If you had $1000, which machine would you purchase?
 

I currently have an OLD Bernina....love it! But it is slowly trying to retire itself.....lots of little things do not work like they used to, and the only dealer nearby tells me it is too old to get parts, not worth fixing (its a 930). I have saved my pennies (haha) for a long time, and would like to purchase a new machine. I don't have a need for embroidery capacity, and I don't do machine quilting other than straight lines-may want to play with machine quilting at some point, but I prefer the piecing aspect of quilting. I do a lot of home dec sewing, and with 2 new grand daughters, I will have lots of other projects to sew! :-) What are your experiences with machines under $1000? Thanks!

Hands down, the Brother 1500. Simple machine but a workhorse. My girl is about 10 now and has never skipped a stitch....keep her clean and oiled and she purrs like the day she came out of the box. Have FMQ everything from baby to king size quilts without a frame.....

I think you can get the Janome 6600 for about $1000 -- it is a great machine with a decent harp and has some great stitches. The only issue is that it is not a free arm. It has the accufeed system so you don't need a walking foot.

i love both of my janome.6600 and 10000

If I was buying a new machine, it would be the Janome 6600. A lot of my friends have that one and I have sewn on it and love it! Yet, this is an old vintage machine lover here, but if I were it would be the 6600.

I'd check out the new Janomes and also Berninas that may have been traded in since that's what you have now. You get more for your money with the Janome and attachments are cheaper. If possible try them both out before you buy. I have the Janome 6500 and love it but I find I don't really like to machine quilt either. Mine was a floor model and I got a full warranty with it which I haven't had to use.

I have a Bernina and a Janome and love them both. If I had $1000.00 it would deffinatly be a new Janome as a used Bernina.

I have a Brother 1500s straight stitcher which is very good. My Pfaff died and so I traded it in for a Brother Innovis 600 which I find ticks the main boxes for me as to what I want in a sewing machine:
1.Stop/Start button, 2. Needle position button (stops up or down) 3. Presser foot adjustment dial, 4. Easy button hole 5.Thread cutter 6. Twin Needle sewing 7.Feed dogs can be lowered 8. Speed regulator 9. Reverse stitch.
If it has all of those requirements, the rest is icing on the cake.

If I had a dealer telling me my 930 wasn't worth fixing, I'd find a new dealer! They are still very coveted machines and worth repairing. I'd put the money into repairing what you have, personally. Your not going to find an as nice of a machine for $1,000.

If you could add just a LITTLE more $, I highly recommend the Janome 6600P ... you can likely get one from $1200+. It is such a versatile machine, it offers so much more than other hi-speed straight-stitch-only mechanical machines (like Brother 1500 or Juki etc) You get the hi-speed, all metal workhorse machine, plus built in dual-feed, speed control, a large harp & lots of stitch selection. It's the Best of both worlds !

I would have to go with another Bernina. They are such work horses. I have one that is almost 42 years old and sews beautifully. I finally purchased another one with more options but I would say that's a pretty good testimony to how the Bernina's are made. I sewed for 4 children and had a small sewing business at one time so the original one got a lot of use. How old is yours?

Thanks for all of your input. I have researched the Janome 6600 in the past, and it looks like a great machine. The Bernina QE is way out of my budget, and there is only one dealer in this area sadly. How in the world do you get prices for the Janome online? I am having NO luck with that! :-) There are 2 dealers locally, so I will check them out....would like to have some info on pricing for negotiating before I go.......thanks again!

The newest one I have is the Esante but I use my old machines the most. They seem to sewer straighter without wiggling around, I wouldn't trade my New Home (Janome) Memory Craft for anything. It has the best applique stitch. It all depends on what you are using the machine for. I had to have an embroidery machine, have 3 and they aren't used that much. Shame on me. Featherweight and Singer 301 are favorite straight sewing machines. I have 7 machines including a treadle I'm thinking of selling but it still sits.

I might add that the Brother 1500 mentioned here a few times is on sale for $599 if you look. That's just a great deal for a solid work-horse mechanical. It does just do a straight stitch but it has a high-lift, auto thread-cutter, pin-feed, knee lever and 9" of harp space. Mostly metal. That leaves $1200-$1300 for a very nice computerized model with the decorative stitches and free-arm. Also, you might like to check out the janome 6300 ($999) that does not have the accufeed or as many stitches as the 6600 but if you go with 2 machines, that might be ok because the 6600 has plenty (enough for sure), but not a load of decorative stitch patterns anyway. The Janome 5200 is nice for the stitches and does NOT eat fabric but no auto thread-cutter. It has everything else. BabyLock/Brother has some nice models too at around $1000 with many stitches and features plus the excellent auto threader and cutter.

I agree - this would be my recommendation also - I have had my new Janome 6600 for about a week. I did a lot of research and I have not been disappointed thus far. Very user friendly, easy to use and stitches beautifully. The table topper I FMQ today came out great - so I am a happy camper :)

The decision is a hard one - but as others have said, do your research and test drive the different machines. I haven't seen this machine for less than 1300 though.