Guide to Buying a Sewing Machine

Sewing machines just don’t come cheap. Some of the more advanced models can easily reach four figures. Before you splash out and invest read this short guide and get the lowdown of what to buy and where.

Preparation, Preparation, Preparation

There are three main considerations that you need to have in the back of your mind:

• How much do you want to spend?
• What do you want to do with the machine?
• Where do you want to buy it?
• It's important to think about all of these before you even step through the shop door. The answers to these questions will shape, what you buy and where you buy it.
• If, for example, you only have a limited budget, a second hand dealer may be your best bet. They normally have a pretty good selection of working machines available and it will do the job without stretching your budget.

Cost

A quick search on the web will show that you can spend anything from £40 to £600. Unless you are going to use the machine every day, the pricier model will not be worth the investment. It is likely to have a lot of features on offer that you won’t ever need to use. A simple rule of thumb to follow is this: if you only want the machine to do basic stitches, don’t spend more than £200. Why? Well, you just won’t need to. For about £200 you will get a new machine that comes with a selection of foots, and allows you to do all the basics and a few fancy details as well!

It's important then to be honest with yourself. It might be nice to have a machine that can do anything and everything but if you know, deep down, that you will never use it this way, steer well clear and save your bank balance!

Location

Not all machines are the same and not all sewing machine dealers are the same. It is possible to head to a general department store and pick one up but if you want tailor made advice from industry experts, head to a specialist store.

These stores are not always easy to find. You will need to do your research in order to locate them - they are dotted around just a few of the country’s high streets and are somewhat of a dying breed. The payoff for making the effort to find them though is well worth it - there is no doubt that you will get the best selection and the best advice.

The staff are likely to be in-store experts. If you are not sure what to buy then all you have to do is ask and they will be able to steer you in the right direction.

Recap

Buying a sewing machine is a big purchase and one that shouldn’t be rushed into. You must make sure that you are going to be able to use what you buy, that it’s not overly complicated and that you are going to enjoy using it. Make sure that you cover off these requirements and you will be set!