New Machine Advice
 

I should preface this by saying that I am a Vintage Sewing Machine owner. I have 3. I have a newly restored featherweight that I piece on, a Model 66-16 I quilt on and do anything that involves a walking foot, hot pads, oven mitts, yada yada yada.

Well, recently I had a Singer 1425 follow me home and it's really not the machine for me. It's going to need quite a bit of work I'm afraid.

I wasn't in the market for a new machine. My little Janome is 10 years old and after a couple major breaks, is not going to be worth fixing compared to replacing her. I casually mentioned to hubby I no longer have a machine that does zig zag or blanket stitch or anything.

I believe "Santa and his elves", my darling hubby and my 3 little boys were looking at a Singer 5540. I've read the reviews and it seems the people who really like it, LOVED it and the people who had problems with it HATED it. I do not want embroidery or machine quilting or anything like that. The only thing I would use this machine for is applique or some decorative stitching on finished tops, no quilting.

What do you guys think? I cannot turn down a sewing machine, but don't want to get a junk one either.

Thanks in advance.

Melissa

Do you have a link to the machine? I couldn't find it online anywhere.

Personally, I would discourage your elves from buying any modern Singer. The vintage Singer machines are great, but the newer ones can be terrible (especially prone to tension issues, I think). In this price range, I would steer them to a Brother instead. Walmart online carries both, but the Brother machines have a much better reputation. (If they buy the machine from Walmart, it is easy to return and get the machine you want. Dealerships vary, in that quite a few will not take a machine back even if it is still in the box unless you upgrade.)

I have to agree with Prism99. I wouldn't buy a new Singer, regardless of what the price was.

I appreciate the advice ladies. I only hesitated on the brother as one of those cheap walmart brother's was my first machine and I outgrew it quickly. Good thing I only want it for small things. I went to my old sewing machine guy and just do not understand cams and all this other junk to get decorative stitches from a vintage machine or I would have just gone that way. We'll see what the boys do.

I would stay away from the singer, but that is just me I guess. I would buy a Brother, I recently bought a Brother at Costco for classes, very light weight and really nice machine.

I have a Viking Sapphire 830 and love it. The best feature is the auto foot lift when in needle down mode. It just lifts enough to slide the fabric under the foot. Great for chain piecing and aplique. It also has 10 inchs of space from needle to throat.

I love my brothers also, maybe a brother PC-420 is a nice all around model with good feature.

I don't know how true this is, but I talked to an OSMG who told me Singer hasn't manufactured a sewing machine in several years. He said Janome makes them now and the quality is much better.

This VERY much surprises me. I have not heard this and I am on MANY sewing machine groups. Singer has been owned by a holding company, SVP, for years, NOT Janome.

I you want a ZZ machine I would look for a Kenmore from the late 60s-mid 70s. Most are all steel (check inside to be sure). I love my 148.1560 and it has a free arm too. Usually these can be bought for $50 or less.

I suspect Singer would love to have the rumor out that Janome makes their machines! NOT. Janome does not make Singer machines. I would strongly suggest that you look at the Janome line. There are numerous machines that will not break the bank that will do all the things you need. If you quilt a lot and have the budget, the 6600 is a real workhorse. The new 8900 is also a gem. I have owned Janomes for decades. They make quality machines for a reasonable price. Make a list of your needs and go shopping on line to look at everything. Brubakers in Holland PA are a dream to work with. Allbrands.com is another source for all kinds of machines and the Janomes. If you want the auto thread cutter, great for piecing, the 3160 is a great little machine. If you are looking for a machine that will handle all kinds of quilting, the 6600 has everything. If you want to spend several thousand plus, the 8900 would be my choice. So, your needs, and budget will tell you which one is best. Quality and durability should prevail in your search. Best wishes in your quest. Diana

I, too, am looking at getting a new machine. I am looking at a Bernina 560, but am leaning towards the Janome 8900QSC. I like that the 8900 will tackle all sorts of fabric (l like making totes out of heavy fabric) plus it has a much larger throat than the Bernina. Still trying to decide.

I don't know this particular machine, but the first question I would ask is how far are you from the nearest authorized Singer warranty service center (not just a place that does sewing machine work, but the warranty work)? I got a new Singer 9960 in May from Amazon at a great price. I loved it and had a great time with it for 90 days. Amazon has a 90 day return period, and it's as if this machine knew about that because it was on day 90 it refused to sew a stitch. I tried everything I could think of, read the manual through several times, and finally called Jo-ann's because I had seen a sign in the sewing machine area saying they service Singers. They don't do warranty service. For that you have to get the machine to the authorized place, which in my case is about an hour away. And I'm lucky, because there are only 3 places in Texas that do this work, and Texas is big. If I lived in Lubbock, for example, instead of in the greater Houston area, I would have to ship the machine either to El Paso, Dallas or Houston, which are all 5-7 hours away by car. I haven't looked, and it's possible there is one in Omaha or Lincoln, but I would check into the availability of warranty service before buying any machine.

There's a chance that Amazon might have taken pity on me and let me return the machine if I'd asked. Because it had a year of full warranty coverage for parts and labor I chose to have it fixed. It needed a new main circuit board, and I was told that if I'd had to pay for that it would have cost more than I paid for the machine. Maybe it will work for years without another problem. I don't know, but I'm treating it like a Faberge egg. I do enjoy sewing with it, but I'm a little less than thrilled that I bought it in the first place, and I probably would not buy another Singer.

But what to buy? Pfaff, Singer and Viking are all owned by the same corporation, and no matter how wonderful everyone may think their Pfaffs and Vikings are, for me they have been tainted by association. When it took more than 6 weeks to get the part my machine needed, I half suspected the company had abandoned me altogether. The machines and parts for them are made overseas and of course it can take time to get the parts. We truly are at the mercy of the how committed this company is to maintaining the integrity of the brand. It's hard to know, but 6 weeks would have been a painful delay if that had been my only machine.

I have several vintage machines that I love, but none of them come close to the new computerized machines for certain things. I suppose if it's more complex, as well as lighter weight (plastic parts) there is much more that can go wrong. They are not built to last as machines from a half century ago and earlier were. Whatever you do, don't get rid of good old machines just because you may have something new and seemingly wonderful!

Best wishes!

I had a good Singer for many years and then started to have problems. Since I do mostly straight stitching, I figured Singer would be fine. Well, I went through two of the cheap ones and had nothing but problems. I got one at JoAnns and one at Walmart. Luckily the Walmart one was new enough I could return it.

I went with a basic Bernina Activa 210 and I love it. Well worth all those extra dollars I paid for it. Plus it came with a couple years service and maintenance for free (I suppose it isn't free when you consider the cost of the machine but you know what I mean :-).

Just one more point. Several Bernina dealers told me (did a lot of shopping over the phone before i decided on a machine) that all Berninas have the same motor. It's just the more expensive machines offer more bells and whistles I guess you could say.

Also, on the Singers, there are certain model numbers made just for Walmart and then maybe a different model number made just for JoAnn. I don't think they are all available at a Singer dealer. Therefore, I'm not sure the quality is what it should be on all of them either.

WalMart Brothers are a different quality than a sewing center Brother. I love my Innov-is 1500D

Singer is manufactured by SVP Worldwide a holding company. They manufacture Singer Viking and Phaff Janome makes kenmore machines, Elna besides janome machines. In years back janome was called New home. Just for information. And Bernina is a Swiss company but not all their machines are produced in Switzerland.