Sewing Machine For Sale

What brand sewing machine should I buy?

I want to buy my mom a new sewing machine for Christmas, but I'm not sure which would be the best brand to go with, that would be reasonably affordable.

Public Comments

1. Singer sewing machines are tops
2. Kenmore from Sears is a Great machine ;)))
3. Singer
4. Check out www.consumeraffairs.com This website gives rating for practically everything. They will tell you which item has problems. It is a great website.
5. Singer has been claimed the best for years. They have an excellent review.
6. I agree with Precious Gem. I would check out all the brands available best suited for her sewing needs before making my purchase. I currently use a Euro-Pro computerized and have had great service out of It. I own 3, but use this one more than the others. Good luck and what a sweet thing for you to do for your mother.
7. As a textile designer i have to use a sewing machine every day and have used many different makes for many different jobs. Bernina is the best. Even the most basic Bernina will last you a lifetime and for general use they are easy to use and because of the way they are built easy to fix if they ever do go wrong. Berninas can often be found second hand quite inexpensively. They are worth their weight in gold in my opinion.
8. Get a Bernina, or alternatively, a Bernina and if you can't find one of those get a Bernina. I have one that is forty years old and is still the best sewer I've got and I do it professionally. I also have a brand new one that does all the pretty stuff and buttonholes but my old one still comes out to play daily. A reconditioned one shouldn't be too expensive. Please try before you buy. Do not buy on a website where you can't see it run and have a go.
9. Here's my standard sewing machine buying answer: When it comes to sewing machines, it's hard to beat this Buying A Sewing Machine article: http://www.cet.com/~pennys/faq/smfaq.htm Once you have read it, make a list of the sorts of things you want to sew (bags, curtains, clothing, costumes, whatever), and the types of fabrics you want to use (denim, curtain fabric, cotton, chiffon... ) Make a list of the things you want the machine to do. My list includes: Impeccable straight stitch! Variable needle positions (makes all sorts of things like putting zips in easier). Good zigzag stitch. Good blind hem stitch and adjustable blind hem foot. Wonderful buttonholes! Eyelet plate (I make costumes and corsets, and have a severe hatred of metal grommets!). Ruffler foot for making miles of frills! The ability to sew REALLY S L O W L Y !! Speed comes later with practice, but you'll ALWAYS need to go slow sometimes! :) When I'm teaching people to sew, I like a good big foot control that is easy to operate. If you find them a little difficult at first, you can always take your shoes off! I teach people to sew on all sorts of machines, from ancient old straight stitch only hand cranks to electronic marvels with over 200 stitches... ALL are good for beginners, but some are better than others. And different machines work better for different people. You really need to try before you buy, so take your lists and some fabric samples along to the sewing machine emporium and talk to a proper sewing machine engineer about both used and new machines. Sales droids work on commission and will try to sell you something expensive: an engineer should be able to find you several machines that would suit your purpose, so you can test drive them and find the one that suits you best. Husqvarna: they do a good range from mid-price upwards. They do some designed for quilting as well as garment construction. There is an excellent range of attachments for both. Bernina: much as Husqvarna, with slightly different styling. They also do a fantastic mechanical machine (the 1008). Pfaff: In the same quality range as the Bernina and Husqvarna, with much the same range of facilities. Some models have a built-in 'walking foot', which some quilters love. All three of these brands also do a cheaper range of machines. I don't know anything about the Pfaff ones, but the Husqvarna Huskystar machines seem to be well received. Don't bother with the Bernettes: not really worth it... I find that there is precious little difference in the top three or four brand machines as far as stitch quality and function go: it's really only a matter of style preference. I love Husqvarna, and my Bernina, but find that Pfaff just don't fit my fingers. You must always try a machine before buying! Think of it like buying shoes or a car. For a mid price range that will be good for what you want to do, look seriously at Toyota, Elna and Frister & Rossman. You'll need to look at the upper levels of these ranges. I don't rate Brother sewing machines very highly on the whole. They make excellent sergers/overlockers, but the sewing machines tend to be rather flimsy and fragile, with too many functions crammed into too light weight a structure. Singer machines are much the same. They are no longer built by Singer, but bought in from various sources in Taiwan and China, and are rather variable in quality. They no longer do the only one I've been prepared to buy made after 1964! Some folk love their Janome machines. Personally, I've never met one I'd take home, never mind pay for! I find them rather plasticky and flimsy and over-priced for what they are (says one who has a machine that was £1100 list price 10 years ago!). I do have an older all metal New Home that is a beautiful mechanical wonder, and worth preserving. It's like some of my other old machines: tough as old boots, could sew through a tin can, and has impeccable manners. If you want one-step buttonholes, go for an electronic machine. Mechanical one-steps are not worth the bother. I don't rate built in threaders either: they also tend to get in the way and then break. The only one I've ever had time for is the one on my Bernina 1150MDA serger, and half the time I do it quicker by hand. Take a look at these web sites - they will tell you a lot more about the different machines available: http://www.bernina.com/ http://www.brother.co.uk/g3.cfm/s_page/6... http://www.elna.com/en/index http://www.husqvarnaviking.com/uk/index.... http://www.janome.co.uk/ http://www.pfaffmachines.co.uk/index.htm... One thing that is VERY important is a good sewing machine manual: all machines come with an operator's manual. This shows you how to operate the machine, what all the parts are, how to thread it, and how to do all the stitches it has. Some are much easier to follow than others. Some machines come with the manual on CDROM. PLEASE print out a copy to keep beside the machine, if this is what you get. You'll need to refer to if often, and getting up to look on the pooter is a pain! If you get a paper manual, it might be a good move to scan your manual and keep an electronic copy, as manuals do go missing at times...