Again, monogrammers

So, I've finally got my hands on a Singer Deluxe Monogrammer that
works on my machine, and I'm toying with it. It may be interesting
once I've managed to collect more cams for it.

I've been watching ebay very carefully for a while now to get it. I've
deduced a few things about mechanical monogrammers as a class of
products which I think are worth sharing.

1) MOST MECHANICAL MONOGRAMMERS ARE SLANT SHANK.

Hardly any monogrammers sold on ebay are for vertical needle machines.
There are, however, lots and lots of them available for slant shank
machines. If there was a more even distribution of the devices made in
the first place, the vertical needle monogrammers wouldn't be so
exceedingly rare. So, I conclude that few were made for vertical
needle machines. As a consequence of this, the vertical needle
monogrammers sell for approximately four to seven times as much as the
slant needle monogrammers. I consequently can't recommend trying to
get one of these things unless you're just a hobbyist that wants to
tinker with antique mechanical stuff, or you have a slant shank
machine.

2) KENMORE MONOGRAMMERS ARE FOR KENMORE MACHINES.

Kenmore monogrammers are not designed to fit on machines other than
Kenmore machines. They're well designed, apparently well made, and
probably quite useful, but not on other brands of sewing machine.

3) STANDARD SINGER MONOGRAMMERS AREN'T VERY GOOD TECHNOLOGY.

The standard Singer Monogrammer is designed to work, but that's about
it. Use of it requires careful marking of the fabric using a template,
careful positioning of the fabric using the template, careful
positioning of the cam using markings, and if you don't do everything
perfectly it will screw up the letter.

4) SINGER'S MARKETING DEPARTMENT SNATCHED DEFEAT FROM THE JAWS OF
VICTORY.

The Singer Deluxe Monogrammer is extremely well designed and would
have been a really superb product... except that they decided to sell
the cams separately. This makes it nigh impossible to get them all,
which undoubtedly deterred a lot of buyers. Deluxe Monogrammers with
more than two cams (besides the standard flower cam) sell for quite a
bit on ebay. I have yet to see one with all of them. This tells me
that fairly few people found it reasonable to buy all of them even
when you could just drop into your local Singer dealer and buy them.
Singer should have just included all the cams and charged a bit more.
I think they shot themselves in the foot by not selling all the cams
with the unit.

5) IF GREIST MADE MONOGRAMMERS WITH THEIR OWN BRAND NAME, THEY'RE VERY
RARE.

Greist brand monogrammers don't show up on ebay.

That's about it so far. I'll be doing a web page on these things
sooner or later, with pictures and description. I'll post when it's
up.

Tom Farrell
http://www.SewingWithTom.com/

Greist made a monogrammer. I saw it advertised on one of their buttonholer
boxes. I don't know how long it was made (i.e. how many many be extant) and
I don't think the product name was "monogrammer". If I learn more I'll let
you know.

Max

"Tom Farrell" wrote in message
om...
So, I've finally got my hands on a Singer Deluxe Monogrammer that
works on my machine, and I'm toying with it. It may be interesting
once I've managed to collect more cams for it.

I've been watching ebay very carefully for a while now to get it. I've
deduced a few things about mechanical monogrammers as a class of
products which I think are worth sharing.

1) MOST MECHANICAL MONOGRAMMERS ARE SLANT SHANK.

Hardly any monogrammers sold on ebay are for vertical needle machines.
There are, however, lots and lots of them available for slant shank
machines. If there was a more even distribution of the devices made in
the first place, the vertical needle monogrammers wouldn't be so
exceedingly rare. So, I conclude that few were made for vertical
needle machines. As a consequence of this, the vertical needle
monogrammers sell for approximately four to seven times as much as the
slant needle monogrammers. I consequently can't recommend trying to
get one of these things unless you're just a hobbyist that wants to
tinker with antique mechanical stuff, or you have a slant shank
machine.

2) KENMORE MONOGRAMMERS ARE FOR KENMORE MACHINES.

Kenmore monogrammers are not designed to fit on machines other than
Kenmore machines. They're well designed, apparently well made, and
probably quite useful, but not on other brands of sewing machine.

3) STANDARD SINGER MONOGRAMMERS AREN'T VERY GOOD TECHNOLOGY.

The standard Singer Monogrammer is designed to work, but that's about
it. Use of it requires careful marking of the fabric using a template,
careful positioning of the fabric using the template, careful
positioning of the cam using markings, and if you don't do everything
perfectly it will screw up the letter.

4) SINGER'S MARKETING DEPARTMENT SNATCHED DEFEAT FROM THE JAWS OF
VICTORY.

The Singer Deluxe Monogrammer is extremely well designed and would
have been a really superb product... except that they decided to sell
the cams separately. This makes it nigh impossible to get them all,
which undoubtedly deterred a lot of buyers. Deluxe Monogrammers with
more than two cams (besides the standard flower cam) sell for quite a
bit on ebay. I have yet to see one with all of them. This tells me
that fairly few people found it reasonable to buy all of them even
when you could just drop into your local Singer dealer and buy them.
Singer should have just included all the cams and charged a bit more.
I think they shot themselves in the foot by not selling all the cams
with the unit.

5) IF GREIST MADE MONOGRAMMERS WITH THEIR OWN BRAND NAME, THEY'RE VERY
RARE.

Greist brand monogrammers don't show up on ebay.

That's about it so far. I'll be doing a web page on these things
sooner or later, with pictures and description. I'll post when it's
up.

Tom Farrell
http://www.SewingWithTom.com/

"Max Penn" wrote in message ...
Greist made a monogrammer. I saw it advertised on one of their buttonholer
boxes. I don't know how long it was made (i.e. how many many be extant) and
I don't think the product name was "monogrammer". If I learn more I'll let
you know.

Thanks. I do check every couple of days on ebay for *all* greist
products, but so far nothing from them identifiable as a monogrammer
has turned up. There was something called a "decorator" which turned
up for sale, but the auction wasn't clear on what it actually did (it
looked like a big zigzagger to me, but I wasn't sure) so I bid a few
bucks on it (figuring $5 wouldn't be too awful to find out what it is)
but lost.

But as I said, they're rare.

Of course, Greist apparently made all the *other* brands of
monogrammers... which makes it all the more annoying to me that they
made the cams incompatible...

Tom Farrell
http://www.SewingWithTom.com/

On 14 Oct 2004 23:31:47 -0700, (Tom Farrell)
wrote:


has turned up. There was something called a "decorator" which turned
up for sale, but the auction wasn't clear on what it actually did (it
looked like a big zigzagger to me, but I wasn't sure) so I bid a few


Automatic Decorator. I have one (have not used it yet) and you're
right, it is a big zigzagger, but it also has seven other stitches:
Arrowhead; Icicle; Lightening; Sierra; Domino; Scallop, and Tack
(looks like a blindstitch).

Missy in the Icebox of the Nation, Northern MN, USA

On Mon, 05 Dec 2005 16:40:59 +0100, "Gada"
wrote:

I was looking for info about it on
the internet when I came across this site.

What site did you find, and what information was on it that
made you decide to sell your monogrammer?

--
Joy Beeson
joy beeson at earthlink dot net

I have a Geist monogrammer. I bought it years ago at an estate sale. Have
never used it.It has been in storage. I was looking for info about it on
the internet when I came across this site.I am planning to list it on
Ebay.