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Sewing machine

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
in Creative Corner
Can anyone recommend a decent beginner's sewing machine? I'm looking to spend around £100 (or less) and mostly going to be altering clothes and maybe having a try at making some lightweight curtains.

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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Tbh any decent sewing machine will cost you £150ish. I have a Toyota one which does the business and that was £120 on offer. I've had cheap ones before, they cost more in repairs and don't really handle very much
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    littlemissylittlemissy Posts: 9,972 Supreme Poster
    Yeah, if you want a decent sewing machine then you need to invest a bit. Like the above poster, I had a Toyota that was about £100 nearly 10 years ago. Now I have a janome, which I would highly recommend. If you want to spend as little as possible then you need to keep an eye on the sales. I would recommend janomes, elnas and the John Lewis own brand.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Some of the specialist sewing machine shops sell refurbished second hand ones.

    I've got relatively limited experience of sewing machines, but the advice I've always had from keen sewers is to go for a good brand with a decent motor over hundreds of faffy functions.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Singer make very good sewing machines; you could definitely do worse than either of these:

    Tradition 2250NT

    8280

    The only thing is that they're both pretty small.

    Have a look at the John Lewis Guide, it's pretty good and they list all the major brands
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    This is a post from years ago, so the pricing might not be relevant, but all the info is still sound!

    Clicky!
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Thanks guys,

    These new machines confuse me, the last time I used one it was an old Singer machine with a handle ;). I'll have a look at some Singers and Toyotas and see what I think. Should be able to splash a bit more cash as my tax rebate's just come in :yeees:
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    littlemissy wrote: »
    I would recommend janomes, elnas and the John Lewis own brand.

    The John Lewis machines are made by Janome :yes:

    I was told (by an old and very wise sewing machine salesman) a long time ago that if he had to pick one brand over any other, it would be Janome. Since then I've had 2 Janomes, the most recent of which has lasted me 15 years and has never given me a day's trouble in all that time, except for 1 new lightbulb and 2 new fuses in the plug. So I'd have to say I agree with him, especially after using other people's machines. I use a pretty new and very popular model of Husqvarna at work that makes me want to stick pins in my eyes.

    It all really depends on what kind of sewing you'll be doing, and what fabrics you use. Sewing simple lines using easy to sew fabrics like quilting cottons or felt, any half decent machine will do you. If you're planning anything a bit more complicated (complex patterns or using stretch fabrics, denim, etc) you will notice a difference.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Cheap ones are generally shit ones. Try joining freecycle in your area. People are always giving away sewing machines for free, so it doesn't matter if you get a shit one and a breaks within a week, or a good one and it lasts forever. I use my grandmother's old Singer which is about 40 years old (I think) and works perfectly.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    My idea was to look for half decent second hand ones, so I've been keeping an eye out on gumtree and freecycle. I t had little idea on brands really other than Singer, but I'll add Janome onto my list as well. I'll mostly be using fairly lightweight fabrics to begin with (got lots of old duvet covers I want to try to revamp and reuse). I used to do quite a lot of sewing and embroidery when I was a kid, so hoping some of those skills will come back. The all singing all dancing ones that do embroidery etc sound amazing, but I'd like to get a good grasp of the basics first.

    Thanks again for the sound advice :thumb:
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Bear in mind that most independent sewing shops will do you a part exchange on used machines, so if you buy a basic model and in a few years decide you do want an all-singing, all-dancing one, you won't have wasted your money. Decent machines hold their value really well :)
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Kaff wrote: »
    Bear in mind that most independent sewing shops will do you a part exchange on used machines, so if you buy a basic model and in a few years decide you do want an all-singing, all-dancing one, you won't have wasted your money. Decent machines hold their value really well :)

    Very true! I think I'm going to order this one when I get paid next week. Seems to have pretty decent reviews on different websites.

    http://www.homesewing.co.uk/sewing-machines/singer-1507-sewing-machine.htm
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