If you have one of these machines....
 

Please help.

I know that a sewing machine is personal and there will be many different answers to this question:

If you had the opportunity to have one of the following, which would it be? Why?

1. Brother DreamWeaver (sewing and quilting)
2. baby lock Crescendo ('' '' )
3. Janome Horizon Memory Craft 8900 (sewing and quilting)

I have looked all three and like them all. I also looked at the Bernina but have eliminated this for my own reasons although I know it's a good machine.
I like the features of all; the Janome has a 9mm stitch width vs. 7mm on the others. The Brother and baby lock (made by the "same" company?) have a sideways stitch which would have saved me zillions of time on my last queen sized quilt. Are the baby locks and brothers comparable in life/service to the owner/etc?

My focus will be on art quilts of all kinds (I want to experiment) and baby things (quilts, hooded towels, etc.) and just having fun.

I will be selling my baby lock dream series quest as a condition to my husband for the new one.

If you have one of these, could you please give me your opinion of it. Is it reliable? Are you a fast, quick, hard quilter or nice and slow? Do you use the features on the machine? Anything else?

I will mention that I don't like to get to know all the little idiosyncrasies of a machine and have to fiddle with all the million little things that can get in the way of just 'getting to work." I just want to load the thread, put in the bobbin, set the stitch and go to it!

Thanks for any comments.

None I would buy the Husqvarna Viking Ruby Deluxe or if money no problem I would buy the Husqvarna Viking Diamond Deluxe.

I love my dreamweaver no complaints here. Very solid machine. Sews everything easily. The muvit foot is awesome. It or the crescendo would be my choice. 9mm machines tend to eat the fabric more which is the main complaint i have seen with this width style stitching. If i was going to go janome i would look for 7mm comparable machine

I really like my Janome...it's versatile. I use it for piecing,machine appliqué,quilting,the whole nine yards. I just poke a few buttons,and it's ready. I sew about 6 hours a day,since I retired in. April,and it just sings along.

Crescendo hands down. My friend recently got a 8900 and has lots of problems. Be sure you buy from a nearby good dealer

I am a Bernina girl for life and would not give any other machine a second glance. However, I have purchased 3 different lower end Brothers for my daughters as starter machines, so I guess if I could not buy a Bernina it would probably be a Brother.

I love my 8900 and have had no problems. It just purrs right along. Janome is tops in my book :)

I love my Crescendo and haven't had any trouble with my Babylocks. I love the laser and the sensor pen is pretty cool.

My first choice would be the Brother.

I have 3 Brother machines now. A 4th died an untimely death while we were vacationing. It fell on it's head when my DH packed the car and it suffered fatal injuries. It cost me $89 when I bought it 6 years earlier. I'm not gentle with my sewing machines; it stood my abuse for 6 years and still worked great.

One of my Brothers is a low end mechanical that I will use for traveling. It works great, has a nice stitch. One is the SE350, with a 4" embroidery attachment. Someday I might work up the courage to try embroidery. The latest one is a sewing and quilting machine that has a larger throat for quilting. It's not much larger, but I plan to use it for doll quilts, so it's fine. I really like how all of them work.

Brother manuals are excellent. When I worked, I wrote requirements for systems and often had to also write user manuals. I have a HQ16; the manual is, to be kind, brief; I really expected much more from a machine that I paid thousands of dollar to get. The Brother manuals are a cut above; easy to read, good examples, lots of pictures and they also include a lot of basic sewing information. My only complaint is that the print is small, but I'll gladly suffer through that for the info in the manuals.

Janome - the other day I came across a thread on QB about the Janome and bobbin problems. Suggest you find it and read through it. The thread surprised me; none of the other threads I'd read about picking a sewing machine ever had a negative thing to say about Janome.

Look for on the internet for user forums on all three of the machines. That will give you a better idea of the true performance of each of the machines.

The Brother Dreamweaver and the Baby Lock Crescendo are virtually the same machine, clones, as it were. I researched them both very well before I bought my Dreamweaver. I have been a Baby Lock girl for years, since I bought my first serger back in the 80s, and was pretty much sold on the Crescendo. The main reason I wound up with the Brother is because of the service I received from my local dealer. That and they offered me a better price. I would recommend either one. I cannot say anything about that particular Janome model because I am not familiar with it.

