Calling all sewing machine experts..........

[MamaFormerlyKnownAsGlam]

I'm a complete novice with seewing machines and would really appreciate some advice from someone who knows about these things.

I need to buy a sewing machine in to which I can fit a leather needle. This is for stitching oilcloth and cotton/satin.

Some machines which I have seen seem to be suitable for more lightweight fabrics.

Will I have to pay hundreds of pounds for a swish number or could I possibly get something for less than 200 and would anyome know which model or make I should be looking at?

Thanks a lot.

oops, apologies for typo, should of course be sewing. And I previewed

bump

Hello, don't know if you are still looking but a Brother or Janome could be bought cheaply for well under £200 and you should be able to fit a leather needle to any machine.

I would steer clear of a Brother tbh, I highly doubt that a Brother would be able to handle heavier fabrics. You need a machine with metal gears and insides preferably, Janome do have a good reputation but not sure if you would find one to fit your needs at that price.

i would avoid brother, janome are known for being good value machines. most machines nowadays would be ok to stitch heavy weight fabric, it's just a thicker needle, stronger thread that you need in order to do it.

i'm also a fan of husqvarna too, good, solid machines.

I've used a Brother to make a winter coat out of thick wool so I thought it might be all right.

It was quite a cheap one, too!

Janome best bet definitely... haven't looked at the prices of them for a while but they used to have some v good ones for about £200. Just had a quick surf... and the Janome Sewing Machine 419s & Janome 4618 Sewing Machine look sturdy... and the Janome Sewing Machine 4623 has some nifty time saving features.

If possible I'd take some fabric scraps of the kinds of fabrics you want to use into your local store and try them out... they'll demo the machines too.

I have a toyota seewing machine
(thought they only made cars?)
it is fantastic
Any needle, any fabric, tis great. Not expensive either - £120 IIRC bu had it almost 6yrs. V reliable, gets regular use.

take a look, Toyota machines

well husqvarna make motorbikes too!

Thank you all for your replies. I've just seen this thread again after a busy few weeks. Lots of good advice there, cheers.