When I was your age I longed for a sewing machine but had to wait until my 21 birthday before I got my first, part paid for by my husband and my parents with some money from me too....it was a New Home (Janome)...heavy and clunky but sewed great.....over the years as I had money I traded up, buying a better model every few years...I have owned an Elna, Pfaff, Husqvarna and now a couple of higher end Janomes, the 6600 and the 11000SE ....Of all the machines I have had I love the Janomes. They are simple to use and just sew beautifully and are so well priced, but is personal choice.
Apart from the first machine which I bought new I have always traded in and bought second hand machines from the dealer....and have saved soooooooo much money doing it that way.
I have never wanted a Bernina although they are great machines.
so my advice to you would be ...get a pen and paper, draw two columns and write down all the things that your machine must have....and all the things you would love it to have.
Then work out your budget......and start phoning round and find out what machines new and gently used you can get for your money and what do they have, eg needle up/down, drop in bobbin etc...and compare that to your lists....then you should end up getting a machine that does what you want it to do.
If you bought a Bernina and it only does a few stitches but was in your price range.....would you be as happy as maybe buying a Janome that had lots of decorative stitches, one step button hole, needle up/down and lots of feet....see what I mean ?
The internet is a great place to research models and you should be able to download brochure for alot of machines telling you what features they have, even quite a few older models...also maybe ask your teacher and your gran what they think would be a good machine for you...
Make sure you try before you buy.
Then start saving....and soon you might be able to trade up.
Hope this helps....would love to know what you get.
Last edited by Little RoO; 06-28-2012 at 03:40 PM.