Home Sewing Machine. Which one to choose?
When you start sewing frequently (not just once a year, but at least a few times a week), you realize that your old manual machine is no longer enough. Too few stitches, poor lighting, a short "table". When I faced this problem, choosing a decent machine without spending a fortune was very difficult. The good ones (or so I thought they were perfect) cost a lot of money, and for me, as someone just starting to sew, the price was unaffordable. While I was studying articles online and in magazines, I was able to select the main criteria that a home machine should have:
- Low price;
- At least 10-15 stitches;
- Presence of overlock stitches;
- Ability to manually adjust stitch length and thread tension;
- Ability to work with both thick and thin materials;
- Metal presser foot + interchangeable ones with a guide (because buying them separately is very difficult);
- Ability to either extend the table or have it be wide from the start;
- Setting up two or more threads;
- Lighting.
There is no point in looking for machines with a ton of stitches and all sorts of settings if you aren't doing this professionally and working with expensive or complex fabrics. I have a Brother Hanami machine. Despite the fact that it is essentially Chinese, it has been working for 4 years now and I haven't had a single complaint. The only downside is getting the hang of sewing, as it is semi-automatic, which was hard for me to get used to. But after a few practice sessions, everything turns out perfectly.
If we look at sewing machines with similar characteristics, I also liked Janome (yes, I asked to test it right in the store, and I probably annoyed the consultant, but I was able to understand the difference and make a choice I didn't regret). It has a smoother operation, the stitches are even, the fabric doesn't slip, the presser foot holds securely, and it can also be adjusted, but it doesn't come with guides in the kit, and you can only attach 2 threads at a time (whereas mine has 4 and additional mounts were included, so you can work with 6 threads simultaneously).
I have a Janome qc1m. I bought it 6 or 7 years ago. It sews perfectly; in all that time, I haven't even had to adjust it once. There was only one time when it started looping badly for no apparent reason - I tried different thread tensions, took it apart, cleaned it, added oil - nothing helped. Just as I decided to take it to a repairman, it started sewing perfectly again. That's how moody my girl is. I've sewn knitwear, leather, and coat fabrics on it. I even sewed thick upholstery fabric once; it handled the task, but you could tell it was struggling, so I didn't repeat such experiments again - I felt sorry for the machine. And I agree with the author, you don't need many stitches - I have 60, of which 40 are various patterns that I've only used a couple of times. I'll add a tip for those planning to buy a machine: choose a model that makes buttonholes. It's a very convenient feature.