Good Morning Ladies!

I have a question about purchasing a sewing machine. I want to buy my 16 year old daughter a sewing machine for Christmas. This will be her surprise gift as she has also asked for a TV with a DVD player.

Have any of you heard of ALDI's stores? They are grocery stores where you pay less and bag your own groceries, etc. I saw this weekend that our store here where I live is selling sewing machines with the brand name Crofton or maybe it was Crafton. The price was $69.99. It had different features and I do know she wants one that is not fancy, just a plain sewing machine. Would you guys buy one of these and trust it for your daughter's first sewing machine? I don't want to spend alot on one as she might tire of it and not use it much. She does like to sew at times.

Any advice you can give would be wonderful!

Vanessa

Vanessa.....I think that sounds great....we bought our DGD a real simple basic sewing machine for Christmas at Walmart...it is a Brother and I can't remember what we paid but it was about the same price ...anyway, the only thing that I DON'T like about it is on the machine head where the light usually is, usually they have a swinging "door" to get inside there and on this one you have to remove a screw everytime you need to get inside it....which for me is quite often as its also where some of the thread goes when you thread the machine and it does tangle occasionally....so its kind of a pain to get in and out of that part of the machine....

Check that feature before you buy.... and if you are worried about the brand name (I've never heard of that one) maybe you should check Walmart out .. they had some others there for the same low prices.

We have an Aldies in a town near us....pretty good bargains!!

Vanessa, I looked up Crofton and this one website had some comments about the machine. They were negative comments. I'm not sure this is any indication of how well the machine works but you might want to take a look at it. That's not a bad price, and from what I read it does have a one year warranty, but you have to keep your receipt or they won't take it back, and I think they were having trouble figuring out where to send it for repairs.
Not sure this helps you much in your decision, but I hope you find just the right little machine for your daughter. What a nice surprise that will be for her!

http://www.howtomendit.com/answers.php?id=56234

Vanessa, it is very very frustrating to learn to sew on a machine that doesn't operate smoothly. I would recommend going to a sewing machine dealer and asking their advice. Tell them what you want to spend and see if they have a reconditioned GOOD machine. Often, you can get classes, a limited warranty, and support there. The shop owner will see you as an investment - they want to get you sewing and provide good service so you will return to them when you are ready to upgrade.

I think it's much better to get a good used machine than a cheap new one.

Thank you for your suggestions so far. I have thought of Wal-Mart and looking into a Brother machine. Will do that real soon. Calling some quilt shops in my area and asking about a reconditioned good machine is a fantastic idea! There is a quilt shop in town that sells alot of sewing machines, mainly Bernina and Pfaff. (My personal machine is a Pfaff). The lady who owns the shop, her husband is the one that works on sewing machines too. I also checked out the website, Lin, about the negative comments. That has helped also.

Vanessa

I am not sure if Singer has any that cheap, but my opinion is that maybe you should stick to a name brand, ie Brother, Singer, etc. Warranties and servicing should be hassle free with the name brands.

Thank you Vicki. I have about decided that also.

Vanessa

Also try Kenmore from Sears, and now also available at K-Mart. I sewed with a Kenmore for over 30 years, and it was a basic machine. I loved it. Good pricing too. Now I use a Bernina, but I keep my Kenmore handy. Good luck!

also try Target,or Joanns also if you have a Hancocks,they all carry machines

I saw those machines at our Aldi's and to tell the truth they look like a case of you get what you pay for. I do believe they have all plastic parts which tend to break easily. I'm looking for a new machine too, and I found, at WalMart, a Brother cs6000i which has quite a few functions and is definetly in my price range. (Low end of course LOL) It is cheaper at the store by a few dollars than the price on line, its around $184.00. My current machine is a brother, purchased at WalMart for $98 almost 23 years ago. Until recently I've never had a problem with it, but I think the old gal is just tired and worn out. If mine lasted this long, I would rather think that a new brother would last as well. Good luck, I hope she enjoys her wonderful gift, and I wish for you both many, many wonderful memories to come from sewing together.

Thank you Lisa. That was a sweet post. I have about decided on a Brother machine for her. They seem to hold up a long time and for her first, I believe it would be sufficient. Not even considering the one from ALDI's any more. She will go off to college in about a year and a half. Wonder if she will take it with her? We shall see. I do love to sew with both of my daughters. They help me with my quilts and have helped make a quilt for each other.

Vanessa

I would go to a sewing machine shop. Walmart have some Our Senior Center has bought 2 Brothers from Walmart and they have been very good. I believe the price was $149.00 God bless

Hi Lin , this is Annie . Thank you so much for this link ! I have an older Singer which has been making noise when sewing . Left a message and got a reply already ! Repair shop here charges a lot to repair . One price to look at it , then have to pay extra for the parts . You could buy a new machine at Walmart cheaper than having an old one repaired .

THANK YOU SO MUCH !!!!

Happy Quilting
Annie

Right now Sears has Kenmore and Singer on sale..........They have a mini half size machine for 59 dollars reg 79 a good one to cart around. I was at our sears and they had some great reasonable price machines..remember it was walmart that gave buttercream a hard time with her brother :D
We have Aldi here to in NY

Just a word from a newcomer...lol. I never sewed a day in my life on a machine until about a month and a half ago. Always wanted to just never had the nerve. Well I work at Wal-Mart and decided to take the plunge. They had several to pick from and I did go with one that was a little more expensive. I paid about $140 for mine but it is all computerized. It is a Brother CE-4000. I love it. It was simple to learn and has all the essentials plus it has 40 different stitches, the easy threader, and the lcd screen. I love it! It has made it easy to learn. Wal-Mart also carries a smaller one that was like 79 but runs $54 on sale alot as a rollback price. So I think the Brother would be a good one to learn on, it has been good for me. Also as long as you keep the receipt and box and parts you have 90 days to return. If she tires of it and all you could take it back. Not promoting a sale or anything for work.... :) , just giving my advice. Hope it helped.
Toni

Hi Vanessa

I've been sewing for 46 years now, and I don't know how many times over the years people have asked my advice about what sewing machines to get. I'll tell you what I told all of them....

It's better to get a reconditioned machine of a good brand than to buy a new cheaper one...you'll end up getting something that just doesn't work well. I've known it to happen so many times.

Learning to sew is not the easiest thing to try....why struggle with the learning process and also have to struggle with a junky machine...sewing is an importan skill. Make it as easy as possible and get a decent machine. A starting seamtress doesn't need fancy gadgetry..just a reliable machine. Hope this helps. Mary