good and cheap sewing machine?

You might try a local sew and vac repair shop or a sewing machine dealer that takes in trade-ins. They fix some of them up for sale and sometimes you can get a good older machine that has been serviced and is ready to go.

If you have a particular brand in mind, join one of the yahoo groups for that brand -- Kenmore, Singer, Necchi, Bernina, Elna and Viking are some of them. Read the message archives or join right in and ask. Some of the people fix up older metal machines, straight stitch or zig zag, and sell them reasonably. Someone might live in your area and can be a help to you.

Other places are church sales, local thrift shops, and Craigslist. You can ask to see if the machine sews if you check out machines on Craigslist, because you are getting it from someone. Take thread and some material. Thrift stores may let you try it out, but sometimes not. The drawback with either of these is that sometimes they don't work correctly and you might have to take it in for servicing which could cost more than an oiling and lube. There are other times when you just might luck out and get one that is ready to go.

You do need to know the basics if you are getting from thrift or CL because if it is supposed to have a bobbin case and does not, or if the tension assembly is missing, or the presser feet, power cords or foot controller are not there, you will have extra expenses.

If you are a novice at sewing machines, ebay can be a disaster. If the seller does not know how to pack the machine correctly, it can be damaged in shipping and usually is.

If you like new plastic machines, there are always the basic machines at Sears or at Walmart. I'd go with Sears, personally, because every

once in a while, someone returns a machine, and I have seen them up for sale pretty cheap. You just buy the sears guarantee, so if something is wrong they will replace it for free. We did that when we got my daughter's sewing machine. It was a return, and we got it at a great discount. Sometimes a floor model is available for reasonable.

Good Luck. You will find something that suits you.

Delia

You're not going to find a good *and* cheap sewing machine, unless you luck up and find an old machine for sale that is in top working order. If you want a reasonably good machine, expect to pay somewhere between $170-$200.00, and that's on sale, or price "roll back". You will enjoy sewing on a better quality machine that costs a bit more, than on a cheap machine that messes up, and breaks down on you all the time. I bought a Brother CS 6000i from walmart.com for about $180.00, whereas Hancock Fabrics (online) showed it for about $200.00. It works just fine. The less-than-$100.00 Singer I bought a few years ago, is now in sewing machine 'heaven', as it got messed up, and couldn't be fixed.

BTW, if you are interested in joining a Yahoo group for beginner-expert sewers, check out my group, Sew On and Sew Forth. You will learn a whole lot from that group of ladies. :)

Good and cheap ..... meaning really cheap or a good machine for a cheap price?

Under $60, try the brands at Walmart.

Unlike hand sewing, you do need to read and follow the instruction manual ........ page by page as you learn to use the machine.

It is important to follow the directions or you will be ready to junk any machine that you try to use.

Those who follow the instruction manual can use any brand on the market.

I have owned and successfully used - Singer, Bernina, Kenmore, Brother, Elna and Babylock brands.

At that price, you're best off with a decent used machine. The old straight stitchers are commonly available in thrift shops, yard sales, and sometimes even off the curb the night before trash collection, for $0-25.

You might even find an old zigzag capable machine at that price.

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