How Much To Spend On A Sewing Machine (Video)
Cityline
People ask me all the time about buying a sewing machine. “How much should I really spend on a sewing machine?” “Can I get away with using my mom’s old sewing machine?” They also want to know what to look for when buying a sewing machine. I show Tracy Moore and the Cityline audience three types of sewing machines that range in price, suitable for beginners and advanced sewers. I discuss how much you can expect to spend on a sewing machine, and I give two great suggestions for saving money!
Watch here…
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Tracy Moore:
Now, since we’ve been talking so much about going back to basics, one of those things you might want to think about is sewing. So, growing your own food or organizing your basement, and now we are getting you out there sewing.
Denise Wild:
Yes.
Tracy:
Which can be amazing. It also can save you money, but it’s also a really nice use of creative energy, right?
Denise:
Yes. And it’s the perfect time of year. January, you’re starting new things.
Tracy:
Right.
Denise:
You want to learn something new and, like you said, you want to get creative. You want to get back to the basics.
Tracy:
Yeah.
Denise:
Perfect time of year to get into sewing.
Tracy:
I think so. So we actually sent it out there on Twitter. We said, “Have you just started sewing? Are you reconnecting with your 2016 DYI self? We want you to Tweet pics of your latest projects.” Oh my goodness.
Denise:
Yeah.
Tracy:
We got so many projects. And this always reminds me Cityline viewers do it themselves.
Denise:
Yeah, yeah.
Tracy:
They really do. So take a look at Kristina here. She says, “My daughter loves dressing up–
Denise:
Oh!
Tracy:
“So I made her this mermaid costume.”
Denise:
Love that!
Tracy:
I love it!
Denise:
So detailed. So creative. It’s gorgeous. It’s gorgeous.
Tracy:
And she said, “This year will be all about creative costumes.”
Denise:
I love that.
Tracy:
What an amazing goal.
Denise:
Yeah.
Tracy:
Like, her daughter is so lucky.
Denise:
Yeah.
Tracy:
We got this one from Paris. She said, “Finished this top as part of my granddaughter’s scrubs last night–
Denise:
Ah!
Tracy:
“The pants come next.” Isn’t that cute.
Denise:
And her daughter’s only three. So this is just part of a play outfit.
Tracy:
Yeah.
Denise:
So, yes, again–
Tracy:
Beautiful.
Denise:
—getting creative and doing something fun.
Tracy:
We got this one from Dee. “Had a professional make the seat cushion–” Check this out. “—with outdoor fabric. There was leftover fabric, so I made the cushion. Saved money.” Also, outdoor fabric is great for cleanup with spills or little ones running around.
Denise:
Yeah.
Tracy:
I like this idea of using outdoor fabric a lot for indoors.
Denise:
Such a good idea.
Tracy:
Right?
Denise:
Totally. Bring that inside. You can easily wipe it clean.
Tracy:
Yes.
Denise:
And save your scraps; you can always do little projects with them.
Tracy:
You never know when you’re going to need them.
Denise:
Yeah.
Tracy:
For sure. And then finally, we got this one from Janet. So just take a look at the picture.
Denise:
Ah, that’s a quilt.
Tracy:
Which is a beautiful quilt.
Denise:
Yeah.
Tracy:
I think that is gorgeous.
Denise:
That’s part of the modern quilt movement. So, again, you can use your scraps. You’re getting really creative and doing something totally different. Totally unexpected.
Tracy:
Okay, so let’s say someone like me, Denise–
Denise:
Yes?
Tracy:
—wants to start getting her sew on.
Denise:
Yes! I want you to!
Tracy:
Um, but how do I start? What do I look for in terms of machines and everything?
Denise:
Yeah. I’ve got lots of machines for you here. So, if you didn’t get a sewing machine for Christmas–
Tracy:
Right.
Denise:
—and you’re out this month, looking for one.
Tracy:
Okay.
Denise:
You can do anything. I really– I brought a basic machine all the way to an advanced one.
Tracy:
Okay.
