SINGER Start 1304 Portable Sewing Machine | Lightweight, Beginner-Friendly with 57 Stitch Applications, Automatic Bobbin Winding & 4-Step Buttonhole | Includes Accessory Kit

I took a sewing class in high school over 50 years ago. I haven't sewn much in many years, but needed a good basic machine for household mending. The first one I bought was advertised to be easy, but definitely was not! The Brother cs6001 was extremely complicated, and even with a so-called "self-threading needle," I found it almost impossible to thread that needle. The light was a harsh blue LED, which made it hard to see. The number of steps needed to sort through 60 stitches to find a basic stitch was confusing. I began to wonder what happened to the simple, mechanical sewing machines from high school days, and voila, I found the Singer 1304! I was a little hesitant because it was advertised for beginners, and also had references saying it was suitable for children, but I finally took the plunge and ordered it. I am so glad I did! Even though I've only hemmed 2 pet towels and mended a stretchy undergarment so far, I am in love with this little machine! It is lightweight, has a built-in carrying handle, sewing light which is easy on the eyes, and just the basic stitches - several straight and zigzag stitches, a blind-hem stitch, a scallop stitch, and a buttonhole stitch. Even with a bobbin case, I find it much easier to insert the bobbin than the drop-in bobbin of the previous machine. And as for threading the needle, my senior eyes and fingers have been able to do so the first time, every time. I am writing this review mainly because I don't feel adults should shy away from this machine. 60 or 100 stitches may be necessary for a professional seamstress or tailor, but the average person will find enough here to do mending or make clothes, curtains, etc. with this machine. The machine is very intuitive, and Singer even provides online videos to help you get started, so the learning curve is short. And at under $100, the price is right.

My initial reason for purchasing this machine was to simply re-attach buttons to my dress shirts. The quality of even expensive dress shirts seems to have declined in the last few years and after just a few washings, buttons are coming off. I have tried hand sewing but could never seem to get it right. So I was looking on YouTube for tutorials and came across one that showed how to use a sewing machine to reattach buttons and the machine she was demoing was the Singer Start 1304. It looked so easy I decided to check the price on amazon and was surpised by the low cost. I mean this thing is about the cost of 2 or 3 of the shirts I buy for work. The machine is very simple but offers some really nice features like double needle support, reverse and 6 different stitch types and of course, a foot-pedal. It is very light weight making it very easy to setup and store. Now honestly I haven't touched a sewing machine in over 40 years and that was in an 8th grade home econmics class, but with in 10 minutes I had the bobbin wound, the machine threaded and was ready to go. After repairing 2 shirts, I was pretty pleased with my purchase and put the machine away, confident I could repair any of my shirts in the future. Then a day later, I was looking at my tablecloth on my dining room table. It has never fit right and hung way to far over the edges. So, I watched a quick tutorial on hems and then I trimmed the tablecloth down to the overhang I wanted (plus 1/2" seam allowance), got the machine back out of the closet and within 15 minutes it was done! It now fits perfect with an exact 8" over hang on all sides AND it looks incredible! I'm convinced that this machine is the gateway drug into the sewing hobby, because now I'm thinking custom throw pillows for the living room. Maybe a laptop sleeve, (yes this machine includes a "zipper foot"). As the headline states, be careful, this is a very addicting activity!

I've had this for over a year, and I am very pleased with it. Great as a beginner machine, or if you're like me and do few projects a year and mend. I could also see it as a "portable" option since it is so lightweight. I mostly use it for mending or small work - I think this machine's price point is perfect for this; you'll save money if you learn to fix your clothes. It does have an invisible hem for dress pants, so you can buy them unfinished and taylor them to what you want. This comes in handy for my the pants my tall and skinny fiance wears! I have used it on heavier fabrics, including denim and canvas duck. Because the machine is so lightweight, it slipped a little on the table I was using when sewing large pieces of canvas (Sprinter window covers). I wouldn't recommend this machine if the bulk of your projects is upholstery or quilting, I think a heavy duty machine would be more appropriate. It worked fine with the right needles on the heavier fabric, so if its an occasional thing it's probably alright. The main limitation is really stitch variety. There are other machines out there with same vary fancy stitches, which might be preferred on garments, especially baby clothes or lingerie. If you're headed that direction, you might grow out of this very quickly. All in all, simple to use and maintain, sews nice even stitches. A great little machine for the occasional or beginner sewer.