Sewing machines are like cars. We all have our favs and wouldn't switch for anything. I am a Janome girl having got burned by Brother when I was starting out I have a hard time ever thinking it would be a good machine. That being said I am sure it has happen to someone on this board with a Janome or a Bernina or any of the other brands; no one brand will be without its "lemons". I think the deciding factor for me would be noise, throat, price and is the service guy/gal knowledgeable and friendly. Good luck with shopping and post a picture of your new house member when she comes home.

Dolphyngyrl, what do you mean by 9 mm machines tend to eat the fabric? I've never heard of this.

I have the Crescendo, and like Scraplady, chose that brand because I could get very good service locally. Almost every day I find myself saying how much I love this machine. That laser light is the bomb. It also FMQ very easily - perfect tension, plenty of space. Great lighting, solid and quiet, perfect needle threader - and that walking foot is fantastic. I also have the fancy foot controller that can be programmed and I love that too. There is one tiny thing that does annoy me, and that is the needle will become unthreaded if you aren't right on the edge of your fabric. The cut end is just a tad short I think.

Sorry I am of no help, I think they are all wonderful machines.

I bought the Janome 8900 in August and I am very satisfied with it. It is a perfect machine for quilting and piecing. I have no problems with it eating fabric. I think you would be satisfied with any of those three machines. They are all great. Go with the one where you get the best service and sew on each one. One of them should "feel" right to you and have the features you like best. That's the one to buy. As you can see from the comments already, different folks like different machines. I have several sewing machines of different brands and love them all. Have fun shopping.

Sorry, none of the above. Never tried any of them. Love my two Berninas!!

I am partial to the Janome - it is a real workhorse for me.

Thank you all for responding. These comments help.

I absolutely love my baby lock crescendo. I upgraded from a symphony about a month ago and so happy I did. It's super easy to use and I am able to just sit down and sew. I love the laser light and pen. I have not used the digital dual feed foot much but it's a huge improvement over the walking foot on my symphony. I looked at brother machines before I bought my first baby lock and I did like them but I had a better experience at my baby lock dealer.

Janome, any model. I own 5 Janome machines presently, purchased my first one back in the 1980's sight unseen fter seeing it on TV. They are real workhorses, attachments aren't too expensive and rarely need repair.

I have a babylock crescendo. I like it ok. If buying today, i would go with the Aria which doesn't have the sensor pen or laser light and is less expensive. I do like the great lighting. I probably should have kept my bernina 153, but the LQS has a persuasive saleman (owner) and great service. Had a viking several years ago: the bobbin would jump up and the thread would tangle. The owner of that store was very unhelpful and treated my friend (who bought a high end machine) badly.

I purchased a Janome 7700 in November after having sewn on Bernina's for 30 years. I would have gone for the 8900 if I could have afforded it. The lighting is wonderful, and you do just pretty much thread and go. Was an easy learning curve. I just did my first FMQ and some specialty stitches on my first twin size quilt and it is beautiful. Machine is heavy, well built and quiet. Stitches are even. I had some breaking thread along the way but it was because I needed a different needle and I needed to clean out the lint. The wonderful ladies here gave me all kinds of helpful advice which worked! I would definitely buy a Janome again. I did a lot of research and asking questions before purchasing. Went to the dealer and spent an hour trying it out.

I recently purchased the Crescendo. Love it so far - haven't sewn much on it yet. I have been really happy with my Baby Locks in the past.

I am not acquainted with any of the models you describe, however I have two high end machines. One is a Pfaff and the other a Babylock. I could not part with either of them. LOVE the even feed feature of the Pfaff and it's ability to do free motion quilting. The Babylock would sew through a 2X4 I think. I always tell the dealer I will sew anything I can stuff under the foot and that's no joke. Both of these machines can take the punishment I dish out and that's saying a lot. Love the thread cutter, the many utility stitches and the wonderful embroidery the Babylock does.

