Lightweight sewing machine

twopenny

Is there such a thing?

My sewing machine is an old and much loved Singer from the 30s with hand crank and set in a table.
I'm old and injured plus now in a small bungalow so every inch counts plus I only need to do straight line stitching and that's very little.

I've seen some random ones in charity shops but they are still heavy and no idea if they will work efficiently.
I'd like a small one I can keep in store until I need it but never needed to know about evolving types so hoping for some help and experience.

Also where is a likely place to buy one please 🥺 

Brie

@Florenceem
you seem to know about sewing machines.  any advice available here??

Rodders53

Pop along to a John Lewis - they have machines on display and maybe even on demo?

https://www.johnlewis.com/browse/sport-leisure/haberdashery/sewing-machines/_/N-enx?

Lightweight machines will only do lighter weight material so if wanting to sew heavy weight fabrics you may need to look for a more robust machine...

Lightest seem to be around the 6 kg (13 lb) mark, six bags of sugar, 4 bags of flour.  (Or a bucket with 6 litres of water in).

twopenny

Sheesh Rodders, I may have to stick to hand sewing 🪡 
But thanks for the comparison in a way I can relate to.

I wasn't planning on stitching any heavy stuff but you know that as soon as you say that you will want to.

It may be worth me tacking stuff and taking it to one of our repair cafes for stitching. But I'm not overly patient these days.
I did that once and it was great having someone fight with a tricky seam while I had tea and cake 🍰 

(Sorry about all the emojis, I've only just got a tablet that does them and I'm still playing.)

DullGreyGuy

twopenny said:

Sheesh Rodders, I may have to stick to hand sewing 🪡 
But thanks for the comparison in a way I can relate to.

I wasn't planning on stitching any heavy stuff but you know that as soon as you say that you will want to.

It may be worth me tacking stuff and taking it to one of our repair cafes for stitching. But I'm not overly patient these days.
I did that once and it was great having someone fight with a tricky seam while I had tea and cake 🍰 

(Sorry about all the emojis, I've only just got a tablet that does them and I'm still playing.)

6kg is about the minimum for a proper sewing machine from a reasonable brand. 

There are "mini-sewing machines" like https://www.hobbycraft.co.uk/hobbycraft-12s-sewing-machine/6670161000.html which are considerably lighter, the linked one is just 2kg, but a fair few corners have been cut to get them down to the weight and price point. The reviews say it all really but even if you get a good one out the box I wouldnt expect it to last a long time (or at least not functioning well for a long time)