The Best Beginner Sewing Machines of 2023 for Those Just Starting Out
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Starting a new hobby is exciting, especially when that means buying new gadgets and tools! However, when you are new to sewing, searching for a beginner machine can be a bit overwhelming. A few helpful questions to ask yourself: What is my budget? How likely am I to stick to sewing? What kind of fabrics will I be sewing with? Will I need to move my machine around? And who will be using it? Our suggestions below are suitable for complete beginners and include both manual and computerized machines, at a range of price points.
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Note that when buying a machine, you can buy online or through a dealer. Online you should be able to find better deals, which is great if you don’t mind learning new skills on your own through blogs, YouTube, and books. If you prefer to learn things in person, a dealer could be the way to go. Dealers usually offer classes, will help you set up your machine, and can troubleshoot any issues that come up along the way.
How we pick each product:
Our mission is to recommend the most appropriate artists’ tool or supply for your needs. Whether you are looking for top-of-the line equipment or beginners’ basics, we’ll make sure that you get good value for your money by doing the research for you. We scour the Internet for information on how art supplies are used and read customer reviews by real users; we ask experts for their advice; and of course, we rely on our own accumulated expertise as artists, teachers, and craftspeople.
If you’re looking for a very affordable and cute sewing machine, the Janome New Home is for you. As a beginner, you’ll want to start with a machine that sews smoothly and doesn’t leave you frustrated, and this adorable little machine fits the bill. It is compact and light—weighing only five pounds—so you can easily carry it around, and it sews well for its size. You can pick from a variety of bright color combinations too. It has 11 built-in stitches, but no buttonhole stitch. You wouldn’t want to start with a smaller machine than the New Home because the smaller or toy machines are actually harder to use.
Janome New Home
The Brother CS5055 is great when sewing with children because in addition to a pedal, which children can have a hard time learning to use, it has a dial to control the speed. The dial allows you to set a maximum speed and then sew using the pedal as normal. It has an automatic needle position that guarantees the needle will always be in the right position, which makes it that much easier for beginners to keep their thread from coming out of the needle every time they start and stop. The Brother CS5055 also has 60 built-in stitches including 7 buttonhole stitches, automatic needle threading, and an LCD screen that displays the stitch selection. It should be noted that it is about twice the price of the Janome New Home—something to consider if you are trying to keep the cost down or just not certain how committed you are to your new hobby.
Brother CS5055 Computerized Sewing Machine, 60 Built-in Stitches, LCD Display, 7 Included Feet, White
Bonus recommendation: For those who want to dabble in machine embroidery and add some lettering to their projects, the Brother XR9550 may be just the thing. It does everything the Brother CS5055 does but also includes 55 alphanumeric stitches and sews basic decorative embroidery stitches without a hoop. What’s more, it’s not as expensive as an actual dual-purpose machine.
Brother Sewing and Quilting Machine, Computerized, 165 Built-in Stitches, LCD Display, Wide Table, 8 Included Presser Feet, White
The Singer Heavy Duty is for new sewers looking for an affordable workhorse. Priced about $30 higher than the Brother CS5055, this machine has a metal frame and is built to sew through thicker materials. It has 11 stitches, including a three-step buttonhole maker, and is the fastest machine in this roundup, able to deliver 1,100 stitches per minute (SPM). With its simpler design (there is no LCD screen) and limited stitch options, there are fewer things to learn about before getting started. One thing to keep in mind: It does not have a speed control dial, so I wouldn’t recommend this one for younger kids.
SINGER | 4411 Heavy Duty Sewing Machine With Accessory Kit & Foot Pedal – 69 Stitch Applications – Simple & Great For Beginners
The Pfaff Passport 2.0 is a great machine to sew with, especially if you plan to use trickier fabrics like thin knits, lingerie materials, and silks. The Passport 2.0 comes with automatic tie-off, integrated dual feed, 70 stitches including buttonholes, automatic needle positioning, and a speed-control slider. It is a bit slower than the Singer Heavy Duty, but still fast for a home machine, sewing at 800 SPM. The Passport 2.0 is pricey compared with the first three machines, but it gives a smoother sewing experience. Pro tip: Pfaff runs promotions once in a while. If you can wait to buy a machine, you may save yourself a couple hundred dollars.
