A Buyers Guide to Sewing Machines

With Christmas fast approaching we are often asked about Sewing Machines as a present so we have compiled a little guide for our enthusiastic machinists of the future!

Which Sewing Machine should I buy?

We have always recommended the John Lewis JL110 – it comes in a variety of lovely colours and is very reasonably priced currently at £135. The Which? report gives it a high rating on ease of use and durability, and more importantly – it came out on top for portability. This is very important as they will want to move it around the house and take it out and about to classes or maybe to Granny’s house!

Bernina came out as the best brand in the Which? report, however the machines that were recommended began at £845 so that seems a crazy price for a beginner!

Janome are also a very good brand – the Janome 219S is highly recommended and is currently on sale at Amazon for £129, it is similar to the John Lewis version.

They all come with a light – to help with frustrating needle threading along with a variety of stitches to get them inspired for lots of different projects.

What age can you start using a machine?

There is no specific age that we suggest – it’s more a question of whether a child can sit and concentrate on sewing for about an hour!

What else can you buy to help get them started?

We have designed a range of Sewing Machine Kits that have everything they need to get started and make a project – from tissue holders to sewing bags, for the beginner to the more advanced machinist. We designed these projects because once children know how to work their machines they were stuck on what to make. Often requiring a trip to the fabric shop and then working out a project – our kits have everything to make this a more inspiring and creative process!

Helping them learn how to use a sewing machine.

Come along and book a class in our studio – we are offering a one-hour one-on-one lesson for £35 – this is what we cover:

how to thread up and make bobbins
all the different stitches the machine can do (they love this bit!)
use the reverse button to start and finish sewing
getting confident with the pedals and controlling the speed which often takes a bit of practice
you could book this in advance or give it as a Gift Voucher

After they have done this class they might want to buy a Sewing Machine Kit to try at home – we offer different levels of project depending on their confidence – they can slowly work their way through them.

We will be offering different classes in February Half Term for them to come and try out new projects and grow their creativity! Our Tea and Biscuits class on Saturdays across the term offers the chance for you to get involved as well.

We hope this was helpful and we are looking forward to seeing lots of new and creative machinists over the next few months.