Quiltingboard Forums - Which Sewing Machine??

Quiltingboard Forums (https://www.quiltingboard.com/)

- Main (https://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1/)

- - Which Sewing Machine?? (https://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1/sewing-machine-t31958.html)

Well done, I have the Bernina 153QE which I think is a U.K. machine and love it. I don't think I would be swayed away from Bernina again, at least not unless somebody came up with an amazing alternative - Although would love an embroidery module type machine too!

I have a Bernina Mini Matic. I bought it in 1974!
In 25yrs it's been serviced twice. Both times the service guy offered to buy it.
It has a very small throat and no bells and whistles but I love it.
Perhaps, as an option, a second hand Bernina would provide good value and reliability.

My dream machine is an old Singer treadle.

Go for the Viking!!!! I have an older one and absolutely love it and my friend just bought the Sapphire and she quilts all the time plus does alterations for people. It is an absolute gem of a machine.
I have never had an ounce of trouble with mine and it is a computerized machine and is 14 years old and I use it all the time. I love the feel and how it performs.

Before buying, consider service. Does the store do it's own service - or send it out. My Viking store sends it out, and only has a pick up once a week. So a broken machine can sit for a week, before it is even picked up. (I've been without mine for over a month waiting for parts) Also I've noticed several stores - in my area, and over the internet, that is dropping the Viking dealships, and going to Bernina. I don't know why - but I'd find out before I buy a machine.

I have a Pffaf - it's several years old. Has been in the shop only once. I also have a Bernina 440 - it came with the BSR, walking foot, extended table and some other extras. I love both machines. I also have a Baby Lock Audrey for travel & classes. Sounds like you're having a great time looking!

I'm on my second viking. The first was a Viking 6570 (probably 30 years old) and now I have a Sapphire 830. I love it. It just sews and sews. I have had it a year and no problems at all.

The Viking Sapphire is a GREAT machine.

There are many great machine makers on the market.

Viking is one of them. I have upgraded through 4 machine levels with Viking and Sapphire was my favorite computer-aided machine.

It never went into the shop for repairs or fixing.

I sew daily. I sewed every kind of fabric and project on a Viking Daisy for five years before I even took it in for a tune-up. I only tuned it up to trade it in for the computer gizmo bells and whistles machine.

I have done extensive sewing with Kenmore, Janome, White and Viking machines. They all have their good points.

Every machine that is badly used can be made to go in for repairs often. Please keep that in mind.

12 years ago I started out with a Kenmore & I loved it. Then I bought a used Bernette Deco for embroidery. Then I bought a Brother PQ1500s for free motion quilting & love it, too. Unfortunately my sewing room isn't big enough to keep all three out at the same time, so I was always putting one on the floor under my sewing table.

I decided to replace all three with one machine that does everything. I shopped around a lot before finally deciding on a Viking, because it had everything on my list of must haves, almost everything on my wish list & I thought it was more affordable than the comparable Bernina. I just got it last week for my birthday & I love it!!!

If you buy from a Viking dealer they come with classes, too. Whatever you decide on, enjoy it!

I just bought a Viking Saffire and I LOVE it.

i have sewn primarily on Bernina and Viking. My bernina is a work horse, and my Viking has all the bells and whistles as you describe. For machine quilting, i have to say I love the viking. Those conveniences are so great. Once you get used to them, it's hard to give them up. (like an automatic garage door opener, tv remote, or GPS...you know?) I think you will be happy with whatever machine you select, given those mentioned, but if you sit down at that Viking and it feels like a "fit" then i would go with it.