I have been wanting to learn how to sew since I was a little girl, but never had the occasion to do so. Now as a mom, I am determine to teach myself this skill so I can make cool halloween costumes for my kids and a few other goodies along the way (like those cute holiday PJs all these familes keep posting on social media). My grandmother gifted this machine to me for my birthday, which is close to Thanksgiving. I downloaded the manual (to save space, it doesn't come in the box, but some picture instructions are in there. For those who know what they are doing, the picture instructions make sense. For someone who was literally just starting, reading the manual was better). The manual gives nice, simple, step by step instructions with pictures on how to set up and care for the machine. Since I am at the beginning of my sewing journey, I jammed the bobbin 1,000 times before I could actually so a (semi) straight line. Some folks on other reviews report that the machine jams a lot and it's hard to use, but as someone who was doing the same, that is user error. Once you get used to the way things flow: make sure your thread is threaded correctly, make sure your bobbin is inserted and threaded correctly, check your tension, PUT YOUR PRESSER FOOT DOWN! then the jams get less and less as you learn what you are doing and how the machine actually functions. In the time between Thanksgiving and new years, I have been able to go from jamming the machine constantly, to making a pair of fleece pants for my middle son, and a complete sweater outfit for my littlest (a girl). The machine functions as designed and I am thankful that it just has the basics so that beginners like me can gain confidence! Now I'm planning to try for bigger and dare I say more complicated projects for 2020.

I've been sewing over 30 years and have owned/used several machines. This one is super affordable, but does the work and I'm pretty happy. It's pretty simple with only 6 stitches but I really don't need to invest more on ones that have more because these stitches are what I normally use. Simple straight stitch and zigzag and button holes. That's it. Maybe I may have liked triple stitches for stretchy fabric and for top stitching for hemming, but it wasn't a deal breaker for me. I actually like the bobbin case (compared to those that do not need a case) because you can control the tightness of the lower thread (by tightening the - shaped screw head on the side) I don't think it gets jammed more than other machines. I like the smal size and light weight, it's portable and doesn't occupy too much space and still does it job! As for the power, it does not do a great job on denim, but I've owned a heavy duty one and it didn't do it well at all either. Only 60 bucks, totally worth it! Update after 3 months: I have used the machine for more than 10 small projects and it has worked so well. On the thick fabrics, the lower thread didn't look straight but I had that issue with a heavy duty machine. But surprisingly it sew better than expected.. without breakage of the needles or threads, on heavy fabrics.

Every decade or so I decide to get out the sewing machine to make something that I'm certain can't be "that hard". With a new grandchild due any day I thought about a quilt, until I found about 2000 pieces of fabric in the kit I ordered and sent it back to go to a beginner who was going to live that long. I finally settled upon a receiving blanket, two pieces of fabric and only straight lines to sew. This I could handle. I went out to my local craft store, I'd seen fabric there, bought enough for two, according to the lady who cut it for me and went home to find my sewing machine. When it surfaced it seemed to be missing some parts, probably in a box in the garage. I live in SE TX, too hot to hit the garage that day, so I went to Amazon, instead. I love Amazon. Very happy that when I hit 69 or even 65 I had Amazon to bring me things. Eureka! A bit of searching brought me to the Singer Start and the first machine that I've actually been able to thread and change stitches and all that good stuff. I am delighted! It only cost $63.00 and I've completed 8 blankets for my newly arrived granddaughter and one big 'un for her Aggie daddy. This machine is wonderful, I even used zig zag on the last one I made and I still haven't gotten through the instruction manule, probably won't, I've discovered YOU TUBE. You can find out how to do anything on there, including how to work a Singer Start, and make at least 50 different versions of receiving blankets. I'm addicted and am about to move on to pajama pants. There may be fancier machines out there but ignorance is bliss and I don't miss what I don't know. Happy sewing. I love this machine, it's so easy.

