Originally Posted by
happinessbears
...I actually did some research and have found out more about other sewing machine brands. I'm currently looking at Bernina, Janome, and Juki sewing machines ...Did I mention that the price range that my grandparents put down originally was $300 - $400?
But thankfully my grandmother has been on my side this whole time
(my dad and mom not) So please, help me!
I see myself in you--at least the way you describe yourself. I made my first dress when I was 8 and was sewing for the public by the time I was in high school. Sewing was therapy to me and also saved our family a lot of money. I used old clothes to make new ones for smaller people. For example: girls wore gathered skirts back then and many were in plaid. I could use my old skirts to make little boys shirts. Then I learned to make quilt pieces out of the scraps--actually the original way women used to quilt. During my college years I paid for my courses by doing alterations for people--mostly wealthy women for whom I also cleaned house. I sewed quite a lot for girls in my dorm, but they rarely paid what my work was worth.
Now to the sewing machine choices... My final year in college I was thinking of getting married and knew I did not want to take my mother's machine with me to my new home. Mother had bought the White (treddle) machine for $15 when I was born and it had been a used one. The cabinet was in mint condition. Every time I passed a sewing machine company window the new electric models beconed me. One such machine was a Singer 401 Slant-o-Matic. I was mesmerized by the prospect of having a new electric machine all my own. My covetousness got the best of me and I made a deal with the store manager to bring my White machine (in mint condition) to the store as a trade-in. I paid $400 for the new electric Singer and he got the old one. What I did not know (store owners never tell you things like this) was that the antique I gave him was worth far more than the new Singer. My mother cried and I cried, but a contract is a contract. If only I had consulted my mother first... So much for the wisdom of a young girl.
My choice would probaby be a cheaper model Janome or maybe a Bernina if you knew the parts would last with time as well as lots of use.
BTW, I still use that same old Singer 401 and love it. I sew; I quilt; I patch and I still do alterations for people. I have had a new (very expensive) Elna and gave it away because my old machine was more reliable. There is no computer to go haywire when it gets bumped by my kids or grandkids.