Sewing machine recommendations
 

Hello everyone!

I am new to this board and relatively new to quilting. I have completed one quilt and am working on two others and just love it. I currently am using an older Brother machine but am considering an upgrade. Any suggestions on favorite brands and why would be appreciated?

Thanks!

Kathy

I have a babylock crescendo bought last April. My husband and the store owner talked me into it. I have not bonded with it yet though I love the lighting, 11 1/4 inch harp and pivot feature. Spent way too much money for it.

I love my Singer featherweights and my new Jenome 6600!

I have a Janome, Pfaff, and Viking/Husqvarna. I've never tried a Bernina or Babylock. I like my Janome Gem Platinum because of it's size, it's perfect for travel. I like my Pfaff because of the IDT system. I like my Husqvarna because of the auto scissors and the presser foot that is activated with my foot control (which is wonderful when doing piecework). I would like to suggest that you keep using your current machine for a couple of reasons. One - to be sure that you will indeed keep sewing. These machines are not cheap. Two - make a couple more quilts to see what features you think you would like in a machine. You may find that you really don't like free motion quilting, in which case you wouldn't benefit from a longer harp. Or, you my find that you really do like FMQ and choosing a machine with a larger harp would be very beneficial. Do you like piecework? Then you would probably like a machine with the auto scissors feature. When you are ready to buy be sure that you educate yourself about the different machines and what they can do. A great resource for sewing machine reviews is Patternreview.com. Before you buy take them all for a test drive. Another suggestion is buying a good used machine. You can save a lot of money on a slightly used machine with all the bells and whistles over the cost of buying new. And use this forum, it's a great help. Good luck to you.

A longer harp doesn't just facilitate free motion quilting. It is needed to do straight line quilting or stitch in the ditch quilting on larger quilts too.

I love Bernina Have four of them all do wonderful things would never change ,
they have great technical training and always been there for me to answer any questions .
Cathy

janome! no fuss no muss no mess such an easy machine so silent hands down i love it! ~till i can afford a baby lock that is :)

Upgrade to another Brother. I have 3 of them right now, and am very happy with them. Their manuals are really well written; I couldn't ask for more in terms of that. You can spend as much or as little as you want on a Brother machine. The more you spend the more feature rich they are.

Good luck in your hunt.

I love brothers, I love brothers, and I love babylocks made by brother. I have had 4 brothers, and a babylock made by brother and have loved all of them. My new fave is my dreamweaver, also know as unity for babylock. What do I love about it, the lighting(super bright), the harp space which awesome, the laser (great for straight sewing, doing HST, lining up decorative stitches), the muvit foot(differential feed, handles thicknesses like a dream, handles hard to sew fabrics, what doesn't it do), the penpal(aids in needle position, laser position, stitch width, stop position which I sue for binding), the ease of use(really feature rich, but did I need classes to use it no, why the manual is well written and everything is intuitive and even explained for some processes on the actual machine itself), quality high(really heavy metal machine, for being new technology I have had no problems with it as some other brands that come out with machines and work out the bugs after they release their highly expensive models, accessories cheap and affordable compared to other brands, reliable, really none of my machines have even given me any problems and I have had 3 low end machines gave one away, all still run, one is over 20 years old. I have sewn on other brands and even after sewing on a bernina it increased my appreciation for my brother and my babylock

I liked the idea about sewing a few more quilts to determine what is important to you in a sewing machine. I absolutely love the needle down position with my Juki. My Pfaff would sometimes do needle down, sometimes not. However, on the Pfaff, I LOVE being able to use the stop/start button for FMQ and being able to tap the foot pedal to make it stop. On my Babylock you have to unplug the foot pedal to use the stop/start button. I would suggest looking at how easy it is to clean the machine. For example, if you want to get in there after making fleece quilts or something, how hard is it to get the bobbin case out. How much trouble is it to take the needle plate cover off (or whatever it's called). Research can be a lot of fun, but try to find someone knowledgeable to work with you, someone that's not just trying to upsell you. Good luck!

Janome. I've been using them for about 15 yrs now and love them.

I love my Janome's!!!!

I had a babylock before I had a janome. I hated it. I ended up giving it to my mil for patching. I also have a babylock serger that quit working a long time ago. I'll never buy babylock again.

There are several great machines for quilters. It is best that you try them out yourself and decide which one "feels" right for you. Make a list of the features you need before you shop. My favorite features are good lighting, wide harp space, needle down, and built in scissors. Buy from a dealer you trust who is nearby and offers service. My favorites are Bernina, Janome 8900, and Brother 1500. I bought them all from my LQS. They service them and help me whenever I have a question. Have fun shopping.

Don't forget Juki's. I hate Pfaff's - they eat my fabric if I don't use leader/enders, I hate Bernina's, too stiff and less features for more money. I like Janomes - I love Babylocks - no one does embroidery as well and easily as Brother/Babylock machines. But the Juki's are the bomb. The motors are geared differently. You never get the bogging you get with the other machines. They will go thru anything.
But my opinion doesn't really matter. You need to go sew with as many brands as you can find and buy the one you can't live without.

if you are looking for a straight stitch only machine for piecing and FMQ, i really loved my Juki tl98q, the newer version has a different set of numbers at the end. it's a very solid machine.

Don't forget about vintage Singers! I love my 403A and have been sewing on it regularly for over 40 years. It's so solid and does most everything except FMQ. I also have a 99k which has a case and is great for traveling. The Featherweights are good for FMQ because they have a vertical bobbin. The prices for older Singers run a fraction of the cost for a new sewing machine and they are built to last a lifetime. If that's what you're interested in, you should check out the vintage sewing machine threads and forums on this site. They will guide you to your perfect machine. Good luck!