The final machine in our roundup is the Bernina 335. Those who sew with Bernina machines are fans for life and say the price tag is worth it for the quality. The machines are built to last and come with a 20-year warranty on parts. This is the kind of machine that you pass down to your children. The Bernina 335 is fast, sewing at 900 SPM, even though it’s one of the lowest-priced machines made by Bernina. It comes with all the features of the other machines and more, with semiautomatic needle threading, a speed control dial, automatic needle positioning, a hands-free presser foot, 221 stitch patterns including buttonholes, and an LCD screen.
Bernina 335
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Brought to you by the oldest and most widely circulated art magazine in the world, ARTnews Recommends helps you make the choice that suits you best from products in hundreds of art and craft supply categories. Our offerings are based on intensive research, interviews with artists and craftspeople, and the accumulated experience of the site’s editors and writers. We provide trustworthy and helpful advice about materials to artists ranging from beginner to professional.
1. Singer 7258 Sewing Machine
This computerized machine is suitable for sewers of all levels, but it feels like it was designed with first timers in mind. The electronic interface is very user-friendly, with intuitive buttons to select from 100 stitches and customize them according to preferred length and width. It also features automatic elements like a self-threading needle, an automatic bobbin winding clutch, and a button to auto-sew reverse stitches. The machine can also sew smoothly through a range of fabric weights, from silk to denim. It’s easy to learn on, while providing you with many advanced features to continue challenging your skills.
Singer 7258 Sewing Machine
2. Brother Sewing and Embroidery Machine
This computerized machine boasts a lot of bells and whistles and might initially be a little intimidating to beginners. But if you take the time to read the well-written and illustrated manual and get to know its anatomy, you’ll be on your way to realizing complex designs. This Brother machine is capable of not only stitching (quietly, to boot) but also completing delicate embroidery, with a large LCD touch screen for fast and easy control. You can choose from 103 built-in stitches and 80 embroidery patterns and directly edit your designs using your finger. We like that you can also load your own visuals by inserting a USB flash drive into the built-in port.
Brother Sewing and Embroidery Machine
3. Haitral Portable Sewing Machine
This tiny sewing machine, which weighs less than three pounds, looks like a toy. But it is a surprisingly decent, budget-friendly option for small jobs. It certainly has many limitations: Choose from just two speeds (low and high), forget about stitching heavy-duty fabrics, and don’t expect a quiet sewing session. But if you’re working with thin textiles and need to sew a simple hem, this little device will do the job with speed and neatness. Consider it a direct upgrade from your everyday kit of needles and thread.
Haitral Portable Sewing Machine
4. Janome Computerized Sewing Machine
This computerized model from Janome is quiet, user-friendly, and capable of handling layers of a variety of fabrics. It comes ready with 120 sewing stitches, including letters of the alphabet and symbols. Look forward to a ton of specialized features, including an automatic thread cutter, an automatic needle threader, and an easy-reverse button. We especially love that it is also a relatively small and lightweight machine, weighing just over 14 pounds, which makes it an excellent travel buddy.
Janome Computerized Sewing Machine
5. Singer Start Sewing Machine
If you are just curious about sewing or need a machine for occasional mending or simple projects like masks, we like this low-price model from Singer. It’s very easy to set up and offers six built-in stitches, from a zigzag to a decorative scallop. With stripped-down controls—there’s a simple stitch-selection dial and a lever for reversals—this machine presents little to no learning curve. Simply watch some of the tutorial videos that Singer offers online, and you’ll be ready to get started.
