Tips for Buying Your First Sewing Machine & My Recommendations for 2021

I have gotten asked so many times for advice on buying your first sewing machine that I should probably save my answer in a note or something so I can copy and paste it, ha!

I do have a few solid pieces of advice that I always give when someone is looking to buy their first sewing machine, or which sewing machine to buy for kids or a for a beginner, so I thought this would be a great opportunity to put all that advice here in a blog post.

Getting started sewing doesn’t need to be crazy expensive. Yes, there are amazing machines out there at the higher end of the price range, but there are also great budget sewing machines available too. So these tips are for anyone looking to buy their first sewing machine or upgrade their old one, on any budget.

This post may contain affiliate links, which means that while I am not paid to promote certain items, I will earn a small commission should you purchase items through these links. For more info, see my disclosure policy.

This post may contain affiliate links, which means that while I am not paid to promote certain items, I will earn a small commission should you purchase items through these links. For more info, see my disclosure policy.

Tips for Buying a Sewing Machine

First let’s talk about what to look for and what NOT to do when buying your sewing machine, and then I’ll give you my recommendations for machines that are on the market right now.

My single best piece of advice that I offer everyone when buying a sewing machine is:

Do not buy the cheapest machine on the shelf!

Now, there are some brands that only offer machines in the thousands of dollars price range and if that’s your budget, you probably can’t go wrong, even with the least expensive Bernina or Pfaff. (more on those brands later). But that's not what most people are thinking when they buy their first machine. Most people assume they can get their first sewing machine for under a hundred bucks, then go off to Walmart and pick up the cheapest one. I'm tellin' ya, you will regret it!

These cheap-o machines will only cause you frustration, and if you're a beginner, you'll start to wonder what you're doing wrong and why you’re having so many problems when trying to sew. If you're in this boat, I'll just tell you: maybe it's not your sewing skills. Maybe it's the machine! You can spend slightly more and get a much better machine that will last for much, much longer. Keep reading for my recommendation on an inexpensive beginner machine!

When I first wrote this article, sewing machines were a hot commodity because of the pandemic and everyone was suddenly at home with time to learn a new hobby. This made inexpensive machines scarce for awhile, but thankfully, as Chrismtas 2021 approaches, things are back to normal (in sewing machine world, at least!) and you can find a god machine for any budget.

Choose your features.

If you've started looking at sewing machines, you may have noticed, there are a LOT of different features! I'm here to tell you, you don't need all those bells and whistles to have a great machine ... you just need the right bells and whistles for you. That said, a few features are universally handy for everyone, no matter what kind of sewing you do.

Things like:

Speed control (especially when learning or teaching kids!)

Needle up/down button

Needle threader

Other features just depend on the person. Some people use the heck out of their decorative stitches and alphabets, while others can get by with just the straight stitch and zig zag (I did for years!) If you sew clothing, you'll want a stretch stitch and a good button hole feature. If you're a quilter, look at machines with a large area under the neck and an extension table. If you want to get into embroidery, look for an embroidery machine. (If you go to a dealership, this is for sure what they’ll try to sell you. Don’t get pulled in if embroidery isn’t your jam). If you're brand new to sewing and don't know what you want, start with something with the basic handy features I mentioned above and you'll get along just fine while you figure out what lights your sewing fire.

Consider buying used.

Okay, I know I just said not to expect to get a good machine for under a hundred bucks, but that's not necessarily true if you’re willing to buy a machine secondhand. I sew on used machines. One is a semi-industrial Pfaff from the 60's that I picked up on Craigslist for $400 and was my main machine for YEARS, even though it only sews a straight stitch and a zig zag. I even learned to do buttonholes manually until I got those student machines when I started teaching.

My mom upgraded to a new Pfaff a few years ago and gifted me her older one from the 90's. Like I said above, if you do have a budget in the $1,000 + range, you can likely buy a nice machine and it will be the last one you'll even need! These older used machines I sew on are still going strong decades later. I could never have afforded the machines I have if I were shopping for them new, so I’m so thankful for secondhand machines!