Merry Christmas,
Lisa

Buy what you like; however, the Janome will do what you expressed when you are going to fast; e.g. pulling the material instead of letting the machine pull the material for you. This is a huge feature of the Janome brand. Let the machine do the work for you. Thanks, GG

nterestingly I have a cheap Brother from Sam's, under $100, got it over 5 years ago. It is a mechanical machine and I haven't had the first bit of problem with it. It will FMQ and does a good job with the straight stitch. It stitches fur, fleece, flannel, etc.with no problems. Got another cheap Brother from WalMart to keep at my daughter in laws house so when I visit I can "whip up" things for them. It has sewed just fine right out of the box. I wonder if they will quit on me tomorrow just because I am giving them praise! I also have a Singer I got in 1965 which works fine, but doesn't have an automatic needle threader, and an older Elnita I got for $10 at a garage sale which sews fine, but is hard to thread. Maybe I'm just lucky with these cheapy machines, so I guess it all boils down to personal preference as long as we are happy with our machines, right?

On my Janome, I have to crank that tension up to about 8 for some quilts. When I first tried it out they said I could use the auto setting but that didnt work for me. I suggest if you really liked the Janome just go back and play with it some more and dont be afraid to crank it up!!! :D

I have the Ellisimo, BabyLock and it has many wonderful features = self threading, option to use the quilt foot up, needle down feature, great lighting, includes almost all the feet that you could need and BabyLock is including a special until the end of the year extendable table, thread stand, 82 embroidery designs, endless hoop. The machine is very user friendly. Good luck in your search. For your moneys worth I would go BabyLock

I have a Viking, a Pfaff and 6 months ago purchased a Janome 6600. If I could keep only one machine it definitely would be the Janome. It is a real workhorse!! I have sewn everything from upholstry to a silk blouse and been able to do beautiful free motion with it. (Use Organ needles and a lighter weight ~60 for bobbin.)

I have had my Viking for 20 years, it has NEVER been in the
shop (hope that doesn't jinx it) and I LOVE it. I want a new
machine but definitely don't need one, just the thrill of having a
new one I guess, but if I get one it will be another Viking. I also
have an inexpensive Brother to lug around (not crazy about it) I
have a cheapy Singer and an expensive New Home (now Janome) but my favorite is the Viking.

I have a brother's & Love it, it is my 3rd in 30yrs & all I did was up grade!

While at the local Pfaff dealer I inquired about the latest model. He said since Pfaff has been purchased by another company he will no longer endorse Pfaff. The machine is being made with cheaper plastic parts that are very expensive to replace. I have a Pfaff 1044 that has tension problems which they can't seem to correct long term. It's also very noisy, moreso after I got a hearing aid.
He carries Bernina exclusively.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lady.quilter

So, I have been saving for several months and I just got an incredible Christmas bonus. So now I get to go shopping for a new sewing machine! Yay! But which one?

I looked at the Bernina 430. It was alright. The way it sewed felt a little 'heavy' for some reason. It just didn't seem to glide for me. But it had a lot of features, but all the 'quilting' features were extra - the extended table, walking foot, clear or open toed darning foot, etc. I did like this one because it was upgrade-able. If I wanted the stitch regulator at a later date, I could add to it. Or I could add the embroidery functions as well. But it seemed like it was one of the more expensive machines for the least amount of extras.

I looked at a Pfaff Quilt expression 4.0. I really didn't like the way this one sewed. So I have kind of thrown this one out the window. It had some nice features, but it just didn't feel right.... lol

I looked at a Janome 6600. This one is sold at the LQS, so of course that is the one I have heard about the most. Everyone seems to love it. But when I did FMQ, the back looked awful with the feathering (is that what it is called?) around the curves, where the top thread pulls around and makes the loops look funny. Hope that makes sense. When I had borrowed a friends Janome DC when my Brother was in the shop, I had the same issue throughout the entire FMQ. I had played with tensions and speeds, and just thought that it was because it wasn't a top machine. But then after I got my Brother back, I never had that problem again.... This machine had a LOT more features than any of the others I looked at, and all the feet were included, and there is a sale going on until Christmas eve that includes a sewing table cabinet for the machine. So the price and extras are right....

