Finding the best sewing machine for beginners is always a difficult task. For an out and out beginner, it will take reading a lot of reviews, asking friends, asking family members etc etc. In the beginning, me myself had a hard time finding a good beginners' sewing machine. I am a kind of person who really don't like the idea of visiting dozens of websites and reading hundreds of reviews to make a choice. So I decided to do a one stop buyer's guide for those who are looking for the best beginner sewing machines available in US market. You will never find a 100% perfect sewing machine, but if you are smart, you can get pretty close. This is a long post, I will try my best to bring all the information required to make a good buying decision. But still, you only know what works the best for you, I am just trying to help you out.
Understanding the Requirements
The first and foremost thing before starting the search for the best sewing machine for beginners is, to understand your requirements. There are thousands of sewing machines available both online and in the stores. If you are not sure about your requirements, it will be like shooting in the dark.
Type of Projects You Intend to Work On
The type of projects you plan to work with your sewing machine is an important factor. If you are a person who want to sew a lot of thick fabrics like denim, you will be better off buying a heavy duty sewing machine with a strong motor. If you want to do a lot of fancy stuffs, a sewing machine with a lot of decorative stitches is what you need.
Computerized or Mechanical Sewing Machine
There are two types of sewing machines available in the market, computerized and mechanical. I personally recommend computerized sewing machines for beginners, simply because of the ease of use. Computerized machines will have a lot of automated features which will be great help for beginners. Features like automatic needle threader, top drop-in bobbin, 1-step buttonhole, speed control slider, programmable needle up/down etc are the ones you have to look out for. Computerized machines generally have an LCD display where you can view all settings.
The main advantage of mechanical sewing machines over computerized machines is that, mechanical sewing machines generally last longer. Computerized machines, with all those electronic parts may misbehave at times. Durability is one factor, you will have to take into account if you are shelling out hundreds of dollars on a machine. Generally beginner sewing machines doesn't cost much, this doesn't mean that they are made of cheap quality material. However, still there are many sewing machines that are not as durable as others. So you need to pick the right one, as far as durability is concerned. Generally, when I buy a beginner machine, I expect it to serve me for at least 3-5 years, otherwise it is a waste of investment.
Customer Service Location
Make sure that the brand you choose has a service center in your locality. You don't want your machine to travel 100 miles to get it repaired. This is an important factor that many people overlook. They will realize the difficulty only when something goes wrong with the machine.
Portability
Portability is not a huge factor unless you want to take your machine to sewing classes. A typical beginners sewing machine can weigh anywhere between 9-18 lbs. There are some lighter machines that weigh under 7 lbs or so, but I really don't recommend such machines. Because those machines come with more plastic parts and they may not last that long. Moreover, because of the lightweight construction, such machines may dance around at high speeds. Nowadays you can't get 100% heavy-duty machines in the beginner category, at least look for machines that come with heavy-duty metal frames.
Quality And Budget
Higher the price, better the quality. Most people think that way, unfortunately that is not the case always. I have seen some really affordable sewing machines that are of better quality than some really expensive ones. Brother CS6000i, Singer 7258 and Janome 2212 to name a few.
Below, I have compiled a list of 10 beginner sewing machines, which in my opinion can bring the best out of a beginner sewer and that too without spending a fortune.
This concludes the list. If anyone asks me which beginner machine to choose, I would say, choose any one of the 10 machines listed above. Because I believe that these machines have it in them to become a great tool for a beginner sewer.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are the views of the writer only. Opinions may be subjective.
