Please help any quilters sewing machine people

[strawberryblondebint]

Hi there
My mum has been talking about really fancying a sewing machine. She is 68 lives alone and bipolar. Part of this is that she hates going out.
When well she has amazing concentration and she used to sew many years ago. It is quilting I think she really wants to do.
Any recommendations for a starter pack idea / good basic machine. Is this a ridiculous idea.
She would be able to order fabric online and has a Hobbycraft near her. She’s also good on her iPad so would watch videos to help.
I don’t know where to start. She’s so hard to buy for. Doesn’t like clothes. Has loads of smellies. Fussy eater. Doesn’t drink. Reads loads but has a kindle already.
Budget not massive. Any tips really appreciated

Try a Janome sewing machine. They are reasonable and reliable.

And material to start? Fat quarters? I have no experience.

I would advise a trip to John lewis. They have really well trained staff who will advise you and demonstrate machines to you. I recently brought a machine from there and they gave me great advice.

Nowhere near one. Hobbycraft any good? I don’t rate it for wool (expensive) but this is way out of my comfort zone

I was given the John Lewis JL110 five years ago and have really enjoyed using it - it is both reliable and simple to use: m.johnlewis.com/john-lewis-jl110-sewing-machine-cornflower-blue/p3259555 Have made a good few quilts on it too, although only small (children's) ones so far.

Are there any independent shops near you? The is one in my city that I didn't know existed till I googled. It's a mine of information, they sell machines for all budgets and offer free lessons as part of the after sales service.

Hobbycraft machines last time I looked were somewhat basic, but worth a look.

www.amazon.co.uk/Brother-L14-Sewing-Machine/dp/B00CI7IMOY/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=sewing+machines+brother&tag=mumsnetforum-21&ie=UTF8&qid=1512068220&sr=8-5

I think my model is a bit dated so no longer on there but it is something like this. Its ok for small quilting but when I tried to quilt single bed sized one it was really hard to manoeuvre. However for just seeing if she likes it again its perfect. You can always sell on and upgrade if she takes to it.

Fat quarters are good, but not the most cost effective way of buying material. But again having said that you can get a nice array of material that she can use.

How about a quilting book too.

I like quilting as you can mix machine and hand stitch samples so can sew infront of the tv :)

Off the top of my head, these are some of my favourites:- thesewingplace.org.uk/, Uk quilters on Facebook. Lots of mail order for fabric, Empress Mills, Croft Mills, The Remnant House and many many more. Quite a few magazines for even more suppliers. Janome are good machines, try to get a walking foot. Hobbycraft and John Lewis are ok but independents are better, if there is one near you

I also recommend a Janome. I bought a basic budget one when pregnant with DD, she's just turned 17! In that time I have probably done enough sewing in km to get to the UK and back (Australia) several times and the machine hasn't missed a beat (except for a bit broken on the foot pedal that I mended with masking tape).

I've made literally hundreds & hundreds of costumes for my daughter's school and the local dance company, as well as many fix-it & sewing jobs. I've also done some (basic) quilting with the help of a cheap generic "walking foot" attachment I got from Ebay.

My point is that even though it was a basic machine, it has been able to reliably do quite complex sewing and lots of it.

Good luck, it is a lovely gift idea. You could also get a nice selection of printed & plain cotton fabrics. A plastic quilting template would also be good for accurate cutting, although I didn't use one for my simple quilts and they turned out fine. She will need some good scissors though, but they can be a future present.

The John Lewis machines are great, I may be wrong but I think they are Janine build which means you can add different feet to them.

The only downside to the cheaper range of machines, and this will be the case of any of the budget models, is that the throat is very small. Essentially this means that trying to quilt a large quilt is very difficult, but should be fine for baby and cot size etc.

Quilting fabric choices now are amazing, there are so many great online shops these days. I'm not sure how tech savvy your mum is, but there are an awful lot of quilting blogs out there, Red Pepper Quilts is lovely, fresh and modern but a vintage nod.

Instagram is also great for inspiration.

If she likes making clothes there is a massive resurgence in Indy sewing patterns at the moment. Again, Instagram is great for looking at what's happening in the sewing community.

Aldi and Lidl are also good for sewing bits and pieces, worth keeping an eye on their special buys.

This is all brilliant. Thanks guys x