in my opinion you are better off getting a good second hand machine for e.g. a Bernina 807 or an Elna SU air electronic, both sturdy machines used by schools and can run over layers of denim without fuss. I sew a great deal and worked for many sewing...
Wal-Mart for both sewing machines and sergers. They have machines that start out at like $97 and go up from there, they also have sergers that run around $150. They are good brands that do a good job, mostly Singer machines. My only suggestion is to ...
Serger or overlock machine. That's a fairly generous budget for most of the major brand machines, though they do go much higher than that. You'll find partisans for all brands, but I'd suggest you start with your local dealers, because they're the on...