MadQuilter

Regardless of what you get, it is important that you test drive. Just because it's cheap does not mean that it will make you happy.

I understand your financial restraints but even in your budget, you can aim for the best machine in that price range. Nowadays, even the low end machines have some bells and whistles. A machine that has some basic necessities will last you longer than a bare bones one you'll outgrow in a month. I played the "I wish it had.." game with an early machine and decided to REALLY do my research.

We have had a few threads on machines on the QB and one of them may help you identify potentially necessary features

http://www.quiltingboard.com/posts/list/20538.page

Enjoy :lol:

Prism99

As I said in an earlier post, my first choice for this type of machine would probably be Sears. Take a wide assortment of fabrics with you to try out on their machine -- everything from stretchy lingerie fabric to denim. You want a machine that will hold its tension and not require adjustment even if you are moving from one type of fabric to another. Take a quilt sandwich with you too. The machine should be able to make a good-looking stitch on a quilt sandwich, top and underneath, with you only having to make the stitch length longer.

The samples that the store provides you with are usually stiff. Starched/stiff fabrics will always show a better stitch quality. That's why you want to bring your own fabric samples. If you can stitch on a single layer of muslin and then continue on to two layers of denim without having to make tension adjustments, that is a machine that won't drive you crazy with tension adjustments. A stretch stitch foot may be necessary when using the stretch stitch on the machine too.

Incidentally, the best way to examine stitch quality is with a wide zigzag. When technicians make adjustments to a machine's stitch balance, they do that by examining the zigzag stitch. If the zigzag is good, the straight stitch will be good too. Zigzag on all of your different materials and examine the stitch quality. You can clearly see a bad stitch when the tips of the zigzag are either pulling the bobbin thread up or the top thread down.

Pay attention to the sound of the machine also. I don't like machines that make loud "clunky" sounds. A decent machine may be noisier than my Bernina, but it won't actually sound "clunky".

In terms of stitches, these days you really want to have at least one "stretch" stitch (for sewing on stretchy fabrics such as tricot) and a blind hem stitch (for invisible machine applique). Also, if you can get it, you really want the ability to "mirror image" these stitches. For example, the blind hem stitch is great for hemming curtains but you want to be able to reverse its direction in order to do invisible machine applique for quilts. I'm not sure if mirror imaging is available on lower end machines, but you can always ask. Stretch stitches and the blind hem stitch are usually classified as "utility" stitches.

The one decorative stitch I really, really like is the feather stitch. You can do a lot of variations on it just by adjusting stitch width and stitch length. If you Google feather stitch images, you will see what I mean. I am not as fond of other decorative stitches. Scallops, for example, take a lot of thread and lot of time to sew out.

Find out what feet come with the machine. See if they will throw in a walking foot for free. (Walking feet tend to be more expensive than other feet.) A darning foot is good for free motion machine quilting, an open-toe applique foot is helpful for invisible machine applique, and the walking foot is useful for both clothing construction and quilting. A zipper foot is helpful, obviously, for inserting zippers in clothing (although you need a different type of zipper foot for invisible zipper applications).

MadQuilter

I checked allbrands to see what they have going on. (Not that I'm a big fan of the company, but they are a great resource to check and compare specs.)

Found a real nice Janome that has a bunch of features you would need as a quilter. Something worth entertaining IMHO.

http://www.allbrands.com/products/abp11666-1151.html

I find it helpful to have a base line.

minstrel

My dh bought me a Janome for Christmas a couple of years ago and I LOVE it. Never a problem with it. Mine is the QC6019 that I got on sale for slightly more than what you want to spend, but they have models that are not that expensive with slightly fewer features in your price range. And you get the support of the dealer...a nice addition.

mamaw

Kenmore offers some great machines with alot of features for good prices under $300.

Skeat

I updated to a Janome 6600...they have one level up from that-that does embrod.! But, I have that w/my mom's so didn't opt for it for mine. Loooove it:)Good part of having both for me is I can set up quilting on one while piecing on my other...and my lesser janome does have needle down (good point someone brought up and so is everyone else's...Kirsten is right on too)you can pull up most of these online sites for the homepage of different brand sewing systems and see the different choices along w/what you want , etc.....great ideas in doing this...

Skeat

oops...posted before I was finished (my flash of a finger!) I love my presser foot lifter w/my knee...great for doing appliques and you don't have to take your hand off your work to do circles...like the needle threader on it, espec love the thread cutter...like the drop bobbin...so easy to have it set in place..very easy to change out feet by a push of a button and they drop off...snap the new one on (and, they come w/many too)...oh, and the speed.....just to say a few things I like:)...whew, I need some water now:)LOL Skeat

sewjoyce

Also look at sewvac.com -- they have really nice prices and quick shipping.

sharon b

I think the needle down is nice when you are sewing say a corner / circle or angle and need to move (turn) the fabric without losing your spot. Does that make sense ?
Sharon

Lisanne

Sharon, thanks, that is a useful feature of needle down (besides the safety factor).

Mad, I agree 100%. That's why I'm trying to get a sense of what's important to look for in a low-cost machine.

Mad and Prism, thanks for the tip about test driving. I hadn't known you could. I will never, ever sew stretchy material. I absolutely despise the stuff and one major reason I want to sew is because it's very hard to find anything these days that hasn't been made with the wretched stretchy stuff. But I'd like it to work for muslin, cotton, linen, denim, maybe thicker upholstery fabric.

Prism, I'm saving your helpful info. Some of it is far over my head. What are tension adjustments?

Skeat, thanks, you've given me even more to consider.

sewjoyce. thanks for the link. I'll check it, but I rarely shop online. Definitely won't buy a machine or electronics online.

mamaw, minstrel, anyone else I can't find, thanks for the recommends. This is all going to go into a Word doc, sorted through, etc. Seems like Sears Kenmore and Janome are the most frequently mentioned.

There's a store near me that sells Janome and Baby Lock. The salesman strongly prefers the Baby Lock, even among models at the same price. Any thoughts about Baby Lock?