I second this one! Love my cheapie mechanical Brother machine from Walmart. They've never seen a service man and just keep plugging along.

My Janome Jem 720 is only 12 pounds. I keep it in its original packing box. When I go to Hawaii every year, I just pack in in my suitcase in its original packing box and check my luggage. It travels safely, and I don't have to wrestle with it in the airplane cabin. When I want to take it to a local class, I just put it in my carry-on. It's a great little machine.

My walmart machine is very dependable and stitches a great straight stitch. Never had any problems from my walmart baby

I recently bought a brother from Costco, very light weight nice machine.

Also think about getting yourself a good bag with wheels on it to carry your small sewing machine around. It makes a world of difference in terms of not having to carry it. I can't carry even a featherweight any more, but that case makes it possible to take my machine to quilting classes without strain. Love it! Plus it has pockets to carry all of the notions I need to take.

I've purchased 4 of the inexpensive machines from Walmart, all Brothers. I love them, and they are reliable.

My first one cost me $89 and lasted 6 years. Alas, it fell to it's death while DH and I were traveling. I thought about getting it fixed, but figured that would cost me more than the machine cost originally.

My granddaughter has been sewing pot holders on my 'cheapest' one, which is a basic mechanical. She puts the pedal to the metal, as the saying goes, but the machine is doing fine. That machine has 17 stitches, and we're using it to quilt the sandwich for the potholders - no walking foot involved - and it's doing a nice job of that, much to my surprise.

It cost less than $100 and is lightweight enough to cart around. Plus, if you drop it and break it, you aren't out a lot of money.

My latest Brother is the sewing and quilting model and has a larger throat. I use it to piece and to quilt doll quilts. I've found that having the larger throat is also visually helpful, as it's easier to see what's happening at the needle. It has crossed my mind that I'm imagining that, though.

Walmart also carries a few Singers, but I can't tell you anything about them.

Happy hunting!

I have a Project Runway Brother that I bought at Walmart a couple of years back. It was on sale for less than $100. I love it, I have had no issues with it and I use it more than I use my FW or any of the other machines I own.

Jusr last week Joann's had a Joname Gem Gold on sale for $199 and FREE SHIPPING as well. I think it is going to be perfect! I belong to a quilt club and my other machine is so heavy
that I often didn't take it for that reason. I would spend the time either helping someone who wanted help or cutting scraps into squares/strips. This will fit into one of the sturdy bags I have and will be so handy!!!

Okay, I have to put in my vote for a Singer 221, aka featherweight. My oldest one is 1947...66 years old and still stitching like a new machine. An all metal machine will never wear out. The newer ones with plastic gears, etc. will go if you sew a lot. And the other thing is that I consider my FWs an investment. If I ever decide that I don't want to sew anymore (like that's ever going to happen), I can get my money back.... maybe more than what I paid for them. It's a win-win for me.

Love my Featherweight, and its the one I'll take when we take our new pop up trailer out on weekends. Its a little workhorse, and a beautiful design. I always feel a bit like 'Mama' on the 'Waltons' when I sew on it. The Goodwill site is a good one to locate one of these beauties...I paid $200, and got all the attachments, the case, and manual. I looked up the popular names used in 1937 (the year of my machine) and promptly named her "Rose".... : )