Sewing Machine Features vs Price
 

In order to help narrow down the quandry of which sewing machine to buy. Why not contribute in the most meaningful way by breaking it down by price ranges and intended use.

In other words, if someone would like to learn or perform your own quilting on your newly purchased machine, they would suggest a larger throat space than 6 1/2"

If you knew more when you purchased your last machine, what new features do you wish you had on your machine in your price range?

What features would you look for in a sewing machine costing:

Less than $500.00

Under $1,000

Under $3,000

Under $5,000

$5,000 and Above

I won't sew without an auto thread cutter now. I gave away several machine that were still good but no auto thread cutter. The thread cutter saves so much thread and with the cost of quality thread being $10 or more a spool that adds up. I kept my Singer FW because it is a FW.

I have to have auto thread cutting. I'm odd about buying a machine. I own't pay over $700 for any machine. I usually find what I want from trade ins. I go to the dealer when a new machine or big sale is on and let her know what I'm looking for if one is traded in. I have gotten all my machines like that except my Eversewn Sparrow and QE. They are inexpensive to buy retail. They are my traveling machines. If dropped, lost, or stolen I can replace them easily for the same price.

I have found there is only one feature that I really, really love having, and that is a knee lift for the presser foot. Unfortunately, this is a feature that seems to be found on the higher end machines (and industrials). I prefer having it mechanical as then I can raise an lower it just what I need.

I learned the hard way that the simple mechanic machines are the best for me. I can live and quilt without the extra features. The simple ones seem to be the most reliable since there are fewer things to go belly up. And, they are easier to find repair guys for them. Actually, I bought a Singer Heavy Duty one at Walmart a few years ago for $99 and it does everything I need. And, I quilt lots and lots of children and baby quilts!! So far, never had a problem with it.

If it does break down, I think I'll not take it to be repaired... It would be cheaper to get a new one! :)

Perhaps this doesn't answer the question asked, but I have often wished one of the sewing machine manufacturers would make a basic machine with all the "extras" like needle down, thread cutting, knee lift, etc. but with much fewer embroidery stitches.

Love my knee lift,the cutter in the foot, and the 9" throat on the Juki. It runs about $1,000. I can easily do without fancy stitches. It is the only machine I would replace immediately if it died.

I bought my Bernina 440QE soon after I started quilting. I hope it runs forever so I never need to buy a new machine. However I wish I had known more about what I wanted and needed when I bought it. I spent about $1000 extra to get the embroidery module, thinking that I would want to use it someday. That day has never come, so the embroidery module has not been used, except for a few hours of learning how to use it. Other than that, I am very happy with the features of the machine, now that I have a longarm for quilting.

My Bernina lives upstairs in my quilting room. Sometimes I want to quilt downstairs, so I set up a different machine, usually a vintage Singer 301, a featherweight, or an older but not quite vintage Singer that I probably bought in the 80's. Those machines don't have the knee lift, which I love on the Bernina, they don't sit in a recessed table like the Bernina, or have the other bells and whistles of the Bernina. But I still enjoy sewing on them and find that I can accomplish just as much.

These features were important to me.
needle up/ down, thread cutter, automatic needle threader

my Janome 6600 has these features, takes any thread, 9” throat, decorative stitches and my repair guy told me it was an excellent machine.$1700 included private lesson. A dream to use. Has a knee needle lift.

the machine I started on was a small singer, that used cams for the decorative stitches. I sewed and quilted my first ( king sized ) quilt on it. Very small throat. Mostly I made clothes with that. Could not FMQ on that.

Then I bought a used straight stitch Brother 1500. $500 Big throat 11inches? Had all three of the features I wanted although the needle threader didn’t work well. I like to FMQ so the big throat was nice. No zig zag or blanket applique stitch. Has a knee needle lift.It was a good solid machine but not as easy to use as the Janome. The Janome has made sewing more enjoyable.