ereks mom Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 (edited) I've been looking for a very basic sewing machine to use in teaching my girls to sew. A trusted friend is selling a used Brother LS-1217 at a yard sale tomorrow, and she's asking $30 for it. It does work, and it comes with the user manual. Is this a good price? ETA: I bought it for $25. I have no idea where it originally came from. I think the machine actually belonged to my friend's grandmother, so I don't think she knows either. I think it was barely used. I'm crossing my fingers in hopes that it works well enough for my purposes. Edited October 6, 2012 by ereks mom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justasque Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 Check www.patternreview.com They have reviews of sewing machines. Tricky to navigate the site, but extremely useful info, and forums, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durriyyah Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 I have a Brother that is very similar to that one and I bought it from Walmart. I'm looking to replace it as soon as I'm able because it is hard to control the speed when I want to go slow, plus it is hard to go through many layers of fabric. Test it out before you buy it and see if it works for you. I think having a decent machine will help your girls enjoy sewing. You can find vintage ones on CL for around that price point, and I would trust those more than a newer inexpensive machine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anneofalamo Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 It's a fine price. But I'd ask here where she originally bought it - if she got it from Walmart, DO NOT buy it. You could get two exact sewing machines, one from Walmart and one from a sewing/craft store, and the one from Walmart would be the one with problems. This has happened numerous time in the sewing lessons I've given. (In order to get their prices down, the manufacturers have to cut corners). yes yes yes! I went the cheap route with a walmart brother! They are different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytwomonkeys Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 i've never heard of that one, but brother has so many models. i love the brother machines and trust their name for sure. but the thing is, to get a sewing machine serviced is going to cost anywhere from $50-$100. i love my brother machine & i've never had any issues with it (and i sew daily), but i would want to know how old the machine is and it's history before buying it (when was it serviced last? how often was it used?). i wouldn't want to learn to sew on a machine that gave me any problems or i had to spend more time rethreading and unjamming than i actually did sewing. i would want to test run it first, is that a possibility? as for the price. yes, it's good if it really works well:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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