PumpkinSundae

Hi...my sewing machine's motor died and I have to start looking for a new one. I know I need to do a test drive at the dealer but was wondering if you would be kind enough to mention what machine you like. I didn't use any of the fancy stitches on my old machine. I know the dealer sells Bernina, Babylock, Singer and Juki.

Thank you for taking the time to answer.

A weekend without my machine.

Prism99

Well, I love my Bernina 1230 but it is something like 15 years old and not made anymore. Not sure I could afford a new Bernina at their current prices. Whatever you do, don't get a Bernette!!! If you can't afford a Bernina, there are other brands of sewing machine much better than the Bernette.

I would also definitely recommend against getting any Singer machine. The vintage Singer machines are wonderful, but Singer is not a good brand for machines nowadays.

A lot of people like Babylock. The straight-stitch Juki is very popular among quilters for piecing and machine quilting. For me, the straight-stitch Juki would not be enough if it were the only machine I had, as I wouldn't be able to do machine applique with it (I want zigzag and a few specialty stitches for that!).

It's best to first decide on your budget, as that will eliminate a lot of machines. Then make a list of features you definitely want. For me, needle-down is a necessity for piecing and quilting! Aside from some specialty stitches, I would also really like a machine that would be able to stitch out labels for me. (Although theoretically my old Bernina can do this because it has an alphabet; in reality it's very difficult to get an entire line printed out correctly and neatly -- at least by me.)

Stitchnripper

Don't discount the Brother machines. You can go from very low end to one with bells and whistles with everything in between.

Tartan

What is your budget and must haves? I wanted needle up/down feature, a nice buttonhole stitch, feed dogs to lower for FMQ and the Bernina Stitch Regulator for my Bernina 440 . It cost about $3000 a couple of years ago before they discontinued it.

lalaland

Absolutely do that test drive, sometimes you are just not comfortable with a machine and you want to know that before you think about buying it. Also, do you want a mechanical or a computerized machine? There's a big difference in price between the two.

I'm personally not a Bernina fan but my friends that have them love them and rarely do I hear about problems with them. My Babylock is an embroidery machine but one thing my dealer said was they have a pretty high quality control standard on their machines so that's something good to know. I've never had an issue with my Babylock. My Juki is an old serger which will probably be going strong long after I'm gone, the Juki name has a good reputation Singer dropped the ball several years ago when they put plastic casings on metal parts and within 6 months the casings shattered and wrecked havoc with their machines. There were other issues as well but that was the main one. They seem to be gaining ground with their newer models but now consumers are gun shy. The old mechanicals are still the best.

There are other brands that your dealer doesn't sell that are good dependable machines, like Brother, Pfaff and Janome. My primary sewing machine is a computerized Kenmore that is over 20 years old and works like a charm. You might consider one of those as well if you feel comfortable with not having a dealer close by.

squirrelfood

I have a 1983 top of the line Singer, and a new model bottom of the line Brother. I absolutely love my Singer but the mileage is beginning to tell on her. She has eaten thousands of spools of thread and run hundreds of miles of fabric through her chassis. The Brother, I am just getting acquainted with, so can't say much yet. But it does feel kind of lame after the lovely Singer for so many years.

Nammie to 7

I'm a Bernina gal -- I have the big 830 and love it. My second machine is a 350 and I love it also. It is very important for me to have a good service department also. Just had my 830 in for cleaning and updates, that is why I have the 2nd machine -- I hate to miss a day of sewing while one machine is in the shop. My grandkids use the 350 all the time. I take it to the kitchen table so I can monitor them better. As mentioned by Prism99 -- you have to decide what features are important and what your budget is. Get the best that you can afford, you are worth it and you won't regret it.

Emma S

I am like a broken record but I have a Brother 1500S, that I am really, really happy with. It is strictly mechanical. It has a automatic thread cutter, a knee lift, needle down and best of all a 9" harp. The motor is powerful and sews through many layers without even a hiccup. (No I do not own a share in the company.) I've had it for about three years with daily use and never had a problem. If something ever happened to it I wouldn't hesitate to get one just like it. Oh, the going price is about $795. I wouldn't worry about not having a local dealer since the machine is so simple and straight forward.

Doggramma

I have a Bernina 820. It's a big machine that doesn't have the embroidery option. I really like my machine. But we've had our issues. It doesn't like certain threads, it likes certain needles with other certain threads, and it tends to "shove" the top fabric a touch forward when piecing so it can make things a touch "off" (I understand this is from the wider feed dogs). But there are many things to like also. The larger throat space and stitch regulator are wonderful for FMQ, the automatic needle threader is great, and I really like the needle-down and knee lift features. It's very easy to wind a bobbin and it lets you know when the bobbin is getting low. It can either cut or "tie off" your threads.

I originally got a Bernina because I liked the dealer.

If I was looking for a machine now I'd probably look for a less expensive machine with the features I like the most.

Anael

I just sold my Bernina 440 QE with BSR foot. It's a fine machine but I had lots of tension problems, specially with FMQ! I rarely used the BSR foot as it's huge and it's hard to see where you've been and where you need to go. Backtracking is very difficult with the BSR, at least that's my opinion.
I used to sew a lot of clothes on my Bernina but not anymore so I sold it and I'm buying a Juki now with more throat space.