I think where you live might well have as much to do with what you get as what you need.

Where I am we are down to one repair shop that is also an authorized Bernina dealer. There just is no place you can buy a new machine except for a bernina anywhere near here.

So when I am asked about starter machines I recommend either getting a second hand old fashioned purely mechanical machine and a book about how to maintain and repair them, or get a cheap junk machine from one of the big box stores with the plan to replace it fairly often. I do point out the Bernina place and the fact that I am unfamiliar with Berninas. Unless the person is willing to drive over the hill and far away, these are the options. I have ended up teaching french seams to some new sewing people who got old straight stitch machines as a result of this advice, but french seams are very easy and take about 10 minutes to teach. The people who buy a big box machine usually end up either getting a bernina very soon, or driving the distance to shop someplace with more selection.
I do point out that if you are spending more than a little (used machines often cost very little) you really want to test drive a machine to see if you are comfortable with it. I generally discourage starting out on a machine with too much fancy boo. There is really nothing much a solid zig zag machine cannot do that many of the fancy dancy ones can, it just might take a little longer and a bit of fussing. Neither does a newbie need the distraction, frustration, and temptation, of whiz bangs and weirdities.

NightMist


On Thursday, October 6, 2016 at 8:14:53 PM UTC-4, Brian Christiansen wrote:
This is kind of a test message, as I am setting up thunderbird for
reading news groups, and seeing if it is "better" than XPN newsreader.

Well, anyway, this video, from man sewing, one of my favorite you tube
channels (perhaps I will do a future post about it):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfNGfTmSWSU, and in it Rob Appell, the
host of the show, helps his daughter with making a doll quilt. I
personally think he did a little too much, though.

There is also this video about how the Janome 2212 is the best machine
for beginners: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDPZXQLHtuQ. There are
also lots of others that talk about the best machine for beginners as well.

This got me to wondering something that is sort of a hypothetical
question for me, but might be more something that one of you has actual
experience with.

Suppose you are teaching a teenager how to sew or quilt, and one day his
parents come to you and say that they want to get him a sewing machine
for his birthday, with you being the technical person, and them
supplying the money, with a budget of up to $200.

Would you recommend an older machine such as a singer featherweight or
301, or a newer "beginner" machine like the Janome 2212 (the 2212 is not
a "toy" machine, as I would never even consider a "toy" machine in this
situation).

I have a singer featherweight, which is kinda my "inheritance" from my
late mother. I love it, and I have a buttonhole attachement for it
which makes really nice buttonholes, and a bunch of presser feet for
various things, of which I have only used the "regular" one and the 1/4"
foot, but otherwise it is limited to straight stitching.

I also have a new home from the early 60's (I think), that is a really
nice machine that is a zig-zag machine.

I would also like a singer 301, though I really don't know what I would
do with a 3rd machine.

So if I were buying the machine for myself, I would choose an older
machine, specifically a Singer 301. For the teenager, however I might not.