Onebyone

One thing I noticed is that Bernina has so many high profile spokespersons that all get the newest machines to use so of course it is the brand many think is the ultimate machine. Branding and marketing makes the machine more desirable. I think the older machines were excellent and worth the money. The new models do not seem to be reliable. There is a reason the Bernina dealer here is backed up on repairs. So many new ones are brought in to be fixed. I can see the repair shop from a back open window in the shop. There are rarely any old models on the shelf, all new models.

sewingpup

I apologize for the wrong info I posted. I did do a search yesterday and that is where I got the info I posted yesterday so today I did another search and finally found more info. Yes, it seems it is a 4th or 5th generation person of Bernina who started this new company. It is apparently based in Chicago but is not manufactured there. It says they are manufactured in various countries depending on the parts and models mentioning Tiawan and China in particular. I did find it interesting that the eversewn website really does not list a location just the website and phone number. Anyway, it is confusing to me. I once was excited by all the info I could find online, now I learning to be very cautious and to verify info found on the web.

Onebyone

The Bernette Bernina machines are Swedish design but manufactured in Taiwan. So I would imagine a lot of parts for Bernina are manufactured there too. ?

Onebyone

A partner of a manufacturer told me a company does not build a manufacturing plant for all the parts they need when there is one that does it by contract work for companies. Different specs for some brands but made in same plant that contract for their parts to be made. No difference in workmanship as the same machines produce them all.

Karamarie

Sounds like the newer Berninas are just not as good as the older ones, but that is very much like a lot of things we purchase nowadays. Price goes up and quality goes down.

sewingpup

Ummm....So far I really do like my 590 except for the 9mm feed dogs when piecing...but it seems like a solid machine and I sure can customize it to the things that I like. Like the "hover" feature that lifts the pressure foot a little and leaves the needle down when I stop. It makes it so easy to do applique for the turning. It also has a knee lift if I don't want to use the hover and it has really small adjustments for stitch length and width. If I change stitch length, it remembers that until I turn it off for the day but if I want to save the setting I can in a menu or if I want, I can make it a default setting. Yeah, it has a lot of bells and whistles. I haven't really had any problems that were not me just not understanding how it works. For embroidery, I can switch the thread colors from the one the design was digitilized in by the designer to the color number closest to it in my collection of RA thread which does save a ton of time. It does have a stronger motor in it also so it will stitch through several layers of fabric. If I tell it the type of fabric and what kind of stitching I am doing, it will auto select things like the stitch length and foot pressure. It also has an "ECO" mode that just simply turns off most of the lighting in case you want to take a break. When I come back, I just touch the screen and it wakes up with all the same settings. I think I am liking it the same if not more than my beloved Viking D1 which I had for years before the screen died on it. That machine, I sure did get my money out of it using it for everything from piecing, to making drapes, to making some clothing, bags, ect. I do like it better than I did my 440 and my 630.

quiltedsunshine

I really love my Bernina 590! I've had it for about 4 years.

I was a sewing machine tech for 8 years, and came to understand what any machine needs. If you hold the thread tails every time you start sewing (like we all learned in Jr. High sewing class), that will eliminate a lot of your problems. Especially with the newer Berninas, and especially when you use the embroidery feature.

There's a work-around for getting your 1/4" seam on the wide feed dogs. But it's like any machine, everyone finds their 1/4" in a different place. I like to guide the fabric just inside the feed dog hole. Some like to use the edge of the presser foot. Others like to guide the edge along a line on the needle plate. You will be more successful with your 1/4" seam when you employ both feed dogs. So use those bells and whistles to make it work for you. I use the clear #34D foot and move the needle position over 3 bumps.

I love the lighting, the jumbo bobbin, the "hover" feature, and all of the other programmable options.

Bernina really messed up for a few years, but I think they've got themselves back together.

Iceblossom

Question for QuiltedSunshine -- how do you hold the thread tails if you use the automatic thread cutter? I really liked that particular option. I've seen various posts that other machines were too long or too short, but for me the Bernina was just right.

I loved the features of my 820. Big, well lit, easy to thread, extra large but proprietary bobbin case. I didn't find it difficult to use or understand and I made the decision that I could either learn and use the bells and whistles or I might as well keep with my vintage machine. The design of the bobbin case was part of what Bernina admitted to as a bad design decision. Because I have a high quality/heavy duty sewing table in my next machine I do want a top loading bobbin, but that is more because of the table and not the design of the bobbin casing. That wasn't what failed -- it was the sensor. I disabled the sensor and it worked fine for quite a time but as I said -- it seemed to have a timer on how long I could have the sensor disabled and by then the top sensor went too. BTW, the prices I found on line was that the bobbin sensor alone was about $200 not including labor.

The problem was the machine itself and its parts didn't work. It wasn't over use, most of the time before me it just sat. For the year it was in the shop it just sat. My vintage machine did fine with much higher usage for years and years and years (including when the .Bernina was out for repairs) And all I got from the local store was some sort of vague suspicion that it must be me and not the machine, and just a shrug of the shoulders that I should buy a new one. Trust me, I threaded it correctly, I used various threads to see if some worked better than me... The problem was not me. Doesn't matter to me that I got it for free -- it was the cost of a car (at the time) and it didn't work and the company did not support its product.

Fizzle

I love my original Bernina. Got it in about 1984. Its a 930 Record. Mechanical.

finally got a 770qe in 2016. Bought at a big quilt show and got a good price. Its not my favorite but i dont have any issues with it. Its big.

bought a Juki last year. Again at a quilt show. They dont like to haul machines back to their shops so they make pretty good deals on them. Still getting to know her but liking it a lot.

i guess i am not fancy. Will never use all the features of my 770.

all that being said.
I am a Bernina girl.
Love the machines. The factory. Customer service (from Bernina-not a shop). Might get a small Bernina next sale to haul around and take to cabin

but. Every brand has its quirks. And every brand could produce a lemon.

Heavy sigh. Price we pay for what we love

SusieQOH

I have the same machine and love it. I wonder if you got a lemon? Wow, that's disappointing.