My favorite features are 10 in throat area and in needle down mode the foot pops up a little when you stop sewing.
I have a Viking Sapphire and several cheap Brothers. Love them all. One Brother is a three hundred dollar 4 in embroidery machine. It is easy to use and have made lots of embroidered 6 in blocks. Only use it for quilting so a fancy expensive machine would be an expensive mistake.

All the major brands are good. I am a Pfaff lover because of the IDT and my arthritis. It doesn't eat my fabric at all. I select the throat plate based on what project I am working on: fancy stitching vs plain straight stitching. I don't always use leaders but hold the thread ends just like I did when I was young and learning to sew in home ec class.

My question for you are:
- What do you want your machine to do? Have a list of your needs and your wants when you look at each machine. No use buying an expensive machine if you don't need all the features it offers.
- What is you budget. Would you consider a used machine? New machines might have a 6 months same as cash offer from whatever store you buy it from.
- Do you personally have special needs: poor eyesight, arthritis, etc.
- The the really important determinant after all the above: which machine do you bond with. I mean which machine are you intuitively able to use without any difficulties.

Keep your notes as you go through the process if you think you'll forget anything. Make the journey fun, however you do it. Know that each person has their own preferences, which might not be yours.

I think you have to really try some out. When I thought I would love some that others loved, I just didnt. Its best to get a feel for them if you can and see what jumps out at you. When I found mine, it just felt right, and I still love everything about it.

I have a Bernina and a Pfaff and like them both.

Wow! Thanks everyone - a lot of great advice which I will take to heart. Will definitely start keeping a list of features I like/want and try out any before purchasing.

I really appreciate all of you taking the time to respond - thankful for the perspectives.

Kathy

The best advice that I can give you is to check out the shops and the machines. We all are different and want different things in our machines. You need to find out the features that are out there. Several yrs ago I bought a new machine because I wanted an upgraded one. It has lots of features and I got a great price since it was priced wrong. Since then I've learned about needle up/down option, scissor cut options, presser foot auto up/down, pivoting, the size of the throat, etc. I have a viking diamond deluxe and love it, I just push start and it lowers the presser foot automatically and does all that is needed to go. I never really thought about how much I liked this feature until I took a class last yr with a Brother emb machine, the latest out, great machine but I kept getting beeped at because I kept forgetting to put the presser foot down. You really need to research all of the features and try out as many as you can before you decide what you want or need. You'll be amazed at the features and some of the prices. Most of the high priced machines do have finance free options though. I love all of my Vikings, the one I bought a few yrs ago was a Kenmore made by Janome and I love it too but it doesn't have as many of the features of my Viking. I want to get a regular machine when my emb one is paid off but I'm thinking of getting the Pfaff, probably the passport. It has the built in walking foot plus my teacher who loves Pfaff but is also an award winning quilter says it looks like a really good machine. I think machines are like most things in life, you should try it before you buy it.

My little Brother SQ9000 is 3 1/2 years old now, and I am still in love with it. Jim got it at Walmart, and it was only $199.
before taxes. It has 80 stitches and can also do the alphabet. It has loads of attachments that I am still getting used to.

I am a Brother believer! I started with a few very inexpensive ones, then upgraded to an Innov-is 80 - love, love, love it! I recently added a PQ1500 for free motion quilting. Never had issues with my Brothers

You will find everyone has their own favorites. I would suggest you check out the sewing machine dealers in your area and test drive the sewing machines. It really is a personal preference and only YOU can decide what you want and need and which sewing machines work best for you. That being said, I have Bernina, Pfaff, Brother and White sewing machines. Each brand has it's own pros and cons, the only way to know is to go and try them out.

Just traded in my Bernina 640 for an 880. If you can't afford new try a used Bernina to meet your needs.

PM meplease..

You could get a Bernina 330 for about $900. As a sewing machine mechanic, I love working on the Berninas best. We get a quality stitch every time. When you buy a Bernina, you always get classes and 1 to 3 years of free service.

I think everyone has their preference. There are folks here who LOVE the Janome 8900; I have one that I'm really only lukewarm about. I don't hate it but I don't love it either. I have owned three Brothers that I adored, and next month I'm buying the Dream Creator - pretty sure it will be my next machine love. You really need to get out and try everything you can get your hands on; it's the only sure way to know whether you're going to love it once you get it home. I wish I'd spent more time with the Janome; I never would have bought it if I had.

Because I am a beginner I have a Brother CS-770. It's the best one I could afford ($200) and it has simple quilting stitches that are easy for me to perform. If you are somewhat advanced than a beginner I would suggest a different machine but for me it works great and I am happy with how it performs.

Love my Janomes. Great machines.

I would love a longer throat - just discovered there are machine called "mid-arm" - I have a Brother cs1000 I think, a cheapy to replace my beloved Kenmore from 1981 which sadly lost a main part for and could not replace :(

Any recommendations on a mid-arm are welcome.

What is your price range? What is your priority in a machine? What is the reason for an upgrade? Is it more bells an whistles or is the upgrade for a better quality stich. If the upgrade is for bells and whistles, then you can find a machine for a reasonable price. However, if quality of stich is the most important then get a good quality machine with customer support behind it. I always say, "You get what you pay for". Twenty-seven years ago, when I wanted to upgrade from a Kenmore, it came down to the stich, meaning the perfect tension, and the customer service I would receive. I bought a Bernina and still have it, and I still go to the same dealer.