Sewing machine purchase (advice please)

Another vote for the Janome but try and get a deal where you get extras like a walking foot and loads of bobbins thrown in 👍
I even used mine to alter the omnistor residence room
 
I have a Brother LS14 and I love it. It's a proper little workhorse and has sewn through several layers of thick material when I really didn't expect it to be able to cope. I have actually found myself talking to it and telling it what a good little sewing machine it is. Currently £80 at Argos.

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kingoftheroad said:
Weird request on a motorhome forum, but I've noticed lots of subjects discussed on here since I joined and I am a bit stuck.
I want to get my wife a sewing machine for Christmas, she's used one before, but is relatively new at it, she wants to have a go at the odd bit of dressmaking, alterations, etc, can anyone recommend a good alround machine, that she can grow into, so to speak, as she develops more skills, i thought I'd start the budget at around £250, if she knew about this purchase, she wouldn't want me to pay to much, so less than this amount would be good.
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Here are the top 5 brands from the Which? survey for 2021

Brand Which? customer score Build quality Durability Portability Ease of use Value for money Overall rating Sample size
Bernina 88% 5 5 2 4 4 5 314
Husqvarna 84% 4 4 3 4 4 5 113
Elna 82% 4 4 4 4 4 5 149
Janome 81% 3 3 4 4 3 5 531
Frister & Rossman 77% 4 4 3 3 4 4 168

Read more: https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/sew...ands-arU7h1o8t5Kr#sewing-machine-brands-rated - Which?
 
If she’s not a natural dressmaker and starting out-as it were-a good Singer would be fine.
She will want a selection of straight stitches and zig-zag stitches, they are the basic ones.
Buttonhole stitches, most machines nowadays do this automatically you just select the program.
Then you get into all the fancy stitches, pleating and lord knows what else!
Just remember the more complicated the machine may not be what she will enjoy, it’s very often hard enough to work out the pattern & instructions without having to try and remember what your machine should be doing.
I used to make a lot of clothes when I was younger, I enjoyed it, I used a basic electric machine with buttonholes that you had to select the operation, but I never got confused by my machine.
Perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise present, perhaps you should explain to her and ask what she wants, would be a shame to get it wrong and ‘over-horse’ her!
 
Noticed the other day they are selling a singer machine in Lidl, thought it must be another name that has been bought up by china but maybe not by some posts on here.

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chaser said:
Noticed the other day they are selling a singer machine in Lidl, thought it must be another name that has been bought up by china but maybe not by some posts on here.
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Bought a Singer overlocker from Lidl it was about ½ price of buying it anywhere else.
 
There used to be a sewing machine expert on here, what happened to him?
 
I would buy a Janome J3 24 this does automatic buttonholes!approx £279,423s £339 or my top reccomendation a HD 2200but this will cost you around £400.This machine is basically the my style 22 and has been around for years.I know of a lot of workrooms that have been using this model for years!Just a solid made machine with a metal chassis(not plastic like some mentioned on here)Also no electronics because if anything will fail it will be the electronics!The main thing that surprises me that no one thinks when they buy a cheap machine from Lidl,Dunelm,Aldi etc is what will happen if in a few years time it goes wrong! I will tell you “You will be buying a new one” as the cost of getting it repaired that is if you can get it repaired will as much as the machine!I have just serviced and repaired a Bernina 801,new camstack,winder etc.Cost about 40 years ago £250.cost of repair etc £83.Value now £250 to £400!fit now for many more years of sewing!Will see me out as my 100 year old dad would say😊
 
I have one of these. It belonged to my great grandmother and for simplicity and robustness it can't be beaten. Although I also have an electric one this is the one I rely on. Its not fussy about what thread you use, it will accept different thread on the bobbin from the spool. Not speedy but it has trundled on for may be 80 years and still going strong. You don't need electric easy to thread. Easier to control than electric ones.
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My wife makes tweed throws and bags, she has a Pfaff Quilt Expression 4, bought about 9 or 10 years ago for about £1200, current machine will cost £3-4000. They are metal framed, it gets dragged around fairs so is well built.
But she says it really works best with Gutterman or Coates thread, it doesn't like cheap thread.
 
I now have a Bernina - treated myself last year :rolleyes: Not cheap, but I expect it will outlive me.

I sold my old Singer - which always frustrated me with the manual tension adjustment. The Bernina does it all automatically and then some!

I agree with Shrimp - perhaps not ideal as a surprise. It depends where you live but there are several specialist shops around that have machines to try and will be able to offer good advice. You could perhaps 'surprise' her with a gift voucher and a promise of a day out!

Two shops that I have used and can recommend -

Bambers, Eccles, Manchester https://www.bambersew.com

Frank Nutt, Birmingham https://www.franknutt.co.uk
 
The expert that chaser refers to is scotjimland. He is still a member I believe but never posts these days. Jim used to renovate old Singer machines, not sure he did any others.

HTH.
 
I'm still using my Mam's old Pfaff 260 that will be getting on for 60 years old. I've recovered motorbike seats with it and repaired tears in my son's chainsaw trousers. I still put patches on the knees of my jeans then use them for working in.
People have commented to me a couple of times when they see the patches as nobody seems to repair clothes these days ?

