Last week we shared our favorite brands of irons. Today I want to hear about what brand of sewing machine you use, and is it a good one or not?
I’ll also share the brands I’ve used over the years, along with my own opinion about each of them.
However, before I start describing sewing machines, I need to make my required disclaimer statement: As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. To learn more about how affiliate marketing works on my website, please go to the Privacy Policy page. Thank you!
I must also be perfectly honest with you: for Barbie and Ken, I rarely use my sewing machine. The smaller the doll clothes, the more likely I am to simply sew by hand.
When I do use my sewing machine for Barbie or Ken clothes (or for smaller doll clothes), I only use the machine to stitch relatively straight lines, like the hem of a dress or the straight-across shoulder seams. For corners like along the edges of a sleeve, I always sew by hand. I find I have more control when I stitch by hand, and therefore my seams match up correctly when I join pieces together.
For example, this is a tiny little skirt I made for the 5 inch Chelsea dolls:
I can’t imagine trying to make that teeny-tiny little thing on my sewing machine. It would just eat the fabric.
But I do own a lovely, easy-to-use sewing machine. My machine is a Viking Husqvarna with a top-loading bobbin. I used to use an older Singer sewing machine with a front-loading bobbin (see link for a similar model), and it worked great for years! But I’ve found that the top-loaders have fewer problems with the tangling thread and bunching fabric that gives people the biggest headache.
Both Husqvarna and Singer are good brands to choose, if you’re thinking about buying a new sewing machine. I’ve heard good things about Babylock, but I’ve never owned one. If you use one, please leave a comment, letting us know what you think of that well-known brand as well.
My daughters learned to sew on a Janome Sew Mini, and it’s a good starter machine for anyone just learning to sew. In fact, I just bought another one for my niece, Emily, for her birthday in April. I bought it on eBay, used, because these little gems are no longer in production, as I understand it.
I would have given Emily the one my girls had; however, after using it to teach my own two children to sew, along with dozens of kids at the school where I used to work as a librarian, our old Janome Sew Mini started to slowww waaaay dowwwn. Now it stitches at a snail’s pace, even when you push the foot pedal down to the floor!
Janome is inexpensive, so I still recommend that brand for beginners. Their new version of the Sew Mini Portable is only $49 on Amazon. That’s a heck of a deal for a beginner! But bargain machines aren’t usually the Cadillacs of the sewing world.
In the image above, that’s Francie standing next to my little slow-moving Sew Mini, so you can get an idea about the size of it. It’s not nearly as big as my lovely Husqvarna.
If you’re a long-time sewist, and you’ve been using your granny’s tired but true sewing machine since 1980, well… it might be time to move up in the world! Husqvarna and Singer were the gold standard back in the day, and they still have a good reputation among sewists in the modern era.
When my daughters graduated from high school, I let them pick which of those two brands they wanted for a graduation present. One got a Viking; the other got a Singer.
But these modern sewing machines also use new technology that didn’t exist when I was learning to sew on my mother’s old Genie Singer 353 model sewing machine. The feed dogs on that ol’ thing never worked right, and still to this day, I have a tendency to pull on my thread tails to “push start” my fabric moving, because Mom’s Genie was the machine that trained me!
Ugh! Bad habits are hard to kick!
I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve already started to purchase my gifts for Christmas 2025. So if you need a new machine, you can always drop hints to see if someone in your family will buy you one. That’s how I got my Viking Husqvarna, twenty years ago, and it’s still running strong!
If you’re thinking about buying a super simple sewing machine for a child or grandchild, or even an adult to learn to sew on, I still stand by my Janome Sew Mini as a fabulous first sewing machine.
As you can see in the image above, it doesn’t have a ton of features, but you really only need a straight stitch and a zigzag stitch to get started. And like I said, the newer version of this machine, the Sew Mini Portable, is available on Amazon for next to nothing right now.
I’m really glad both my daughters learned to sew on this simple and inexpensive little machine. It was cheap enough that I never felt nervous walking away from them while they experimented on it. And unlike my mom’s Genie Singer 353, the feed dogs worked back when the girls were little, and by golly, they’re still going strong!
