How to Choose Your First Sewing Machine

Start with the sewing you will actually do

A good basic machine costs a few hundred dollars and will handle most clothing, craft and quilting work, according to New Mexico State University's extension guide on buying a machine. The same guide notes that a well-made machine can last 20 years or more, so an hour spent choosing is time well used.¹

Before you look at a single spec sheet, write down the five projects you expect to do in your first year. For most beginners that list looks something like: hemming trousers, mending split seams, sewing a tote bag, making a pair of pyjama pants, patching jeans. Judge every feature against that list. If the list is all hems and repairs, 200 decorative stitches add nothing.

The two extension guides cited here were written decades apart, and both warn against buying more machine than you need.¹² For a first machine, the top model in the shop is rarely the best value.

Mechanical or computerized

A mechanical machine sets stitch type, length and width with dials or levers. A computerized machine uses buttons and a small screen, and an electronic board controls the stitches instead of mechanical parts.¹ Janome, which makes both kinds, says either type sews uniform stitches; the computerized models add conveniences such as automatic threading, automatic buttonholes and automatic tension, plus a wider range of length and width settings.³

In practice, a mechanical machine is easier to understand and to repair, and it usually costs less. A computerized one makes some jobs more repeatable, buttonholes most of all, and many have a speed slider and a start/stop button so you can sew without the foot pedal. Straight seams come from practice on either kind; start with the paper practice lesson.

The features beginners use every week

These are the features worth paying for, roughly in order of how often a new sewist touches them.

• Straight stitch with adjustable length. You will use it for most seams. Check that the length goes up to at least 4 mm (about 5/32 in) for basting and topstitching.
• Zigzag with adjustable width. Used to finish raw edges, sew stretchy fabric and attach elastic. A width of around 5 mm (about 3/16 in) covers every beginner job.
• A stretch stitch and a blind hem stitch. Janome lists straight, zigzag, buttonhole and blind hem as the basic stitch set.³
• One-step buttonhole. The machine sews all four sides of the buttonhole in one pass, sized to the button you place in the foot. Older four-step designs make you turn a dial at each side, which is fiddly.
• Needle threader. A small lever-operated hook that pulls thread through the needle eye. Brother lists a lever threader on its entry Innov-is A16.⁴ It saves real frustration if your eyesight is not sharp.
• Adjustable presser foot pressure. Lets you lighten the foot for thin fabric or press harder for thick layers. Singer cites it as the feature that lets one machine sew from sheers to denim.⁵

If you plan to sew jeans or canvas, also look at how high the presser foot lifts and whether the machine can push a needle through several layers without stalling. The box rarely tells you, so test it in the shop.

Bobbins, free arm and frame

The bobbin is the small spool under the needle plate that supplies the lower thread. Machines load it in one of two ways. A drop-in (top-loading) bobbin sits flat under a clear cover in front of the needle, so you can see how much thread is left. Brother's A16 uses this type and describes it as jam-resistant.⁴ A front-loading bobbin goes into a metal case that slides into the machine from the front, behind a small door below the needle. Front-loading systems are common on older and some heavier machines; they take a few more steps to load, and you cannot see the thread level without opening the door.

A drop-in bobbin is easier for a first machine, though either type will do. More important is that the bobbin winds easily and that a spare can be wound without unthreading the machine, two of the checks in Virginia Extension's buying list.² Our lessons on winding and inserting a bobbin cover both styles.

A free arm is a narrow section of the sewing bed that appears when you slide off the accessory tray. You slip a sleeve, cuff or trouser hem around it so you sew only one layer. Virginia Extension treats flat bed versus free arm as a choice based on your projects.² If your list includes hemming trousers or sleeves, insist on a free arm.

Weight tells you something about the frame. A heavier machine with an internal metal frame vibrates less at speed and is less likely to walk across the table when sewing thick seams. Singer markets its heavy-duty line on a full metal frame and a top speed of 1,100 stitches per minute.⁵ Virginia Extension suggested that a machine sold as portable should weigh under 25 lb (about 11 kg).² A very light plastic machine is fine for occasional mending but tends to struggle at a jeans hem.

