Choosing a sewing machine can be a very hard task if you’re new to sewing. There seems to be an endless number of brands, multiplied by various models and features that are available on the market.

The best thing to do when looking for a sewing machine would be to first make a list of features that are important to you. For example, do you need a heavy duty machine, or just a regular machine? Would you like a large platform to sew on, or just a regular size? Knee lift, or lift your needle by hand? What kind of stitches would you like? What kind of feet do you need? - 1/4 inch or walking foot for quilting, or standard feet for sewing clothes or furnishings.

There is no need to over-buy and load yourself up with features you will never use. If you have no intention of ever using an embroidery feature, then don’t purchase a top-of-the line embroidery machine.

There are plenty of sewing machine brands available - some you will know well, some you’ve probably never heard of before. Singer and Brother are two brands most people are familiar with. But have you heard of Janome or Pfaff? Just looking at the brand name won’t give you much information or guarantee about quality or price.

Another good way to discover the right machine for you is to talk with family and friends that sew. Ask to try out their sewing machines and get their input on what features they find most useful. If you have some thoughts on your requirements, go over that with your friend or relative and see if the machine can handle them.

As a starting point, a Simplicity sewing machine might be a good choice for beginners. It’s powered by batteries, so is very portable. You can perform all the basic sewing maneuvers, plus a few extra, such as the zigzag stitch.

You can look at a low-end Singer if you want to move up the scale a little. It will be a little more advanced, but is still quite basic compared to the top end machines. You can use it for all sorts of tasks, including creating garments, crafts and home décor.

If you’re interested in quilting, you may need to look at a different machine. You need to move further towards the high-end models if you’re interested in embroidery or electronic sewing. Many of these machines, including ones from Singer, can be connected to a computer, and used to access designs available on the Internet.

Sewing machine prices can start as low as $100 for a very basic model, but they can also be thousands of dollars for the really high-tech machines. Because of the variety of uses, there are so many sewing machines on the market. So work out what you need and it will be much simpler to find the sewing machine that is right for you.