Sewing Deals & Offers

First time I've heard of onbuy, is it a chinese marketplace like AliExpress?

I bought it from netto ages ago (for less than £20-30), I used it yesterday to fit all that cheap burton stuff, it's ok for something like that. Great for all easy jobs, I did something like a pillow from an old blanket or I sew together 2 blankets to make one big one. It just a bit expensive, I'm not sure is it not better to buy that bit bigger for £40 or https://www.onbuy.com/gb/12-stitch-portable-electric-mini-sewing-machine-overlock-2-speed-pedal~c7607~p30676744/

This is cheap but you're better off spending a little bit more (about £100 - give or take) on a decent entry level sewing machine than buying one of these. They might cost you a bit more but they will be more versatile than these things. These ones can be very frustrating for some people. That's just my opinion though. :)

£1 more

This is a really basic sewing machine that struggles to sew anything more than 2 layers of fabric at a time. Might be ok for simple diy tasks or basic hobby crafts, but it’s not gutsy enough to make lined curtains for example. This basic entry level machine is often suggested to be perfect for the beginner, but the cotton regularly breaks or comes unthread from the needle, so patience is required, which may not be ideal for a child or if you’re doing a special task.

I also received mine today. Had email this morning at 4am to say will be delivered in 5 to 7 days - arrived 4pm this afternoon

Received mine today, any youtube video for beginners using this machine?

Thanks so much!

And for anyone struggling to thread i found this video useful

My machine came today

If you need to sew away from a mains source you'd be far better off with a hand cranked machine than a battery powered one.

From the comments it looks like it's a very lightweight machine which is not a good thing when you're sewing because you need it to be stable. The positive comments come from people who use it to sew lightweight fabrics and paper, and it seems that if you try and sew anything bulkier the foot falls off. It doesn't have a variable speed foot pedal which means you have very little control and you will unlikely be able to sew anything but 'straight' lines. Straight lines require good pressure from the foot but seeing as this one tends to fall off with thicker fabrics I doubt it has any pressure. Oh and it can be run off a battery. There are very few instances where this would be necessary and a good sewing machine needs a good bit of power so if it can run off a battery it doesn't fill me with confidence.

Not saying it's a good machine, but note there are only 10 reviews for this particular machine. Amazon have, yet again, done their idiotic habit of lumping together reviews of completely different products. So it's not very easy to tell how bad, or good, this machine really is from the reviews. Based on my fairly limited knowledge of sewing machines though, I would guess it's actually a quite limited capability machine and that spending a few more tens of pounds will get something that is actually much better value for money and will last a lot longer.

Great price, but blimey 13% put 1* reviews (shock)

Not sure why it’s now £33 as this has always been £20 at Hobbycraft but usually much cheaper on offer (confused) maybe they’ve bumped the price thanks to sewing bee selling out their sewing range last year. I have this machine and I’ve been happy with its performance so far. I’m very new to machines and have used mine for making my daughter mini tote bags from fat quarters. I haven’t had it jam either but found having to thread it through quite often. A great machine for a child or someone who just wants it to do very small basic sewing, however not worth the price it’s currently on “offer” for :o

These are only usable with thinner/lighter fabrics otherwise they just jam up. The motor isn't up to much, unsurprisingly enough. They rattle and vibrate much more than larger machines so keeping a straight line is more effort. You would be better off putting the money towards a half decent used sewing machine. Even for occasional use only.

No, don't bother.

Seriously don’t bother it’s a really poor machine and Hobbycraft aren’t surprised when you return it.

Nope. I bought 2 of these for my kids. As stated elsewhere they are a generic model that can be bought for less than this. They are very temperamental and jam really easily. Pay a bit more a get 'real' one.