My Singer Heavy Duty runs four layers of duck without breaking a sweat. Costco had them for less than $150 the other day. Is it loaded with fancy stitches and features? No, but it’s a practically bulletproof machine with all metal gears that will damn near sew through your wallet without emptying it.

So I want to try making my own patches

If you mean small pieces of already patterned fabric to sew onto larger textile products (clothing, bags, etc), that you can just cut and sew by hand.

If you mean stitching complex patterns or symbols with multiple colors of thread, that’s something you do with an embroidery machine. These are mechanically complex - they are more work to set up, more fragile, and more expensive than a standard sewing machine. They are also not very good for basic productivity stitches (e.g. seams) as they are intended to make very fine stitches on relatively lightweight fabric. They are not good starter machines.

For general sewing work, and especially for learning, I recommend any machine that does not have a screen like this one:

https://www.brother-usa.com/products/ps700

These types of machines are common at entry-level prices, and they offer a wider variety of stitch options, but realistically you won’t get much use out of those, and in my experience the embedded computer parts make the machine less reliable.

I prefer something purely mechanical like this:

https://www.brother-usa.com/products/st531hd

All the controls are physical knobs, dials and switches - no touchscreens or touchpads, no computer components, no vague error messages. It’s mechanically simple to the point where there is very little that can go wrong with it - it just does the job.

This model is also heavy duty, which means it has a stronger metal frame, a stronger motor, and more metal parts in the construction in general (over a standard duty machine). It should last basically forever. Other machines may be able to take heavy duty needles, but that doesn’t mean the machine itself can actually punch through 4 layers of denim without stalling or twisting the frame. Even if you don’t end up working on a lot of heavyweight fabrics, a heavy duty machine will suffer less wear and tear from normal use.

Why would you need to punch through 4 layers of denim? Because when you make a seam in a pair of pants like this:

you overlap the two pieces of fabric and then fold it over and stitch through it like this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felled_seam

In the places where multiple seams come together (like where the pocket meets the side seam) there will be even more layers, and an otherwise easy project can suddenly become very difficult to complete when your machine just can’t handle 8 layers in a double-over seam.

Um… one possible downside of a heavy duty machine is that it will sew through your finger if you’re not paying attention, where a lighter duty machine might jab you and then get stuck. It’s also heavier to pick up and move around. It may also have less throat space:

than a similarly priced standard duty machine, because the longer the frame pieces are the more flexible they are. More throat space makes every kind of project easier because there’s more room to feed the fabric through, but it also makes the body of the machine more fragile. If you think you might work on larger projects (like blankets/quilts) you may want to prioritize larger throat space as a feature (dedicated quilting machines have longer arms to accommodate larger pieces of fabric).

Don’t be afraid to buy a used machine, but try to find a copy of the user manual for it before you buy it. Especially starting out, you’ll want the instructions for how to set up your particular machine, and how to do basic maintenance and troubleshooting. All mechanical devices require occasional maintenance. Looking at the manual should also help you figure out if the used machine has all of its parts.

Whatever you buy, keep in mind: simple is good, simple is reliable, simple is difficult to break accidentally and easier to fix if necessary. Extra fancy features do not make a better machine.

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*Edit: also don’t buy one of these cheap portable/handheld type machines:

https://sewingmachineguide.co.uk/guides/best-handheld-sewing-machine/

Don’t waste your money. The little handheld ones can have a use to get into weird angles or small spaces that would be impractical with a normal machine, but only in very specific situations. They aren’t general purpose machines.

The most basic sewing machines have just a straight stitch. As a minor hobbyist, this is all I have (I have an ancient Singer sewing machine from an estate sale).

You can make most things with a straight stitch, but it isn’t the strongest stitch. Usually you sew the seams with a straight stitch then go over it with a zig zag stitch or an overlock stitch to make the seams and edges of the fabric lay prettier.

The strongest stitch is an overlock stitch (there are a few varieties).

So, if you want to be able to make professional looking stuff you should look for a machine with at least zig zag and some kind of overlock stitch (everything will have an adjustable straight stitch). Something with a button hole attachment would be helpful too as they take awhile to do by hand.

If you want to do zaney patches some people like to use fancier stitches to make the thread borders fun. There are a ridiculous amount of stitch types.

There was a Serger craze for awhile. Sergers basically do just an overlock stitch but there are a lot of patterns designed for them if you want a one trick pony that does seams faster.

As far as brands you want something you’ll be able to repair. A good approach might be to look for sewing machine repair shops in your area and ask them for brand recommendations. I’m not familiar enough with modern manufacturing to know which ones are well made.

If you buy a used one you want to make sure the wheel turns smoothly when you press the pedal and responds well to changes in pressure (faster or slower). Sewing machines have to be taken apart and oiled every once in awhile, so that’s what you’re checking for.

Oh! Also one concern is fabric weight. If you want to be able to sew thick material (like denim seams) make sure the machine has a heavy duty needle available for purchase. Making sure you can buy needles for the machine in general would be a good idea.

It depends on what you want to do. I went down a bit of a rabbit hole because my girlfriend wants one and I get a bit research obsessed because I like to buy once if possible.

sub 300€

Every new machine sub-300€ or so will have plastic gears and almost all plastic parts. This means that they will only last a few years of hard use, or longer very light use. They are also very limited in what fabric they can sew because anything like denim or thicker reaches the limits of the plastic gears so it can’t do it without the risk of breaking.

The Singer Heavy Duty is often recommended but it has very very touchy pedal, runs very fast, and has no speed regulation. Contrary to the name it is just a basic beginner machine, not heavy duty at all and QC is very bad. Modern Singers are apparently extremely hit or miss in general.

So for that price range, going for ease of use and features makes the Brother CS70000X if you are in the US, otherwise Brother Innov-is A16 for that budget in the EU.

500€ Budget:

• Brother Innov-is A65
• Janome Sewist 721
• Janome Sewisr 725S
• Janome TM30 if you want computerized (not better per se)
• probably a Pfaff or husqvarna is also good but less reviews on these.

1000-2000 Budget

• Janome HD series
• Juki F300 or F600
• Janome Skyline S5/S6
• this is where you start getting into deciding based on more technical knowledge that I don’t have.

There is also a 2nd route: get a decent vintage 2nd hand machine in a 2nd hand store for <100€, try it out, learn the basics, do some repairs, and see how much you actually use it. Then, when it breaks, you will be in a position to know what you need, how much you use it, and what features would be nice. Then you can go out and buy an expensive model that will last you forever (hopefully).

Hey I’m in the same journey as you right now! I bought a Brother sewing machine for like $120 at Costco of all places. It works well and has like 20ish patterns it can do. I would also check out your local library of they have a beginner sewing class.