But, back to your budget of less than $100. When I stopped teaching sewing, I sold those $180 Brother machines for $80 each. That means four different sewists got great, gently used and well cared for sewing machines for a great price! For reference, the cheapest sewing machine at Walmart that I consider a piece of junk goes on sale for $80 around this time of year. Don’t fall for it!

Once you know what features you want, start keeping your eyes open on your local buy/sell/trade pages and see what you can find. Many second hand machines will never have even been used!

Another place to keep your eyes open is at thrift stores and yard sales. I met a lady last year who scours secondhand stores for older machines, fixes them up and sells them. You wouldn't believe the kinds of machines she has found! And for so cheap! As someone who sews primarily on older machines, I can tell you, there is nothing junky about these old workhorses. Some sewists even say, "the older, the better". You might even stumble on that great sewing machine unicorn, the coveted Singer Featherweight.

One word of caution about buying used: Don't buy site unseen. I bought a serger on Ebay and it was a big mistake. It had rusty parts and only gave me headaches. I never got it to sew properly. I ended up doing the research and buying a Juki serger new instead and I've had zero issues with it in the 8 years I've had it.

Okay! Those are my best tips! Let's get on to my recommendations.

Which Sewing Machine Should I Buy?

Now for my recommendations!

Your first resort when looking to buy a sewing machine might be your local dealer and that’s totally fine IF you have a large budget. If you have a small budget, though, I don’t recommend going to Walmart and buying something off the shelf, and I also don’t recommend going to a dealer, where the machines are quite expensive and you might be misled into spending more than you really need to.

I recommend shopping for your machine on either Amazon or Sewing Machines Plus. The latter carries all the popular brands, they sell refurbished options (to save you money on a nice machine!) and they offer free shipping on order over $49. Win/Win/Win. They are also known to have excellent customer service.

The Best Sewing Machines for a Smaller Budget

If your budget is on the smaller end, I highly recommend this Brother Sewing Machine. I taught kids sewing classes for a few years and had six of these! I never had a single issue with them and they had the features I needed, like speed control, that make it so much easier for children to learn to sew. They’re lightweight and portable and they come with all the necessary feet and accessories.

I have never owned a Singer machine, but I recently used a friend’s and it was pretty dreamy. Hers was a higher-end model, but I know people LOVE the Singer Heavy Duty sewing machine. It doesn’t have a lot of bells and whistles, but especially when teaching kids, or if you want something that can bear the brunt of your learning, this might be a good option for you.

If you have a larger budget …

There are some brands are considered higher end machines and with good reason. Anyone who uses these certain brands swears by them! I’m a Pfaff user, as you already know. I will probably be a Pfaff user forever becuase even though machines are older and used, they have given me every reason to trust the brand!

So if your budget is larger, here are the brands to look into (but really, don’t agonize too much … you really can’t go wrong with any of them!) You might have a dealership in your area where you can try them out first, which is always a plus.

Pfaff

On the lower end, consider this model, and on the higher end, check out this one. This second one might be my dream machine, I think I’ll start saving up! I love Pfaff machines because of their reliability and because of the built in walking foot, called IDT. It’s a must have in my sewing room.

Bernina

Check out this model for starters. Bernina has a wonderful reputation in the sewing community and has many loyal users. They’re known as a very reliable brand, so you really can’t go wrong with Bernina. And if your Grandma passed her old one down to you, what are you doing here, you don’t need a new sewing machine! Get that one serviced and sew on! ;)

Husqvana Viking

This machine is just so beautiful and it’s also a great price point for a reputable brand. You can buy also buy this one on Amazon for the same price! For a higher end Viking sewing and embroidery, check out this model. Again, so pretty!

Janome

Here we have another very reputable sewing machine brand and they offer machines at price points starting around $50. But, they’re one of the few that I’ve seen have a machine priced squarely in the middle, so if you want to spend more, but not that much more, consider this machine.

Juki

My serger is a Juki and I have loved it now for almost 7 years! I’ve never had a single issue with it. I like that nothing on it feels cheap or chintzy, it’s just a solid, reliable serger. If you're asking yourself what a serger is and if you really need one, read my post here!

I hope this answers some questions if you’ve been overwhelmed with sewing machine choices! Let me know if you have any other tips or brands I should mention. I will continue to update this post on occasion as new sewing machines come on the market!

Happy Sewing :)