I've always hemmed my husband's jeans on my older Bernina. With the help of a hump jumper it does fine. My mother used to swear by my grandmother's old Franklin treadle to sew anything heavy. She mended horse blankets and even sewed custom saddles pads for me on it. It would sew things that her 301 couldn't.

I have a Bernina 930, but it was gifted to me and needs a new needle bar so I haven't sewn much with it. My friend had one that she had purchased new and she loved it. I don't know how it is for heavy work and they cost a fortune now so . . .

I have found that with my Bernina's the need for a walking foot is much less that with other machines. The walking foot for my 180 works very well, but I don't always use it. When I'm doing something small or something with thin batting, I dont' usually bother with the walking foot.

Look into industrial machines. I really wish I had before buying my Juki 2010. Ended up buying a Juki industrial later and like it so, so much better. The cost was about the same. Servo motors are so much nicer than the old clutch motors that made most industrial machines a lot more difficult to work with. They can sew fast, but also very, very slowly if needed.

That's great advise - if/when I need to replace or upgrade to a stronger machine I will remember this. What model of Juki Industrial did you purchase? I know you're a consumer of all types of wonderful machines and always appreciate your shared experiences!

I second this idea. Donna Jordan uses a model 8700 Juki machine in her videos. I’ve seen them online for $800 or less. I don’t know if you consider that budget friendly, but I think it is a good value.

I bought the Juki DDL-8700. This is a straight stitch/no computer machine - but if you also want a big throat area, and the table gives a great, stable sewing area. Never have to worry about the foot pedal wondering off either. The main down side is they are heavy and Not portable, but when I'm wrestling with a binding a king quilt, the machine never shifts.

I also have a Janome HD9 professional. I really like it and use it for my purse making and often for piecing. It is a straight stitch mechanical machine. Has a needle threader (that I was not thrilled with at first but I have gotten used to), thread snips, and knee lift for presser foot. I just hemmed some jeans on it and had no problems.

What's a "hump jumper"??

I bought a Consew a few months ago. It does work great for straight sewing on denim, but I'm not loving the machine for many other reasons. I wish I had bought an industrial Juki instead.

I think that is the little button on the side of a certain presser foot that kind of shifts the balance of the foot backwards, so the foot will go over thicker pieces of fabric bunched together in multiple seams. You have to keep the button depressed the whole time with your finger. I might be wrong about this, though.

i have a thick plastic piece about 1.5” square. It’s called. “Jean a ma Jig” and it helps a presser foot get through a thick seam of many layers. A sewing notion I’ve had for years.