Quilting Chris

I think I'd like to buy a compact light-weight (but usable) machine I can take to classes, use at the weekend cabin and also take along on our 2 month winter trip to Arizona. I don't need fancy stitches, it will be used primarily for piecing. I also don't need it to be computerized. I'm looking to stay under $300. Does anyone have any recommendations? I thought one of the Janome Jem models might work for me.

imsewnso

Janome Jem has been the machine of choice for a lot of girls. Personally I would stay with something from a dealer that can be serviced. I have been told that WalMart machines cannot be serviced because parts are not available. However, if you are willing to take the risk....they are cheap enough. The Jem is in your price range.

Dolphyngyrl

I have used my walmart brother for the last 5 years as my travel/class machine and it has been problem free. I have the SQ-9050 but it was replaced at walmart by the SQ-9185 which gets good reviews. I love my little travel machine. She makes the best little straight stitch.I have never had my baby serviced and never have needed any repairs and have done some heavy duty projects with it with very thick seams no issues. If she should need repair down the line I will probably just replace it because it is really an affordable machine and would cost more to repair than the machine costs but that is probably the case with most lower end machines. I don't forsee that anytime soon since my original low end brother from 1994 is still going strong. I have purchased 3 low ends, and have never gotten them from a dealer and only have taken in a few for a thorough cleaning but I am anal about cleaning my machine every time I sew anyway. Brothers tend to be problem free at least for me anyway. I have 4 and also had a babylock I traded in for my high end brother. all 4 of my machines still run beautifully and I adored my babylock prior and it was also problem free

Stitchnripper

I agree with everything Dolphyngyrl said about the low end Brother machines. I have 3 - one at my house and one at each of son's. They are trouble free, take any thread, have never needed a dealer or repair, work right out of the box and don't have tension issues. The manuals are very good too. This is based on my own personal experience.

Patrick's Mom

I LOVE my 1939 Singer Featherweight. I have traveled with it in my carry-on. It's tiny, weighs less than 15# and has a beautiful straight stitch for piecing...

Stitchnripper

I love my featherweight too - but if the OP wants a machine any time soon she may not find a featherweight at her price in good condition for a long time. It took me a very long time to find mine and I went to garage and estate sales and thrift stores on a very regular basis.

Imsewinso - I wonder if whoever told you about the Brother machines had personal experience with any of them? We have many members here on QB that have them and have had no problems with them.

quiltingcandy

I have a small Europro that I got from HSN about 7 years ago (under $100.00) and it is my travel machine and has not let me down. I highly recommend the Brother machines too. My sister bought the quilting model from Costco well over 10 years ago and uses it to this day. I have seen them recently for under $200.00 and has a lot of stitches. I have my little FW - it doesn't travel much because of my Eurpro has more stitches. But it does travel well and doesn't weigh that much.

canmitch1971

I give another vote to Janome Gem Platinum..... I absolutely love mine and she only weighs 13 lbs.... It is a little work horse.

DOTTYMO

The feather weight is ideal if you can find one with a zigzag even better. The other small machines have a mixture of small stitches.i take a small husqvana Viking H100j which is light weight with a selection of stitches. Works great to take to classes in UK I paid £200 sure it must be in other countries as well.

Cari-in-Oly

Not so, dealers will tell you just about anything to get you to buy from them. What is true however is they can refuse to service anything they don't sell. And a complete service or repair from a dealer can cost more than just purchasing another machine. It's not cost effective for either side. Any machine can be serviced.
The US and Canada are the only two major countries in the world where a whole new revenue source has been created by servicing(clean/oil/adjust) sewing machines. In every other major country people are still taught to service their own machines when they buy them, just like it used to be here "in the olden days." When my 25yr old Brother embroidery machine needed repair(because of previous owners stupidity) it would have cost me $150 to have the dealer fix it so I found a service manual on line for $20 and fixed it myself.

Cari