Shrink42020

I had the Ellegante 2 and loved it -my sister talked me into selling it to her and
I got the Ellissimo Gold- s!he loves hers and I love mine - great machines for both piecing and embroidery

quiltnmore

It is older than 3 years though, I sold mine 2 years ago for $1500 to a friend. You have to spend at least $4000 to find better features on a used machine. I upgraded to the Ellisimo Gold II also.

You should observe your friend embroidering and see all the supplies you need to start. Think about what you would embroider. Even a great price isn't great if you don't use it.

shasta5718

I have an ellegante and love it. It is one of the most user friendly machines I have. I also have a Viking designer diamond and a Pfaff creative sensation. They both do a great job, but take a lot more time to learn to use. The Ellegante also sews like a dream. You wouldn't be sorry to get it.

NanaCsews2

I have the Ellegante BLG. Love it! Bought it as a demo model in 2009 from a quilt shop that closed months afterward so had no lessons etc. Came with an upgrade that made it similar to Ellegante 2. But they were fantastic about calls and emails afterward. I didn't use it for awhile after getting it. Cost $3500 at the time, and I had issues with an expense that large for our family-but DH insisted I get it. Lucky me. The threader began to have issues and since I got the full gold warranty with the purchase, we drove it down to the quilt shop 65 miles away, and they sent it to Babylock. Got it back all perfect and worked fine until 2 years ago when I took it in to my LQS (which now sells Babylock and Bernina) for yearly servicing. The threader again was bent somehow, and the service guy replaced it. He told me the machine is a workhorse and it will only need minor repairs in the next 30 years. It embroiders beautifully, sews smoothly, is quiet still, and I am no longer afraid of it. I have sewn queen size quilts on it, plenty of princess dress up clothes, costumes, baby stuff, repaired stacks of jeans and whatnot, made blouses, sewn leather, etc. Definately a workhorse and easy to embroider with. Free updates on Babylock site. Just keep in mind, the lighting is very poor on those early Babylocks. I attached a light to the machine and have another sitting on the table. She was worth every penny. Just wish I had more time to spend using her.

FGlinda

I don't know the model number. When she called me I didn't think to ask. I'll be finding out soon. I have a dealer close by so that would not be a problem. My biggest problem with my Sapphire is that the tread jumps out of the uptake lever - the dealer put a black thing on it that was supposed to fix the problem. it's better but it still happens - usually in the middle of something I'm really focusing on.
I would mainly use the Ellegante for piecing/quilting. I am intrigued by machine embroidery - I would never spend the money on a new embroidery machine but if I had a machine I would experiment. I'm going to call my friend and at least try out the machine.
Does the Ellegante have a needle up/down option? This is something I really like about my Viking. How much would you pay for a machine that's been used for 3 yrs? It includes the steady betty table and I think the hoops.
All of you have been so helpful. Thank you so much. I knew I would get help on this site. I don't post much but I go to this site almost everyday.

salederer

I have a baby Lock Journey and love it! It does both sewing/quilting and embroidery. I love embroidering squares to incorporate in a quilt, wall hanging or table runner. The recipients of my work have been thrilled also.

Wanabee Quiltin

I have zero interest in machine embroidery. Quilting is all I want to do with fabric.

janjanq

I bought the Babylock Ellegante in 2007 and love it. I use it for both quilting and embroidery. The only thing I don't like is the poor lighting. But I solved that problem by purchasing an LED strip light from Amazon last week. What a difference! I have it serviced about once a year. I keep wanting to trade it in for an Ellissimo or Destiny just for some of the newer features but I'm happy with my Ellegante.

janjanq

I bought the Babylock Ellegante in 2007 and love it. I use it for both quilting and embroidery. The only thing I don't like is the poor lighting. But I solved that problem by purchasing an LED strip light from Amazon last week. What a difference! I have it serviced about once a year. I keep wanting to trade it in for an Ellissimo or Destiny just for some of the newer features but I'm happy with my Ellegante.

AliKat

I had the Ellegante. I traded it in for a Pfaff Creative Vision. The Ellegante was unbalanced for carrying. That was the right side was way to heavy to lift & move. The Pfaff is much more balanced in weight and much easier to move. [Move: like to take to a class.] Since I already had Pfaff sewing machines the learning curve was very short. Plus I can go back to the LQS where I bought it at anytime and get help. They can show me on an updated version or I can take mine in. All this is free.
I love my CV so much that a friend after seeing what it could do finally bought a used one, as people often 'trade u[' for a newer machine.