sew cornie

Another vote here for the Kenmore. I got mine in 1991. Eighteen years and still running smooth! It has 12 stitches, of which I've used 2 (straight and zigzag). No electronics. I mainly sew on cotton, but have also used it for heavy denim, upholstery fabric, and woven linen. Wide variety with no problem. I've machine quilted on it a couple of times, but the space between the body and needle area is not big enough for anything larger than a crib size. Fine with me since I prefer handquilting. DIdn't come with a walking foot, but not expensive to buy separately. Hope this was helpful. Good luck!

basicfun

I vote for a Kenmore also. My "Kenny" has been going strong for 40 years plus. My parents bought it when I was 11, not much "work" was done on it until the kiddies came along when I was 21 - and has been going every day since. All three of my kids sew - the 2 boys included! A true workhorse! It's specs are: Sears Kenmore 1400 ZigZag Sewing Machine, Model 15814001

I also managed to find a walking foot for it - at our local Sears - for $20.00! :D

Prism99

The top thread and the bobbin thread have to work together to form an even stitch with the interlock buried in the fabric. To achieve this, the amount of tension on the top thread and the amount of tension on the bobbin thread need to be appropriate for the type of fabric you are working on and the type of thread you are using.

For example, if you want to machine quilt with invisible nylon thread, you want to reduce your top tension because nylon thread is stretchy. Reducing the amount of tension on it makes sure it doesn't stretch too much while you are stitching and pucker your fabric.

Or, if you are doing decorative work you might want to use a heavier thread on top and reduce the tension on it so it goes through the needle without too much drag.

A heavier thread used in the bobbin may require the bobbin tension to be loosened so the thicker thread can flow easily.

All of this information will be in the manual that comes with your machine. If you are always sewing on the same types of fabrics (cotton) with the same types of thread (regular weight), then you may never need to adjust tension.

Oh, and I wanted to mention that the presser foot lifter (you use your foot to lift or drop the presser foot) is available as an add-on for most machines. I probably wouldn't make that a requirement for the machine you buy if you can add it on later. Not sure that machines in your price range come with it anyway.

dojo36

lisanne, here is another thing to take into consideration: i have nothing against wal mart but they do NOT have a service department for sewing machines or anything else for that matter. i would never buy a sewing machine from any other place except a dealer who has a repair service available to their store. you would not want to have to ship your machine back to the manufacturer in no telling where with today's postage rates. i guarantee you would pay at least $50.00 in shipping one way and possibly more. so if you have a local quilt shop that sells AND services machines, you would be money and aggravation ahead to buy from them. all machines have good and bad features, some you would use and some you wouldn't, but all machines sometimes have a lemon in the bunch. i have 2 Janomes and absolutely love them both. one is a lightweight gem platinum, it was about $300 - only weighs 12 pounds and i can easily carry it to classes etc. then of course have the 6600 for home use that does everything but make your morning coffee.
good luck in your search.
donna

Lisanne

Thanks for the new posts, fokls!

Prism, thanks again for your wonderful explanations. I so appreciate these. I don't want to hope this info will be in my manual. I want to know ir beforehand so I can decide whether to consider it in choosing a machine.

Dojo, your point about buying from a place that will service the machine is something I've been thinking about. That's what I want, because I'm hard on any kind of machine (computer, car, toaster...). it's soooo tempting to buy the $79.95 model, which sounds just fine, but I know for a fact that I'll run into problems.

One thing you didn't mention, but I can see it'd be a big help, is to have a kitty who will hold down the material. :)

dojo36

oh i know, can you believe that kitty? she is a pest for sure. she can just hear my sewing machine running and here she comes! i rescued her from the street - (homeless and hungry) and look at her now - she's 3 years old and weights in at 14 lbs 8 ozs. she's very smart - she will give you FIVE (when she wants to of course) and knows how to play PENCIL, she gets on the table on top of my newspaper and grabs the pencil and throws it on the floor and i have to say UH OH, pick it up and give it back to her to throw again - u know - kinda like a baby in a high chair when they learn how to do that with their spoon.

Moonpi

Sears should give me a commission. Some of the stitches on mine let me fix bras, edge t-shirt knits, and other stuff. It also does heirloom stitching, which I didn't think I would use, but it makes quick work of darning my roommate's jeans. I don't create a lot of clothes from scratch, but I do a lot of alterations of thrift shop finds. Works fine on any task I've asked of it.

I also like to do some home dec stuff, and it did a great job on lined Roman Shades. Another feature I love is the jam-free bobbin. It will stop and beep instead of developing rat nests, so I think in the long run, that will result in less shop time.

Ninnie

I bought my Singer at wall-mart 12 years ago and it's still going strong!!

sew cornie

Good point about repair service. If you decide on a Kenmore, Sears does do rtheir own epair/tune-up service.

sew cornie

Oops . . . please excuse my little hiccup there. :wink: