I am pretty new to this group myself and from what I have read about machine
selection and my own very recent experience I have come up with this little
list of what to look for in a first sewing machine if you are just beginning
and don't have something terribly specific in mind.

1- you are likely to get a better quality machine if it is used then in a
new one. They tend to be more reliable. You can get them from dealears who
have taken then in as trades and have refurbished them ( or at the very
least cleaned, oiled and adjusted them). ( you can also get them from trift
shops and yard sales but take them to be cleaned oiled and adjusted anyway).

2- look for a machine with all metal parts inside, some parts may appear to
be cheap plastic but are durable tefflon or wear-free nylon, which is fine.
But all the rods and arms should be metal.

3- It you can try to find a machine this the bobin ( lower tread) that loads
either from the front or the back. Not an absolute neccesity but it will
allow you to use double needles ( which are nice for those neat parallelle
straight stitches). Mine loads from the side and while I don't realy mind it
would be nice to be able to use double needles.

4- Retractable feed dogs ( those little teeth under the presser foot ).
They will allow you to do free hand embroidery and darning.

5- Get a machine that supplies you with at least the following basic
stitches.
- Straight ( for basic use)
- Zig-zag ,which you can use as an overlock for edging fabric so it
doesn't come appart, also good for darning and embroidering
- one extendable ( or elastic) stich, it sort of looks like little
losenges, very usefull for sewing knits or elastics
- button hole ,one or four step doesn't realy matter they do the same
job the the one step does it quicker.
- blind stich ,a zig-zag with one thooth longuer the the others,mostly
used to do the bottom of slacks, when you don't want the stitch to show.
Your are likely to find a machine that has more then just those but for
doing basic sewing and repairs ( which is what I do ) I found that you don't
need the automatic embroidery stiches so much as a good variaty of basic
stitches.

6- If you can get the manual and the assorment of presser feet that came
with the machine originaly ( although you can buy presser feet individualy)
check the manual to see what came with the machien originaly. Basic presser
feet are :
- straight , rather narrow with one prong shorter then the other.
- zig-zag, wider with a slot for the needle ( perpendicular to the
feeding of the fabric)
- button hole ( usualy plastic ) many differing models , the basic one
is rectangular with markings and slides with the fabric.
others include : hemmer ( will curl the fabric), one that does little
pleats ( don't know the name ), to attache cords or yarns ( has a little
slot underneet to let the yarn throught) etc.

7-Check the needle plate, the hook, the bobin case and the retention ring
for marks, if there are many deep ones the machine is either in serious need
of adjusting or is not a very good one.

I can't realy think of anything else to ass other then try it out first to
see if you like the possition of the controls. Oh. and you might want to
have a machine where all the stich selection instructions are on the machine
, saves you running for the instruction manual when you want to try some
thing new.

I hope that helps

Jean





"cj" a écrit dans le message de
...
Hi, I'm new to this group. I know buying sewing machines is a very
personal
thing, but I'm going to ask anyhow :-)

I'm looking to buy a sewing machine for my wife. New to sewing, and only
really needed for repairs and little projects here and there, for the
forseeable near future.

One of the options is to buy a cheap new machine (like Janome 2319, 2028
or
Benina Bernette?). Another option is to buy much older tradin like Elna
TSP
for similar price and 1 year wty. Does anyone want to offer some comment
or
advice about Elna TSP vs new machine?

Either reply to the group or to me personally:
(remove you know the capitalised stuff).

Thanks in advance!

Craig.