Chicken bald back

[Charlottechicken]

I'm thinking of buying my first electric sewing machine and would like to find out which features you all find invaluable, or the ones you could do without! Some of the features mean nothing to me (like multi-position needles and front loading bobbins??) but if they are generally a useful thing to have then please share!

 

Budget is tight (hopefully £100), and I don't need anything fancy, like embroidery or applique features. I will mainly be sewing soft furnishings, clothing, that sort of general household stuff.

 

Edited February 13, 2014 by Guest

[jimnpaula]

You should be able to get a reasonable machine for that. I would also suggest 'one step buttonholes'. Best thing to do is ask the shop to explain the features available.

 

P

[Egluntyne]

I agree about the button holes.

[Plum]

I've only had front loading bobbin so can't comment on that but being able to loosen top thread tension is useful so you can get nice stitches.

 

Having loads of stitches isn't important I rarely use more than straight or zig zag but numbers not marks on the dials is really useful for getting stitches and tension right.

 

Try them out in the shop and you'll know which feels good for you. Look at evenness of stitch and whether it manages thick layers and seams. Happy shopping

 

And whether you can get parts and have it serviced locally

[Charlottechicken]

Thank you for the info. It seems a one step buttonhole is only on the slightly more expensive machines with even more stitches! I suppose if you have the feature then you are more likely to use it. Is a 4 step buttonhole such a faff?

 

Think it's going to take a long time to decide!!

 

I'm looking ***here*** as they are in Birmingham, the prices seem very competitive.

[Plum]

And several under £100 have the automatic buttonhole

[redbug]

Have you thought about second hand?

[Charlottechicken]

And several under £100 have the automatic buttonhole

 

Yes, most seem to do the 4 step auto buttonhole, but one step buttonhole machines are a little pricier. I've never done a buttonhole as I don't have that function on my machine but it might be useful. Having used a hand machine for so long I imagine 4 step buttonholes will be utter luxury for me!

 

I seem to be honing in on the Husqvarna E20, which is £149. Cheapest model with 1 step auto buttonhole.

[redbug]

just looking at that site CC it came up with 5% discount code only for a hour code:- GURS330916N.

Bet you could get extra discount when you are ready to buy! With a bit of haggling

[Charlottechicken]

 

I have several of those codes written down now, as every time I browse another one pops up! Not good if you are trying to research and not impulse buy!

 

I've sold a few things on ebay to raise money and might ask for a bit of cash for Christmas, so may stretch to the Husqvarna. OH is desperate for waistcoats and I really want to get into sewing clothing and other stuff, so the slightly pricier machine may well be the one to go with.

 

Gah! Decisions, decisions!!

[Olly]

If you only have £100 to spend, I cannot recommend this highly enough (also comes in other colours!). It's great for a 'beginner', and although it's branded as John Lewis it's actually made by Janome so you can buy any of their feet to use with it.

 

If you want one-step buttonholes you'll need to pay more - what are you planning to make, and how often do you think you'll be wanting to make buttonholes? I've only used the 4-step a few times, it would be nice to have a one-step but unless you're going to make a lot of your own clothes I wonder if it's worth another £60 or so.

 

A top loading bobbin means you can see exactly how much you've got left rather than running out halfway through a seam, and it's easier to load up, but it only comes on more expensive ones. If I could afford it, the extra features I'd like would be an automatic needle threader, the facility to stop with the needle in the 'up' position, and a few other things but I've made clothes, cushions, curtains, bunting, bags, Christmas decorations and toys with the John Lewis one and it has been brilliant.

 

Edited to add: a handy buying guide here that explains some of the features

[jimnpaula]

Admittedly, I think my machine has 4 step buttonholes... you can tell I haven't really used that feature much. And a bobbin where you can tell you're running out sounds really good. (That John Lewis one has very similar features to mine.)

[Olly]

I knew I had another link somewhere, and I've found it. This article from Thrifty Stitcher is really helpful.

[Charlottechicken]

Olly, thank you for the links I've had a quick glance at the thifty stitcher one and will have a good read later tonight. I do think I need to up my price range, I've just collected £31 cashback from topcashback, and am due another £40 from recent ebay sales. If I couple that with my £100 budget I should get something very good indeed. I think it will be down to make though.

 

I have always sewn (used to make my dolls clothes with a machine from the age of 8 or 9), but use my mother's old Singer hand machine, almost 60 years old now, and have done a lot with it. It just doesn't do anything other than a straight stitch, but is very reliable! OH is desperate for waistcoats, and we just can't find any in his size and preferred fabric/style, so I need to make him some of those for a start.

[Charlottechicken]

Right, I thought I should update you all and show you what I've bought! As I delayed buying until last week I was able to throw more money into the pot, so spent £199 in the end.

 

I bought ***this*** lovely Janome SMD 2000 aka Janome Simplicity. It took me ages to trawl through reviews, I almost went mad, but this machine came up time and again as a good buy and the cheapest around that offered me everything I want and more. I found a review where the owner switched from sewing chiffon to 7 layers of oilcloth, so it seems to be good at anything. I also got the large pack of Frister & Rossmann scissors and 50 reels x 1000m of thread.

 

Cannot fault the service offered by the SMD company, I ordered it late on Sunday evening and it was delivered by courier on Tuesday and the delivery was totally trackable and almost to the minute!!!

 

Can't wait to find time to sit down and use it properly!

[Olly]

Thanks for the update - that looks like really good value. Go on - what are you going to make first?

[Charlottechicken]

Well, it looks like OH will get his wish and some waistcoats are first on the list!

 

Of course, I will make him pose in them and post pics on here

[Valkyrie]

Ah Jenome. Love them - I have 2! One ordinary-ish and another Quiltmaster one. Hope you enjoy your sewing with yours.

[Jennifer Jane]

I really want a Janome and would have been happy with one of the more basic ones (so long as they have auto threader and 1-step buttonhole). But then last Friday I went to Hobbycraft at the NEC with my friend - she bought the DXL603 while we ewre there and I seriously covet it even though it is more than I intended to pay and I actually don't do that much sewing.

 

On a whim I went out the next day and bought a vintage (1898) Singer in working order - and was tickled to find them using the newer (1930s) model on Sewing Bee. My MIL has one of those and I have made eyes at it as she doen't do any sewing at all, but no reaction yet.

 

DH says that i need to get rid of one of my machines before I get another (I now have three) and I know I also need to do some saving for the DXL603 - my birthday money won't be enough. Do I really need it??? My head tells me I should get the most functionality I can, just in case

[Plum]

No keep your machines, you must tell him they have their own worth. One for workshops one as a workhorse, one for beauty etc.

 

I'm trying to justify getting another when I retire, well OH buys a car every 4 years and they're much better value and I do only have 2 at the moment

[Jennifer Jane]

That is such good logic Plum, on all counts.

 

A member of my spinning group collects wheels - with a vengeance!!! I did think that I would be happy with just the one of those, but ...

[Valkyrie]

Lol Plum - yes, reasons why to have are very important. The Quiltmaster has a bigger gap so that I can fit the bulky quilt in there when doing that (although I prefer to quilt by hand!). Oh yes the threading bit - brilliant. And then there are the machines that do large embroidered patches - all computerised gadgets. Now when OH has a sausage machine - used twice. A pasta machine - used once and several other gadgets now gathering dust, so I do think the sewing machines are more useful!!! Oh and we now have a metal filing cabinet that he wants to use for smoking meat and stuff. I can see that used possibly once (although it was a freebie so maybe doesn't count).