beginner
 

i am hand stitching my first quilt. if i decide to buy a machine which one would be good for a beginner? i looked at amazon and i was overwhelmed.

Robyn, Welcome to the board!

That is one heck of a question. Most of the folks on this side of the board would recommend a vintage or antique machine. The modern plastic machines cost more and are WAYYYYY lower quality. I personally have more than a dozen machines that are over 120 years old that still work great. I cannot imagine that a modern machine would last more than 5-10 years without some SERIOUS maintenance.

I personally recommend a hand cranked machine for slow controlled work. A lot of people imagine that it would be harder to control with only one hand on the fabric but in fact it is the other way around.

I'll wait for lots of wiser folks to chime in on more modern options (I mostly only know about 1901 and earlier machines)

thank you. i have a kenmore model 51 automatic zig zag that does a straight stitch i got from my great aunt 30 years ago...she had it for 50 yrs...i have used it but i am having problems with catching the bobbin threat...i have read the book that came with but still can't get it to work...i am going to try again this weekend.

hi robyn and welcome to the board. i personally would buy the best i could afford. there are certainly many great deals to be had on the computer. but just know that if you purchase say a brother it costco, amazon and like and anything goes wrong you are the one that has to ship that machine back to brother. if you purchased at an authorized dealer, that dealer has to look at the machine. so you gotta weigh your choices. also, i'd feel guilty goin to my local shop that i frequent, take a class there, expect help, and not purchase a machine from them. but that's me. good luck in your decision.

now THAT is something folks here can help with...

Your money might be better spent having the Kenmore serviced and fixed. It probably is something minor and just needs adjusting.

I havr a kenmore 50! I love it, its my first ever sewing machine. Ive never tried timing from the top part of the machine, ive worked from the bottom. This method seems easier she explains why the bottom thread isnt being picked up. Ive timed a different machine. My model 50 is a dream machine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmEtmnkDIS8&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Welcome from beautiful western North Carolina. You need to decide what features you want on a sewing machine and what your purse will allow for expenditures. On this board, it appears to me that quilters have all types of machines. I have my mom's 1949 treadle Singer, a Kenmore I bought in the 1970s, and a Bernina I bought about 11 years ago. I use the Bernina. The treadle needs some TLC, but it still works. In fact, it is what I learned to sew on.

I don't know anything about the Kenmores. If you are interested in a vintage machine, I recommend Singer 15-90 or 15-91 since they are easy to repair and parts can be found for them. There are numerous tutorials on repairing them yourself, all found on you-tube.

Treadles are wonderful to use for piecing and quilting. It is easy to learn to treadle too. So, I wouldn't rule them out. Some of the prettiest stitching that I have seen has come from vintage sewing machines, like the Singer 201.

Lots of luck hunting!

Your Kenmore should be well worth fixing if there is a problem.