machine died, need a cheap/good one
 

my bee machine died the other day. I use this one at my friends house.
I need a new one and was wondering if anyone here knows of a cheap
one that does a zigzag for applique. anyone have any suggestions?

This one seems to be popular.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/4764726?wm...766632&veh=sem

I use a Bernette when I'm on the go. It was $184. It has a really nice quality of stitch, but of course, few bells and whistles. The appliqué stitch is sort of a combination buttonhole/zigzag, but it has a regular zigzag too. I'm very happy with mine.

My first response was you need a FW for a back-up. But they do not have a zig-zag unless you buy the attachment (and that is a royal pain.) I have the Europro - not sure of the model and I don't believe it is made anymore. Got it from HSN many years ago and it is my travel machine. It was only $100.00. A friend of mine got hers from Target. It has the little extension table which is nice. And very light weight. But you may want to check out HSN. They had a couple of light weight Brother machines and Janomes.

But that little Brother at Walmart has the extension table too and everyone I know that has a Brother machine has been very happy with them.

I'd get one of the old Kenmore's if I were you. They run forever, are all metal, and can still be found at yard sales, on craigslist and ebay, etc. (I have several. :) ) I also have the Kenmore "featherweight" which has a stronger motor than the Singer featherweight and does zig zags.

What is cheap for you? Depends on the price range.

I have an older Janome Jem. It has never given me a problem. The new ones have all the features you need.

Oh Lynnie, I am so sad at the passing of your DSM. I would suggest that you find a large quilt show in your area that attracts a lot of vendors. Then you can check each vendor and see what DSM fits your preferences. Especially on the last day of a show, the dealers are more than willing to make discounts since they don't want to have to pack up all their machines to take back to their shop. You can also check out resale and dealers stores for used older machines. So many inexpensive machine are just full of plastic parts. They just don't make them like they use to. Good Luck !!

If you want one fast, then go for the Walmart Brother. If you've been reading a lot about inexpensive machines on here, they are very popular. We have had a lot of threads on them. I have three of them myself, at different places, and they are workhorses and are not fussy about thread. Even the Coats and Clark made in Mexico zips right through them. They do have a zigzag function.

Vintage are fun to have, but, you can't always count on walking into a thrift store and finding one in good enough shape to start sewing. If you have plenty of time to look, that's another story.

Shows are good too, if there is one near enough to you soon enough, unless you can't wait til the next one. Where I live now, no shows are close. Have to travel. That adds to expense.

If you've read on the vintage forum here, you can see that sometimes eBay or shop goodwill don't pack well sometimes, which means you have to look for a machine you like, win the bidding, and then trust the seller to pack well. Not impossible, but, if you want something pretty soon, that doesn't seem like a good option.

Good luck on your quest and let us know what happens!!!

If it were me, I'd get the Walmart Brother. You can always return it if it doesn't do what you want it to.

The one in sibram17's post from Walmart is a very good machine. I have purchased two of them because I want to have a backup if one stops working. Very light weight and east to handle.