Denise:
You really want to start off thinking about your goals. What are you going to be doing with sewing?
Tracy:
Okay.
Denise:
I always recommend that people spend the most that they can possibly afford on a machine.
Tracy:
It’s that important?
Denise:
It’s so important! I compare it to a washer/dryer. So, you know, the more you spend, the better quality. The longer it will last.
Tracy:
Right.
Denise:
But with, you know, we want to– let’s start talking about the basics.
Tracy:
Yes.
Denise:
If you’re only doing a little bit of mending, a couple alterations, a couple craft projects–
Tracy:
Yeah.
Denise:
—here and there. You just need a basic, simple sewing machine like this one.
Tracy:
Okay.
Denise:
This would run you about two-hundred to three-hundred and fifty-dollars.
Tracy:
Okay.
Denise:
I know that seems a little bit much, but you really want a good, quality machine that’s going to last. It’s going to sew every type of project – every type of fabric.
Tracy:
Right.
Denise:
So, you know, invest a little bit and this can last.
Tracy:
You’ll have it for a while.
Denise:
Exactly.
Tracy:
You’re going to be able to do whatever you need to do. Everything from mending the socks to, you know, maybe making a skirt.
Denise:
Exactly.
Tracy:
Right? You can do it all.
Denise:
Exactly. So–
Tracy:
And now you’re moving up a little bit in the price range.
Denise:
Yes.
Tracy:
How much does this one–
Denise:
So this one will range–
Tracy:
—go for?
Denise:
So, this one will range anywhere from like five- to seven-hundred.
Tracy:
Okay.
Denise:
So this one does a little bit more. It has more stitches, it has, you know, buttonhole, it has more features–
Tracy:
Yeah.
Denise:
—more functions. It will last you a little bit longer, because this one you might want to upgrade, so you’ll come over to this one.
Tracy:
Right.
Denise:
The biggest difference between the two: this one has what’s called a drop-in bobbin.
Tracy:
Um hmm.
Denise:
So this one over here – you probably recognize this from your mom’s basement. The bobbin goes up front here. This one, when you sew it, goes ca-chunk, ca-chunk, ca-chunk, ca-chunk.
Tracy:
Yes.
Denise:
It works. It’s great. It does a good job. You guys know the sound. You’re laughing, because you’ve heard it.
Tracy:
Yeah.
Denise:
Whereas this one, when you sew, it goes brrrrrrrrrr.
Tracy:
Oooh.
Denise:
So it sews like butter.
Tracy:
Like butter, baby.
Denise:
So when you’re going for a machine, that’s the biggest price difference between these two–
Tracy:
Yes.
Denise:
—aside from the additional stitches. So when you go looking for a machine you say, “Denise told me I want a machine that goes brrrrrrr.”
Tracy:
Sews like butter!
Denise:
Sewing on this one- after you’ve sewn on this one for a long time, this one is like, ‘Oh, fancy!’
Tracy:
It feels good.
Denise:
Yeah.
Tracy:
So how long are these supposed to last you anyways?
Denise:
A long time! That’s why you want–
Tracy:
Like years? Five years? Ten years?
Denise:
Yes. Oh, decades! Decades!
Tracy:
Decades?
Denise:
Yeah.
Tracy:
Good. Good. I like to hear for that.
Denise:
This one my mom got me for graduation. It’s been around a long time. I won’t say how long ago I graduated.
Tracy:
Oh, so these are yours?
Denise:
Yeah.
Tracy:
So this is your collection. Okay, now this one, which is the Cadillac–
Denise:
So– exactly.
Tracy:
—and the Lexus–
Denise:
This is extra fancy–
Tracy:
—and the BMW of all sewing machines everywhere.
Denise:
This is the top of the line.
Tracy:
Yeah.
Denise:
This is the Brother Dream Machine.
Tracy:
Wow!
Denise:
And it pretty much does everything for you. It’s faster for me to tell you what it doesn’t do.
Tracy:
Right.
Denise:
But, basically, if you are a very skilled sewer, you’ve been doing a lot, and you know- maybe you have a bunch of different machines and you want to upgrade to something like this.
