Babylock or Brother
 

Has anyone compared Babylock and Brother sewing machines in the $200- $300 range? Does Brother make Babylock therefore Brother is a better machine?

It depends on what you are talking about. Their low end online and in stores is not the same as babylocks low endBabylocks low end is comparable to Brothers top of their low end and bottom of their midling, most of babylocks lower end are brothers, but only the ones you can find at dealer, so they are the same as their brother models except for the anna and audrey are made by another company i believe the audrey is a singer model and the anna I am not sure what company just know its not a brother. most low end babylocks will be over 300 except for the anna. For 200 you are looking at getting the low end from box stores like walmart, joanns, on the brother spectrum

The brother dealership here gives excellent quick service. The babyloc place did too on my serger. Only been to the babyloc once tho.

I'm not sure there is such a thing as a "high end" Brother. They're sold in lower end box stores like K-mart, Wal-mart, places like that and most of the internal parts are plastic. Baby Locks are excellent machines..... that's what Eleanor Burns always uses. I would recommend a Baby Lock. There are so many styles and varying price ranges I'm sure you'd be able to find one you like for the amount of cash you have to spend. Also.... I'm not sure a repair man would be able to service a Brother if need be.

I've read lots and lots of comments about how many people are happy with the low end Brothers. I don't think there are any Babylocks at that price point. The high end Brothers and the Babylocks are very similar, if not the same machines. I have the least expensive Brother that you will likely find at a dealer, at that is one that has an embroidery module. I use it frequently and have been delighted with it.

I have a cheap Brother from Walmart that is several years old. It has never given me one problem.

A few points I would like to make: There are indeed " high end" Brother machines. Actually both are mfgrd by same company.......and Eleanor Burns uses one now, but has not always used one......most celebrities endorse for monetary reasons.....sports figures comes to mind...... Most of the machines we buy today are made from lots of plastic pieces.....There a Brother dealers who do repairs/maintenance on Brother machines, just as other name brands have dealers.........I have both BL and B and if comparable in price, very little difference in performance.......actually, still prefer my older Viking!!!!!!! We all have our own " favorites".

I have a Baby Lock, but if I had to do it over again, I would really look into Brother. I love my Baby Lock, but my friends with Brother love theirs too, and the prices are much less.

Putting my two cents in for the lower end Brothers. I have 3 different ones. One at my house and one at each of my son's. These machines will sew through anything and aren't fussy about thread. And yes there are some great high end Brother machines sold at dealers. I played with a few. Lovely but between my "dinky mechanical Brother" and my vintage machines I took a pass. There's something for everyone out there. Good luck with your search.

My BabyLock dealer sells only that brand but there is a big sewing machine dealer in the Poconos (Pocono Sew and Vac) and they sell all kinds. I don't know if this is true or not but the salesman there told me that BabyLock sewing machines are made by Brother (???) and that the only machines that are 100% made by BabyLock are their sergers, and according to him, are the best around, and their quilting machines, Jewel and Tiara. I have never had anyone else tell me this about the sewing machines but I do know that the Brothers sold at JoAnns and Walmart are not on the level of those sold at a dealer. As for what is better, I can't really say. I love my BabyLock and wouldn't trade it for anything, except another BabyLock. I have a great dealer and they really give great service. You just need to try them out at the stores, if possible, or make sure that you can return them within a reasonable amount of time if youre not happy. My one and only piece of advice is to buy from a reputable dealer, not WalMart or JoAnns. Go with someone who can service your machine on a regular basis.