Cheap Sewing Machines

Great machine for beginner sewer or quilter
I bought this machine after doing a lot of research and I'm so happy I did! I sewed in high school but now 10 years later, I wanted to get into quilting. At first I set my budget at 0 but quickly realized that machines in that price range were not dependable. I didn't want a machine that would be more trouble than it was worth.

The features I wanted were needle down, adjustable speed, and start/stop button. This machine has all 3. If I had a bigger budget, I would love a knee-lift, adjustable foot pressure, and thread cutter, but that will have to be for my "some day" machine.

If your budget is 0-400, this is the machine for you!

Great sturdy workhorse
I received this for Christmas and I love it. I would say my sewing skill is about intermediate. I wanted a machine that would be good for where I am currently, grow with me some, but also be affordable. After much research, this was the one I wanted. My mom surprised me with it.

This was an upgrade from an old Singer Touch and Sew 600e. This machine won't ever be as sturdy as that baby, but it's a really nice replacement... and at any rate, I don't think any machine you'd buy these days would be that sturdy. However, this machine is AWESOME.

The bobbin was easy to wind. It is easy to thread. It has memory of your needle position. This thing doesn't take fiddling and is extremely easy to work with. I like to make things like clothing, purses, little things like bags and eye pillows. I do a lot with my sewing machine and ask a lot. This machine really pulls through and does what I want without complaint or worry.

I love all the marks on both sides of the food and needle to guide your fabric. It makes it SO easy. The fabric feeds very easily.

One thing I found weird to get used to is that when you first press the peddle, the first few stitches go quite slow and then it will go up to speed. It's weird, but as I continue with it, I find it is also quite useful.

I love this machine. I cannot stress enough how much I love it. It's fairly quiet. It's easy to set up. It's easy to use with a distinct lack of needing to fiddle with it. It's easy to select stitches and size of stitches.

I really love this machine. I can't say that enough.

Love it!
I purchased the Janome 7330 Magnolia sewing machine a couple months ago based on customers' reviews...in particular, the first review here caught my attention...I'm an experienced sewer, and this is my third machine...I'm very happy with it...it's very easy to thread...after reading the instructions about the various settings/buttons, I found it easy to operate. The stitches are nice; I didn't have to adjust the tension or anything. It comes with basic attachments/accessories, and there are quite a few additional accessories that can be purchased separately like a ruffler, darning foot, etc.

Hassle free home workhorse
I waited until I'd test driven this machine a bit before reviewing. The consensus: This is a wonderful home workhorse.

The Magnolia 7330 is the first sewing machine I've ever bought, but I've used the Whites, Singers, Janomes and Berninas of my mom and friends before. When I went looking for a machine of my own I wanted something simple, powerful, non-finicky (nothing seems to elevates blood pressure like weird thread tension), and good enough to get me through most craft or clothing projects. Well, and not crazy expensive.

This machine really lives up to my expectations and hopes. It punched through 6+ layers of denim easily, the feed dog system is wonderfully smooth, and it goes from sewing light muslin to heavy twill without any problem or fiddling at all. You can see how much thread is in the bobbin in between stitching, so I don't expect to lift off the fabric and find I've run out of thread any time soon, like has happened to me a couple of times on other machines. As far as I am aware, the 7330 also has all the stitches and functions that are needed for most any form of garment or craft construction, but the overload of embroidery stitches and resulting bump in the price tag are mercifully absent.

Basically, it seems to be a machine that's designed to let you concentrate on the next step of your project, rather than having to troubleshoot the machine itself constantly. I'm happy :)

Sturdy, easy to use
I am a first time sewer and I wanted a solid machine below 0. I wanted something I could grow into, but something that wouldn't overwhelm me. I had gone online to research machines. I was actually considering the Brother CS6000I before I had even heard of the Janome 7330. At the time there were 97 reviews on Amazon for the Brother CS6000I and I read every one. I was concerned b/c the low rated Brother reviews and even many of the 4 and 5 star reviews complained about the machine's tension and a finicky bobbin. The last thing I wanted to deal with was a touchy machine. If you read the reviews, without looking at the stars, most of them talk about the machine's quirks. I started to wonder if the Brother was trying to be too far reaching for it's price point. I was also wondering why so many were willing to overlook this touchiness that they all mentioned.

I went to SewVacDirect.com and did an online "ask a consultant" thing. I asked the person about the Brother CS6000I and the person directed me to the Janome. I had never heard of Janome before, but the consultant said that the Janome was far more sturdy than the Brother and that it was very easy to use. Still unsure, I decided to go to a store to see the machines in person.

After seeing the Janome and the Brother in action, I came home with the Janome 7330. After seeing the two machines work, I did feel that the Janome was better made and more sturdy. I felt more confident in the Janome's ability to grow with me through the years and felt it was more of the work horse that I was looking for. Twenty minutes after opening the box I was sewing. I'd never touched a machine before and I was sewing! It was as easy to use as they had told me. No weird finicky tricks to learn; just a solid machine.

The 7330 is computerized. It has a good number of stitches, including 5 different overcast stitches, three different one-step button holes, a darning stitch, and good number of decorative stitches. It has a free arm that has been great for doing the small arm and leg holes on the children's clothing I've been making. It has a foot pedal, although you can also use it sans the pedal. It has an up/down button that "remembers" if you last made the needle stay down when you stopped stitching. It also has a reverse button and an automatic needle threader. It's very easy to wind the bobbin and you just pop open the little lid and drop it in the hole. Super easy!

The instruction manual is very easy to follow and it comes with an all purpose presser foot, a satin foot (great for sewing on buttons!), a button foot, and a zipper foot. It also comes with a seam ripper, some bobbins, a brush for cleaning, a screw driver, and some plastic rings that hold the spool of thread in place.

When I told my friends that I had purchased a Janome, all of them said it was a very good brand. I found out that is a Japanese company and Janome means "eye of the snake" as it was one of the pioneers of using a round bobbin instead of a long shuttle back in the 1920's. Janome was the first to make a computerized sewing machine in the 1970's. I'm including this information b/c if you've never heard of this brand before, it's not a fly by night. It's been around for awhile and it has a very good reputation with those who know it. I also found that Janome sponsors a DIY website, threadbanger.com, which has some really neat ways to be green by reusing, recycling, and reconstructing things.

In conclusion, go to a retailer and see for yourself. It's a solid machine!!