anitaquilt

So, I fell in love with quilting and I bought a little Janome when I started out that has served me very well, and I've really just adored it. The only issue I have is that it doesn't do embroidery. Hubby said that I could upgrade my machine if I want (I know I know, he's amazing :)), but I'm really having trouble deciding what I want. Buying a new machine is like buying a car! So I pose the question, which machine is best? And/or where can I find a good site that explains the differences between them all? I will be using the machine (daily!) primarily for quilting/embroidery projects, and I'm not looking to start a business or anything in the near future. I'm trying to stay under 5K.

Prism99

5K is a *lot* of money! Instead of getting one machine that is all-singing and all-dancing, consider getting two machines -- one that can be busy automatically sewing out embroidery patterns for you while you sew on the other.

There is no one *best* sewing machine, unfortunately. There are pros and cons to every single one. You have to figure out what features are most important to you and make sure that the machines you look at have those features. With this amount of money, it is also critical for you to actually sit down and try out the machines before buying. You wouldn't buy a car model without a test drive, right?

Bernina, Pfaff and Janome tend to be the brands favored by quilters these days. For a long time there was a top-of-the-line Singer that seemed to be the favorite choice for embroidery, but I don't know if that is the case nowadays. Things change from year to year.

A good place to check for reviews is http://www.patternreview.com . Joining is free, and then you get to read both old and new reviews of different sewing machine brands and models.

nursie76

I have a Bernina 440QE with the embroidery module and love it! The Idea of 2 machines is a good one as you can be sewing while the other is embroidering. Most Bernina dealers handle gently used machines at a great savings. Bernina does make an embroidery only machine I think. Some of the upper end Brothers seem to be good embroidery machines too. Maybe keep your Janome for sewing and get another for embroidery. Pattern review is a good site. The best idea is to go to the different dealers and test drive the different machines...not just for a minute or two, but an hour or two and get a feel for all the different bells and whistles...find our what you can live without and what are just must haves! Searching for just the right machine is exciting, have fun.