What to Consider When Buying a Sewing Machine

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If you’re wondering what to consider when buying a sewing machine, you’ve come to the right place. Not all sewing machines are equal. To be honest, most serious sewists have more than one sewing machine because each machine is designed for a different purpose.

First, consider your price range.

Small budgets are not always a bad thing. These days, so many sewing machines come with a bunch of extra features you don’t need for general sewing. I will say, however, a bigger price range provides a broader range in sewing machine choices.

7 What to Consider When Buying a Sewing Machine

Juki DU-1181N is a dream machine for bag making and other heavy duty work 🙂

Narrow down choices, by thinking about how you will use the sewing machine.

Sewing leather, canvas, or heavy weight denim materials?

Go for a walking foot sewing machine above all other options. Three great brands for walking foot sewing machines are Consew, Sailright, and Tacsew. You will spend more money on a walking foot machine as they are for heavy materials. However, there are some great used walking foot sew machine options out there too. Just check out Craigslist, Ebay, Offer Up, Let Go, etc.

Second, take a look at industrial sewing machines. Please Note: Not all industrial sewing machines are designed for working with heavy fabrics. When you go to a manufactures website, like Juki, you’ll see industrial machines. Some are designed for light to medium fabrics, while others are ideal for working with heavy duty materials.

As a very last resort, look at domestic sewing machines with 5 feed dogs or more. I say look for 5 or more feed dogs because additional feed dogs will help fabric feed thru the machine more easily.

IGNORE THE HEAVY DUTY LABEL on home sewing machines because 90% of them are just domestic sewing machines with a fancy label slapped on them!!!

Home sewing machines with more feed dogs sew thru heavy fabrics easier, but are nowhere near being as durable or fast as the other options. I’d only suggest a domestic if you won’t be sewing heavy duty on a regular basis. Toyota Super Jeans sewing machine is an excellent option in the home sewing machine category along with Janome HD3000 and Elna 3210.

Do you anticipate making a lot of leggings, swim suits, dance competition wear, or stretchy dresses for casual days ?

Use your budget to buy a very nice overlocker/serger.(For more information about great overlockers, check out the previous blog here). Then, spend about $50 to $100 on a cheaper sewing machine for hemming edges, making button holes, and doing decorative top stitches. Your stretchy cloths will last much longer and look more professional with overlocked seams.

Plus, it will save you a massive amount of time. I do, however, realize everyone cannot afford to get a serger and sewing machine too. When finances are an issue, I suggest either getting a sewing machine with an overlock stitch or checking out thrift stores for a good deal. Sometimes, you will even be able to find a serger for $50 or less still in box or gently used. It is easy to find these types of deals because people buy sergers and are often too intimidated to ever thread the machine up. If you opt for purchasing a sewing machine with an overlock stitch, please note the process is much slower than using a serger because you have to:

sew fabric together
trim the seams
change the presser foot and settings
Sew with the overlock stitch

The end result is something that resembles a serged edge, but you can still tell it is not 100% authentic. Sometimes, it is not possible to buy a sewing machine with an overlock stitch. In that case, the next best thing is to use a standard zigzag stitch. You can get away with zigzagging on knit fabric. 🙂 Just remember, the more machine you’re able to buy, the less effort you’ll have to put forth to make your project look like it came out of the store.

3 What to Consider When Buying a Sewing Machine

Brother PQ15000SL is a machine ideal for quilters.

What to consider when buying a sewing machine changes when you quilt!!!

A quilter needs more throat space for big and bulky quilts! Most importantly, a quilter needs to drop the feed dogs for free motion quilting. Today, most sewing machines have a feed dog drop. However, not all sewing machines have a large throat space. You’ll always pay more for throat space. Unless you go pre-owned with a machine, you’ll spend $1000 or more for a large throat space. Otherwise, you’ll have to stick to standard sewing machines. It’s not so bad to not have the throat space. It will just require you to get creative with how to roll your quilts so they will fit under the machine.

What to consider when buying a sewing machine also changes when you are into embroidery!!!

Consider:

Hoops that come with your machine
Maximum embroidery area (4×4) (5×7) etc
The LCD screen capabilities
Stitch speed
Software compatibility

Also, Will your embroidery machine be for domestic or business use? You’ll want more out of a business machine than an embroidery machine for personal use. All of these factors play a role in deciding which embroidery machine to purchase.

Last Tip in what to consider when buying a sewing machine….

Think about how difficult or easy it will be to have the sewing machine serviced.

Never buy a sewing machine you cannot have serviced in your local area. Just save yourself the headache and additional costs of mailing a sewing machine. PLEASE.