The fold up table would work for cutting out, but would probably be wobbly when sewing. Lots of folks use a desk or their dinning room table. I recommend a sewing class. A local fabric store may offer them or or your home extension office. A 4 yr college in my area is offering classes during fall semester, so it can be unusual where you find the classes listed. I prefer older machines and lots of times you can find one at a thrift store; however you'd probably need somebody that sews to assist you to make sure you're getting a decent machine.
Good Luck,
Susan in Bama

HI Pegs: Buying a new machine at a reputable dealer will also get you access to classes on using the machine and some basic lessons.

Vogue publishes an excellent how to sew book.So does reader's Digest.

Consider a piece of furniture that holds your machine and lets you fold it all up and put things away. Horn makes the same cabinets as Koala and at a lower price. Sometimes you can find them used on ebay.

As for which machine to buy, thats all personal choice. but dont sell yourself short. its a tool that can enhance or really frustrate your growing skills so dont buy bottom line. make sure you test drive it so you like the way it feels. and welcome to a hobby that can last a lifetime.

I would vote for a very good used machine to start with, purchasing it from a dealer. Or you might purchase a new one if the dealer has a trade up policy.

It would help if we knew what you plan to sew? Clothing? Home decor? crafts? gift items?

I, too, would suggest at least some basic classes and if none are offered in your area, I would ask where machines are sold and at fabric stores if they knew of anyone who might give you some (at least) basic sewing lessons.
Carolyn

Thanks, all.

I plan to do mostly hemming jobs. I'm only 5 ft tall, so buying even petite jeans and skirts still require quite a bit of hemming jobs anyway. I would eventually like to move up to making skirts, simple dresses, and some tops. I also want to start dabble into making some doll clothes as well. Well...that's to start..if I end up liking it, who knows what I would move up to...

I guess for me...I don't want to get a poorly made machine that will make my learning experience more difficult. And at the same time, I don't want to spend too much either if it turns out that I think that sewing isn't for me. It's all about finding a happy medium, I guess.

I'm thinking if I can teach myself how to knit and crochet just by looking at books...there's no reason why I can't learn how to sew.

I'll start my researching based on your recommendations. Thanks again.

Simplicity puts out a book entitled "Simply the Best Sewing Book". Vogue's book is good too.

I too would suggest a pre-loved machine from a good dealer. When I bought mine, I traded it in after 3 months for the top model, so someone got a very good used machine with very few hours on it. Buy the best you can afford, though; you will always "grow" into it. Bring in test fabrics you think you'll use and sew on them in the store. Get a machine that does nice buttonholes. I think that's a very good standard for the rest of the machine's features.

I used to have a two level folding table that was made for my old Viking. It worked very well when space is limited.

A good pair of scissors is crucial; don't use it for anything except fabric! A seam gauge for measuring hems is nice, seam ripper for the mistakes we all make, disappearing marking pen, good pins, a bamboo point turner for getting nice collar points, sleeve ham for pressing the seams of sleeves...all nice things to have. A buttonhole chisel is nice for cutting buttonholes open without cutting in the wrong place.

You'll collect more "stuff" as you continue. Be sure to check out classes as mentioned in the above postings.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

While doing a search for the Horn tables, I came across this particular model. What are your thoughts with this one? I do like that the fact that it folds up nicely and it's also a nice price as well.

http://www.allbrands.com/products/abp03783.html?ppc=cjpdt#Features

It's not a Horn, but I thought it looks nice in the wood finish.

Whoops...the link to the table should be this one:

http://allbrands.com/products/abp03783-0074.html

You can get an inexpensive machine from a reputable dealer,because you can always trade up later on if you find you like sewing.

Your library should have the sewing books by singer and readers digest,and they won't cost you anything to borrow except a library card.

Get yourself a good pair of Fiskar scissors to start with and use them only for fabric.You'll also need pins,i like the ones with the colored heads by Dritz.Also extra sewing machine needles,seam ripper,tape measure,.

Get an easy pattern to start.
Read your sewing machine manual,read your pattern before you cut anything out.Remember measure twice_,cut once.

Good luck.
Kathi

The book that i began sewing with was The Ultimate Sewing Book by Maggi Gordon. I bought it at Joann's. A good sewing machine for a beginner i would say is the Brother CS6000t from Wal mart. it is the simplest machine i have ever used. Among tools, nothing really comes to mind. Except pins, i made the mistake of buying some incredibly cheap pins when i began. They just gave me a bad headache! So get some good ones, invest in them. Hope this helps:)