Recommendation for light weight traveling machine
 

I think I'd like to buy a compact light-weight (but usable) machine I can take to classes, use at the weekend cabin and also take along on our 2 month winter trip to Arizona. I don't need fancy stitches, it will be used primarily for piecing. I also don't need it to be computerized. I'm looking to stay under $300. Does anyone have any recommendations? I thought one of the Janome Jem models might work for me.

Janome Jem has been the machine of choice for a lot of girls. Personally I would stay with something from a dealer that can be serviced. I have been told that WalMart machines cannot be serviced because parts are not available. However, if you are willing to take the risk....they are cheap enough. The Jem is in your price range. ;)

I have used my walmart brother for the last 5 years as my travel/class machine and it has been problem free. I have the SQ-9050 but it was replaced at walmart by the SQ-9185 which gets good reviews. I love my little travel machine. She makes the best little straight stitch.I have never had my baby serviced and never have needed any repairs and have done some heavy duty projects with it with very thick seams no issues. If she should need repair down the line I will probably just replace it because it is really an affordable machine and would cost more to repair than the machine costs but that is probably the case with most lower end machines. I don't forsee that anytime soon since my original low end brother from 1994 is still going strong. I have purchased 3 low ends, and have never gotten them from a dealer and only have taken in a few for a thorough cleaning but I am anal about cleaning my machine every time I sew anyway. Brothers tend to be problem free at least for me anyway. I have 4 and also had a babylock I traded in for my high end brother. all 4 of my machines still run beautifully and I adored my babylock prior and it was also problem free

I agree with everything Dolphyngyrl said about the low end Brother machines. I have 3 - one at my house and one at each of son's. They are trouble free, take any thread, have never needed a dealer or repair, work right out of the box and don't have tension issues. The manuals are very good too. This is based on my own personal experience.

I LOVE my 1939 Singer Featherweight. I have traveled with it in my carry-on. It's tiny, weighs less than 15# and has a beautiful straight stitch for piecing...

I love my featherweight too - but if the OP wants a machine any time soon she may not find a featherweight at her price in good condition for a long time. It took me a very long time to find mine and I went to garage and estate sales and thrift stores on a very regular basis.

Imsewinso - I wonder if whoever told you about the Brother machines had personal experience with any of them? We have many members here on QB that have them and have had no problems with them.

I have a small Europro that I got from HSN about 7 years ago (under $100.00) and it is my travel machine and has not let me down. I highly recommend the Brother machines too. My sister bought the quilting model from Costco well over 10 years ago and uses it to this day. I have seen them recently for under $200.00 and has a lot of stitches. I have my little FW - it doesn't travel much because of my Eurpro has more stitches. But it does travel well and doesn't weigh that much.

I give another vote to Janome Gem Platinum..... I absolutely love mine and she only weighs 13 lbs.... It is a little work horse.

The feather weight is ideal if you can find one with a zigzag even better. The other small machines have a mixture of small stitches.i take a small husqvana Viking H100j which is light weight with a selection of stitches. Works great to take to classes in UK I paid £200 sure it must be in other countries as well.

Not so, dealers will tell you just about anything to get you to buy from them. What is true however is they can refuse to service anything they don't sell. And a complete service or repair from a dealer can cost more than just purchasing another machine. It's not cost effective for either side. Any machine can be serviced.
The US and Canada are the only two major countries in the world where a whole new revenue source has been created by servicing(clean/oil/adjust) sewing machines. In every other major country people are still taught to service their own machines when they buy them, just like it used to be here "in the olden days." When my 25yr old Brother embroidery machine needed repair(because of previous owners stupidity) it would have cost me $150 to have the dealer fix it so I found a service manual on line for $20 and fixed it myself.

Cari

Featherweight or Baby Lock Grace are my go to sewing machines for travel.

I would go with a FW.

In regard to the disdain of machine repair service, Any doctor can "service" you but if you never visit one perioducically, he may not be able to "fix" you. I believe in taking my machines in for periodic servicing as a preventative measure. None of my machines cost less than $500 new so, for me, it is worth preventing large issues in the future. I do the same with my vehicle. If I had paid less than $200 for one, then I would replace it when it no longer performs.

Sandy

Make sure whatever portable machine you buy has a handle on it! That makes a big difference.

I love my FWs and I also have the book and CD on how to keep it in good repair and working, they just hum.

I love my Babylock Audrey. It is the smallest Babylock, only 8 pounds, and I have pieced many tops on it, and have quilted a twin size quilt on it too. I think I paid about $300 on sale 4 years ago.

Walmart has one for $99, nothing fancy, works excellent and very lightweight!

Check Walmart online. Some of the prices are very good and you can pick it up in your nearest store. I own several Brother machines and I love them. They are all mid range to high range on pricing but with my experience with Brother, I would not hesitate buying a more affordable one for traveling. I agree with previous posts, you can easily learn to clean them and keep them in good repair yourself.

I have the Janomie Jem and it is very good and only weighs 12 lbs.

I just went thru this myself.
Wanting a smaller, lightweight machine for classes & retreats.

I looked @ new but couldn't stomach paying a new price.
I, too, wanted to be in a less than $300 price bracket.

Bought my Viking D1 new 7 yrs. ago & it works for me beautifully,
so I set out to find a 2nd machine in used, but excellent condition.
Found one! They are out there.
You can check craigslist, eBay, quilting & sewing forums, etc.