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Hils and Glenns said:
I have one of these. It belonged to my great grandmother and for simplicity and robustness it can't be beaten. Although I also have an electric one this is the one I rely on. Its not fussy about what thread you use, it will accept different thread on the bobbin from the spool. Not speedy but it has trundled on for may be 80 years and still going strong. You don't need electric easy to thread. Easier to control than electric ones.
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That's the same as my mum's. It's that heavy I have to get it out, and put it away for her 😁
 
Brought my daughter a singer 1408 great little machine. Simple to use and seems reliable enough.

Cheers James
 
Madmag said:
I bought the Singer 4423. Think it’s the heavier duty one, from singer direct on their website or from Hobbycraft, think Singer. Anyway I love it. Can do all the basic stuff but has the option to use more detailed stitches or buy extra feet etc. would certainly recommend it.
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We bought the heavy duty Singer 4432 via John Lewis. The machine is capable of sewing several layers of denim at once, button hole creations etc. Face masks galore, 5 or 6 pairs of trousers made, and repairs made to pairs of jeans [that's how I know it can cope with several layers of denim!]

Steve
 
As I said earlier I don’t think you should surprise her with the machine, personally there is no way I would want anyone to buy me a sewing (or any other) machine as a surprise. I would want to look and decide which one would suit me best!

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Southdowners said:
I’d go for an old Bernina.

They’re incredible machines - the stitch quality is fantastic and they’re far more solidly built than modern machines they just purr along. There are various options for fancy stitches and for dressmaking they’re fantastic. I have the model in the listing below.

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We have a Bernina 910 which is lovely. When an overlocker was required, looked at getting a Bernina to find they are no longer built in Switzerland, but in Thailand and according to the guy that services our, nowhere near as well built! 😣

So we bought a Japanese built Juki which is really solid. The 30+ year old Bernina just keeps going and is lovely and quiet.

Bit like most other things, built down to a price rather than maintaining quality.
 
Shrimp said:
As I said earlier I don’t think you should surprise her with the machine, personally there is no way I would want anyone to buy me a sewing (or any other) machine as a surprise. I would want to look and decide which one would suit me best!
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Hi Shrimp
Think your right, got some great advice on here and plenty of brands to look into. However, I've come to realise, I'm best letting my wife make the choice, it certainly appears to be a personal to the user purchase, thanks everyone, got some great info to help us both in the choice of brand and specification.
 
I’m glad you are going to let her choose the machine, it would be a shame if you got one she didn’t like and then she wouldn’t feel comfortable with it or telling you.
Make sure she sees plenty of choice and most places will give a free lesson maybe two.
Happy Christmas.
 
My advice for what it's worth - I'd never buy a present for someone's hobby/sport etc or even potential hobby. If she's keen on having a machine, chances are she's looked around, so I'd forego the surprise element and ask her! Or look on a sewing forum website!!
 
kingoftheroad said:
Hi Shrimp
Think your right, got some great advice on here and plenty of brands to look into. However, I've come to realise, I'm best letting my wife make the choice, it certainly appears to be a personal to the user purchase, thanks everyone, got some great info to help us both in the choice of brand and specification.
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Maybe one of the local shops could be a good bet as there will hopefully be some aftersales service available. It depends on the price difference between them and other places. I would probably visit one and have a chat it might be they would let you buy one and swap if your wife wants to go and trying the others. Another option is to print off a photo of a sewing machine and put it in a card!

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When i bought my wife surprise Christmas present i spent 6 months asking her what she needed to do from embroidery to canvas repairs. I went to 2 specialist shops and gave my list of requirements they demonstrated a machine with 4 layers of denim 16 layer of calico and other odds and sods inc curtain tape boths explaining that beter results would be got changing needles, ease of use auto threading etc, solid build qaulity.both suggested the same machine a brother inovis 350 a price north of your suggestion. Latterly i bought a twin neddle janome machine £100 specifically to carry in the motorhome and for the odd occasion she needed twin needles. It runs off a msw inverter. Swmbo says she can tell the difference in the machines and the janome is ready set up for black or second colour use. But auto thread on brother is the dogs, and prefers not to be without it. So thats the minimum requirement for brownie points.
 
Shrimp said:
As I said earlier I don’t think you should surprise her with the machine, personally there is no way I would want anyone to buy me a sewing (or any other) machine as a surprise. I would want to look and decide which one would suit me best!
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Under no circumstances should my wife surprise me with a TVR, lotus, aston Martin etc... Then again I don't see why not... !🤣🤣🤣
 
My two penn'orth!. Having used sewing machines for many years and based on what is suggested for usage by the recipient, the Janome J3-24 is an excellent suggestion. However, for the me, the downside is that the bobbin is front loading and requires a certain dexterity and a top loading bobbin a 'piece of cake' by comparison.

kingoftheroad you will know your wife better than most of us and will know if she wants a surprise or will want to choose for herself. Test sewing with different machines 'feel' different and be down to the darnedest whim.......a bit like comparing two cars/mh of similar spec.

Good luck and let us know after Xmas Day.......how it all went :D
 
We bought an Elna many years ago, still running as sweetly as when purchased.
I'd suggest going to a sewing machine centre. They may run courses and allow your wife to try out different models. What was important for us was the stitches it was capable of, the ease of threading, size and weight. Such an investment should be carefully considered. It could become an expensive embarrassment left at the back of a cupboard somewhere if you get it wrong.
If cost is an issue, do the research then look for a second hand model. The good ones last for ever, whilst their owners do not.

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