Presser feet in the box

A presser foot is the small metal or plastic foot that holds fabric against the feed teeth while you sew. Different feet suit different jobs. Brother's A16 ships with six: zigzag, zipper, buttonhole, button sewing, overcasting and blind stitch.⁴ Janome suggests garment sewists look for zipper, overcast, buttonhole and button feet, and quilters look for a walking foot and a 1/4 in foot.³

For a beginner, three feet matter most: the general zigzag foot that comes on the machine, a zipper foot, and a buttonhole foot. A blind hem foot is a useful fourth if you hem trousers. Check whether extra feet are sold separately and whether your machine uses snap-on feet, which are cheaper and easier to find. New Mexico State also advises confirming what accessories are included and whether a carrying case costs extra.¹

What changes as the price rises

Price is not a straight line of quality. New Mexico State describes a basic machine at a few hundred dollars and top models at several thousand, with automatic features adding cost.¹ Within that spread, the changes tend to follow a pattern:

The jump from entry level to mid range usually brings the biggest improvement per dollar. Janome lists an automatic thread cutter, adjustable foot pressure and a knee lifter as the kind of extras found further up the range.³ They are pleasant, and plenty of people sew well for years without any of them.

Buying used, and how to test

A used machine from a good brand can be better value than a new budget model, but test it in person. New Mexico State's checklist: look for signs of careful use, few scratches or dents, no missing parts, belts and wiring in good order, and smooth running without heavy vibration or noise.¹ Virginia Extension adds that the pedal should stop the machine the moment you release it and that tension should hold steady without constant adjustment.²

Bring your own fabric. Shops often demonstrate on stiff cotton that almost any machine sews well.² Pack a small bag with a scrap of knit T-shirt, a square of quilting cotton, a folded strip of denim four layers thick, and a spool of thread you know is good. Then:

• Sew a 6 in (15 cm) straight seam on each fabric at a 2.5 mm stitch length. Both sides of the seam should look the same, with no loops on the underside.
• Sew a zigzag on the knit. It should stretch without popping.
• Sew across the four layers of denim slowly. Listen for the motor labouring and watch for skipped stitches.
• Make a buttonhole if the machine has one.
• Wind a bobbin, and check that the light works and the reverse lever holds.

Ask for the manual, or check that one can be downloaded. Find out where the nearest repair shop is before you buy; New Mexico State notes repairs can take days to weeks, and work by non-authorized technicians can void a warranty.¹

Worked example: two spec sheets for a jeans mender

Sam mostly hems and patches jeans. The shop has two machines. Machine A: 60 stitches, computerized, 4.4 kg (9.7 lb), drop-in bobbin, no free arm listed, four feet, presser foot pressure fixed. Machine B: 23 stitches, mechanical, 7.3 kg (16 lb), drop-in bobbin, free arm, six feet including a blind hem foot, adjustable foot pressure.

Score each against Sam's real work. Jeans hems are tubes, so a free arm matters: B gets a point. Denim hems at the side seams can stack six to eight layers, and a heavier frame and adjustable foot pressure help the machine feed that evenly: B again. The extra 37 stitches on A are decorative and would not be used for mending. The four-foot kit on A lacks a blind hem foot, which Sam would want for dress trousers.

Then test. Sam folds a jeans hem with a flat-felled side seam inside it and sews over the thickest point on each machine with a 100/16 needle and a 30 wt thread, a pairing that suits heavier thread.⁶ Machine A stitches but skips twice over the hump. Machine B sews through cleanly when Sam turns the handwheel by hand over the thickest spot. B has fewer stitches on the box and is still the better buy. Our denim lesson and jeans hemming lesson show the technique.

Common mistakes

• Choosing by stitch count. Beyond straight, zigzag, stretch, blind hem and a buttonhole, extra stitches add little for a beginner.
• Testing only on stiff cotton. Use your own knit and thick fabric.²
• Ignoring service. Ask who honours the warranty and what it covers before you pay.¹
• Buying a featherweight machine for denim work and then blaming yourself when it stalls.
• Skipping the manual. Most first-week problems (looping thread, jammed bobbins) are threading errors that the troubleshooting lesson and the manual both solve.

When the machine comes home, set it up with the setup lesson, then sew ten straight lines on paper before touching fabric.