What is the Best Cheap Sewing Machine for Beginners or a Beginner? Some under $100!

January 3, 2018

Top 3 Picks for Best Cheap Sewing Machine for Beginners under $100

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Best Value SINGER | Start...image SINGER | Start 1304 Sewing Machine with 6 Built-in Stitches, Free Arm Sewing Machine - Best Sewing Machine for Beginners $194.73

So you or a friend or relative wants to start sewing, but doesn't want to break the bank. Today, we are going to review the what is the best cheap sewing machine for beginners or a beginner-and most of them are under $100!! This way, you can get into the great hobby of sewing, but not spend a lot. That way, if you see that sewing is not for you (even though we think you are going to love it), you aren't spending a lot of your hard earned money.

If you are in a hurry, you can CLICK HERE to be directed to our top pick. If you have some time, please keep reading our review.

Best Cheap Sewing Machine for Beginners
short-haired woman using a sewing machine

What is the Best Cheap Sewing Machine for Beginners or a Beginner Comparison Chart

If you are in the market for the best cheap sewing machine for beginners or a beginner, here is a great comparison chart to help you make your decision.

What is the Best Sewing Machine for Beginners or a Beginner-What To Look For

If you are a beginner to the fine art of sewing, you probably are looking for some direction in purchasing a new sewing machine. There are a couple of things that you need to look for when you are looking to purchase a sewing machine for the first time.

-Cost- obviously if you are just getting into the awesome hobby of sewing, you want a decent machine that won't break the bank. That is one of the main reasons we did this review. We certainly don't want to steer you towards a sewing machine that is too expensive or too powerful for what you want to do.

-Built in Stitches- Although most of the beginning projects you are going to do are just going to have a straight stitch, eventually you will get better at this and want to experiment with different stitches. The table above gives you the number of built in stitches of each machine.

-What are you going to use the sewing machine for- other than cost, this may be the most important feature. If you are just a beginner that wants to learn how to sew or do small home projects, then a machine under $100-$200 is perfect for you. But if you are looking to sew leather, than you need something more powerful than the list above.

-Easy to use- Obviously you don't want to purchase your first sewing machine and then spend all day trying to figure out how to use it!!! You want a sewing machine that basically works right away.

Our Top Pick: Brother XM2701

Of all the sewing machines that we reviewed, the Brother XM2701 was far and away our top choice for the best sewing machine under $100. If you are a young beginner and are looking for a great starter sewing machine that won't break the bank, this is the one for you.

Here are some of the features of the Brother XM2701

  1. Great company - Brother has been around since 1908 and is one of the most recognized sewing machine name brands in the industry.
  2. Price -the price will fluctuate a little, but as of this article, the Brother XM2701 was well under $100
  3. Easy to use -The users manual is very easy to read and has great diagrams to follow. The DVD that comes with it makes setting up the machine very easy. You can also search You Tube for setup instructions for the Brother XM2701 if you want.
  4. 27 built in stitches - like we said above, most of your beginning projects are going to use the straight stitch, but as you get better at sewing, you may want to venture into harder projects with different stitches. The Brother XM2701 offers you 27 built in stitches to try and master. If you want to change to a different stitch, all you have to do is turn the easy to use stitch selector button! It's as easy as that!!
  5. Automatic needle threader - talk about easy to use!!! Do any of you remember the days that you had to basically eyeball the needle hole and try to put the thread through the needle? It was very painful at times. The automatic needle threader makes it very easy for a beginner to handle this.
  6. 6 sewing feet - these include buttonhole, zipper, narrow hemmer, blind stitch, zigzag and button sewing. All of these sewing feet are very easy to change. Make sure that you are using that correct sewing foot for what you are looking to do.
  7. Drop in bobbin - this is a great feature for a beginner. This makes life very easy when you are learning to sew. It is also a jam resistant drop in bobbin to make your sewing life even easier.
  8. Brightly lit area - The Brother XM2701 comes with a very well lit work area. This is very important when you are learning to sew. You want to make sure you are seeing what you are doing!!
  9. 3 Needle positions - this is a very nice feature of the Brother XM2701. Having 3 needle positions lets you sew exactly where you want. Another great feature for a beginning sewer or an advanced one.
  10. Very lightweight - this is a very lightweight sewing machine. It is great for young beginners who need to move the sewing machine around.

