Shazma Khan

Hi I am new to quilting. At the moment I am using a a basic Singer sewing machine. I would now like to upgrade. What would be a good choice in mid level sewing machines for quilting?

mic-pa

Go to a dealer or two or three and try out machines. Ask fellow quilters what there preference is and what you want in a sewing machine. You will get many answers here on the board but you dealer who you can depend on for good service when needed is important. So many variables you need to try them out and see what is available in the price range for you Good luck

osewme

Welcome from Texas. I hope you are enjoying your new found hobby & will make lots of beautiful quilts in the future. I agree with mic-pa that you need to really try out machines before you settle on one. Test drive them and as many as you can. I've been a "singer" gal most of my life until about 10 years ago when my hubby decided he wanted to buy me a new machine. We were in a quilt shop that sold Janome machines & he bought me the Janome Magnolia 7330. I love the machine but now wish I had shopped around before buying it. I love the needle down feature but the throat on the machine is only about 6 1/2" so it makes it very hard to maneuver a large quilt around with that small of a throat. I've heard a lot of good things about Ever Sewn machines but have never tried out out. Good luck in your search but don't be in a hurry. You can still make beautiful quilts on your basic Singer machine.

http://www.eversewn.com/

bkay

What do you want to do? Do you just piece? Do you want to quilt your own quilts? Do you want to do any other kind of sewing?

Those questions are important. If you want to quilt your own quilts, the throat space is important. How important is needle up or needle down to you?

My suggestion is to decide what is most important to you and rate them, then decide on your budget. If the budget is not adequate for your wants, drop the less important wants. An example is: throat space is #1 and embroidery is #5. Drop the embroidery from the list.

Some of the considerations might be how often it has to be serviced, how long is the warranty, what does the warranty cover, how comfortable is it to operate, how big is the throat, how do other quilters rate it, how many useful decorative stitches does it have, how heavy is it, do you have to take lessons on how to operate it, etc.

I would look and try different machines just to get your list worked out. Some sewing machine sales people are very persuasive, so you want to avoid making a decision before you are ready. Have a pat answer for why you can't make a decision today. For instance, "I have to ask my husband" is a good way to avoid the "close". Or, "My mother has the final say", or "I want to run it by my friend, Jane, who is a great quilter". Make up your own excuse for why you can't do it now. Maybe it's just, "I really have to sleep on it before I make a decision", but stick to your guns. (I used to have a neighbor who sold sewing machines and he showed me a lot about selling sewing machines.)

bkay

Onebyone

I recently bought a straight stitch Juki machine on the trade in table at the local Brother dealer for $200. It's excellent for machine quilting. Straight stitch only with large throat space. I was there to replace my Brother 1500 that was decades old and a wonderful machine but sadly went haywire. The straight stitch mechanical machines are easy on the budget. For piecing with all the bells and whistles I would suggest the Eversewn Sparrow 30. You could buy both and save money.

Tartan

Welcome from Ontario, Canada. If you want to machine quilt, get the machine with the biggest throat size you can afford. Also needle down function is really good for machine quilting as it lets you reposition your hands with the needle down to keep the quilt in place. I would find a good shop near you and try some machines out. A good dealer will give you lessons on your machine and be where you take it for service.

QuiltE

Welcome Shazma Khan, from another Ontarian!!
... actually a "neighbour" as I am not far away from you, in the G-GTA-W!

Some good advice from the others.
Definitely consider what you want to do with your machine, in making your choices.

With that, the importance of finding a great dealer, as that can make a huge difference in your overall love of your machine, and ultimately, in your true enjoyment of sewing/quilting. In the end, a difference as to how your skills will develop, and how much you will actually sew. There are a lot of good machines out there, in that it is not a matter of what brand, but who you have there for support aka the dealership. Most brands have an equal in another brand. To me, ideally your dealership should be as close as possible, so that you can get there with ease, whether for support or in case of a problem. I know "close" may be a challenge for you, for as far as I know, there are no dedicated quilt/fabric and/or sewing machine stores in Mississauga!

What I have learned as I graduated from a basic beginner machine to better machines ... take your time in sourcing machines, and develop "your" shopping list of desired features, then choose the best you can at the time. Too, after a couple of switches that just matched my list, I learned it was best to buy one level above what I thought I needed/wanted .... as when I bought my first really good machine, it was the one that jump-started my real love, and then I soon outgrew it!

Good Luck!

my-ty

When I first started quilting, I thought I should upgrade from my old machine. Imagine my surprise, while taking a beginner quilting class, my old machine sewed great 1/4 inch seams immediately and the other students (with fancier machines) were constantly struggling with tension, feet, and their 1/4 inch seams. I realized my old machine was a good machine!

I'm still happy with my old machine. Maybe in the future, I will get a fancier machine but right at the moment my old machine is still working for me. Unless your current machine is not running well, take your time with an upgrade decision. You will have a better idea of what you want, which features you would use, and which features you wouldn't.

QuiltnNan

Welcome from western NY and happy quilting

crafty pat

Welcome from SC Texas. I use my sixty year old Singer 401A a lot but really like my newer Brother as it does so much more. Brother and Baby Lock are made by the same company and there are a lot of different machines to choose from so as others have said try them out before you buy to make sure it is the best for you.