How to decide on the best sewing machine for you without breaking the bank!

Sewing machines run the gamut from a basic mechanical straight stitch machine to one that is a computer in and of itself, and will interface with your computer as well. And there is every kind in between.

You can make beautiful garments,home-dec items and full-sized quilts on a basic machine. And of course you can do so much more with a computerized marvel.

Do not let price be your only deciding factor, and don't be intimidated by some of the computerized machines. Of course you have to consider your own budget.

Whether you buy a brand-new top of the line computer, or a used basic electronic sewing machine, the important factor is what you plan to do with the machine.

Will you be sewing high fashion, tailored clothing?

Are curtains and decorator pillows what makes your heart sing?

Do you love machine embroidery?

These are the factors that should influence your choice.

The first machine I ever sewed on was a Singer 301. A beautiful machine made in the 1950's. My father had bought it new from a door-to-door salesman, for my mother and announced that now she would sew all of our clothing, upholster the furniture and make curtains. My mother never wanted the machine,and certainly was not about to learn to use it.

I had to share the machine with my older and younger sisters...yep I am the middle child.

This machine was a beauty and a workhorse. It had a buttonholer attachment, that to this day is what I think of as the state of the art buttonhole.

This is the machine I used in 1968 to make my portfolio for acceptance into The Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.

Sew let's talk about some machines. There are probably as many sewing machine manufacturers as there are car makers.

For now Sewing Insider is going to talk about four brands. As we grow. And as you ask us for more information we'll expand our range.

Here are the four sewing machine brands: click on their names for a brief background.

Basic Electronic Sewing Machines

These machines do a lot of neat stuff.

They have built-in decorative stitches. Some have fonts for monogramming.

I once wrote a letter to my daughetr in metallic thread on denim with my first fully electronic machine! It was painstaking, but fun.

The elctronics in the machine make your life easier.

All of the basic nmachines have built-in buttonholes and automatic needle threading. These sewing machines can serve you well for years, and you may never want to trade up. They are in the $150-$350 range.

Electronic sewing machines are reliable,and need very little service. You do need to have them plugged into a serge protector. And on occassion they get confused just like your computer does. When this happens you have to turn it off and then back on to clear the brain.

And hey, the whiz-bang machine gets confused as well.

As you step up in the price range of the basic electronic machine you will find options like memory cells.

In these memory cells you can store designs you have made by combining stiches. Or if you like to sign your work you can store a phrase like "Handmade by Mother" and then have it handy to stich on the next item you make.

Get the Scoop on our Big Four Electronic Sewing machines.

Embroidery Sewing Machines

Don't be confused by a lot of the marketing hype. You can use an embroidery machine to sew clothing, make those fancy pillows you like and to make a quilt. You do not need a seperate sewing machine to do each of those things.

The thing that is diffeernt about them is that they embroider.

All of the embroidery machines come with some built-in designs.And now even the less-expensive models allow you to download designs from the internet to a card that you insert into your machine.

Here is a photo of my Janome 9500 Embroidery Machine. ( I sew everything on this baby).

You can actually do some design editing like:

The whiz-bang embroidery machines have screens about the size of those new small internet laptops. They have what is a called a digitizer. This means you can scan anything into your computer and using the special software,you can turn your doggie's face into an embroidered pillow.

Imagine wearing a camisole with Antonio Banderas' face embroidered on it under your blouses!

Insider Scoop on our Big Four Embroidery Machines

Quilting Sewing Machines

Quilting Machines:

Remember that I said you can use the most basic machine to make a quilt? It is true. And until recently, even the most ardent quilters used one kind or another of the electronic, mechanical or computerized sewing machines to make quilts. And you can too!

The various quilting machines on the market are designed for you, the hobbyist and small business sewist. We are not talking about the big, quilting frame machines.

We are talking about standard sewing machines that have quilting functions.

The big difference between quilting/sewing machines and the other sewing machines on the market is that they have wider beds. And the quilting sewing machines also have extension tables that allow the weight of your quilt to be supported.

The machines have quilting designs built in and special quilting feet to make it easier to sew all over the thick fabric.

If you have ever sewn even a small quilt you know how hard it is to work with all of that fabric on the right hand side of the needle.

The newer top-of-the-line quilting machines are designed to be able to handle wide pieces and have room to the right of the needle for bulk.

All of the top of the line sewing machines-the whiz-bangs- have all of the features for large embroidery motifs, a myriad of quilting options, and features for garment and home-dec sewing.

Sewing Insider Special Scoop: buy the machine with the most features that fits your budget. There are free classes on how to use your machine. And most sewing machine makers also have videos on their website.

Don't be afraid of all of the fancy features. If you can send an email with an attachment, make a simple greeting card in your desktop publisher or read a pattern guidesheet and use a zig-zag stich, you can use these machines.

Sewing Insider Special Scoop for young-uns 30 and under: you were born knowing all about computers. Now you just need to learn to sew with one.

Shoot for the best machine you can afford today, you will not be sorry.

Detailed info about each of our Big Four Quilting Machines.

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