may vary.