Recommendations for and idiot friendly sewing machine

I have a brother FS130, it is a "better" machine and does a lot more than just straight and zigzag but it is so easy to use. It is light weight but doesn't move when sewing. A few professional people use them too. I was always told buy better than you need right now so you can grow into it! You can often get a good deal on them on one of the tv selling sites. I got mine at half price. There is also a Gemini one that seems good and it is cheaper but I haven't used it so can't say. PM me if I can help with anything.

A few years ago I bought a very basic, but nearly new, Singer on ebay. It can do zigzags as the only extra.
The only thing I find difficult is threading, mainly the round shuttle and the pickup with the top thread. My fingers aren't so nimble now, the old boat shuttle was so much easier.

Try going to Hobbycraft if you have one near you. They I think do some reasonably priced straightforward ones and might have some classes. You might also try looking for a basic model of a well known make and then (before buying) look on the internet for some videos. I have found them helpful when trying to find out things myself.

I know what you mean - they're often far too complicated. I recently needed to replace my machine so I looked up the make I wanted - in my case it was Singer because that's what I'm used to. I think the other makes will do the same thing - that is have a range of machines from basic to all singing all dancing. I picked one in the middle and had no trouble setting it up even though it was very different from my old one. It's easy to use and my only complaint is that it is so light! A good thing where picking it up is concerned but it tends to move about a bit when in use.
It's worth googling the various makes and seeing what their basic machines are like, both for specifications and price.
Hope you find something you like!

Bog standard!

Hi Supergabs yes it does. I bought a big standard Janome a few years ago (straight stitches and zig-zag) and I'm very happy with it.

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