Originally Posted by LucyInTheSky
My first sewing machine was a Hsqvarna (except they spelled it right), very inexpensive machine (did what I needed it for). To change the feet, there was a screw driver and a tiny little screw. You unscrewed, hoped you didn't lose it, and tried to rescrew it on. Pain.
I switched to Bernina about 2 years ago. Probably my favorite feature on my machine is how easy it is to change the feet. Open lever, pull off foot, put on new foot, close lever.
So my question to y'all - what are other machine brands like? I knew I wanted a Bernina when I upgraded... meant to look at Pfaff and Babylock but fell in love with my machine when I first saw it
You'll never regret your Bernina. I've never lived near a dealer so have had to go with what is sold nearby. I too had a Viking for years which I loved but it had snap on feet as do my 2 Pfaff machines. My little Baby Lock Maria has a release lever which is nice but I had problems with hitting the lever when using the thread cutter. I love both of my Pfaff's as I have to have a lighter weight machine but my first choice would be another Viking as they are awesome - at least my one was and I used it 16 years and only had it in the shop twice for good measure and not because it had a problem but it was so heavy that I couldn't even scootch it on my desk and I had an abdominal wall injuring meaning no heavy lifting or scootching. Can't stop sewing so now it's a Pfaff. I wanted to check out a Janome as their are rave reviews on them but there has never been a dealer anywhere near me.