Can You Rent A Sewing Machine? See How Easy It Is

Not all people who know how and love to sew end up owning a sewing machine – and it’s completely fine. In many cases, you can rely on renting and never need to take the next step. For example, if you only consider picking sewing as a hobby, or if it’s not your priority and you complete a few projects in a year.

There are plenty of other reasons why you might want to keep it that way and rent sewing machines instead of getting one for yourself. It might be more cost-effective or just generally reasonable.

Opting for a sewing machine rental might have something to do with the costs of a specific type or brand of your favorite machine, or you might live in a place too small and stuffed to keep there your own sewing machine. You might be moving from place to place with all your belongings, and then a full-size sewing machine becomes a burden.

After all, you just might be tasting the waters with sewing to see if you like doing it at all. While the satisfaction of creating new things is undeniable, the actual process is far from being everybody’s cup of tea.

Anyway, can you rent a sewing machine? Sure, and there are plenty of options for how and where you can do this.

Average rental fees

Most sewing machine rentals charge $10-$30 per hour or $30-$65 as a daily fee. If you rent a sewing studio, an average daily fee is usually about $50, and you can use everything in it to your advantage. Some rental services even include thread as part of the amenities provided.

However, sewing machines are somewhat easy to break with clueless actions. In many places, you’ll be required to prove you have sewing skills (which you can obtain from scratch in sewing classes someplace like Hobby Lobby, for example). Otherwise, you’ll need to take their compulsory sewing lessons, which will add anywhere from $40 to $150 to your rental fee.

Note: some public places offer free access to sewing machines. Check local libraries to see if they have Makerspaces, Maker Spots, or Gathering Spaces – this might require you to be a city resident or have a membership, but it’s worth a shot.

For college students, many campuses have similar things. Also, local sewing-themed Facebook groups might have free equipment ads.

Types of sewing machines to rent

Sewing shops and teach-yourself books from a local library, as well as places like Hobby Lobby sewing courses, are all good ways to introduce yourself to sewing. And searching in the local thrift stores for free sewing patterns is great for keeping your interest high. But how do you navigate the world of sewing machines?

Renting is a great way to immerse yourself into the topic before you even consider getting yourself such an expensive piece of equipment for real. Let’s see what we can get there.

Simple sewing machines

When you need to rent a sewing machine for the first time, you might have so many questions and doubts that it might be best to start with a simple non-specific model and take it safely from there. The fewer options a machine has and the humbler the brand is, the cheaper the rent will be.

To start sewing painlessly, opt for machines like Janome, Singer, Brother, and Bernette. They are considered the best for beginners, being reasonably priced, user-friendly, and easy for learning how to sew, while staying good enough once you get more experienced and demand more.

Renting an embroidery machine

For an embroidery machine, in-house rent is how most people approach it. Not surprising considering how expensive new embroidery machines are, costing around $8000 while also being notoriously fragile and demanding.

An embroidery machine is capable of converting any image into an embroidery pattern, and then executing it perfectly, be it a sleek commercial logo or a lush floral pattern. Ways to use embroidery machines for unique designs are enormously versatile – just like embroidery patterns can be.

Operating it, though, requires skills beyond ordinary machine sewing, and even for a decent sewist it might be wiser to hire someone good with embroidery machines for a one-time project.

Embroidery machines are usually rented for a price of $20 or more, but in most cases, you’ll have to purchase additional service hours because an embroidery machine is a delicate mechanism. The costs of those vary from $1 to $5 and are usually a requirement, especially in cases with expensive and powerful embroidery machines of respectable brands.

Quilting machines

Quilting machines can be enormously expensive, easily costing up to $20,000, with the most expensive ones reaching up to $40,000. They can be both hand-guided or computer guided.

With quilting being a rather rarely used technique, having such a machine is not a common necessity even for small rentals. As a result, a quilting machine is sort of hard to come by in a local store unless it’s a big network. They charge anywhere between $15-$25 per hour with a minimum of two hours or $80-$120 per day.

Some amazing projects do require quilting, which is why large enough sewing rentals keep an option of a long-arm quilting machine rental available. quilted projects can be of very different complexity, resulting in different required time limits and costs.

Beware that (necessary) training for a quilting machine is quite expensive, reaching up to $120, plus you might still require additional training time on top of it.

Industrial sewing machines

Unlike domestic sewing machines with relatively feeble nylon or plastic gears, industrial machines are designed to endure hours of intense work on end with their metal insides.

Usually, industrial machines are meant for working with thin fabrics and can do anything from simple stitching to embroidery, producing big amounts of things like t-shirts and jeans in a short time.

But there is also a range of industrial sewing machines aimed at particularly hard materials. Those models are rarely used outside the specific productions, where an industrial machine like that is the only way to do it.

Renting an industrial sewing machine will cost you anywhere between $40-$60 per day. You can probably return the investment in one go if you sell merch t-shirts or something like that.

Upholstery sewing machine

Heavy-duty sewing machines, otherwise known as upholstery machines, are designed to sew very thick fabrics of upholstery materials, heavy to work with and often layered.

