SINGER | Tradition 2259 Portable Sewing Machine including 19 Built-In Stitches, 4 Snap-On Presser Feet, Built-in Bobbin Winding and Easy Stitch Selection, Best Sewing Machine for Beginners

I began sewing in my early teens and for many years used a great 60's-vintage White sewing machine that was built like a tank. I tired of sewing in the 90's and gave my machine away along with all of my accessories. But every time in the 20 years since, when I've had to hem pants, mend a seam, sew on a button, I've thought "I wish I had a sewing machine". After spending over an hour mending a seam on my husband's shirt the other night, I decided to finally buy a machine. I didn't want anything fancy or costly, and spent several days doing lots of research. I decided on the Singer 2259 Tradition based on price and the Singer name. My new machine was delivered today; so far, after having spent several hours running through all the features and stitches, I feel completely satisfied with this purchase. This machine was a breeze to set up and is simple to use. I watched the video on amazon regarding threading and loading the bobbin and adjusting the tension, which was very helpful, since I'm used to a drop-in bobbin, and this one is side-loaded. The machine is quiet, relatively light-weight with an attached handle, making it easy to set up and take down. (Although it comes with a dust cover, I also purchased the case.) I'm happy with the variety of stitches offered, although I haven't tried the buttonhole feature yet. I think this would be the perfect machine for a child (or any beginner) to get started with. The only negative so far is that the outside of the box says an instructional DVD is included, but one was not included with mine. However, I've found enough videos on the Singer website, amazon, and youtube to answer any of my questions. Although it's early yet, all-in-all, I'm happy I made the decision to purchase this machine - it seems a very good value for the price. I'm giving it 4 stars since it is still too new to give it 5. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: I've now had this machine for 3 months and I've upgraded it to 5 stars. I've had absolutely no problems with it, and I use it a lot. Since I bought it, I've taken up quilting and it's performing great, sewing through multiple layers like a breeze. The stitches are perfect. I've since purchased a few accessories needed for quilting, such as a walking foot, and I continue to be impressed with this little machine.

love it, very easy to use and pretty

I have a very expensive, heavy duty machine, but it needed service last month and since it was so close to the holidays, I needed a back up while my machine was in the shop. This was an AMAZING choice! I have seen the same machine in in the store for about $125-150, but on Amazon I got it for less than $85 when I purchased it (and free shipping with Prime). I have sewn my whole life, well, for about 45 years of it so far. When I was 5, I was taught to sew on an industrial sewing machine (because that was all my grandmother owned...and she owned a whole room full of them), so I have quite a bit of experience with sewing machines. For the money, this one is very impressive. The bobbin housing is all metal (not the case in most lower priced machines) and the machine works very well -- and I put it through the ringer, believe me! It's a simple machine, not a ton of flashy stitches, but all the basic ones you need. All the parts (needles, bobbins, feet) are all pretty basic and you can pick them up just about anywhere. And, when it's fast, it is FAST! That being said, the pedal is easy to control for slower, more controlled sewing as well. The only thing that is funky is the placement of the reverse stitch lever, but I got used to it. I am reviewing this after I put several hundred hours on this machine (I got it close tot he holidays and right before a big craft show I did....not to mention keeping up with orders in my Etsy shop). The machine is still running well and sewing great. I have had some issues with the reverse lever lately, but in this short time I have had the machine, I have probably used it more than most people would use it in a year or two. So, consider that fact when I run down the pros and cons. In the short time I have had it, I have probably subjected it to a couple years worth of wear and tear. Pros: - Very well made - It's FAST! but also easy to control the speed when you need to sew slower. - All metal bobbin casing and mechanism - stitches include stretch stitches and all basic stitches needed. - Amazing price Cons: - reverse stitch placement is weird: right above the needle area rather than near the wheel where it normally is - only very basic stitches, but this might not a con to most who just need a basic sewing machine - the machine is very light (which would seem like a "pro," but when you are sewing at a fast speed, the machine will kind of "inch" across the table because it's so light). - after about 200+ hours, the reverse lever is starting to get sticky and hard to press down. All in all, this was an amazing machine for the price. Honestly, these days, any machine under $300ish is really a "throwaway" machine - meaning that it costs more to service than to replace. Remember when we used to have our TVs and VCRs repaired? Now we just replace them (well, not the VCRs, but you know what I mean ;) ). But it's the same with sewing machines. I just paid $150 to service my $600 machine. I wouldn't ever take a machine such as this in for service, because it would cost more than replacing it. It kind of sucks, but that's the price we pay for cheap goods I guess. All that being said, if you are looking for a basic machine to sew some things for your family once in a while, this is perfect. If you are more of a professional and are looking for a "back up" or low cost portable machine, this is also perfect. I have recommended it to a number of my friends and I am now recommending it here in my review. I did NOT get this item at a discount for review, I purchased it at full price on Amazon for my own personal use. *personal purchase

Cheap machine, works ok but frustrating at times

I love my sewing machine. It is a nice lightweight machine and has been great for mending and sewing clothing. I have made several different items on it. It has a few pretty zig zag stitches as well.