I sold my Janome and now have a Pfaff Performance 5.0. The IDT is better than the accufeed on the Janome. So many more features - the best machine ever!

I own 3 Janome machines and I'm awaiting delivery of the Janome 15000. The dealer (LQS owner) has always been a Bernina girl but is totally in love with this latest Janome. I've only recently bought the Janome 8200 to be permanently on my quilting frame - It has an 11" harp space as does the 15000. Guess it shows I'm a Janome fan.
For what you are looking at doing I would recommend the 8900.

agreed I have a DesignerSe and a diamond-Husqvarna is always my 1st choice

I love Babylock! I have owned several of their machines I just kept trading up. I currently have the Crescendo and I love her.

Somewhere on this board (big help, eh?) there's a thread with a lengthy but highly informative article about sewing machine manufacturers that you would probably find very helpful. I hope someone the board is a better researcher than I and can help find it for you. It is a detailed description of all major machines; who makes what, what to expect, etc. Once you collate all the opinions on the board, and if you can read this report (it may be titles "Too Much Information"), you will have enough to make an informed decision. Good luck and enjoy whatever machine you settle on.

All are wonderful machines each with their own strengths. The best way is to sit and try with you type of fabrics thread and sewing. Whichever you bond with is your answer. It's like a car. You drive it is it needs to suit you.

Sewing Machines
 

1. Brother DreamWeaver (sewing and quilting)
2. baby lock Crescendo ('' '' )
3. Janome Horizon Memory Craft 8900 (sewing and quilting)

This is timely...my Janome 6500 needs $525.00 worth of work and I'm not sure that I want to put that much into it. It has been an ok machine. I have never been happy with the fact that it eats fabric in the beginning of stitching even with a starter piece. The straight stitch has always had a little wave to it. I looked at the Pfaff and the Viking. The saleslady wasn't enthusiastic about her job. Her main comment was after the first of the year prices will go up. I have just started looking and will be following this with interest.

I have a Brother NQ650 inovis which is slightly different that what you are looking for but having the ability to do the sideways stich is one of the best selling points to me. I would recommend you go spend some time 'in store' using the machines to decide which you would get the most use from. We can give you opinions, but you will be the user so you must take the time to familiarize yourself with the machines to make your decision.

I have no complaints about my Brother machines, and I have used three of them in the last 28 years and never found a reason for regret. I have also never had one of them in the shop for any reason. I do my own cleaning regularly, and I can only guess this is why they have never needed to go to the sewing machine doctor? IMHO

I have a Janome 8900 . I love it for piecing and quilting. I have had it a year have no problems. Best machine I have ever used.

I love my Janome. Mine doesn't eat the fabric.:thumbup:

I have a Husqvarna-Viking Designer II. Would not trade it for all the money in the world.

Perhaps what I should have said in the beginning, is that I need a VERY user friendly machine!

I guess you have your reasons why you don't want to buy a Bernina, but personally I think all others sew like a clodhopper compared to a Bernina. Yes, they are horribly expensive, but oh, so worth it.

I have a HV Sapphire 875, love my machine. It has a 10" throat and gets used most often for machine quilting.
Sharon

I have 2 older Berninas, wouldn't get rid of them ever. Bernina 930 about 1985 is still sewing great as her sister the 1031(bought new in 1992). These 2 are my favorite machines. They were expensive, both are over 20 years old and still sewing great.
Sharon

Before buying a machine, check out all the sewing machine dealers near you. Getting good customer service is a big factor in buying a new machine. The nearest Bernina dealer to me is about 50 miles away. I go instead to the Bernina dealer 100 miles from me. The reason? The Bernina dealer. The one 50 miles from me is unhelpful and just plain wrong about some of the info that he has given me. The dealer 100 miles from me is helpful and accurate in their info. I have purchased presser feet from them and they happily mail it to me. It is hard for me to drive anymore and I appreciate that they will send it to me without acting like it's a huge favor. They get my business because they know how to behave professionally and are happy to have customers. They told me that they have customers that drive the entire length of the state and that's hundreds of miles to go to their store. That says a lot.