Sewing Machine Help
 

Hey I am looking to get a new sewing machine for myself ,I was wondering if any of you who sew had any tips for choosing a machine that may suit my needs .Iam very mechanical but like easy to use machines and I have about 300.00 at most to spend on one (its my bday gift )I am in hopes that you can at least give me ideas of what has worked for you ..I know singer machines and kenmore ..thats about it Anything you can tell me would be most helpful I've been looking online for days now .Only to feel more crazy than I am . :sewmachin :thinking: :thankyou2 in advance

Hmmm wish I could help ya. I have a sewing machine,
no idea how to use it, but I did get it on sale :) :) :)
I'm sure some one can help ya, Shana would know,
she makes really cool stuff. I would PM the members who
make and sell stuff for our furbabies! Good Luck!!! :) :) :)

before i buy anything, I always do a search on consumer reviews of such products. you might learn more there. I bought one of those cheap small kenmore machines. I don't do much sewing any more so i just needed something that didn't take up much room yet have handy to do what ever. it was under $80. enough for what I needed. I guess it depends on how much you sew and what fabrics you sew with.

I have a brother xl-6562. It has quite a few stitiches that I don't use, really don't know that I would know how to use them if I wanted to tell you the truth. I think mine was around 200, maybe 300 tops at the time. My mother got excited that I was beginning to take up quilting and decided that I needed a newer one, even though my older one was working perfectly well with what I was doing. She was just happy I had started sewing. My mother has had her brother for quite sometime. We are both pleased with them. I wouldn't say mine is complicated either. I guess the most complicated part is threading it but that's not hard either and it has numbered arrows printed on the machine to follow.

A couple things about mine that I like are the fact that it does button holes (you put the button in this thing and it knows what size to make it, although I still don't use this much), and it threads the needle for you. You still have to run the thread through the maze but the needle itself is threaded for you. It has this thing that comes through grabs the thread and pulls it back through, definately something you could live without but it does make it easier.

I think which one you get depends on what you are going to want to do. Are you going to be sewing clothes, just patching holes in clothing, quilting, would you like to put a little fancier stitches on things, etc? Honestly what my mother has always said when my friends were going to get one and I asked her advice was all you really need is one that will sew a straight line and a zig zag, by the way I have never used the zig zag so I don't know what its for. Give us some more idea at what you might be doing with it and maybe I can help more.

Give us some more idea at what you might be doing with it and maybe I can help more.[/QUOTE]
I am making Mini clothes and would use it for crafting things like collaging fabrics together So i want it to do a overlock stich and to easily sew many differant fabrics including strech fabrics ,I think i would like the threader ..after all my eye sight isnt as good as once was now that I am 50 haha SO thats about all i can think of . :nerd: :sewmachin

I actually have older singer and kenmore models and I love the older models although I will soon be purchaseing a husqvarna viking embroidery machine the designer 1 series which is extremely high tech and I am excited about it.

My Mom quilts professionally and when people ask me what kinda of sewing machine to get I always ask my mom(I also make her go with me when I purchase any sewing equipment) She says that Bernina is one of the best brands out there but kinda of expensive, another really good brand is husqvarna Viking.
Pretty much all sewing machine companies make both high end and low end machines. I hate the low end singer, brother, etc... sewing machines that you can buy for less than $100 at walmart. The are loud and break easy so steer away from the cheap ones, you get what you pay for. Singer and Brother make good machines dont get me wrong but I would just get one that is closer to $200-$300 if you want it to last and not sound like a helicopter is taking off in you house,lol

I have always had a singer bought it at wal-mart I think. Made 2 brides maids dresses on it !!! and lots of other things over the years. i love singer brand parts are easy to get.