I was very very leery about buying off eBay but the seller was 2 hours from my home,
she had good reviews, & she said the machine was in pristine, like new condition ... only used 5 times.
So I took the plunge.
I couldn't be happier! It looks & sews like it hadn't been used more than 5 times.
This is less than a classroom model.

I have the Viking Prelude 360.
I paid $195 for it. It originally sold for $450-500 depending on the area.
I've been sewing on this machine to make sure that I like it (& I do) ... so am going to spend a
little more now & order a sewing table top for it. I should still come in @ less than $300.

My 2nd go-to choice was one of the Baby Locks, but the one I wanted was $599 + tax.
Nice thing about used ... generally no tax. :)
Good luck on your hunt.

Well, it seem my information is not correct....thank you ladies for setting me straight. I was told this from a dealer, but of course they are wanting to sell their machines.

I feel a lot of the lighter machines that are out nowadays have a lot of plastic gears in them, which wear out easily. Of course, this makes them lighter to carry around, but what about durability?

Mainly in quilting, you are only doing a straight stitch, so for my money I would go for a Featherweight by Singer. They are old reliable sewing machines. Their stitching is perfect and they will do heavier sewing if you use a jean needle.

You can still find a bargain out there, if you look. I bought two FW's from a lady that didn't want them anymore for $75.00 each. They needed servicing and new belts, but other than that they were in great condition (if you are not looking for the gold pattern on the machine to be perfect). I keep one in my car and one at home.

For the most part, you can service the FW's yourself and take them in only if you have a major problem with them.

I have a babylock Audrey. It comes with it's own small traveling bag. I take it everywhere.

I agree. My low end brother has been under a greyhound bus cross country and still works as good as new. Mine is the model 5130, only has 35 stitches, but I have never felt the need for more. I paid $150 for it at Walmart. (14 years ago and the price is still in the same range.)

My last machine was and 80 stitch brother SQ9000 on Amazon and I paid $139. Good little machine.

Keep your eye out for a vintage Singer 301, the FW's big sister. It is a aluminum machine so not that heavy and is a full size machine rather than a 3/4 like the Featherwight. It is all metal, with no plastic parts to go bad and sews a beautiful straight stitch! I love both of mine and both had price tags under $200.

I had a Brother 6000i that needed repair, the local Brother dealer serviced it without any problems, it was still under warranty, Brother authorized dealers are to service all Brother machines, especially if under warranty. (I checked with Brother when my machine needed repair, something went wrong with the foot pedal) If an authorized dealer refuses report them to Brother CO.
That said the Brother 6000i is a great machine, one of my granddaughters has it now, still working well after 8 plus years.
I also vote for the Janome Jems, I have a Jem Platinum ($400-$500 range), computerized, many stitches. My local granddaughter have Janome Jem Silvers, mechanical & super machines, the Silver no longer made (it was a special edition several years ago) but the Janome Jem Gold is the very same machine, so is the Necchi Travel Mate (made by Janome) , they run $199, the Gold can be bought online, the Necchi only from a Necchi dealer who might try to sell it at $299 but those machines are exactly the same, different color on face. I love those machines, very sturdy & strong for a lightweight machine. One granddaughters tends to have a lead foot & pedal to the metal but her machine just hums along. The stitches are preset but there is enough variety (3 different lengths of straight stitch, a couple of zigzag & decorative & button hole) that you don't miss it.

No disdain here, I just think it's absurd to pay someone $100+ to do something I can do myself for nothing. I have some expensive machines too, the cost of the machine doesn't deter me from taking care of it myself.

Back to the topic, an inexpensive machine from Brother is a good choice, as well as a FW or a 301 for straight stitch only, though personally I prefer the 301.

Cari

The Kenmore 158.1040 is also an excellent choice for a travel machine. Mechanical, zig=zag and stretch stitches and all metal. Can be found under a $100 a bit more on eBay. There are also aluminum Singer 99 clones and of course the Featherweight and 301. I have at least one of all of them and 2-3 of most. Love each and every one of them.

I have 2 Brother machines and 2 heavier Janomes and love them all.

The bottom line, imho, is it all about the $$. There are lots of good light weight machines out there. All the manufactures have them. I would love to purchase one of the small Berninas but it is too pricey for what I really need.

My first light weight machine for classes was a Brother 6000 which I found on Craigslist for $50. It stitches beautifully and has a huge variety of stitches. About 2 years ago I picked up a featherweight. I now use it all the time for retreats and classes and keep the Brother for a backup.

I got my Singer 301 on Craigslist for $70. That's my travel machine. Not heavy and sews a beautiful straight stitch.

I have a small Brother, but price a bit higher because it has embroidery function - the 950D. What I like about that machine and would look for in a travel machine, is a hard case cover and a slide on table. Although I am tempted by the old machines all the time, probably due to all the love they get on these forums, they bring back nightmares of fussing with tension problems on my old Kenmore when I was a teenager. Those Costco machines always tempt me - but I then remember that I don't need any more sewing machines. They have a nice one right now for under $200.

My Walmart Brother has been a work horse. Great little machine.

Several years ago, a nearby store was promoting the Pffaf Passport 2.0. I got one and it's been a terrific machine. It sews anything, uses any kind of thread, and has enough stitches for anything I make.