Sewing Machine - Lewisville,TX

For the beginner, Singer and Brother are good brands. You can find many on Craigs List:

http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/art/1702742020.html
http://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/art/1698025099.html

You can take classes at any JoAnn's store.

Are you talking about a machine for sowing cereals and other seeds in the ground -- a seed drill? This would be a rather rare farm antique.

It depends a lot on how much you're willing to pay, how much sewing you want to do, and what sort of sewing, as well as your relative patience.

Personally I made myself bananas with crappy little brothers and singers and such until I finally realized that I did not want a beginner sewing machine. I wanted an extremely capable basic sewing machine with fewer plastic parts and the capacity to do several layers of fabric.

Once I finally had this epiphany, I went and bought a basic Pfaff with all that awesome German engineering, metal parts, and the capacity to handle many layers at once, but lacking most of the really fancy stitches. It was around $500 I believe and worth every single penny in lowering my frustration. It also came with a couple free classes because I bought it through a sewing store. If you're truly a beginner, those could make a big difference for you.

If you are speaking about a sewing machine for making clothes, quilts, crafts, etc, I definitely suggest one that doesn't have too many bells and whistles to begin with. I actually have a couple of sewing machines and bought each of my children one for Christmas one year. My son knows his way around a sewing machine!
You can go online and look at the home shopping networks. They have amazing machines on there and often you can get them on easy pay, meaning they will spread the cost out over 3 or 4 months and they are very affordable. You can also look to buy used ones from local sewing shops. I know that many sew shops hold classes.
My mother in law sewed all her life. She was amazing! She gave me her very first singer sewing machine and to this day it's my favorite.. About a year before she passed away, my husband bought her a super fancy digitized, computerized machine that cost thousands of dollars and she never once used it. She hated it. When she died, he tried to sell it to family members instead of just giving it to them and he ended up donating it to the Salvation Army Thrift Store. For nothing.

Brother makes really nice machines that are user friendly. So does Singer.
Check with QVC and HSN. They have awesome deals on them all the time.
My mom made all our clothes when I was little. My whole family sewed. Even the boys.
There is so much you can do with a sewing machine from making curtains to table cloths to Halloween costumes.
I hope you get some great responses.

I would get a good used sewing machine to start with. Check at a sewing machine repair shop. Don't get a fancy one because you'll pay for it and you don't know how long you'll stay interested. Just get a good used one because it will be worth it. As far as cost goes maybe someone else could answer that. I've had mine many many years and don't know how much they run now.
Lonie

We just bought my daughter a Babylock ($375 ish) from Plano Sewing Center.

She is a beginner and the owner of the store let her try different machines in the store. We opted for about 3 steps up on the Babylock because it is the model in the Plano schools and a good quality machine. I figured if trhe students used it and didn't break them then it would be good for us.

She loves it and has already designed and made a shirt.

I got a singer model 2932 from Jo Ann last summer. I've used it to do some very small sewing projects such as slipcovers for some pillows I wanted for living room. I also hemmed some pants for my ever-growing boys. It was about $129...

I have been sewing for many years and the best one I would suggest is a Brother brand.They are very reasonable for a starter machine. If you are just learning,I would suggest going to a garage sale and watching for one. I bought a like new Singer for $50.00.

My parents gave me a singer for Christmas, I do not know the model but it has about 40 different stich options and I LOVE it. I just started using it this past weekend and it is really easy to work with and figure out and the book it came with is really user friendly. They got it a Joanns and they offer free classes if you get a machine there on how to use it properly.

I have sewed for years and when my big expensive machine broke I went to walmart and bought a 100$ machine. It sews straight stitch, ziz-zag, button holes and has a zipper foot. It does not have all of those bells and whistles that I never used. I started sewing when I was 5 or 6, have worked in fabric stores, have a degree in fashion design and have done costuming for local theater companies. I have used many machines over the years and I would buy the cheap one again, I have had it for 7 years and have never had to repair it once, not the case with my more expensive machines. Good luck.

I have a Bernina a bit expensive but I sew a lot and to me it was worth every penny. If you are just starting out or don't plan to use it often I would go for a less expensive model and get one from wal-mart or go to a fabric store and get one their. You can usually try out the ones at the fabric store. I like someone's suggestion for going to a sewing machine repair shop you might get lucky and get a great machine for half the price. Have fun!

Your best bet is to not go to Walmart to buy a machine as they not what you want at $90. Check with your local sewing shop for a previously used machine that has basic stitches about 14 to start. Brother, Pfaff, Janome (Sears made by Janome), Babylock and Bernina around $300 to $350. Make sure you get lessons with the machine for have a person who will teach you how to operate it properly. Do become familiar with the capabilities of the machine and try out all of the features. Should you feel you want more stitches and things then you can move up. Practice, practice and have patience with your machine. You will be surprised at how well you and possibly how fast you improve your abilities. The one thing you must remember is that sewing takes time and when you feel frustration, just get up, walk away, get a soda or iced tea and come back when you are calm. Do not try to fix the problem then or it will make it worse and then you will not want to sew again. Keep an item in a box to show how you how you have improved your skill. I still find things that I made 20 years ago and how much I have improved and it feels good to see how the seams were finished then to now and how the collars looked then and now and even collars and buttonholes and button. Welcome to the world of sewing and creativity. I have been sewing for over 40 years and still love it. The other S.

Do not buy a Pixie! Its the cute little purple machine, ours and a friends broke. Just wanted to steer you from that one.

Go online and check out Walmart and QVC
I am a sewing instructor and seamstress and have used some of the
99 dollar machines from walmart, they work

also check out plano sewing center on
Spring creek and custer
they sell good used machines

I have a lightweight portable by New Home I got for under 150 dollars and it does a lot of fancy stitches and a button hole. I have been sewing since I was 11 and now have a serger and a new sewing/embroidery machine and a Brother Disney embroidery machine. Good Luck.

For a beginner, I would recommend a machine without all the bells and whistles. They will just confuse you. I started out with a basic Singer machine and it works great. If you decide to get a used model as some others suggested, just make sure they still have the manual!