My Sewing Machine Died - I need a new one.
 

I was sewing along and then a clunk and my sewing machine wouldn't work correctly. Took it in and a gear was broken. The company has been sold and no one is making replacement parts. So, long story short, I need a new machine. I have been out looking and am leaning toward a Bernina 580. Would like to hear from anyone out there that has one and if you have had any trouble with it or if there is another make or model that you would recommend. The Bernina that I was looking at has an embrodery module in it. I was just thinking of a basic machine, but since I have looked at a few machines, I am now more confused than ever. I am making do with a Singer 66-6 from 1931, but no backstitch or zigzag, oh well. Help me get the right machine for piecing and general sewing, I have a quilter so I dont need that function but the embrodery would be nice. Just think of the quilts I could make with it.

I've heard the 580's are wonderful. I have a 440.

I really LOVE my Bernina Virtuosa I bought used from the dealer last year. It sews a nice 1/4inch seam.

You can't go wrong with a Bernina. If you use decorative stitches, make sure the model you buy has stitches wide (mm) enough. Some of the Berninas are only 5mm, which in my opinion is too small.

Hi, I have been a Bernina person myself ever since I worked for a dealer for a little more than a year. Her shop survived by doing custom dressmaking and alterations. I not only learned a lot about garment sewing but I was able to get the employee discount on my then Bernina 1260. It was a wonderful machine. I used it hard and long for a good 20 years. Recently I traded it in for a used Bernina Artista 185. It can have the embroidery module but I choose not to get that feature. My first Bernina purchase was a Deco embroidery machine. It was the first one Bernina sold and was based on a Brother patent. I have had it going on 23 years and I love it. It is a stand alone machine that only does embroidery. If you have one of the combination machines you can only do one or the other at the same time. With the two seperate machines I can have something running on the embroidery machine while I am sewing on the other. The stand alone embroidery machine has a button you push to start and stop it. While it is running you can do other things. Since I didn't get the embroidery module additon for my 185 I don't know if you have to power the embroidery module by holding down the foot pedal. I would not like that at all. IN the last year or so I purchased another embroidery machine. This one is made by Brother but it uses the same software as my older Bernina Deco. I have at least $2000+ tied up in patterns to embroider for my Bernina embroidery machine. When it started showing signs of a long useful life I purchased a Brother embroidery machine since they use the same patent and sortware. I am not happy with the way the newer machine loads the item to be embroidered but that is the way all of the newer machines are. I am lucky enough to have the room to keep set up both of my embroidery machines, my sewing machine and my serger. I can reach all of them just by revolving my chair. My set up allows me to embroider, serge and sew on the same item without getting out of my seat.

As a long-time Bernina girl myself, I don't think you can go wrong with them either. The real Berninas (as compared with some of the ones labelled "Bernette") are pretty bullet proof. The ones with the narrower stitching (5 mm stitch width) use a different bobbin system than the ones with wider stitching (9 mm). I personally prefer the straight stitch quality of the 5 mm system, but you need to decide yourself which one you prefer. Note that if you get the wider stitch width you might have a bit more challenge keeping the piecing perfectly straight. The wider feed dogs let the fabric "wander", but you can learn to compensate.

I also second the recommendation to investigate separate machines for sewing and embroidery if you have the space. Like mpspeedy, I frequently have my embroidery machine running while I'm sitting at the sewing machine doing something else.

Pam

Thanks for the input. I may go to the Janome dealer tomorrow to see what they have to offer.

I'm a Janome person. I love both of mine. I have the Gem Platinum for taking to classes and retreats. Then there is my Janome 6600P, which is a dream to sew on. Not an embroidery machine, but Janome has several of those to check out. BTW, I'm in West Lafayette, IN.

I bought a Janome 7700 (Horizon) last year. Love it. It doesn't have embroidery but does have some monsgram stitches. The throat space is huge and the built in lighting is wonderful.

I have a Bernina 1260. I bough it gently used and it's a fantastic machine. It has some embroidery stitches and the alphabet and numbers but doesn't do embroidery designs. I have three vintage Singers - FW, 301, and 15, straight stitch only, and they sew perfectly. I have a Brother 1500 and it's my free motion quilting machine. I have a Singer Quantum and it sews all the decorative stitches perfectly. I have two Janome Jem Golds. I have a Singer Serger somewhere, I seldom use it. I only bought two of these machines, the rest were gifts. So I keep them.