Sewing machine

[Mindy]

I've never done a lot of sewing, but I have a project my friend and I want to start working on which will require a bit of sewing. Neither of us have a sewing machine, but I thought I'd try to buy one. Since I'm not much of a sewer, i'm not even sure what to look for. What brands should i look into? What features should i try to find? What is a realistic price range for a decent (not high-end, but something that will work well and last) machine? For the project we are working on, we'll need something that is strong enought o sew through tougher materials such as neoprene.

 

[margi]

I have a Singer Quantum Decor sewing machine. I love it.

 

[tknoppe]

I have a Bernina Artista 170e with the embroidery module and a Bernina serger. Bernina is definitely the high-end; but great machines. Pfaff, White and Singer are also well known good brands. Kenmore is also good and reasonably priced.

 

[Mandy]

I've got a white. It's just a basic machine, but it does what I need it to do.

 

[Michelle1210]

:shock: drooling ove the MC 6600P janome.........

 

[Guest]

I do a lot of quilting and I bought my last (and second machine) at wal-mart, it's a brother and I really like it. It works great and even has that option of the slide bar to adjust your sewing speed, so no matter how hard you press the foot pedal it will only go one speed. A great option for quilters who machine quilt and beginners. (I wish my first machine had that option.) It wasn't super expensive, nor was it the cheapest. And it sews great through thick things as all the layers add up when you quilt a pieced quilt. It's an excellent machine in terms of quality and a well known brand. My first machine was a kenmore brand one and I never did like it, but I used it until it died, LOL well maybe i could have gotten a longer life out of it, but I hated it so much and it was a tempermental machine.

Good Luck and have fun.
Take your time if your not familiar with sewing much.

What type of project are you working on?

 

[Missjulesdid]

I sew fleece patchwork tie quilts and an occasional article of clothing and I use the bottom of the line Brother that I picked up at Walmart on sale for $68.00 It's a great little machine I love it. I don't know how durable the machine is because I don't use it a lot, but it always works good for me and the tension behaves and it's super easy to thread. I had a low end singer before that and it was crap.

 

[organicsoapgal]

I got a viking machine for Christmas. I have never sewed in my life, and after one class learning how to thread and operate the machine, I have made curtains, and table cloths with no trouble at all. They have some really user friendly features.

 

[MakeArtNotWar]

You are probably done with your project by now but I wanted to add in that I love my Brother.. Seriously it is fabulous and does everything I need it to.

 

[Chick_habit]

I'll second the brother machine. I got one to learn on and it's great. Just keep your fingers away from that long pointy thing and you'll be ok ! :wink:

 

[Sheryl]

I have two brother machines, and I like both of them. However, neither of them will sew through neoprene without eventually tearing up the machine. For neoprene and projects like that you are going to have to go more towards the commercial end of sewing machines.

Sheryl

 

[Woodi]

I now have a little Janome, cost $400 on sale (it was the floor model). It's the cheapest of their computer models, small, lightweight and I love it.

one word of warning: don't buy EuroPro. Canadian Tire had them on sale at Xmas. I bought one for $69 or so (on a special, pre-Christmas sale) and only used it a few times then, as I was too busy to sew.

Then, 6 months later, I was busily sewing a project and it just stopped working, seized up. I brought it back to the store and they wanted me to pay $50 to ship it to a repair depot. Since I only paid so little for it, I didn't favor having to pay again, or to have them ship me a new one which might also only last 6 months. Those cheap, no-name brands are to be wary of.