How to choose a sewing machine?

Some weeks ago, it was my mother's birthday and I was confused about her present. After some investigations, I decided that the time was come to give a new sewing machine as a gift to her. I totally ignored anything about sewing machines and Internet has been very helpful providing me all the information I needed to make a proper choice.

A sewing machine is a textile machine that is used to sew together different materials by using a thread. Sewing machines were made up in the age of the Industrial Revolution to reduce the quantity of manual work done in clothing companies in those days.
Since the day of the invention, the sewing machine has hugely amended the capacity and the quality of the production of the textile industries.

The market indeed offers now a huge range of sewing machines, from the easiest to the most complicated ones. It is important to determine the type of use you are planning to do with it and therefore the type of sewing machine you really need.
If you intend to sew occasionally, a basic electronic model will probably satisfy your requirements. On the other hand, I suggest that you choose a more composite model if you are planning an intensive sewing. A computerised model is suggested to frequent and demanding users. Basically, two are the most common typologies of sewing machines, industrial sewing machines and domestic sewing machines.

The domestic sewing machines have achieved a very high technology level, due to the increasing consumers demand. The producers have indeed implemented modern technologies in domestic sewing machines that are now able to provide incredible performances, such as sewing fabrics that were impossible to sew before. Therefore, the actual sewing machines provide performances at the top and are almost perfect, especially when controlled by the computer.

One of the most helpful characteristics is the possibility of making buttonholes in a second rather than sewing on different areas of the fabric. The sewing needle charger helps reducing stress and tiredness of your eyes. If you need that your garments have a professional look, you may take in consideration an overlocker machine. A basic rule is to choose a model providing different foot attachments that make possible to do the fundamentals works, providing zipper foot, automatic buttonhole foot and a plastic foot, which is indicated to work on the fragile fabrics.

If you intend to take sewing in a serious way, my advice is that you avoid buying the very cheap mini sewing machine, which can be useful just to repair small damages. A medium range model would be probably the most appropriate choice, especially for dressmakers who want to produce complex garments. A free arm sewing machine is necessary for those who want to sew garments with arms and pockets. If you are going to use heavy fabrics pay attention that the sewing machine you choose is strong enough to work with these fabrics.

If you are interested in a sewing machine that allows you to do embroidery and complex works, you would maybe take in consideration high-level machines, which supply a large numbers of designs and are able to work with different thread colours at the same time. These machines are computerised and the computer control allows you to upload different stitch programmes, very helpful if a great part of your work is iterative. I recommend to purchase this type of sewing machine if sewing is your business or if you will do a large quantity of sewing.

The advantage of choosing well-known brands machines, such as Janome or Singer, is that they offer a vast range of accessories together with reliable guarantees. Janome is a Japanese manufacturer and it is actually the world's leading sewing machines producer. Janome sewing machines' range can really satisfy beginners' needs rather than expert dressmakers' requirements. A very special peculiarity is that Janome offers a large variety of sewing courses, software courses and special techniques courses, to make sure that you can use your Janome sewing machine at its best.

Singer is another well-established sewing machines brand. Its long history of quality has made it the synonym of the sewing machine itself. Singer has invented the first zig-zag machine, the first electronic sewing machine and has launched few years ago what is maybe the most innovative home embroidery and sewing machine, which offers sophisticated characteristics, such as a fully automated re-threading system, wind-in-place bobbin winding system and a very user-friendly software

The vast range of Singer sewing machines offers both commercial and domestic sewing machines and prices go from £ 100.00 on. As always, my advice is that you first make an accurate research on Internet, to collect all the information you may require. Then, once you have decided the appropriate sewing machine to purchase, you will need just few clicks to have your brand new sewing machine carried at home.