Machine recommendation, under $100

My wife wants to get one; she's a newbie and never had a sewing
machine. Can anyone recommend one under $100, or point me in the right
directions (links for reviews, etc?)

Here's the list of the machines sold by Walmart; two Singer machines
and a Brother are under $100. Any cons and pros on these?

http://tinyurl.com/yt5k7 (redirect to Walmart.com).

Thank you in advance.

Buy used.

If you want to frustrate your wife and turn her off from sewing forever
you can buy her a toy machine for under $100. I had a toy machine that
lasted ok, and sewed ok, but even that was $150 at Costco and I knew it
was junk and was able to use my mother's Pfaff often enough to know that
the poor result on the plastic machine was the machine's fault, not mine.

I don't have the "buying a sewing machine" FAQ link handy, so I'll just
advise you to get a vintage machine, and have it serviced. Someone will
come along and post it soon, probably Penny S. She posts it in her sig
(underneath two hyphens "--") so on my mail reader it appears pale grey
and hard to see but the link is active, you can click it.

-Charlotte

Upilogue wrote:

My wife wants to get one; she's a newbie and never had a sewing
machine. Can anyone recommend one under $100, or point me in the right
directions (links for reviews, etc?)

Here's the list of the machines sold by Walmart; two Singer machines
and a Brother are under $100. Any cons and pros on these?

http://tinyurl.com/yt5k7 (redirect to Walmart.com).

Thank you in advance.

Hi. I would recommend buying a used older model Singer. Today's
inexpensive machines just aren't built to last, and the cheaper models don't
have many stitch options and features for her to use as she gets more
experienced. You can get way more value for your money with an older
machine. I would suggest having a look on eBay, or doing the yard
sale/estate sale circuit.

Good luck in your search, welcome to the sewing world!

Peggy


"Upilogue" wrote in message
om...
My wife wants to get one; she's a newbie and never had a sewing
machine. Can anyone recommend one under $100, or point me in the right
directions (links for reviews, etc?)

Here's the list of the machines sold by Walmart; two Singer machines
and a Brother are under $100. Any cons and pros on these?

http://tinyurl.com/yt5k7 (redirect to Walmart.com).

Thank you in advance.

Upilogue wrote:
My wife wants to get one; she's a newbie and never had a sewing
machine. Can anyone recommend one under $100, or point me in the right
directions (links for reviews, etc?)

Here's the list of the machines sold by Walmart; two Singer machines
and a Brother are under $100. Any cons and pros on these?

yes, they are crap. read the FQ posted below.


--
What Machine Should I Buy FAQ:
www.cet.com/~pennys/faq/smfaq.htm

For under $100 you can buy her a needle and spool of thread, and she'll get
less frustration out of it. "You get what you pay for" is just as true for
sewing machines as for cars and power tools, my friend.

Go to a reputable sewing machine dealer, and see what they've got used on
the shelf if budget is a concern. A dealer can point you to the right
machine and will support the purchase down the road.

- Wm

--
William Morris
Semster, Seamlyne reProductions
Visit our website, http://www.seamlyne.com, for the most comfortable
historically inspired clothing you can buy!

"Upilogue" wrote in message
om...
My wife wants to get one; she's a newbie and never had a sewing
machine. Can anyone recommend one under $100, or point me in the right
directions (links for reviews, etc?)

Here's the list of the machines sold by Walmart; two Singer machines
and a Brother are under $100. Any cons and pros on these?

http://tinyurl.com/yt5k7 (redirect to Walmart.com).

Thank you in advance.

(Upilogue) wrote:

My wife wants to get one; she's a newbie and never had a sewing
machine. Can anyone recommend one under $100, or point me in the right
directions (links for reviews, etc?)

Don't even go there. Unless, of course, you *want* her to give up
sewing in frustration.

A cheap machine is worse than no machine. Buy a decent machine, not a
cheapie. There is *nothing* worse than trying to learn to sew on a
machine that doesn't work right.

I can't tell you how many times I've had people tell me that they
don't like sewing...I ask them what kind of machine they had, and
95%of them had cheap machines. I let them have a spin on my White
(which wasn't that expensive), and they're like "wow, this is so much
better than the one I had".

Good tools make all the difference.

Go to a local sewing machine store, Look at their used machines.
You'll get a lot more machine for the same money, and you'll both be
happier.

jenn
--
Jenn Ridley

On Tue, 23 Mar 2004 10:42:02 -0800, Upilogue wrote:

My wife wants to get one; she's a newbie and never had a sewing
machine. Can anyone recommend one under $100, or point me in the right
directions (links for reviews, etc?)

Here's the list of the machines sold by Walmart; two Singer machines
and a Brother are under $100. Any cons and pros on these?

http://tinyurl.com/yt5k7 (redirect to Walmart.com).

Thank you in advance.

Forget it!! Immediately!!!!

Buy an older second hand machine. Look out for one in the papers, at the
local sewing machine shops, on E-bay, on the bulletin board at the local
mall... anywhere... but do not get one of these cheepies... You (and
your wife) will regret it...

Mavis

AmazeR wrote:

On Tue, 23 Mar 2004 10:42:02 -0800, Upilogue wrote:


Here's the list of the machines sold by Walmart; two Singer machines
and a Brother are under $100. Any cons and pros on these?


Forget it!! Immediately!!!!

Buy an older second hand machine. Look out for one in the papers, at the
local sewing machine shops, on E-bay, on the bulletin board at the local
mall... anywhere... but do not get one of these cheepies... You (and
your wife) will regret it...


I'm going to go against the grain here and say that you can get an
inexpensive machine, but you need to shop around a little more and not
let price be your sole deciding factor. You can find reasonably nice
machines for under $150 in several places. Walmart is not one of them.
You want to go someplace like a sewing machine store or a fabric store
that has display models that your wife can test. Go to a different store
every weekend and look at something in that price range, and compare how
they operate. It's like buying a car. Let your wife pick one that she is
comfortable with. You may even get some free classes on how to use the
machine and a one year maintenance contract. Walmart won't offer that.

If you can, wait until the Mother's Day sales to buy one.

Whatever you do, avoid those people who sell out of the back of their
trucks or in hotel rooms with ads claiming to have discounted 'unsold
school machines'. You get no maintenance contract, poor customer
service, and have no recourse if the machine arrives damaged.




Dawn

Honey I got one of the Brothers machines from Walmart and it is just a
damn good machine. No reason to spend more than you got and get more
than you all needs.

Upilogue wrote:

My wife wants to get one; she's a newbie and never had a sewing
machine. Can anyone recommend one under $100, or point me in the right
directions (links for reviews, etc?)

Here's the list of the machines sold by Walmart; two Singer machines
and a Brother are under $100. Any cons and pros on these?

http://tinyurl.com/yt5k7 (redirect to Walmart.com).

Thank you in advance.

Dawn wrote:

AmazeR wrote:

On Tue, 23 Mar 2004 10:42:02 -0800, Upilogue wrote:


Here's the list of the machines sold by Walmart; two Singer machines
and a Brother are under $100. Any cons and pros on these?


I'm going to go against the grain here and say that you can get an
inexpensive machine, but you need to shop around a little more and not
let price be your sole deciding factor. You can find reasonably nice
machines for under $150 in several places.

Nobody said you couldn't find a decent machine for under $150. We
all said to stay away from the cheapies at WalMart/KMart/Target.

Many of us suggested going to the local dealer(s) and seeing what they
had. The used machines area is probably the _best_ place to look
while at a dealer, but they will have lower end name brand machines
for a reasonable price. (With lessons and support, always something
to look for with a new sewist.)

jenn
--
Jenn Ridley