Schill93

I am a 80 yr. Old beginner quilter (about 2 years in) and health issues confine me to bed a good part of the day. I have taken to piecing by placing a board on my lap, with sewing machine on top. I am using a Brother se350 (early adoption of the now se600) I’m not interested in the embroidery part, just the sewing. I like all the features the sewing machine has, which includes among other things, auto thread cutter, auto reverse locking stitch, fix button, etc. and it is light weight. I really don’t want to go higher that $650, so price is an issue.

But my most pressing need is a VERY smooth feed, as my hands shake so keeping my seams straight is a real challenge (even using metal guides)

I could get another Brother 600, but since I don’t need the embroidery, I imagined there would be another counter part to it that offered all the same bells and whistles, but without the embroidery. My searching leads me to the Brother Pacesettter PS 500 ($599) which looks good, except for the weight (20 lbs.) and lifting that weight on and off my lap to iron and cut would be difficult. I am aware of the Janome 3160, but it doesn’t have a Serpentine stitch, which I often use and like. There is also the Janome Skyline3 that seems to have the features I want, but again, it is too heavy.

Do any of you know of another lighter weight machine with all the features currently available in the Brother se 600 without embroidery and lighter weight and most important has a very smooth advanced feed? Sorry for the long post. I just needed to explain my particular situation.

UpNorthGirl

Congrats on your new quilting hobby! I would suggest checking out the Babylock Jubilant or the Brother NS80e. They are almost the same machine and both have the serpentine stitch and weigh under 15 lbs. I don’t have either machine, but mine is like the Brother PS500 and feeds very nicely. Best wishes on your search for a new machine!

Jennifer23

I would suggest the Pfaff Passport. It has built-in dual feed (IDT) since smooth feeding is your top priority. It's lightweight, has serpentine stitch, and all the other nice features you're looking for.

As an aside, do you have an over-bed table? One with wheels, like in the hospital. It might be easier on your legs than setting the machine on the board on them. I was looking at them a few years ago when my dad was sick, and you can get one for under $100.

​​​​​​Good luck with your search!

Schill93

Yes, as a matter of fact I do, but it is occupied with my computer and my large scanner. You see this now serves as an office, a sewing room, and a bedroom (and as I eat most of my meals here, I guess a dining room too.)

The machine I use now is only 13 lbs. and it is not uncomfortable. i tried another machine I have which weighs about 21 lbs., and that was just too heavy. The rolling bed carts are great, but a heavy machine would not work on it. i think I would be fine with a machine on my lap up to about 14 lbs. max. I have another Brother machine that is light, but it does not have all the features that my 350 has, and so now I am spoiled. Love the thread cutter and the programable back taker functions.
I think I would like the Jenome 4120, but that's $750. I have never had a Janome, so not sure how smooth that model sews.

I will look into the Pfaff Passport. And to the other reply I got, I did look into those machines, but they do not have the auto thread cutter feature.

Iceblossom

I do not myself have an Eversewn, but I hear just glowing reports of especially the Sparrow which is a reasonably lightweight but mechanical machine.

For your needs, this might be a good fit --
https://www.eversewn.com/celine-1

Lady Diana

Janomes are great machines and have alot of features. Call a local dealer and ask the for the right fit for you. I too, think a hospital table is a good choice for the weight issue. Weight in sewing machines is higher quality and stability...more metal and less plastic parts,, this equates to smoother running. I bet a Sewing guild would love helping you to get set up in your multi use room with a machine of your liking and working up a "setup" for easy in bed use of all your machines.( a quilting Fungshei for your bedroom) ha!

Lady Diana

Where are you located? If you were an hour from me, I would come to help you. You can PM me if you are in North Texas. I would bring a guild friend to help.

Schill93

That is so sweet of you Lady Diana. .It warmed my heart. Thank you. I am not immobile, and can still walk a little and function with certain limitations. I live in Nevada, so that's more than an hour drive. I also feel that a heavier machine is very likely a better built machine, but just not so practical for my current setup.

Iceblossom I know about the Eversewn machine, but my reading of the reviews on Amazon were not so favorable, so I have shied away from it. I do know though that people who are new to sewing, many times are critical of a machine, when it is their own user error. So there's that, as they say.

But thank you all for your input and helpful suggestions.

mkc

Have they finally fixed the issues with the Passport that plagued the first 2 versions? I recall quite a few folks (Rachel from Stitched in Color was one of them) who had repeated service calls with them. Apparently at least the first 2 weren't made by Pfaff but rather contracted out and there was a Singer-branded twin that was equally problem-prone.

sewingpup

I would not recommend a Pfaff Passport until you have researched the newer models. I have a Pfaff Passport 2.0 and it has been in the shop a couple of times and I simply don't trust it anymore so I am not using it and I don't feel comfortable passing it along so I just may recycle it. It works sometimes and sometimes it doesn't and one time while it was not being used but still plugged in, it took off at full speed and would not respond to anything I did so I had to unplug it fast. The tech tried to explain a possible problem to me something about the circuits not being very well position and that if a speck of dust got inside, it could trigger a reaction from the machine. I really need to recycle the thing as I don't want it taking off full speed and hurting someone. Pity, I only had a couple of hours on it