Originally Posted by
Mary Ellen Lowry
I purchased a Bernina 830 about 3 years ago with some inheritance $$$ from my mother, who instilled my love for sewing. I have been sooo disappointed! Due to my schedule since her death, I have had more limited sewing time (used to sew everyday for stress relief). EVERY TIME I sit down to do anything on this machine it takes me 1-3 hrs to get it to sew correctly and it seems to be that it just has to decide for itself when it is ready to work because what I do to fix it one day does not work the next. Yesterday I spent all day trying to get it to work and it never did. I have had it to the shop several times and it always sews fine there, but I get it home and it is a completely different story. I have tried different thread, needles, stabilizers, everything with no luck. I am DONE with this machine! I need a machine that I can sit down and sew or embroider that works when I sit down. This Bernina has made me dread sewing....something that I NEVER thought possible! Please give me some recommendations for sewing/embroidery machines. I want a larger throat and something that will accommodate a larger embroidery hoop. Thanks so much!
Is your machine sitting level? If not then it will not work right. These 830's MUST be level. It also must be on a very sturdy table, as they vibrate a lot. Does your bobbin have any of the silver worn off? If so it won't work or will throw the machine off. The 830's is "Sewing computers". I've had a few issues with mine, but got the bugs worked out. I use my machine a lot. A tiny piece of thread stuck where it shouldn't be will throw it off & cause major issues. When I took mine in for service I sat with the tech. There were times it'd sew great for him, but once home back to the same problems. The next time they set it up on a table in their class room & the tech sewed on it & then I sewed on it. Yep it did all the things I had trouble with at home. So one of the ladies tried & she too had trouble. Upon further inspection...totally ripping the whole machine apart, the tech found a tiny piece of thread had somehow worked it's way into the right side of the machine & wrapped around a sort of wheel thing that tells the machine to change needle position, cut the thread, etc. I kept getting the "geasrs of death, warnings the thread was broke when it wasn't, needle would stitch up & down in place real fast, etc. No idea how that thread got in there, as it's a closed off area under the main steel plate, but once out it now works great.
I'd suggest calling your dealer & set up a day to spend the whole a day at your dealer. Have a few different people sew on it, thread, it, do embroidery, etc & see if any of the issues you have show up. INSIST they fix it.