Can you sew a purse with a $100 sewing machine?

Question

like

canvas or something thick not just cloth

Answer 1

You can do that.  You will need to have a heavy duty sewing machine needle that is used for material like heavy denim or canvas and then you will need to change the pressure on your pressure foot.  

That is the foot that holds the material while you sew under the needle.  You will also need to adjust the tension on your thread and use a much heavier thread to sew the seams with.

Good luck on whatever project you make.

Answer 2

Yes  and make sure you have a heavy duty needle and go slow.

Answer 3

Well, if it's a used machine in good shape you got for $100, you may not have any problems at all.  If it's a new $100 machine from WalMart, you still may be able to do it with the right needle, but you're probably going to have to struggle to be successful.

If you're talking about a new low-end machine, you may also have problems feeding a thick canvas-like fabric (especially when the fabric is folded over).   Best bet -- bring some samples of your fabric with you and try it out at the store.  Be sure and fold the fabric so you can create a similar situation (try to sew through the same number of folds that you will when you construct the purse)

Answer 4

Yes as long as your machine is in reasonably good shape it should have no problems sewing through thick cloth. You will have to sew slowly when you are going over the sections where there are more than 4 layers.

Use a size 16 needle and longer stitch length - such as 8 stitches per inch rather than the "standard" 10-12 stitches per inch.