FGlinda

A friend has just offered me her Babylock Ellegante which she purchased about 3 yrs ago. Does anyone have this machine? What do like/dislike about it? This would be a new adventure for me as I have never had an embroidery machine. I'm also not totally sure I want to go that route. My sewing is mainly quilts . Currently, I have a Viking Sapphire & to be honest I'm frustrated by it & have been thinking about getting rid of it. We have not discussed price yet - she did say that she didn't have any idea what to ask for it. She is a very particular person so I know the machine has been well maintained. Any thoughts/suggestions?

QuiltnNan

apparently there is a model 2 and 3... do you know which one she is offering?

Wonnie

I have the Baby Lock Quilters Choice, not the Elligante. I detached the cords to take it in to have it cleaned at the end of the first year under warranty. I was told by removing the plug, which enabled me to get it into my case,I had done something to the wire inside (?) and it cost me a lot of money to get it repaired . Now, 3 yrs. later, I took it in to another service center because the feed dog switch refused to move right or left and the automatic threader no longer worked. He repaired the feed dog problem, cleaned it, told me I could remove the plug at any time and couldn't understand why I was told I couldn't but told me Baby Lock refused to send parts to any service centers and that I would have to go to a Baby Lock dealer to get the automatic threader wire repaired. Doesn't mean you would have any problems, of course, and the Elegante is a much more expensive machine so these issues may not be a problem. I'm assuming you live within driving distance to a Baby Lock dealer because, for me, the closest ones were over 50 miles away making it a 100 plus mile trip. Good Luck.! Mine may just have been a lemon but I thought I should mention it anyway.

sewbizgirl

I would never spend the money on an embroidery machine. I really dislike machine embroidery... but that's just me. Others seem to love it. If you aren't sure you want it, I hope you won't feel obligated to buy it because a friend offered it to you.

For that kind of money, I'd be looking for a long arm machine, or at least a sit down.

williesmom

I bought a used Baby Lock Elegante from my hand piecing instructor. I am in love! I do have to have it cleaned/serviced once a year, which runs about $100. I'm not particularly interested in the embroidery part, but use it for piecing and some quilting. Best purchase I ever made.

Shorebird

I have a Babylock sewing/embroidery machine and I LOVE IT!! Once you get started with machine embroidery (if you like monogrammed towels, napkins, kitchen towels, or customizing T Shirts, etc....) you will really enjoy the ease of operation with these machines..........find a dealer who offers classes, and HAVE FUN!!!

MARCHNFL

I have an Ellegante... love the machine! It is super for piecing and quilting and just about any other kind of sewing. It is easy to operate ( user friendly), has lots of features - stitches, designs and alphabets. ...some you will use and some you won't, but they are there!. The embroidery unit is also easy to attach and operate if you want to use this. There have been upgrades to the machine so check what is on it. It does just about everything you might want to do.

sheilar

I don't have the Ellegante but a viking embroidery/sewing machine,got it for a good price. I was mainly interested in the sewing part. I love the embroidery part now since I can quilt my quilts on it

Snooze2978

I have the Ellegante 1. Got it when it 1st came out. Loved how it embroidered back then and that's basically what I used it for as it had the larger hoops than my old Viking D1. Now that I have the Viking Epic with even larger hoops I rarely use the Ellegante for anything. I'm so in love with the Viking regular sewing and love how you can set it to stop with the needle down which also brings the foot up just a titch so you can adjust the fabric. The Babylock doesn't do that. I'm thinking of getting rid of the Babylock as I have a simple Brother machine that does basic sewing when I need it.

The Babylock was a great machine in its day but I just don't use it much. Even got a couple of the magnetic hoops for it but then traded in the D1 for the Epic so its my "GO TO" machine these days.

Rhonda K

Are you interested in the machine for embroidery too? It's an older model compared to newer ones but you can see all the specs and sizes at the BL website. Search for Previous models and it is there.

If upgrades have been done, make sure that you receive them also in case you ever need to re-load them into the machine.

You will also need threads, stabilizers and bobbins for your machine to get started with projects if you don't have supplies already. It's a whole new adventure and quite fun.

Can you do embroidery with your other machine? What function or part is frustrating you? Let us know and perhaps we can help you with solutions.

Good luck!