vegasgal47

I'm considering buying a used Baby Lock Elegante (not upgraded to 2 or 3) but read bad reviews also and I'm concerned. it's supposed to be the same as my friends Brother 4000D which she loves.

I'm so confused!!!

If anyone has one, would they share their experiences? Thanks

AliKat

I actually had bought one but it was waaay to heavy on the right side such that I had trouble lifting it. It did OK with the embroidery. I ended up trading it for a Pfaff which was much easier to lift and to use.

vegasgal47

Thanks Ali. I have another lighter machine to take to classes. I don't intend of moving the Ellegante once it's on my sewing desk. :-)

Did you have issues with the thread or bobbin breaking all the time?

NanaCsews2

Not every machine performs just as another person's does. Perhaps you can get ahold of any service records the machine has.
I have the Ellegante and love it. Mine is not noisy and has never been in for repair except when I bought it (used at 17 months as a quilt shop demo). I had the auto needle mechanism replaced by Babylock as it was under warranty and a prong was bent. It has everything I need except the better lighting and the larger throat the higher end Babylocks have. I added a Mighty Bright and it is well lit. I took it in a year ago for cleaning and checking over, and the service tech said it will last another 30 years or more.
As for thread breaking, be sure to use a thinner weight thread. Needle always up when threading. Mine loves Isacord, Sulky, Aurifil, but does use 30 and 40 wts of other brands with no problems. Correct needle for the thread, keep it clean, adjust tension as necessary, and hopefully no problems.

I am very satisfied and happy with my Ellegante. I don't have to oil it and it sews beautifully.

vegasgal47

Thank you so much Nana. I have a lot of Isacord, Floriana and use Aurifil for piecing quilts. (I don't sew garments YET).

I was thinking of asking for service records if the person who previously owned it had it serviced there. I'm assuming so because they are the only authorized dealer here for BL an Brother.

I plan on bringing in MY thread, stabilizer, bobbin and flash drive and doing a few tests on embroidery and sewing before I purchase it.

I'm excited to upgrade from my Brother PC8500D! I love it for sewing but will only use it for classes once I upgrade. I embroidered on it some but it was very frustrating because I couldn't tell what I was embroidering due to the crappy display plus everything showed in CM so I need a conversion chart.

vegasgal47

Nana,

Did you do any upgrades to your Ellegante? if so, was there big differences? Thanks!

Dolphyngyrl

There are going to be good and bad reviews of most machines as there are lemons out there in every brand, and I think some people just don't bond with their machine, not necesarily a bad machine but just not the machine for them. I would look at service record, stitch count, try it out with different threads. Are you buying used from a dealer or private party. If a machine is well cared for you can get something great for a good deal. I know whoever got my babylock espire from my dealer got a good deal, because she was well maintained and cared for. I always cleaned her out meticulously and she got serviced every year.

vegasgal47

Dolphygyrl,

Yes, I'm getting it from a dealer and they give me a 1yr parts and labor warranty plus free machine classes forever. I will ask about service record tomorrow when I go in. Hopefully she was their customer also so they will have that. I'm wondering if it was just turned in or if she upgraded it.

I'm bringing some Floriani, Isacord and Jenny Haskins thread with me along with some fabric and good stabilizer. I'm going to test out the sewing and the embroidery.

If all goes well, I'll be going back later in the day with someone and buying it. I'll keep you posted!! Keeping my fingers crossed that it works well. :-)

vegasgal47

Well, I'm the proud owner of a Baby Lock Ellegante! I spent hours in there sewing and embroidering. I used all sorts of thread and no breakage. My favorite feature is the auto threader. I thought the one with the lever on my PC8500D was great, this is wonderful! Second favorite feature is the fact that I don't have to take the embroidery unit off to sew. Of course, being able to actually see what I'm working on when embroidery is great. With the 8500 I couldn't tell what part of the design I was even working on. Just look like black dots or splotches to me.

So far I'm in love with it!! Plus the dealer is great which is a real plus. I'm going to bring it back toward the end of the week to learn more about it if I can't figure it out by then.

Thanks again everyone for your input!

Arlene

Lovequilting22

I don't have an Ellegante, but I do have a Baby Lock Esante and I absolutely love it!