Cheap machine recommendations!
 

My old Singer works great for piecing. I found it in our basement about ten years ago. The tension has never been right and I can't machine quilt on it. Everything comes out messed up and the stitch lengths are always terribly uneven. I am planning on hand quilting my next project but between full time at school and a full time job, I would never get anything done if it were by hand. Does anyone own or know of a good machine I can look into for maybe $200-400? Pros and cons if possible. I'd go a little higher if I felt it were worth it. I'm a college student on a budget, help! :)

Are you looking for a machine to do FMQ or more piecing? I'm confused... :)

Is there somewhere where you can get maintenance on your old machine? Might be worth it.

If you are only thinking of piecing ... then instead of cheap go for a used machine or a featherweight. Cheap is as cheap is.

If you don't mind time payments then you can go look at what is new on the market. Pfaff, Viking, Janome, and Bernina all have low end machines that are workhorses.

Good luck in your search.

ali

I have the Brother cs6000i and it is an awesome machine- I have never did FMQ on it - but have pieced many quilts on it and quilted in the ditch and such on it - that machine is now less than 150.00

Do you need it to be portable ? If not check out the resale shops for an older machine that last forever :)

I just needed something that wasn't falling apart. I want something for FMQ. Because of student loans, I can't get financed for a nicer machine.

I also have a brother... mine is the xr9000. I bought it refurbished on Overstock and paid a grant total of $170, which included a 2 year replacement warranty and shipping. It is great for piecing and have FMQ two small baby quilts (the one on the left being one of them). It has started to get a little angry when I use a 100% cotton thread on it recently, but considering what I have spent on it it does pretty well. I did have a run in a few weeks ago (you can read about it on my blog) but it seemed to resolve itself. I agree that cheap is cheap, but sometimes cheap is the only option. This machine handles well enough and has 80 stitches plus basic block letter embroidering.
http://www.kenssewingcenter.com/brot...googleshopping

I'm confused. If your machine works fine for piecing, it should be fine for quilting also. Stitch length is determined by how fast you move the fabric, and how fast you run the motor, not by the machine's tension. Perhaps there's someone who can help you sort that out rather than spend money on a new machine?

You can check out machines on craigslist.

I have a Brother PC-420. I use it for making garments, piecing and quilting. The cost is around $400 and the optional extension table (nice to have for quilting) is an additional $50. This machine comes with a ton of feet including a walking foot and a fmq foot. It has a ton of stitches including alphabets for signing your quilt. Other nice features that are handy for piecing and quilting include a knee lift, automatic thread cutter, needle up/down button, adjustable presser foot pressure and of course drop feed dogs.

I also own a Brother ..in fact all of my machines are Brothers and I love them. Walmart sells machines and good prices.