| Elna:Jubilee (Sewing Machine) | | Viewed 444 time(s) | | Review rated Very Helpful by 5 people | | Reviewed by: | johnr55 | About johnr55 | | TX USA | | Member since: 3/22/08 | | Reviews written: 22 | | Sewing skills:Intermediate | | Favored by: 1 people | | sewing machines reviewed: 10 | | Bio: Freehand machine embroiderer and freehand quilter since early 80's, virtually no garment sewing. Healthcare manager, sewing work is a hobby. No interest in computerized embroidery machines out now--I ...full profile |
| | Posted on: | 3/23/08 9:48 AM | | Approx price paid: | $800 | | Had this machine for: | 2 years | | Recommended? | Yes | Features
- Drop-In bobbin
- Free Arm
- Adjustable Stitch Length and Width
| | What johnr55 likes about this machine
This review covers the Elna Jubilee, one of the last of the mechanical Swiss Elna machines. I also own an Air Electronic TSP, and the Jubilee appears to be a re-naming of that machine. As I recall, I I think the Jubilee was renamed to celebrate some type of anniversary!
The Elna Jubilee was produced concurrently with the famous Elna Carina, the last of the mechanical Swiss Elna machines. These were essentially the same machine with a couple of important (and expensive) differences. First, the Carina had the needle always stop in the 'up' position. There wasn't a 'down' setting; it just always stopped up (I owned a Carina back then too). Second, the Carina had a little button below the speed sliding adjustment that would make one stitch. Third, and most important, the Carina used the Elna cam stitch system for access to dozens of Elna utility and decorative stitches, where one could easily plop a cam through a little door in the top of the machine. The Jubilee has 14 built-in stitches and no little door on top to place more stitches.
I had a horrible old flatbed Necchi that I'd bought used in a little cabinet to try my hand at machine embroidery; even then I knew I didn't want to do garment sewing. Typical of cheap machines, it jammed and drove me crazy with tension settings. I met a lovely dealer, B & B Sewing down in Victoria, Texas, owned by a couple (hence B&B). They took me in hand, selling me the Jubilee and supporting my new hobby through countless hours of advice and demonstrations. Remember, this was the early 80's, long before all this digital stuff. Freehand machine embroidery back then was exactly that--free up the feed dogs, put the fabric in a hoop and go for it! This Jubilee was the machine that got me into this hobby and it certainly didn't let me down. For machine embroidery, all one needs is a straight stitch and a zigzag, so I didn't need all those cams--which are fun to play with, anyway. The Jubilee, like all those later Swiss Elna machines, is very, very quiet for a sewing machine. It has the famous Elna drop-in bobbin in the back of the needle with easily-adjustable tension. Additionally, the Elna bobbin system of the time is also very easily completely bypassed. It may mean little to those of you who are garment sewers. However, for fiber art people that means you can load with such things as perle cotton and even wooly nylon in the bobbin, sew on the back side of the project and get amazing effects on the right side--for example, sashiko quilting effect. These Elna machines stitch at about 800-850spm as opposed to the Bernina going around 1100spm. I doubt a garment sewer would ever notice, but for thread painting the difference can be noticeable. Unlike most machines, these Swiss Elna mechanicals weren't able to drop their feed dogs--you would cover them with a little supplied plate. This actually served to push the hooped fabric with a little extra support from below, so it worked extremely well. I certainly cleaned the bobbin area very regularly, but for some reason it didn't create lint in the bobbin area as much as my Bernina machines. Another great point about these machines was that they had an honest-to-goodness handwheel. Where have all these gone now? Handwheels on the newer machines are more like a doorknob--almost a decoration as opposed to something people would actually use. When doing precision embroidery stitching, sometimes one needs to manually do a stitch at a time, very slowly. This Elna has a multi-step buttonhole; I don't remember a lot about it, using it seldom, but it worked all right for my needs. Being a health care worker, I used the Jubilee to make scrub suits--I hadn't bought my first serger then. The overlock stitching in particular came in very handy, and the machine was as untemperamental as can be.
I owned the Jubilee until I was seduced into buying the Elna 7000. This was Elna's (and my) first computerized machine. I'll review that machine separately. I always wished I'd kept that Jubilee, as it was a terrific machine, but had to sell it to fund the 7000 purchase. I still see these occasionally come across EBay. Like all these last Swiss Elnas, these are an excellent investment depending on condition, and much less expensive than the Bernina machines of the same period. One of these Elnas would bring equal satisfaction to a Bernina, with the benefit of much less expensive snap-on feet! One last note--all these Elna machines used a sewing pedal that was actually a round pneumatic bellows with an air tube that connected to a sensor in the side of the machine. I have owned several machines with this 'pedal' and they have all worked flawlessly. It is extremely comfortable to use, quite sensitive to different pressures, and with the benefit that it is extremely light and one can drop it without hurting it at all! For travel, the black connector tube winds around the round 'pedal' to make a very compact little package. A great innovation, and why hasn't anyone else used it? What johnr55 does not like about this machine
Like many other sewers, I got spoiled by the needle up/down thing. Really, after use for a little while I didn't notice it, and the Carina did have the needle always stop up.
Elna offered what they call the 'duplex' option on these machines. Instead of a regular free-arm machine like I bought, this machine was made to be set into a cabinet like a flatbed. However, on pushing a button, the machine raised up an inch or so to reveal a complete free-arm! I'd have liked to had that, and a lot of the ones for sale on EBay are duplexes.
Other than that, I had no negative issues with the machine at all. Few gimmicks by today's standards, but a machine I'd recommend highly if it's in proper condition. Parts, thank goodness, are still easily available. Just don't lump it in wih the Asian machines carrying the Elna name now--a whole different ballgame. | *LOGIN to add a comment to this review
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| Reader Comments | | mufffet | 3/23/08 | Thanks for yet another great review! These reviews are such FUN to read! You never know when one of these vintage machines will pop up somewhere and be an "occasion of sin" for one of us machine junkies. I try to avoid them of course....but you never know....>;) | | * * * | | johnr55 | 3/24/08 | As I said, Mufffet, these are truly classic, superb mechanicals, as high developed over time as the Bernina and Pfaff mechanicals of the time. Quiet, efficient, and still very utile for a good sewer today. | | * * * | | iamsewhappy | 4/3/08 | Thank you for an unbiased review. I am thinking of buying one of these to use when I have to carry a machine somewhere. I love the old Elnas! | | * * * |
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