Sewing Level of Expertise

Uncertain which sewing machine best fits your needs? Make sure to purchase the sewing machine most closely matched to your skill level and comfort zone. Here are a few tips on when, why, and what to buy in terms of your sewing proficiency.

Beginning

The beginning is perhaps the most precarious time during which to choose the right sewing machine for your level of expertise. For starters, the beginning sewer knows less about his or her options in general than the intermediate or advanced. Educate yourself on the market options for beginners, but also make sure to keep in mind your personal needs and requirements for a sewing machine. Make sure not to get more machine than you can handle (or need). At this point look for a machine that gives you basics alongside options; it should include the following stitches: Straight, Zig Zag, Multi Zig Zag, and Blind Hem. You should be able to find a machine that matches up with this skill level for about $200 to $300.

Intermediate and Advanced

Those at the intermediate level looking to purchase a sewing machine will want a machine with more features so that they can exercise their expanded set of skills and continue to acquire more. An advanced sewer may want all the bells and whistles. For either intermediate or advanced sewers, it is important for each consumer to think as critically as a beginner about his or her sewing machine purchase.

That said, some features that may be of interest to intermediate and advanced sewers include: Flexi Stitch, Drop Feed, Decorative Stitches, One Step Buttonholer, and Free Arm Sewing. These mechanisms will assist the intermediate and advanced crowd in the completion of more sophisticated projects. However, one should remain deliberate when purchasing a sewing machine, not getting too much or too little of a machine than necessary.