Now it’s your turn…
What brand of sewing machine is your favorite and why?
And what type of sewing machine did you learn to sew on? Did it have any issues that you can remember?
Please add to the discussion! Leave a comment!
Dear Chelly, I’ve learned to sew on a Singer student model sewing machine from 1973 when I was in high school between 1981 and 1984. My parents bought me a Sears Kenmore sewing machine in the Fall of ’81, but it was a free arm machine and I was used to a flat bed base. Although a machine can give me a professional look, I prefer sewing doll clothes by hand. If I decide to sew by machine again, I’d like to get a Singer.
Trisha
If you do get a Singer, I highly recommend buying one with a top-loading or drop-in bobbin. I really love my Viking because of its top-loading bobbin. In my humble opinion, the top-loading bobbin is an advancement, making the machine run more smoothly.
First, I want to say how much I appreciate your website. I refurbish old dolls for charity and your site is a godsend. I have been spreading the word to ladies on my reddit doll groups. I wish I could help, though. It seems like a lot just to keep things going, but you are appreciated!
I’ve used both Brothers and Singer machines and I run them to death. I currently have a Singer heavy duty machine. Once, a long time ago, I had been given Huskvana. I ran that one ragged and I loved the array of decorative stitches. I was like a kid in a candy store!
I sew, not just for charity dolls of assorted sizes, but for my own rather large collection. I have learned to design clothes and redesign patterns to suit me. I hand craft shoes from cardboard and duck tape, since so few of my rescue dolls come with their shoes. Sewing is the fulfillment in my life and keeps me going at the age of 75!
My goodness! What a talented person you are! Thank you for your dedication to your community by doing so much charity work.
I’ve thought about doing more for charities, like donating my doll clothes to charities after I’ve finished using them for a tutorial video.
May I ask for a recommendation? What charities do you give your refurbished dolls to?
I learned to sew on my mother’s Singer Featherweight from the 1950s. It had very basic functionality which was sufficient for a 13 year old beginner. I took sewing in school using whatever was available in the 1970s. I currently have a late 1990s Kenmore machine made by Janome. It does the trick. Frankly I am intimidated by a more complex machine.
I understand about feeling intimidated by complex machines. Since I only make doll clothes, for the most part, I don’t need a gazillion different stitches.
My mother-in-law had a Featherweight, and she has often spoken of it fondly, as one of the best sewing machines she ever owned!
I learned on my Grandmothers treadle machine. After college with my first paycheck I bought a Bernina and have updated through the years. They are wonderful machines.
Good to know!
Nobody in my family has ever had a Bernina (that I know of), so I’m not at all familiar with that brand. Do you have a model preference?
I have a 790 pro and a 590. The 590 I take to my sewing group. Both are great. I have never had a problem with any of the models. I do have an excellent mechanic who does the yearly maintenance and keeps me up to date.
Regularly taking your sewing machine in for maintenance is super important! Thanks for mentioning that.
I learned to sew on a Singer Featherweight. It was a great machine and lasted for over 50 years. I then moved to a Viking Classica (named Sven) which went through sewing for 2 boys and mending all their blue jeans. It finally died at 40; the sewing machine tech said he could have fixed it but Viking no longer makes the parts it needed. Boo!! I’m now on a Babylock Joy which has a top winding bobbin. Top winding bobbins are the best! Thank you for your website and for hosting exchanges like this one – I have a 9 year old grand daughter and reading about the various machines is most helpful!
You are lucky if you can buy a good basic sewing machine for just 45$.
Here in Italy and online you can just find toys machines for that price.
I had a mini machine last year for more or less that price but has quickly broken down. I had another one for less but it is starting to break down too.
I don’t know what to do… buying a third machine but with the price or 3 machines I could buy something better…
And my mother’s old machine is there unused, but it is a old mechanical one and some settings are difficult
Being between machines is frustrating. I feel your pain!