Tell me about sewing machines. What do I need to look for? And what pray, is an overlocker (or is it overloader)? Eh?

[LittleBella]

Haven't done any sewing since school but want to. Don't want to spend a fortune in case I'm crap, but don't want to buy one that just won't work. What should I look for in a sewing machine?

An overlocker is a fabulous little machine that does hemning for you without your having to do anything. They are expensive and nowadays some machines have similar functions.

I would look for a machine that does not have too many built-in fancy functions. They break. Think about what you want to do with it. I would also suggest you go to a specialist sewing machine shop and try some out. They will be able to give you decent advice.

Thank you. I saw an overlocker in Aldi and wondered abnout it

Bump

Sorry Littlebella - but how much was th eoverlocker in Aldi?

I agree btw about not too many gadgets - they do break

I had a Singer with a knee bit but now I have a foot pedal & I hate it

I recently bought a janome 4618, I am no expert on sewing but spoke to a John Lewis lady who advised me about what to look for and that this model had a good motor. She also showed me how the automatic button hole foot worked so looking forward to trying that one day.

janome 4618

I bought it from these people as it was considerably cheaper than JL. It came with a huge bag of threads that I probably won't use and some great scissors.

The delivery was so quick so I was really impressed with the site.

KM - the overlocker was I think £110. (or around that anyway)

I have a janome too, think it's this model although I bought from John Lewis.

I love it, it's fab. I mostly use it for making curtains