I then looked at a Viking Sapphire. I really liked this one. I liked the way it did free-motion and I liked the feel of the sewing. I liked the large throat. And I loved the hands free feature that you used with the peddle, not a knee press. I liked the feature that every time you stopped sewing, the needle went down and the foot came up automatically, so you could rotate the fabric without have to do a thing. It came with a great darning foot and an applique foot, but the walking foot was extra. The sales lady said she would even throw in the extended table. I also loved the automatic sensor that adjusted tension and foot pressure for you, but you could also manually adjust these tensions

So I guess my question to you all is, which ones do you prefer and why? The sales lady for the Viking thought that the Janome wasn't powerful enough. She didn't even think that a Janome was in the same playing field as the other three brands, because of the different type of motors. But then the LQS sales lady had NOTHING good to say about the Viking or Pfaff. She kept going on and on about the reliability of the Janome and how she knew that the Viking & Pfaff machines were always in the shop, 'every 3 to 4 months' she said.... So, is that true? have you Viking owners found that your machine is in the shop a lot? That you have issues with it? The Janome sales lady also said the she had less issues with specialty threads with the Janome than with any of the other machines she had owned. Have you found that to be true?

I really liked the Viking the best, but I don't want to purchase a machine that I will later regret. Also, all the classes are at the LQS and I kind of feel like a betrayer if I don't get a Janome. But the fact that the FMQ on the Janome could be a struggle is a HUGE drawback. I wonder if I would ever find the right combination and practice to not make the feathering happen? I have only been doing FMQ since this summer, but have loved it. And I have not had this problem on my Brother since the first week. But I was never able to cure it on the Janome that I had borrowed. Have any of you ever had this issue with a Janome and not with some other brand?

Thank you thank you for all your input!

I would go with the one your heart tells you to buy :) , but FYI if you decide on the 6600 they have a new foot and bobbin case just for FMQ. :thumbup: Good luck and Merry Christmas.
LOL Liz

I have the Janome 6600 and I do love it but I did have to buy the FMQ foot and bobbin to stop the feathering on the back when I FMQ. But I would say go with your heart. We all love our machines :wink: what ever they are. It is just a matter of what feels right to you. Merry Christmas!!!
LOL Punksmom

I have had several berninas, my old 830 that I just gave my daughter in Colo. I have an old 930 from many years ago pd $1300 for it , I have been offered $1000 for it at the dealers, bought a 440 last year, but went to our local quilt show this year, fell in love with the new 830, traded it in for full purchase price for the new one , I love the push button for everything , no need for a foot pedal if you do not want to use it, best of all is the large space under the arm for quilting , I made a shopping bag yesterday sewed through several layers of material , no problem, yes it was pricey but the computer is guaranteed for 5 years and the rest for 25, OK that will make me 100 when the warranty is up,so by then I won't even care , just went on a quilting cruise, they had Babylocks and Brothers, both were wonderful machines, to use , also pricey but if I had not had the bernina I would have considered the babylock, the babylock had a bunch of hoops and attachments that came with it ,My berninas have never been in the shop for anything , I clean the bobbin area every time I change the bobbin thread, take off the plate and clean under it too with Q tips and a drop of oil in places.

I'm sure you could still get them from the manufacturer

Pfaff was bought out by Singer who also bought Viking.

A friend of mine is a Pfaff dealer. Pfaff and Viking are owned by the same company but are run as two seperate divisions. Singer is not involved.

I am a Bernina person and have been for probably 45 years. Everything they do it is top of the line. Now, I will say as much as I love them, I would never ever pay $12,000 for the newest machines. There are a bunch of slightly used machines you can find at Bernina dealers where people have traded their's in for the new ones. I take good care of mine and never have any trouble. Any machine that will make tiny buttonholes in nylon tricot (nightgown) even without an underlining is my kind of baby.

Peg-TX

I have 3 Viking's and love them all. Have never had one of them in for repairs ever! They are work horses. In the end it is important to get what feels the best to you. My MIL had Elna's and Phaff's. In the end she finally bought all Vikings!