I have in my possession
ONE: Piece'o'crap "sewing machine" AS SEEN ON TV! that retails for between $30 and $50
ONE: 1950s no-name made in Japan sewing machine FOUND IN THE GARAGE with mud dauber nests on it. Probable cost at a garage sale: $20-$50
I am going to sew (or try) identical garments on each, thus (I hope) ending the debate about buying the Piece'o'crap AS SEEN ON TV! "machine"
Setup and cost of setup:
AS SEEN ON TV!: Took it out of the box. Plugged it in. Bobbin cover immediately fell off. Put it back on. Noticed that the thread it is strung with is also on a bobbin. Will it work with a spool? Don't know, I'll go with what it's strung with first. Note there is one stitch and it is not adjustable. One straight stitch, no stretch, size of stitch not adjustable. No manual. Bogus. Setup cost $0. Frustration 0
NO-NAME: Found it in the garage. Had it brought in. Handy friend took it slightly apart, cleaned it and oiled all the appropriate places. Might have been issues with the motor, so took motor to sewing machine repair shop.* Motor was fine, repair shop charged me nothing. There is an adjustable straight and zigzag stitch, no obvious "stretch" stitch BUT zigzag does work as a stretch stitch. It is also a model that works with a huge set of cams for "decorative" stitches, and lo and behold all the cams are still with it. Bonus! No manual though, and can't find the manual for this thing online. Bogus. Setup cost $0. Had to thread it myself. Easy, trivially easy to thread until time for the needle. ARG! There is no light on this thing! ARG! Old eyes cannot SEE tiny needle! Moved light, got reading glasses. Frustration 1.
*Sewing Machine repair shop. This is a man with a little shop in a tiny strip-mall. He is old. So is everything he repairs. The front of the store is awash with ancient vacuums and sewing machines with pickup tickets on them. The back of the shop looks like something that would give Jamie and Adam from Mythbusters a joygasm. Floor to ceiling in old vacuums and sewing machines. By ghod, this is the place. If the "sewing machine repair shop" you go do does NOT look like this, if in fact the front is full of brand new machines, turn around and walk out. These people do not do repairs, they do "cleaning and adjustment" and will, in fact, do their level best to persuade you to buy a new machine. The truth is that for doll clothes you need two things: straight stitch and stretch stitch, ideally adjustable. You can get away with NOT having a stretch stitch (ah thank you Home Ec in the 60s for this little tip) by stretching the fabric manually as it goes under the stitching foot. So no, unless you are planning on sewing curtains, prom dresses, quilting, sewing doll clothes for profit or in general do not have a Day Job and are not going to school, no, you do not need that fancy machine.