GrannieAnnie

I looked up the 6500 at Walmart then went to the JoAnn's site and found teh very same 6500. Picuters are identical.

lisalovesquilting

Good advice.

ktbb

at a machine shop you may be able to purchase a better machine used at equal or lower price...at least take the time to check it out. As mentioned by other posters, having a place to take your machine if you have problems is almost essential....

lalaland

I'm really surprised a Brother dealer would make a statement like that - Brother and Janome are both made by the same manufacturer, the biggest difference is looks and price, their functions are almost identical.

If you want to check out reviews on sewing machines, go to
http://sewing.patternreview.com/.

I have bought several Brothers from Walmart and never had a problem. Sometimes you do get a lemon though, but that can happen with any machine.

The Brother CS6000i and the XR9000 have good ratings. Look for them on Amazon, they have really good prices. Janome has good machines, they are a little more expensive and I don't think they have that nice extension table the Brother's have, but they also have a good reputation.

My Joanns is now selling Vikings and they have a good reputation too. Stay away from the new Singers, they are suffering from poor construction these days - plastic parts covering metal gears, have a lot of "break apart" issues.

If you see something you really like, I'd check out the reviews and ask the board members if they have/had one and what they think.

ckcowl

what machine are you sewing on now? i bet your own machine is every bit as good as that brother machine...just because they are putting 'quilting-machine' on the box doesn't mean it's going to stitch any better, it's just a gimmick to attract the market. unless a machine is a mid-arm or long-arm i would not waste money on a different machine for quilting unless i needed to replace my sewing machine. that is all the brother is,(and probably with alot less stitches than your machine)
it may come with an extension table for quilting but you can probably buy an extension table for your machine for alot less than $199.

carolaug

NEVERETT'S SEW AND VAC INC
NASHUA'S SEW AND VAC SPECIALIST
PHONE 1 603-883-5409 E MAIL [email protected]
This store has been around for about 50 years....they sell new and used Jamones - if you are looking to buy a used one I would highly recommend buying from a store that fixes them. I have never heard any bad things about this store...My Mom use to go there when I was a kid...this is where my hubby bought my new machine....

Yarn or Fabric

If you are looking for a quilting machine, I would suggest saving up a little more or looking for at least a 9" harped machine. You will be trading one 6" for another 6".

From what I have seen, the "quilting machines" sold just include some extra feet for quilting and whatnot. You are really going to want more neck room for maneuvering quilts. You might score one on Craigslist or from a dealer used as a trade in :)

midwifehc

I would avoid Walmart machines if at all possible. They are very low end--not the same as the Brother's you get at a sewing machine shop-they are specially made for those big box stores. Don't expect any instruction or customer service.
If you can get used at a sewing machine shop that would be much better. Sears machines are also excellent-they are made by Janome I believe-and are very well priced and good quality.

sharkee

I bought a Brother at Target and after 2 months I broke a needle and knocked it out of alignment. I finally found someone to work on it and have had nothing but trouble so I saved and got a Janome. The lady that fixed it told me that Brothers are very good machines as long as you DON'T get them from Walmart/Kmart or Target. She said they are made on an assembly line and not tested to make sure everything is ok before shipping because they are so cheap most people will just go buy another one instead of paying for a repair

DonnaFreak

Thanks for your reply! I also have a Brother sewing machine, Model number LX-3125 that I bought at Wal-Mart for $79.99. I bought it on the advice of one of the teachers/leaders in our quilting group at work who said she has had the very same model for years and has never had a problem with it that a good cleaning and oiling wouldn't fix. So far I've done all of my quilts, the dog bed, and 9 pincushions on it. I've quilted all of the fat quarter quilts on it. Even the lap quilts can be a pain, but the twin sized one I did was a bear! The one I'm looking at has a long throat and has 22 different quilting stitches, plus free motion quilting.

I'd like to make some bigger quilts than I already have, and I know some of the women in the quilting group I'm in have paid $50.00 to have a twin sized quilt quilted by someone else. Anything bigger and the price just goes up. If I just quilted 4 quilts on it, it will have paid for itself in my opinion. But if that's something this machine can't do, I don't want to invest the money. I don't want to invest it either if it's something I might not be ready to do at my level. Y'know? ;-)

Donna