Pfaff 260 Sewing Machine Review & other sewing reviews for sewing machines and embroidery machines

	koo104 said... The embroidery mechanism freezes up if not used regularly. You may need to get it loosened up. I mainly used the single stitch zig zag for sewing elastics on stretch. They are incredible machines 2/14/13 10:13 AM
	rachelking said... Thanks Koo104! I can turn the dial and it moves freely. I just can't get it to do anything but straight stitch and zig zag. I agree!! I love my vintage Pfaff!! 2/14/13 10:20 AM
	KPM said... One more vintage machine to add to the list that confirms, "they don't make them like they used to." Thanks for the review. 2/14/13 1:40 PM
	annemie said... That looks like a keeper! A needle threader in 1961, I did not know they were available so early. And the size of the harp would make any quilter happy. Hope somebody can help you with the embroidery stitches. Enjoy your lovely machine 2/14/13 7:58 PM
	RadarRadiance said... What a nice looking machine! Enjoyed reading about her. 2/15/13 10:35 AM
	tumorfarmer said... You may need to join Real Pfaff Friends on Yahoo groups or wefixit also on Yahoo groups (free groups) to get information on how to free up the embroidery unit, and get the embroidery unit stitch wheel that tells how to set it for the different stitches, in the file section of Real Pfaff Friends. The 260 is supposed to have a bobbin that does not jam (the 230 jammed easily, due to being so tightly designed, actually so well designed, that if thread or lint got between the hook & bobbin case or other parts in that area, it would lock up the entire machine, & sometimes take days to unfreeze! The 260 is supposed to avoid that. The 360 is supposed to be a lighter version of the 260, but with a free arm, instead of the flat bed, and the bobbin is MUCH EASIER TO CHANGE, and it doesn't freeze up! Unfortunately, the 360 (*all of the old Pfaff free arms) sacrificed some of the metal gears for plastic or nylon type gears, to lighten the weight a bit, and between how easy the embroidery unit freezes up if not used often, and the plastic parts breaking, these wonderful old freearms aren't quite as wonderful as they should have been, and would have been, if they kept making them as well as the 260 & 230! These wonderful old Pfaffs, particularly the 130, 230, & 260, are absolutely WONDERFUL HEAVY DUTY SEWING MACHINES, and Pfaff actually sold them worldwide as a semi industrial sewing machine, particularly for tailors, dressmakers, alterations & cottage industry sewing operations in the home, in the old tradition of Europe & most of the world, before the automobile changed the economies of every country, to depend on every other country in the world. 5/13/13 4:29 PM
	tumorfarmer said... Oops! I forgot to mention- if you ever ship one of these Pfaffs, ALWAYS pack it HEAVILY in Styrofoam or at least 2 or 3 layers of the large bubble, bubble wrap, firmly taped around EVERYWHERE! The handwheels are actually made from red clay pottery that is molded & fired, which was much less expensive than making them in the metal, but with world wide shipping, & careless packers, a large number of these machines have been destroyed, and/or turned into parts machines as a result. The handwheel's center knob is also of a lesser strength material, though it does appear to be a metal, but a cast metal, which breaks easily. The EBay seller I bought my 360 from, only packed it in SHREDDED PAPER!! Oh, there was a white plastic kitchen garbage bag, too, that managed to capture the majority of the fragments of the red pottery handwheel, but I can't tell you how devastated I was, but since I only paid around $70 for a $400 machine, I simply instructed him on how to prevent such problems in the future... you know, treat them like you hope others will treat you... the machine still works somewhat, only zig zag stitches, in one size, and pieces seem to be coming off, I'm not sure if it will survive long, so I have to decide if I will attempt to fix it, sell it as a repair/parts machine, etc... I am SO BUMMED! I really bought it for the easy access bobbin, because I'm getting more disabled from brain & spinal tumors from NF2, and it was sometimes impossible for me to use the 230 when I got too weak from the spinal tumors. My 260 is in a special Pfaff desk with a special cutout for changing the bobbin, but even that is difficult when my spine is too weak. I know, most people think it's stupid to try to sew when you can't really take care of yourself, but life has to have a purpose, and I love the sewing machines & sewing, I LOVE learning about the different machines, what makes each one better or different than the others, why you should help save this specific machine, or that one, because a large number of these sewing machines do things none of us ever thought were possible in the 40s or even the 30s, because back then, EVERYONE HAD TO SEW THEIR OWN CLOTHES! Having a sewing machine was as important, or even more important, than having a car! Anyway, these old Pfaffs sew FAST, high quality stitches, but you really have to treat them very gently. They are absolutely worth having! By the way, the original Pfaff feet & manuals are extremely high quality as well too! 5/13/13 5:21 PM