Mumsnet Talk

Hello
I am hoping to buy a sewing machine to be able to make a quilt out of old baby clothes and would also like to make cushion covers, upcycle old clothes etc - nothing too complicated. Unfortunately I am on a VERY tight budget. What is the cheapest but still good sewing machine on the market at the moment? Is there such thing around the £50 mark? Thanks very much for your help :-)

i got one from lidl for around 50 pound and i think its good --although dont have experience with many others -i am happy with my buy--good luck with your projects-seen someone on ebay offering to do that if you sent bag of old clothes -its a great idea

ooooh thank you Curlycreations! I am going to have a look on ebay now and see how much they charge as it may turn out to be more cost effective. Thanks for your advice, it's really appreciated :-)

no try it yourself -i think she charge about 5o pound -but youd also have postage for the clothes you sent -go on to you tube if you need tutorials but how great would it be if you did it yourself -start by cutting out your squares all the same size and saving them up --

second hand? Try and get a top loading one if possible. Do you have a 2nd hand sewing machine shop nearby?

Thanks Curly - you are right, I will get much more out if it by doing myself :-) Do you mind me asking, what size squares should i cut? Thanks HipHOp I'll have a look and see what I can find. Someone local has just put one on freecycle so I'm keeping my fingers crossed :-)

I just upgraded from my Aldi machine, got ten years out of it before it finally conked out so well worth a punt if they have them in any time soon! You will need to get there at the crack of dawn though

Otherwise my friend has one of the basic (and very cute) John Lewis machines in the bright colours and she's been very happy with it for basic dressmaking, a couple of cushion covers etc.

Are you near a Homestore (I think it's called) or Range? They had one on special - normally £50 down to £32. I decided against it as I can't be bothered to get the thread out to sew on a button at the moment, so figured I probably wouldn't actually get around to using it... so not sure how good it is, but it was a reasonable weight and seemed to go through a decent thickness.