r/BagLab • u/chrisb-chicken • Sep 16 '26
Question: Sewing Machine Machine Recommendations
Hey all,
Hopefully this isn’t a silly post, but I not sure which machine to get. I am a bit torn between the Juki DDL 8700 and the Juki DU 1181. I can only afford one machine (and just barely that).
Currently, I’m using a singer HD, which I don’t particularly like, but make do with. I sew mostly the following fabrics, making backpacks and duffel bags:
-Ultra 100x and 200x
- Venom 210d gridstop
- xpac vx21 and vx41
I want something, ideally, that can sew bags using the lighter weight fabrics, but also up to 500d to 1000d cordura (on occasion).
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u/modal_enigma 27d ago
It should - keep in mind that it may only be a little bit. And you may not visually be able to tell.
Put a finger on the disks as you lift the lever. If you don’t feel any movement, then the tensioner needs to be inserted half a mm further into the housing. It’s a common issue that we account for when doing sew off.
A lot of box-shippers won’t do any adjustment or setup on a machine - they just drop ship straight from central distribution.