I know nothing but my Friday lady is a sewing whizz and is all clued up on them so I'll ask her what she thinks when she comes.

Thanks Teddy.

If you're a complete novice, you only want one that will do straight stitches and zig zag.  Forget about all the knobs and whistles until you become more comfortable.

John Lewis has one for £129 that looks like it might be all right and a good one to start with.  A few extras that you may not use for awhile, but as you get more confident you might try them out.

http://www.johnlewis.com/230502389/Product.aspx

Thanks Suzi. That's one of the models I was looking at.

I just had a glance at Argos too.  There are several models there that are a bit cheaper and will probably do the job.

I have one sitting in my cupboard that I should get out!

dont ask me LOL. i'm a complete novice and just got one of freecycle. it looks kewl and apparently works well....bloody heavy. but no manual so need to buy one. i just keep looking at it and scratching my head atm

my mum was an ace sewer though, she could do anything with a sewing machine....pretty much lol

alot of people i know who sew seem to like the Dunelm sewing machines though. quite cheap and obviously worthy of the price (dearest is about £80 i think)

http://www.dunelm-mill.com/web...11100_-1_79209_10551

£69.99 sorry

My Mum was a whizz on the sewing machine, I however am not....they scare me...lol... They had some in Lidl and Aldi not long back, basic models I think but they were only around £60

Thanks peeps.  I quite like the look of the John Lewis one. It's one of the recommended Best Buys on Which magazine website.

I use a MIL.

i need someone to use