I'm looking to purchase a "user friendly" Bernina (new/used) - nothing really fancy. Anyone selling? I hear they are great machines. Marta

I've seen some good buys on ebay or Craigslist. I live in Clearwater, FL, there is a local sewing repair store that sells used Bernina's at a good price

thanks so much... I'll look check it out!

Hi and welcome to the board

Hi and welcome from Lakeland, FL.

Hi, A lot depends on how much you want to spend and what features you just can't live without. I presently own 4 Berninas and a Singer featherweight. In the early 90s I worked for more than a year in a shop that sold Berninas and did custom dressmaking and alterations. I quickly fell in love with all of their machines. I owned a bottom of the line serger and embroidery machine that I had purchased from them before I worked there. I was able to purchase my 1260 model sewing machine with my generous employee discount. I have since upgraded both my Serger and Embroidery machines to more advanced models and recently purchased another sewing machine that was less expensive but a lot lighter in weight. I know that I can barely sew without the knee bar. My latest purchase while as advanced in the selection of stitches as my 1260 it did not come with the kneebar or the footpedal that raises the needle when you kick the back of the pedal. I paid a couple of hundred dollars extra to have the kneebar added and will upgrade the footpedal as soon as possible. The main reason I purchased the newer machine was for the lighter weight to take to retreat etc.
As a quilter I can barely function on a machine that doesn't have a kneebar that lifts the presser foot. Features like the needle down option certainly come in handy when peicing, appliquing or quilting.
The good news is that many of the decorative embroidery stitches are available in the lower priced machines. All of the bells and whistles are great but they cost more. You get what you pay for.

Don't forget to check your local dealer if you have one. Ours runs some great sales on demos and gently used machines. And they offer the warranty and all the free classes you want to take to learn how to make the most of your purchase. Good luck.

I used a friend's Bernina 150 to do stippling over the weekend. One thing it doesn't have that I really missed is a needle threader. Her machine did have the knee lift lever - something that sold me when I bought a new machine 12 years ago. My friend's Bernina did not have an indicator for when the bobbin was going to run out either (I ran out twice). So those 3 features are very important to me: needle threader, knee lift bar, bobbin indicator.

Good luck with your search. I wish I lived near FL, I would go check out that store!

Thank you so much for the info. Because I am not a pro @ piecing but do fairly well - i am actually looking for simplicity - straight stitching nothing fancy. What do you recommend?Know of anyone who has a Bernina they want to sell?
Marta

If you want to do just straight piecing, you might want to look at a Janome Jem. The Platinum is really nice and is going for around $439 now. It has some decorative stitches on it also and is only 12 lbs so it's easy to take to classes or move from room to room.