Singer Sewing Machine, Model 4206 inspiration- Any Good?

Question

I am looking to purchase a sewing machine, but here's the biggie: My budget is $200 :O

I was looking on Ebay just now (only looking at the prices, mind you) and found this model of sewing machine with a "Buy It Now" price of $129.99.

I'm not looking for people to compare it to their wonderful $8000 sewing machines. I'm a beginner, and I just want a box that sews stuff. Well, that's not true. I at least want to know if the 4206 Inspiration is any good. Just tell me what you think. Thanks.

Answer 1

I wouldn't...  It's a cheaply made bit of plastic.  You'd do far better to go to the local sewing machine shop and pick up a nice older pre-loved machine built to last.  The ease of use and the stitch quality will be far superior, and much more likely to encourage you to keep going.  And having a sewing machine engineer on tap when things go bad is always a good move.

Read this and make a list of the sort of thing you want to be able to do: http://www.cet.com/~pennys/faq/smfaq.htm  Talk to a service engineer rather than a sales droid on commission for selling expensive stuff, and try a few out.

You'll probably want to sew a variety of fabrics, including things like denim, which many lighter plastic machines don't do well, and you'll need a decent set of utility stitches such as buttonholes, zigzags, straight stitch, and blind hemming.

I teach sewing to kids, with a collection of older machines, and they tend to be far superior to the modern plastic junk and cost a lot less.  I even have ones that came free!  :)

Answer 2

singers are usually good machines

Answer 3

I agree with Kate.  Also, it's *so* much easier to work with a machine that "just works" than one that balks and needs fiddling with all the time.  My experience with the plastic wonders I get brought to see if I can make them work for their novice users is that most of them will not hold tension correctly, and usually work really well only when the moon is in the 7th house in months without an R and you hold your mouth just right.  Doesn't matter the brand of the machine, the cheapies all seem to be similarly afflicted.  Yes, I can coax some decent stitching out of the machine for awhile.  But if I put those same people down in front of my midline Viking electronic that's about 12 years old now, they relax and sew and sewing is fun instead of a major pain.  

The other issue with the cheapie machines is that often, you can't get repair parts.  They die, you throw them away and buy another.

About 15 years ago, my budget was tight and my machine died.  I bought a cheapie machine (and paid a bit more than you're proposing here).  I actually managed to wear that machine to unrepairability in a couple of years.  The garments I sewed on it worked out to about $10 each in machine costs.  I sucked wind when I bought the electronic --

it was about 3.5x what I paid for the cheapie -- but it's worked flawlessly since.  It's also down to about $0.20 a garment when you amortize the cost of the machine.

Go for a good used machine in this price range.  You'll have a much easier time of sewing, I can almost guarantee it.  

Answer 4

In my not-so-professional-yet-still-avid-sewer opinion, the machine your looking at is overpriced a bit. Singer has a series of low end machines that are all basically the same (usually 2-stitch difference) that they like to market anywhere from $75-$200. When you compare the non-electric to electric there is a somewhat significant difference in the machines, mostly to do with how many types of stitches the machine can do and consequently the types of fabric that can be used, but when looking at the simple less-than-20-stitch machines, there isn't a whole lot of difference and you end up paying for fluffs and frills. If you'd like to buy a machine that will sew well and last for at least 5-7 years, you can go with a simple Brother or Singer (I'm more of a Brother fan).

My first machine was a Brother  2125 LS that I picked up for about $75 at Wal-mart that is still great to sew on. It has 10 stitches, a buttonholer and zipper foot, quick released for the feet, easy to thread and if I remember correctly came with 3 bobbins and some needles as well. I didn't need anything else until I got into sewing professionally and needed a machine that could handle specialty fabrics, this one served me well in making anything from a skirt to window treatments.

Overall, the machine you're looking at is good, but you can get a machine that will do the same thing for a better price.