Tracy:
Yeah.
Denise:
This is an embroider machine; you can do regular sewing, embroidery, quilting. You can do everything on it. It’s got a USB port. You saw the little video at the beginning.
Tracy:
Yes.
Denise:
Video tutorials, headphones, with thirteen different languages.
Tracy:
There’s like a TV in there!
Denise:
Exactly.
Tracy:
Like you can see a whole thing.
Denise:
Pretty much everything for you.
Tracy:
There’s a woman in there and she’s very happy. She has this machine.
Denise:
She’s dancing in the forest.
Tracy:
She’s dancing in the forest, because she has this machine.
Denise:
And this machine has a thousand different stitches. So, functional and decorative stitches, it has embroidery patterns, it has fonts. If your daughter draws something and you just love it–
Tracy:
Yeah.
Denise:
—you know, you don’t want to keep that. What are you going to do with it? You can scan it. This machine will scan it. Then you press the start button–
Tracy:
Yeah.
Denise:
—walk away. It will embroider it onto fabric for you.
Tracy:
Oh!
Denise:
Then you have a cute little patch ‘made by me;’ we can put that on a dress that she makes.
Tracy:
Oh my gosh!
Denise:
I’m going to have your daughter sewing real soon.
Tracy:
It’s computer; it’s like artificial intelligence.
Denise:
Yeah, yeah.
Tracy:
So just talk about how much it costs?
Denise:
So, this one – you have to save up for it.
Tracy:
Yeah.
Denise:
Embroider machines can range anywhere from five to seven-thousand to twelve to fifteen-thousand.
Tracy:
Whoa!
Audience:
Whoa!
Denise:
It’s a lot.
Tracy:
Get your hands off! You’re going to break it!
Denise:
It’s a lot, but it’s so wonderful. It’s very aspirational, very aspirational. But–
Tracy:
Just hold that gently. Oh my gosh!
Denise:
Yeah. Ask for it for Christmas for next year. Start saving now.
Tracy:
Tell me a little bit about this cute number you’re wearing?
Denise:
So, yeah, I made this–
Tracy:
I heard through the grapevine, you actually made this yourself.
Denise:
I did. I love sewing and I sew clothes and–
Tracy:
That’s amazing.
Denise:
The great thing about it is you get something that’s custom.
Tracy:
Yeah.
Denise:
You know, it fits you. It’s in the color that you want. It’s in the fabric that you want. I can make this vest for you and in different colors if you want.
Tracy:
Really?
Denise:
So, whatever you want.
Tracy:
You could probably – I mean, if you had The Dream, you could probably start a clothing store, yes?
Denise:
Yeah, exactly, exactly.
Tracy:
Because they would probably get everything done in like twenty-two seconds–
Denise:
We’ll just tell it what we want we want and it will happen.
Tracy:
It’ll do it for you.
Denise:
Yes.
Tracy:
Amazing. This is nice. Make it a goal to get started in sewing. And –
Denise:
Yeah.
Tracy:
—if you want something even a little bit lower budget, you can actually do other things to find a sewing machine?
Denise:
Yeah, if you want to save even more money, I would recommend instead of buying a super cheap machine or something that’s inexpensive, look for something second-hand. Because that way you have a good, quality machine–
Tracy:
Yeah.
Denise:
—that doesn’t cost you as much. Another idea that I have is to do a sewing machine share.
Tracy:
Smart.
Denise:
So if you only sew once a month, once a week, why not, with a friend or with a colleague or a neighbor–
Tracy:
Yeah.
Denise:
—buy a machine together. Then you have a great quality machine and then–
Tracy:
Yes.
Denise:
—you know, half the cost.
Tracy:
Get like fifty of your friends and get one of these.
Denise:
Yeah.
Tracy:
Right.
Denise:
Fifty of your closest friends. I love that.
Tracy:
Fifty or five hundred of your closest friends. Thank you so much.
Denise:
Thank you.
Tracy:
Let’s go to break. We’ve got more coming up.
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