Denver has this... nominally. 3 machines (2 in circulation, one is a "Display"). 4 week checkout period. 103 current holds. 103*4/2/12 ≈ 17 year wait time.
Renting a sewing machine from the library
31–40 of 244 posts
Re: Renting a sewing machine from the library
#32Sewing machines are great for computer people: you can train your fashion sense and motor skills(!) - most 'nerds' lack it :) Also it's an incredible women magnet :)
Hey baby, wanna see my sewing machine? I can add a gusset anywhere you want.
Forget about gussets, I can offer pockets
Re: Renting a sewing machine from the library
#33My library has something similar. Sewing and embroidering machines, 3D printers and even a CNC machine. Most are free to use as long as you bring the material, the only one that I can remember having a cost is the laser cutter but even then it was under 10 bucks an hour. They have a bunch of other things like being able to check out a pass the the state parks and some museum passes.
This is the Charleston County library system.
Re: Renting a sewing machine from the library
#34My local library which is part of the Washington county Library system (next to Portland). It's where Hillsboro is, which is where Intel's manufacturing is, also called Silicon Forest, has a Library Of Things! I've checked out a KitchenAid stand mixer, synthesizer, guitar, stud finder, drum machine, ukulele, air quality detector, and many more things. They also have a sewing machine and a. Vitamix. It's amazing! I lo…
Our little town in Minnesota has some of these too (https://winona.lib.mn.us/library-of-things/) it's really cool! There's also a new maker space getting set up now which will have a tool library open to the community.
Re: Renting a sewing machine from the library
#35My local library which is part of the Washington county Library system (next to Portland). It's where Hillsboro is, which is where Intel's manufacturing is, also called Silicon Forest, has a Library Of Things! I've checked out a KitchenAid stand mixer, synthesizer, guitar, stud finder, drum machine, ukulele, air quality detector, and many more things. They also have a sewing machine and a. Vitamix. It's amazing! I lo…
The Washington County library system is excellent; I love that one card will get you access to the entire area.
That's my library system too! I go to tualatin and it has a dedicated room for their makerlab and have classes every day for all kinds of stuff. Whenever I go in its pretty well attended.
Re: Renting a sewing machine from the library
#36I'd argue that sewing machines are among the most complex, high skill items found in a typical home, above the laptop and car. I find it very hard to keep mine operational. I struggle with it a lot more than I sew with it. They require fine motor skills and scads of parts and supplies. If you plan to rent them, plan for a repair staff or frequent replacements. Compared to a book, a sewing machine is a space ship, and…
I bought a sewing machine a five years ago and I haven’t had to do any maintenance or repairs to it. What kinds of things are breaking on your machine?
I bought mine 10 years ago, maybe longer. Never had to do anything. Super useful when we need it.
Re: Renting a sewing machine from the library
#37> 55% of Finns visit libraries at least once a month.
Wait what? That seems insanely high even for a progressive society.
As a reference point UK is at 30% on YEARLY STATS NOT MONTHLY
>In England, 30% of adults aged 16 and over used a public library service at least once in the previous 12 months.
Re: Renting a sewing machine from the library
#38I'd argue that sewing machines are among the most complex, high skill items found in a typical home, above the laptop and car. I find it very hard to keep mine operational. I struggle with it a lot more than I sew with it. They require fine motor skills and scads of parts and supplies. If you plan to rent them, plan for a repair staff or frequent replacements. Compared to a book, a sewing machine is a space ship, and…
Get yourself an old Singer. They're the Toyota of sewing machines.
Re: Renting a sewing machine from the library
#39Iowa has this too, the Des Moines Public Library has a Library of Things with over 50 items.
Re: Renting a sewing machine from the library
#40I’m trying to privately build a public library in a rural Idaho community. Borrowing sewing machines has been a popular request, as soon as we have space for them. It’s exciting to see that it’s a worldwide desire and not just a rural trend. Very cool to read about how Finland is doubling down on investing in libraries and skill building tools like sewing machines!