I bought this sewing machine after reading reviews about its ease of operation and that it was a good machine for beginners. I have never sewed a thing in my life, and I have certainly never used a sewing machine. I had a project I needed this for and it was easier to buy a machine than try to find time to use someone else's. This machine was incredibly easy to set up. It comes with step by step directions and diagrams. It took me about 45 minutes to set up, again because I had absolutely no idea what I was doing, but it was no fault to the directions at all. Once the machine was up and running, I was able to complete my project with ease. I was sewing some heavy duty fleece fabric and had zero issues with the machine. I was really impressed how my son's Jedi robe turned out. I would recommend this machine to anyone looking for a simple machine. I am not sure what kind of limitations it has for the advanced sewers, but for basic, it's perfect!

Fácil de usar y muy buena calidad

After years of not getting pants hemmed or being able to fix a tear in a pocket of my pants or jackets, I took the plunge and bought this unit when it was on sale for 35% off. I don't regret the decision even though I had never sewed in my life (and I've often regretted that boys aren't normally afforded the chance to take a few Home Economics Classes in High School, at least when I went to school). Many a time I wish that I had known how to sew and make a few basic repairs or alterations. Anyway, from a total neophytes point of view, I write this review. The manual if well written and includes numerous diagrams. A couple of things weren't entirely clear to me vis a vis threading and installing a loaded bobbin. I went to YouTube and looked up a few basic lessons there which certainly clarified the upper threading process. This process would likely have gone faster and easier if there had been 1 or 2 small sample spools of thread included in the accessory box. Trying to visualize the process without actually doing it probably slowed my progress. It was too late to go to the store that night to purchase some thread. The bobbin was a bit more of a challenge, at least for me. Initially I didn't have the thread properly inserted under the metal flap on the bobbin. In spite of that I managed to sew about a 1" repair in a pocket. I ran in to problems taking the item off the machine however. Since I didn't have the bobbin thread properly aligned it was catching on itself every other stich or so and was all but jammed with 7 or 8 threads coming up out of the needle plate when I had finished. I had to remove the needle plate to clear the mess (simple enough with the small "L" shaped screwdriver included). Back to the videos and another couple of read throughs for that section of the manual and I had the problem solved. I had to loosen the bobbin tension screw about 1/16th of a turn which then allowed the thread to slip under the flap to the correct position. Once I had this operation mastered sewing was relatively easy, though keeping the seam straight is another matter which only practice will make perfect. I practiced after that on a piece of paper (not having a lot of spare fabric pieces lying around to practice with. This was instructive since I could easily see the various stitch patterns that I tried, enabled me to practice the procedure for turning corners, reverse stitching at the start and finish to lock the seam etc. Armed with this practice, I removed my first repair stitches, refolded the fabric and pinned one small section to keep it aligned. A minute later I was all done and this time quite pleased with my results. I went on to repair a rip in the lining of the pants and to zig-zag lock stitch the web belt to keep the plastic buckle from sliding under tension. One pair of pants down and about 5 more that need hemming, repair a hole in a jacket pocket and when I get really ambitious I will replace the broken zipper on my favorite pair of insulated coveralls. This machine will have more than paid for itself by the time I do these projects. The satisfaction of being able to do these simple things myself is also well worth the investment.

Si esas haciendo costura sencilla, sin tratar de bordar o hacer puntadas sofisticadas la maquina funciona excepcionalmente bien, el embobinado y ensartado del hilo es facil y sencillo. Me hubiese gustado si el cable del pedal fuese unos 30 cm mas largo. If you are doing basic sewing, without anhy sophisticated stitches the machine works marvelously; it is easy to thread and use. I wish the cable for the pedal as just a foot longer

It is a lovely machine ...since I am a beginner I messed it up ..... However I think physical demo should be made compulsory ....... I would know how to use smooth if only I was guided properly

llega en empaque original y bien protegido. Es fácil de usar y requiere poco espacio para guardarse. Es práctica

Nice product for home use. working well with all functions. easy to use. only one start missing because price difference is 1000 inr high on Amazon vs flipkart