Honest and impartial list of 5 best Singer sewing machines for beginners, that can be bought under $200 in 2015. Machines are ranked according to quality.
It has been 164 years since Singer made their first sewing machine in US. Even in 2015, Singer is still one of the popular sewing machine brands in the country. The face of Singer machines were its quality. Vintage Singer machines used to last for a lifetime (sometimes even more, like my grandma’s machine). Now we are in 2015 and you can’t expect today’s sewing machines to last for over 5 years, be it any brand. The build quality has gone down considerably, not just Singer, all brands have the same story to tell. You must consider yourself lucky if you can get your machine to last 10 years (even today you can handpick couple of such durable machines but they cost a lot).
This time we are taking about the best beginners sewing machines from Singer. You need to be really really careful while choosing a beginners machine. There are lot of crap machines out there (even Singer has few such machines), so you need to pick the right one. Some may have the features but not the quality, others might have the quality but not the features. I would always recommend a better quality machine than a feature packed, low quality machine. I have seen some serious stitch quality issues with even beginner machines from popular brands. So you need to be picky. As a beginner sewer, I don’t expect you to be spending over $200 for a machine. So to help you out, I have created a list of 5 best Singer sewing machines that you can buy under $200.
1. Singer 7258
Hands down winner among beginners sewing machines from Singer. It is difficult to find a sewing machine that has the right mix of quality and features. Singer has found that right mix in 7258. You simply can’t question its ability to sew different kinds of fabric (especially fabrics like denim). This is the only computerized sewing machine that made into the list. It comes with 100 built-in stitches including 7 one-step buttonholes.
Pros : Programmable needle up/down, sewing start/stop button and speed control slider are the premium features you get on this machine. In addition to that, you will get an automatic needle threader, drop-in bobbin etc (which are pretty common on most sewing machines). The stitch quality is as close to perfect as you can get. First you go through the features, then have a look at the price, you simply can’t ignore it. That pretty much describes how Singer 7258 felt to me.
Cons : Every sewing machine is bound to have something bad about it. In the case of Singer 7258, the only flaw I could spot was that it didn’t feature an option to lower the feed dog for free-motion quilting (I even thought that they forgot to add it). Other than that, 7258 is a flawless beginners machine.
2. Singer 4423
4423 is famous for two things. One, it is a quality beginners sewing machine and second, it is the most affordable heavy-duty model you can get in US. There are 3 variants namely 4411, 4423 and 4432 with different price tags. The only difference is in the number of built-in stitches, which is denoted by the last two digits in the model number. 4423 is the 23 stitch variant which is priced in between the other two. It features an automatic needle threader, drop-in bobbin and a 1-step buttonhole.
Pros : The reason why I prefer 4423 over the other two variants is because it has a good variety of stitches at an affordable price. As a heavy duty sewing machine, you would expect the motor to be powerful. Singer delivers the same with a 60% stronger motor (that’s what Singer says. But honestly, from whatever I could experience I would say the motor is around 35-45% stronger than other sewing machines in the market). The motor is fully capable of going through 6-8 layers of denim, beyond that it struggles a bit.
Cons : It is not a 100% heavy-duty model. There are some plastic parts, which Singer has used to cut the costs.
3. Singer 2259
This is the currently the least expensive sewing machine in this list. For the price, it has a nice variety of stitches to choose from. The stitch quality is excellent for a sewing machine of this price. It even works well with multiple layers of fabric.
Pros : The machine operates quietly and smoothly. It is one of the quietest machines around. The machine is easy to thread and use. The low price tag is the biggest selling point of this machine.
Cons : The user manual is horrible. It is very difficult to understand the instructions. In addition to that, 2259 misses out on some beginner friendly features like the one-step buttonhole and drop-in bobbin (these are the areas where cost cutting is evident).
4. Singer 1507WC
Even though 1507WC is an inexpensive sewing machine, it has to be priced well below Singer 2259 to make some sense. As of now, the pricing doesn’t seem right. It comes with 8 built-in stitches and a 4-step buttonhole.
Pros : Features wise, it may not be the most tempting machine, but it gets the work done very well. It has an easy to control foot pedal. You never feel out of control with the foot pedal. It is extremely quiet as well. It does a very good job on thick fabrics.
Cons : There are not a lot of stitches to choose from. It lacks drop-in bobbin and a 1-step buttonhole which would have made it a perfect machine for beginners. There is no option to drop feed dogs as well.
5. Singer 3323S
3323S is a quality beginners sewing machine from Singer. It has some nice features on board. It comes with 23 built-in stitches, automatic needle threader, drop-in bobbin and 1-step buttonhole.
Pros : The machine is lightweight. It has one of the best straight stitches in the category. The machine has a good variety of beginner friendly features.
Cons : Tricky automatic needle threader.