Their enormous needles and powerful motors can sew pretty much anything, but for obvious reasons, they are not a go-to option for a home purchase. The problem with owning an upholstery machine is how much valuable space it occupies, as it needs to be attached to a large strong table. Such a machine eats up so much space, it would look bizarre in any home.

Honestly, only very clear business purposes can justify purchasing upholstery machines for private use, which is why rental is the way to go. Upholstery machine rentals start at $35 an hour, but daily rentals might come cheaper than that – perfectly reasonable if you have no more than a few upholstery projects in a while.

Sergers

Even those with their own sewing machine tend to pick up a project that is beyond their resources at least every once in a while. Or maybe their resources don’t provide the quality they aim at.

For example, if you need exceptional factory-level quality of your stitches and overclocked edges, using a rented serger instead of your own normal machine might be a good option.

Unlike your usual domestic sewing machine, a serger pulls threads from way more than two standard sources (spool and bobbin). It has four or more spools that with minimal effort on your end manage to give the work unique production quality with a finished professional look.

While the costs of a serger (overlocker is another name for this machine) are anywhere between $300 and $1,500, you can rent a sewing machine of this type for $90 a day or $15 an hour – and you’ll get your project done with the professional quality of an industrial sewing machine.

Serger is an incredibly powerful tool for a limited amount of tasks, but it cannot replace the functionality of a sewing machine. This makes it a terrible candidate for your primary sewing machine and almost ensures you are going to stick with renting it further down the line, too.

Where to rent sewing machines?

There are plenty of sewing machine rental services anywhere in the US, some are small local stores that solely rent a sewing machine, and others belong to nationwide businesses and include everything from same-day delivery to your door to renting sewing tools. Some are also offering you a sewing studio where you can work or attend sewing classes.

Can you rent a sewing machine in Joann Fabrics and Crafts?

The most famous Sewing store network name on the market, Joann Fabric provides clients with excellent service available in-store strictly, seven days a week. Joann shops can be found in most places in the USA.

They charge hourly, but there’s no limit on how long you can use their machine by simply extending your paid time. For a smooth sewing machine rental, you must make a reservation before you arrive.

Joann Fabric allows its clients to use a wide range of top-tier sewing machines, long-arm quilting machines, circuit makers, and other specific tools with constant access to customer service in case of any emergency.

Renting a sewing machine in local stores/studios

Places like Joann Fabric have their obvious advantages, but there are plenty of other options to check out where you live. A local sewing store, whether it belongs to a larger network or not, can surprise you with its flexible service and the selection of available options.

Most such places offer rentals for home use with quick delivery and reasonable renting prices.

There might also be a rent-to-own option, which means that after regularly paying rent for a certain period, you end up owning it permanently. Rental companies like this have the best supply chains for renting new quality machines.

If this smooth path to owning a machine is what you want, check if this is how the place does it before you start renting – to prevent possible disappointment.

Also beware, that not every place that calls itself a sewing studio or store means sewing machine rental by it. Some are just sewing clothes, and without the research, this mashup of terms can easily ruin your day.

Peer-to-peer rental

If regular sewing machine owners want some profit from it, sites like Zilok or Craigslist (or Facebook) will allow them to offer rental services for those who need access to a machine.

As with anything done through a personal ad, it comes with the territory that both parties must be alert to any oddness and respect the agreement. Scams are unfortunately not unheard of here as well.

Usually, this way to rent a sewing machine is cheaper than what rental companies offer, which explains why it’s even a thing with all the shops out there.

Besides renting a sewing machine, this way you can find people who are ready to teach you what they can do – mostly for a humble price. In general, it is a good way to make acquaintances with the same interests as you.

Note: sewing machines are not the only thing that can be rented. If renting a studio with every tool present is not your case, you might consider renting additional tools to expand your sewing range – the Cricut machine, for example. The same goes for learning materials, patterns, etc. Ways to do it are the same as with sewing machines.

Makerspaces

In many cities, you can go to Makerspaces and there are a lot of them in the US.

Makerspaces are collaborative and community-oriented workshops that provide tools and resources for people and are open to individuals of all ages and skill levels.

Makerspaces with sewing machines can be found in various locations, such as:

• Public Libraries
• Community Centers
• Universities and Colleges
• Nonprofit Organizations
• Workshops and Studios

Here is a link to a Makerspace Directory where you can search for Makerspaces near you, but unfortunately not all are listed. If your Makerspace is not listed, you are welcome to do so on the website, so the list will be completed.

In such locations, you can meet people and use sewing machines or other equipment.

Renting sewing machine tools

When you rent a sewing machine, some rental services might let you also rent sewing tools and attachments. This means you don’t have to buy them separately. Normally, sewing machine rentals only include the machine itself, so if you need extra stuff, just ask the rental service to see if they have it available for renters.

FAQs

Conclusion

So, can you rent a sewing machine of any type, for any purpose, and with more or less any level of sewing skill? Pretty much, yes. You can rent sewing machines before you learn anything about them, and you can seek a sewing machine rental for learning to sew from scratch or for honing your existing skills.

And surely renting sewing tools is a good way to know whether or not they work for you, with your style of work and intentions – from small amateur projects to ambitious business models that require an industrial sewing machine to become reality.

But if you still decide to buy your own sewing machine, in this article you can read: How to choose a sewing machine.