Some things we didn't like:

  • Some of the foot pedals are touchy
  • Maybe to lightweight for an advance sewer

Well, there you have it. These are just some of the features we love about the Brother XM2701. I am sure you will find many more that you like about this machine if you purchase it.

Best Sewing Machine for Beginners-Other Options

If you are not interested in the Brother XM2701 or you just want to see some other great sewing machines for beginners. Keep reading. We will go over some other options for the best sewing machine for beginners. All of these sewing machines we under $100 at the time of this article. Here are the other sewing machines that made our list as the best sewing machines for beginners:

EDITORS CHOICE: Janome Fastlane Fuschia Basic, Easy-to-Use, 10-Stitch Portable, Compact Sewing Machine

Another great sewing machine for beginners is the Janome Fastlane Fuchsia Basic, Easy to Use, 10 Stitch Portable Compact sewing machine. Since 1921, Janome has been making great sewing machines that beginners and advanced users absolutely loved. We loved this sewing machine for many reasons. Here are some of the great features that we love about the Janome Fastlane Fuchsia 10 Stitch Portable Compact Sewing Machine:

  • Great company-like we said above, Janome has been around since 1921. Obviously, this is a great company being around for that long.
  • Lightweight-at 5 lbs, just about anyone can move this sewing machine around. It also is nice and lightweight for travel.
  • 10 built in stitches-although not as many as that Brother XM2701, the Janome has 10 built in stitches, which is perfect for a very young beginner.
  • Presser foot with finger guard-this is a very nice feature in that you don't want your young beginner getting hurt while trying to get into this hobby!!
  • Easy reverse-works great if you make a mistake and need to reverse course.
  • Top drop in bobbin-another great feature that is really nice for beginners.
  • Many different colors to choose from!!!!

Some things we didn't like:

  • No light for your sewing work space
  • Hard to thread sometimes

BEST VALUE: SINGER Start 1304 6 Built-in Stitches, Free Arm Best Sewing Machine for Beginners

Another really, really nice sewing machine is the Singer Start 1304. This one not only made our list as one of the best sewing machines for beginners under $100-$200, it was a very close second to the Brother XM2701. If you are just beginning to sew or have sewn for many years, you probably have heard of the Singer Company. Since 1851, the Singer Corporation has been manufacturing great sewing machines. This is one of the oldest sewing machine companies in the world today. Here are some of the great features that we absolutely love about the Singer Start 1304 sewing machine:

  • Great company-as we said above, Singer is a great sewing machine company. You may have noticed that our beginner sewing machine list only contains sewing machines from great companies!!
  • Heavy duty metal frame-this is a great feature that lets you sew without the sewing machine moving
  • 6 basic stitches-again, not as much as the other 2 sewing machines that we looked at, but perfect for a young beginner.
  • Easy stitch selector-if you want to change to a different stitch, all you have to do is turn the stitch selector dial. It's as easy as that!!!
  • Easy to use thread diagrams-gets you sewing in no time!!
  • Built in 4 step button hole-if you want to start doing button holes, the Singer Start 1304 has an easy, built in, 4 step button hole option
  • 3 presser feet included-again, this is perfect for a young beginner to learn on.
  • LED light included-another nice feature is the LED light that is included. Again, you always want to see what you are doing.

Things we didn't like:

  • Plastic presser foot lever
  • Instruction manual is not the best

Conclusion

Well, we hope you enjoyed our article on the best sewing machine for beginners under $100. We enjoyed writing it. We also hope it helped you in your decision if you are looking to purchase a sewing machine. If you are interested in seeing more information on the Brother XM2701, you can click here and be directed over to Amazon. Thanks again for stopping by our website!!!!

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