There are miniature basic machines that do what he's asking and are in the $20-$60 range, but I have no experience with them. I'm more used to adult beginners starting out on $60-$100 machines. His needs are pretty basic--he's not asking it to sew through multiple layers of denim, or embroider, or do complicated freehand patterns. Reputable brands include Singer, Brother, Janome, and Husqvarna.
Amusingly, when I went to Costco's website, all their sewing machines were actually super nice and a little expensive. So there you go. :P
The real trick that I've found is the maintenance, and for that there is no beating Ye Olde Small Local Sewing Machine Dealer/Repair Shop. Their machines are often moderately priced too, but I've found with a lot of them that even if you bring in a machine you didn't get from them, they're happy to help.
Because what makes or breaks the enterprise is how well your machine settings, thread, and needle match up with what you want to do. Often I just go in, tell them what model I have and what I want to do, and they tell me what kind of thread and needles to use; if I'm doing something that could use a special doodad, they'll bring out the part and give me a demo before selling it to me. Around half the time my visits to the repair shop don't end up costing me anything, like when I bring in a swatch of fabric with clotted thread sewn through it or say "my thread keeps snapping" and they tell me a fix that doesn't require a new part, like upping my tension dial or putting in a new needle.
However, if he can, some local stores hold beginner classes for basic machine types, so everyone physically brings in their sewing machines once a week and they sit around sewing projects and learning about their machines, and that's how you learn more about making it work than you ever could futzing around on your own.
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Date: 2014-11-09 06:35 pm (UTC)Amusingly, when I went to Costco's website, all their sewing machines were actually super nice and a little expensive. So there you go. :P
The real trick that I've found is the maintenance, and for that there is no beating Ye Olde Small Local Sewing Machine Dealer/Repair Shop. Their machines are often moderately priced too, but I've found with a lot of them that even if you bring in a machine you didn't get from them, they're happy to help.
Because what makes or breaks the enterprise is how well your machine settings, thread, and needle match up with what you want to do. Often I just go in, tell them what model I have and what I want to do, and they tell me what kind of thread and needles to use; if I'm doing something that could use a special doodad, they'll bring out the part and give me a demo before selling it to me. Around half the time my visits to the repair shop don't end up costing me anything, like when I bring in a swatch of fabric with clotted thread sewn through it or say "my thread keeps snapping" and they tell me a fix that doesn't require a new part, like upping my tension dial or putting in a new needle.
However, if he can, some local stores hold beginner classes for basic machine types, so everyone physically brings in their sewing machines once a week and they sit around sewing projects and learning about their machines, and that's how you learn more about making it work than you ever could futzing around on your own.