Tips on buying a sewing machine.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

If you haven't shopped for a sewing machine in a few years, prepare to be confounded.

This machine sells for $300. That one sells for $3,000. How do you select the machine that's best for you?

Give some thought first to how you're going to use the machine, recommends Lora Crites of Akron (Ohio) Sewing Machine Center. Features like on-screen tutorials and automatic embroidery are enticing, but ask yourself whether you'll use them enough to pay a premium for them.

Compare brands, and ask to try out the machines you're considering, she says. A good test is whether the machine can sew a hem in denim easily, she says, so take along a pair of blue jeans for the test run.

Look for a rotary hook _ the mechanism that turns the bobbin _ rather than an oscillating hook, Crites recommends. A rotary hook turns in one direction; an oscillating hook, used in cheaper machines, turns back and forth. Oscillating mechanisms jam easier, start slower, have a harder time going through heavy fabrics and are more apt to get out of sync, she says.

She suggests buying a machine that's mostly metal, not plastic. It should feel heavy when you pick it up, she says.

Crites also recommends asking about the warranty and the company's trade-in policy. Find ...