My sewing machine person tried to sell me on an Elna 740, which was just about like the Janome fancy one (6700?? 7700??) which he sells also. It was a good price (2900) with lots of extras but I am not in the market for a new machine now. (Although it was very tempting...) Love my Pfaff and my Viking.

I have a 1976 Elna Lotus SP I love for travel. It is lighter than my Featherweight and does more stitches. It has fold-up sides for a case. In the 70s, I sewed on an Elna in HS Home EC, not sure which one, it was white with a blue top. I liked that machine better than the Kenmore my Mom had at home. Elna's used to be made in Switzerland and I would count them up there in the top European brands like Bernina (Swiss), Pfaff (German), Viking (Sweden). Today, Elna is owned by Janome and Pfaff and Viking are owned by the same company as Singer. Bernina is still family-owned and built in Switzerland, but even they operate a factory in Thailand for their lower-cost lines.

I found an old green Elna in a second hand store that fixes up good older machines and sells them. If it is the green one like you have, you are lucky. It is beautiful. I would love to have it just because of how it looks!

I recently started sewing again and bought an Elna 3230 several months ago. I had NEVER heard of them but my sewing center assured me I would love it. AND I DO! I wanted a good machine but didn't want a lot of bells and whistles at this point in my learning curve. The sewing center I purchased it from is so helpful and I have gone back several times when I needed some help. I would highly recommend one!

Hi, everyone. I have the opportunity to buy a Elna SU air electronic for $40 at a thrift shop. A man donated it when his wife passed away. The thing is, he gave a bunch of her stash to someone who shared it with me, and mixed in with what I got was a bunch of bobbins, needles, and a set of cams for this machine.

I don't need another machine, but I'm wondering if this is too good a deal to pass up. I am assuming it's in working condition because the woman had a lovely stash, so clearly she was using it not too terribly long ago...

Your thoughts are welcome!

That sounds like a great deal! Especially since you already have cams (which can be expensive to replace, like most vintage accessories) There is a yahoo group called "elnaheirloomsewingmachines" that could give you some great information. I'd go for it!

I ended up not buying it. It was running all that great, and I didn't want to put the money into a tune-up. Sigh. It was an interesting experience, though.

I have an elna tsp have had it for 44 years and just love it.......still sews like a dream! Happy quilting :)

I have an elna supra I bought in 1972 -- I never had any problems with it until I had it serviced in 2005. It still runs and has an excellent stitch but makes some funny noises. It never compains regardless of what I asked it to sew -- even cardboard.

My sister swears by them, has a couple of them and loves them, she says Elnas are the best!