Thread: Help for a Newbie

OK...so let us rethink this....I agree with that added information it is not worth getting serviced, for the price you paid and the cost of service (outrageous !) you would be behind.....

I agree a new Singer would not be the best of choices, not like the oldies but goodies.

There is Phaff (?) Janome, Bernina, Brother and Viking, and I could no more afford to buy a new machine either. But these dealerships should have fully serviced good working trade-ins for sale....I agree with your thought of a drop in bobbin. I have one machine of each and when I am quilting and my bobbin runs out on my Bernina, all I have to do is reach under everything and change it. On the Brother with the drop in you have to take every thing off the surface to replace the bobbin, if you are just doing general sewing or piecing not a big issue. I do like the option of needle down in both my machines, that really helps when pivoting a corner or just straightening out your fabric. I personally don't think you 'need' any type of stitch regulator, just another thing to go wrong. Something that are 'nice to have' but not necessary is a needle threader and a thread cutter, especially if you do a lot of sewing, that darn needle eye gets smaller as the day gets longer.....and yes you do need feet, a general foot, 1/4", and a free motion foot....after that they are all special like for ruffles, piping, pintucks, picot edges, zippers etc.

I hope this helps a little

Originally Posted by pinkyrue01

The Bernina dealer does not have any used in my price range. What are your thoughts on buying a used one from Ebay?

I would not recommend buying a used sewing machine on ebay, unless the seller lived down the street, backed the machine with a return policy.....

Originally Posted by pinkyrue01

The Bernina dealer does not have any used in my price range. What are your thoughts on buying a used one from Ebay?

I think if you can find a Bernina 830 record, which is a mechanical rather than computerized machine, on Ebay it would be in your price range. They have all the needed features and are very sturdy, they will sew for decades with good results. I know this as I have been sewing on one since 1974. It still runs a as if it was new. Repairs over the time I have had it, well for the first twenty years I sewed so much on it I wore the bushings down to a nub and I have had to replace the foot pedal. I don't sew on it as much now as it is my backup to my Bernina 440 so it is in semi retirement. I still use it when I am teaching my friends daughter to sew. So look on Ebay and I think you will do better than with a low end box store machine. One of the advantages of a mechanical is you do not need to go to a Bernina dealer to have it serviced. Any sewing machine repair place will do it on a non computerized machine.