ttrose

Hi All. New member here seeking guidance. I quilt regularly with my friend, it's casual, fun and relaxing. I usually make baby quilts but just made a queen size quilt for my sister. I'm no expert but I'd like to think I get better with each quilt. I use a Brother cs6000i which I love but I keep that machine at her moms house where we get our sew on. I want a second machine so I can start working on stuff at home too and I want to step it up. I was thinking of a Brother pq1500sl or a Juki tl-2010qi but I also was pretty tempted by a Janome 6500p that Costco has for $999. Meanwhile I was looking for machine suggestions from a sewing dealer on ebay and he is willing to sell me a Elna 760 for $1k that was a demo and has been serviced. Do any of these options stand out as a no-brainer?

PamelaOry

I’m getting the Juki TL 18 a qvp which is the same as the 2010 with a few more features. It is straight stitch only and known to be a great quilter.

jmoore

Welcome to the QB. I know many QB members love their Juki 2010 machines. When I purchased my Janome 6600 back in 2011 at a LQS (local quilt shop), I knew I was going to have service available close to where I live. I don’t know if you have considered that?

rryder

Depends on what you want to do. If you want a machine with decorative stitches then either the Janome or the Elna would be a good choice. If you only want a machine for piecing and quilting then I’d go with either the Juki or the Brother PQ1500- being straight stitch only machines, they both allow for a very accurate 1/4” seam AND they FMQ like a dream because the harp area is taller which means they’ve got better visibility around the needle than either the Elna or the Janome= less neck strain since you don’t have to crane your neck to see around the head. But any one of those would be a great choice.

The only differences between the Brother and the Juki straight stitchers are that the Juki has a speed control slider. The Brother does not have a speed controlller-you have to learn to control the speed with the pedal -not a big deal in my experience but some people prefer having a speed controller. Also you can get a needle felting attachment for the Brother PQ1500 if you ever want to do needle felting, I have one for my PQ1500 and have had a lot of fun needle felting with it.

Rob

romanojg

While these prices sound good. What's the customer service. I know that Costco has a great return policy but what about the guy on Ebay. I got my two emb machines, very slightly used from a dealer. They had been serviced before I got them and I knew the previous owner. One had only been used by one of the teachers, about 7 hours before she upgraded to the next model. The second had been set up at a Viking event but then not used. Dealers offer classes and normally good support if you have any issues. My dealer closed down, which she deserved to do but now I have to go a couple hours away to get service. I'd check locally first. Have you decided what features you want your machine to have or what you'd like. If you don't know what's available that also another area that by going to local dealers will help. You can see what's available. Me, I like needle up\down. auto thread cutter, auto tension, a good speed, some of the machines have good threaders, others not so great. Make sure you have good throat space and lighting. Good luck, make sure you have a warranty

Watson

Is there a Janome dealer nearby that can service if you need it? If so, my machine like that 6500 has been a workhorse and has a good throat space. I've done queen sized FMQ on it and everything you can think of.
It has all the bells and whistles, thread cutter, needle up/down, needle threader, speed control, knee lifter and I've never had a tension problem no matter what thread I've thrown at it. The only negative is that I felt I needed extra light, so I put an LED strip on it and it's great.

Watson

TeresaA

The Jukis are GREAT, but they do nothing but straight stitch. And contrary to popular belief, they do have some electronics (speed control, back tacking, thread cutting, needle down etc do require electronic boards), so if you're considering the Juki to avoid the headaches of electronics, you aren't entirely out of that.

I've considered the Jukis (not at Costco) and the Janome at Costco too. The Janome has the same throat space as the Juki. It is a might slower, but I'm told people rarely go full speed anyway. And for you, maybe it'll give you more growing room with the extra stitches that it has. Even if you aren't a big decorative stitch user, you may, say, want to do some machine applique with buttonhole stitch or something. And if you don't like it, you can return it, because it's Costco. Another nice thing about the Janome is you don't have to oil it all the time, like you do the semi-industrial Juki's. If you go to the Janome 6500 Yahoo forum, they'll describe where to oil it, which is pretty much one wick in the bobbin area.

So yes, of the choices you've provided, I think the Costco Janome is the no-brainer of the bunch.

Gee, maybe I'd better go order a Costco Janome! ;-). I think I just sold it to myself!

meyert

I love my Janome 6600 and Magnolia. I don't think that I use all of the 6600 options, but I love it. I will say that the Magnolia has the bottom that detaches for sewing sleeves and hemming jeans that my 6600 doesn't do.

My 6600 has a larger throat area than the Magnolia, but I think once I got the right foot for my Magnolia its less finicky about FMQ

You won't go wrong with a Janome

Sephie

You all probably get so tired of me saying this, but I love my Janome Magnolia 7318. It has a 6.5in throat and the shape of the throat is important too! I say this because I considered the Brother cs6000i as well, but the shape of that throat is very different from the Magnolia. Mine is square-ish, so the extra height has given me room to shove extra quilt in there, and I've quilted several queen quilts and a king sized as well! FMQ and with a generic walking foot. I wouldn't say it's "easy" but it's doable and I haven't felt desperate to upgrade yet. I can use any brand of thread, and I've used serger thread many times with no issues either. I have also never had any problems with brands of needles, nor with fabric being eaten though I do always hold both thread tails before starting a seam.

It has some decorative stitches, but being a mechanical machine, it has no needle down nor any alphabet capability. I do have a free arm on it for sleeves and hemming which has been great now that my 3yo is in school. I also love that it has a simple backstitch lever because I know exactly when the backstitch will happen and am in full control of it. I have another computerized machine that I hate using for any backstitching because it is very picky about when/how I hit the button. Maybe someday, that machine and I will get along

Sephie

Just realized I didn't actually answer your question at all! Sorry...

I know many have the Juki and have enjoyed that machine, but I believe it isn't their only machine as others have also mentioned it is straight stitch only.

The Brother has quite a number of reviews so if you haven't read through them, it could be worth your while. It seems to have decently generous throat space and is affordable as well. I hesitate now to purchase a machine used because of previous experiences with needing to return a new machine (twice!) and you obviously wouldn't be able to do that with a used machine. Those machines were brand new and I immediately noticed that they would skip a stitch every 20 or so stitches when straight stitching. Returned the first, the second one did it too. The third did not, so I've kept it, but it is the machine I referenced above about hating the backstitch. It's also very picky about thread - I can't use Aurifil in it! Crazy. I probably should have returned it and started over with a different brand and line of machine, but there were other features I liked and it was also very affordable. Just something to think about.