Sewing Machines
 

Hello all,
I am new to this message board and would love it if anyone could help me decide what computerized sewing machine I should buy.
I was looking at a Janome 3050 and 2012. I would like to learn free motion quilting.
I am not a new sewer- have many decades of experience- but my sewing machine is a dinosaur. Also, sometime in the next few years my daughter wants me to make her wedding dress- so I need a machine that will handle that.
I really wanted one with the large bed, but they are close to $1000 and that is more than I want to spend.

Any suggestions for me?
Thanks in advance,
Kim

Welcome to the forum! Maybe if you let us know what area you are from, other members could chime in with info about their machine purchasing experience.

I live in Northeast Ohio and have been to several stores looking at machines and am just baffled
So many options, but they all basically do the same thing. I am not really interested in embroidering on my machine, but a few decorative stitches would be nice. I used to make all my children's clothes when they were young, but went back to school and n ow work full time. I really just want a new machine for fun ( and that wedding dress at some point) ;-)

Welcome! I have a Viking Platinum...about 10-12 yrs. old now. I paid about $1200 new. It is a relatively computerized machine; has numerable decorative stitches. It has needle up/down feature; imbedded 1/4" setting. Also has auto tension and foot pressure which I love. Have never needed to adjust tension or foot pressure. I don't do FMQ but have done limited machine quilting...have never needed a walking foot with this machine. I would think you could get this machine used in a reputable shop for a very reasonable price at this point. Or possibly craigslist. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the Viking. I also do home dec and limited garment sewing on this machine. Just love it.

Janomes are usually really good machines. You could even buy a used one with the larger bed if you were interested in doing the larger bed. Craigslist sometimes has them.

I bought a used Janome Jem Platinum 720 on Craigslist for $350.00 about 3 months ago. It's a smaller machine and is easy to travel with. So far I have made 3 quilts and am very happy with it. I do wish it had the auto scissors though.

How important do you all think the larger bed is? I probably won't be quilting king or queen size blankets- will a regular machine work for the other sizes?
Bizzibee, I saw the ones with the auto scissors- does it really make a big difference? Since I've never had that before, I didn't know if it was a gimmick or really useful.

I have the Janome 6600 and it is an excellent machine. I like the scissors, it makes piecing go quickly.
Another feature I like is the needle up/down.
A lot of women have traded up from the 6600 to the 7,000 and 8,000 series so you might find a gently used one at a reasonable price.

Kim, If you want a larger bed for free motion quilting, want to spend less than $1k and already have a machine to do fancy stitches, you might want to look in to a Brother 1500 or a Juki 2000/2010/98. I have the Juki and use it for quilting with a walking foot (I have a big sit down machine for free motion but have used my Juki for it as well and it stitches beautifully) Janome also has one - the 1600 I believe but they might have changed their number since then. All three of them are straight stitch only and have a 9" throat. If you check Craigslist you might be able to score one used. People get them for a frame and then decide that 9" isn't deep enough and sell them when they upgrade to something bigger...

I love my Juki and it's one of the best purchases I have ever made for my sewing room. You can get the Brother or the Juki at Ken's and they offer free shipping :) http://www.kenssewingcenter.com/quil...c-161_170.html They're really nice to work with and have great prices. I'm sure there are lots of other places that offer great deals too - but shop around before you buy. :)

Happy machine hunting!

I have a Brother 1500 which does streight stitchs only and is really a workhorse machihe both for piecing and FMQ. I also have a Singer machine that will do fancy stitches if I want to. I sometimes use it attaching binding using a fancy stitch. That said since it does not manually adjust the presser foot tension so I will get puckering. The brothers has a manually presser foot adjustment. Ladies on this board love their machine and each has a special preference. Choose a machine that is in your price range and go for it! I test drove mine at LQS and the bought it from Amazon.

Check out the new Opals from Viking. Viking is a great machine and works great. I have two emb machines and the Viking Mega quilter. If you have shops in your area it would be great to test the machines out and see all the features available and go from there. I love the needle up/down button and the auto thread cutter to name a few of the great features machines have now.

The one machine I would stay away from is any of the Pfaffs. They once were one of the best machines on the market but now they don't sew well at all. It wasn't just mine that was bad I know 4 other ladies and they all had different Pfaffs and they had problems with theirs as well. I recently purchased the Janome 8900qcp and love it. I have friends that have the Janome 6600 and it is a workhorse, wonderful machine. Good luck...

I say Janome 6500 or 6600 ! love mine!

Welcome, so glad you joined us. I would also check out the dealers/service guys, quite frequently they'll have higher end trade-ins for very reasonable, that's how I got my big Elna Quilter's Dream. I love the throat space and the "scissors".

Love the Janome Horizon 7700....it has a large bed and great lighting too!