Buying an affordable sewing machine for crafting

Lately I have been exploring other crafts, mainly sewing and decorating t-shirts. Hand sewing a crochet item onto a t-shirt can be time consuming. As a result, I have been looking for sewing machines. I have no prior experience with them.

I am naturally (or abnormally) analytical when it comes to spending money. With higher expenses, I rely on spreadsheets to help me make decisions. Down one column is a list of sewing machines that I am considering. At the top are the functions I am looking for. This includes everything from the price to the weight of the sewing machine (will you take it to class?) And from the automatic threader to whether it can handle thicker fabrics. An article I read said that there are about 248 models from about nine well-known manufacturers. No wonder my head is spinning.

I started with Sewing Machine Ratings.com and focused on machines with a score above 90. I also listed how many people have rated the machine. That exercise showed me that most craftsmen don’t like to spend a lot of money on sewing machines, so the brands with the most reviews are the cheapest models, namely Brother and Singer. The best quality and most expensive machines, i.e. Janome and Juki, had max 30 reviews / comments. The last two brands are considered medium in terms of overall quality and are often only available through dealers. The purchase price through a dealer often includes classes and a place to go to exchange or obtain other equipment or devices for the machines.

For those of you who are strong supporters of American made items, good luck with that. While everyone agrees that Viking, Elna, and Bernina are superior machines, they also agree that they are expensive and limit their versatility. Doing more means investing in more expensive “feet” or devices that come as standard items on popular, less expensive machines. You can buy better quality needles and threads to aid performance from lower rated brands.

Another useful site asks: Is one brand of sewing machine better than another? Erin from Erinsayssew.com has a valid point when she states that there is a compromise between precision in sewing and offering many functions at an affordable price. Another valid point that I found in my research is that if you are a craftsman involved in many different crafts, can you justify the expense of a high-end machine based on its usage time? In other words, your sewing machine may be collecting dust while you are knitting instead of sewing. These are just a few things to keep in mind.