EDIT: Biggest piece of crap ever! It's broken 3 needles, jammed countless times per project since I've written my earlier review. Today, I'm about ready to order a sledgehammer to get my aggression out on this hell of a machine! I might try throwing it from my roof (twice) first for extra satisfaction. It was actually less stressful to hand-sew my project... which defeats the purpose of having a machine. WRONG! EVERYTHING I'VE WRITTEN BEFORE IS WRONG>>>> This is a great first sewing machine. If you've never used a sewing machine before it can be extremely intimidating and this make/model is no different, however there ARE some things that make it easier such as the "automatic" threader. While it's not really "automatic" as it is manual, but it's definitely useful! It will take you a few times to get comfortable with it, but once you do, you'll be threading that needle (and machine) like a pro. Just keep the needle AND presser foot in their up-most positions while threading the machine and/or using the auto-threader and you shouldn't have any problems. Other tips learned the hard way from this newbie: - make sure the needle is raised above the fabric before changing the width setting. - before changing the bobbin tension-screw (only do that if its absolutely necessary), jot down the factory-adjusted settings somewhere. - jot down any adjustment screw changes you made, fabric and thread used, etc... and use it for future reference. - reset the bobbin back to factory before readjusting for a new material and/or thread-type so every "jotted down" setting has the same exact starting reference point. I had to return the first machine I received due to some issues I was experiencing -- hand-wheel was kind of grinding, I couldn't loosen the top-thread tension no matter what I tried, and the bobbin door kept slapping shut instead of staying open. Replacement model was perfect! (edit to add.. for about one or two projects, then it started acting up and I'll never buy another singer again).

My old mechanical Singer finally broke after 15+ years (and would have probably lasted longer if I had maintenanced it). 1. I chose this over the ones with lots of programing, because I didn't want something that was going to break in a year or two. I had read that the less expensive programable ones tend to break easily. I mainly wanted a programable for the button holes (see below). 2. I read the reviews on this one and some say that the bobbin was hard to wind. This is true only if you follow the directions in the book. I tried those directions and wasted 2 spools of thread- there is NO way it will work like that. I asked a friend for help and here is what you do to wind the bobbin correctly: DO NOT put the tread through the silver loop marked #1.INSTEAD- pull the thread directly from the spool and bring it over to the silver thing that it tells you to wrap it around, but wrap the opposite way from the picture- wrap it like a J, the pull it up and around over to the bobbin area. It sounds confusing, but its simple- just a simple figure 8 directly from spool to bobbin, but make sure you wrap from the bottom not the top like in the usless picture- and viola, perfect bobbins:) 3. Button holes were always a problem for me- but not any more!! There is a button hole foot with this that is super simple! You just make a dot on your fabric where the center of the top stitch will be and begin. The machine has a dial that lets it know you are sewing a button hole, you still have to turn the dial between steps, but you never have to turn the fabric around. (you will need to operate the pedal), but It starts by sewing the right side length, then you turn the dial and make the left to right stitches (I like to do those by turning the handle myself for 3 complete stitches), then you switch the dial again and it will automatically go in reverese to sew the other side, then finish by making the top left/right stiches and you are done. So simple, and I have made some horrible, horrible button holes in the past, but this is so easy I no longer dread button holes! It even has a foot to sew the button on! 4. The spool does not stick straight up like my old sewing machine - instead it is sort of recessed at the top of the machine- this is nice because I tend to take my machine to my friends house and once the spool holder on my old one broke while in the trunk (I fixed it with heavy tape)- this one will not break the way it is designed. Finally- I would recommend this machine! It gets the job done, makes frustrating things easy and because it is mechanical I believe it will last another 15+ years:)

My wife and I were in need of a general purpose sewing machine, especially for hemming pant lengths. We wanted to save money by doing alterations ourselves instead of going to the tailor. The Singer 2277 worked perfectly for us. The day it arrived, I was able to hem my wife's pants after playing around with some scrap fabric I had lying around. This machine was easy to set up - my initial problems only came from pressing the pedal before lowering the needle press foot, which is my fault. Also, if you plan on working mostly with denim, the needles that come with the machine will not last on heavier fabrics. I had already broken one needle, so it looks like I'll be going to the fabric store to purchases a few denim needles and possibly some oil for the moving parts. Be sure to watch plenty of sewing instructional videos online - the instructions that come with the machine are not very clear and the dvd that came with it only gives a general reference. The automatic needle threader is a nice touch, but it took a few attemts to get it right. Overall, I'm very pleased with this sewing machine and looking forward to using it more often!

I love this sewing machine! It has everything you need to get started sewing and is great for beginners or even advanced users. I would put myself at an intermediate level myself and this machine has everything I need. I put it through a denim test to see how tough it was and it was able to get through 4 layers without any hesitation. It didn't get through 8 without the needle getting stuck a few times but I doubt anybody would be sewing through that much anyways. The bobbin case came with the tension very tight so that did require a bit of loosening when I got it. It will require some trial and error as I loosened it too much the first time. If you're a beginner I would recommend watching some videos on YouTube for directions on how to do this as the manual can be tricky to follow if you've never done this before. Otherwise the manual is good enough if you know what you're doing. This machine is great and I would totally recommend it to anyone looking for a sturdy little machine that can sew through most of your needs.

I love my new Singer sewing machine!

Elegí esta marca por tradición, mi abuela tenia una. También porque se consiguen repuestos y accesorios fácilmente y a bajo precio. La recomiendo por ser un Priscila versátil y fácil de usar.

El producto llego muy bien y en excelentes condiciones

A beginner here, love the machine. I've been taking lessons for 4 months before making this purchase. This is very basic and easy to use, it's what I need. My only complain is that it doesn't have the speed control dial in front like the Janome at my classroom. I have to learn how to control the speed entirely with my foot. Couldn't praise more about the automatic threading! Took a while to understand it, the DVD introduction will show you. I'm monovision, so this is a godsend. Highly recommend this for others with poor vision. For the price, I'm extremely satisfied. I was pleasantly surprised by its weight, feels sturdy.