Newbie: Is this a good machine?

It's not one I'd pick for you. Singer has been iffy in the recent past, don't know about this model. FWIW, 90% of my sewing (I make clothes) is with straight stitch, maybe 5% zigzag or blind hem, 2% buttonholes, and the rest the other 30-odd stitches my machine is capable of. A well built machine with few stitches, that will hold tension properly, and notfrustrate the daylights out of you is a far better choice than one that seems to have all the bells and whistles, but you can't get it to work for you instead of against you.

If you can tie your shoes, you can thread a sewing machine correctly without a cassette system; I'd class it as an unneeded, expensive gimmick.

Do you have any sewing machine dealers in your area? Do you know someone who sews? You'll probably be glad to have some local advice and trouble shooting when you start sewing. You may also be able to borrow a machine from someone you know for an initial trial.

Some reading for you:

Kay

Thanks for the information.

I want to sew inseams that have opened, torn, that sort of thing. Nothing special.

Fatts.

That usually happens because the fabric is worn out. Worn fabric needs replacing. Patching is a different art! :)

Then mostly you're going to be using the straight stitch. You can probably pick up a reasonable used workhorse straight stitcher, serviced and ready to go, for $25-100 at a sewing machine shop. Zigzag would be useful if you're going to be doing some hole-mending or sewing knits -- and you can probably find a machine that does both for that same price.

FWIW, I sewed knits and everything else on a straight-stitch-only machine for the first 35+ years I sewed. Didn't get a "fancy" machine or a serger till about 10 years ago, and while I enjoy them, there's nothing magic in the extra stitches.

Kay

I'd like to jump in here and say that I gave up sewing for 10 years because I had a machine with a lot of bells and whistles but no ability to sew a good stitch . It always skipped stitches and I had to play with the tension every seam. I had it serviced several times and it never got better.I finally bought a small new viking for some where around $450 dollars and have never ben sorry. Don't be fooled into thinking that you can get quality of stitch by buying an inexpensive machine with lots of dodads. BTW I had to go for a new machine because none of the local sewing machine shoops here will sell a used machine. I think that's a shame. They are losing a good source of customers. Juno

(snip)

Not necessarily. It could be seam slippage, or perhaps rotten thread. Several years ago, DH had a few cotton/poly shirts which literally fell apart in the wash. When I inspected them, I found that the thread had disintegrated, but the fabric was still like new. A few minutes at the sewing machine, going over all the seams and hems, and voila! a whole bunch of like-new shirts.

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.