ging10ging

I have a Se 350 it sews beautiful and is also embroidery machine. I haven't had any problems with it and it sews nicely if you want to embroider you can if not you don't have to. I bought it at Wal Mart a few yrs ago so not a real expensive machine but has a good name. The quilt is gorgeous love the colors and the pattern. Good Luck. Sue

Boston1954

I have the Brother SQ9000. It will be 4 years old next month and has NEVER had to go to the shop. It has loads of attachments, and 80 stitches. I am very happy with this and can recommend it to anyone. Jim only had to pay $199 at Walmart.

luckydiver17

I have a Brother XL2600i, I believe it's one of the cheapest on Amazon. I've used it for about a year. I haven't really had any issues with it at all, although it does make kind of a clunking sound sometimes. I am kind of regretting getting such a basic machine, I feel like I've already outgrown it.

sewplease

Your daughter's quilt is gorgeous! I think she's going to take to this quite nicely.

cathyvv

Love the quilt your daughter made.

At the moment I have 3 Brother machines, and I like them all. The manuals are very well written and don't skip on the basics of sewing. One is a very basic mechanical, with about 10 stitches. I keep it in NJ for when I visit. It sews well and has a nice straight stitch.

The other two - one is brother SE 350. I've had it for about 2 years and it has spoiled me with the little things - like the thread cutter, needle up/down button, etc. I've never used it's embroidery, so can't speak to that, but otherwise, it's a great machine.

Also bought a Brother with a 1/3 larger throat. I like it - lots of nice features and I really like the extra space in the throat.

I had a Brother machine with 80 stitches, and beat that machine up pretty badly because I was teaching myself to sew and knew nothing about sewing machines. It lasted 6 years, and died an unnatural death. We were traveling with it and DH packed it in the back of the car. I didn't check the packing job...when we unpacked the car, it fell on it's head. That was the end of it.

None of these machines cost more than $350. The mechanical was $75, and they have machines that cost less, but they are extremely bare-bones.

A friend of mine who is a Singer fan recently bought a Brother because her Singer needed servicing and she couldn't get to the dealer. Her reaction? "I love it!"

Lisa_wanna_b_quilter

I have one of the cheapest Brother machines Walmart sold 10 years ago. It has 40 some odd stitches. It has made everything from prom dresses to quilts to curtains. I still use it for any fancy stitches I want because my other machine is a Brother 1500s straight stitch machine. I am happy with them both.

hopingtobegood

I have 3 Brothers, 9000 model, 9050, and the innovis QC 1000 sewing embroidery machines. Have not had any trouble with any of them and one of the reasons I like them so well is all the attachments, many varied stitching feet they come with, at no extra cost and many different built in stitches. I think they are a great manufacturer, wishing and wishing for a Brother Dreamweaver, maybe someday. Highly recommend them for a beginner quilter.

Cactus Stitchin

I also have a brother and it is a bit higher end than what you are thinking of - mine has 3.5 million (yes million) stitches on it and it is still going strong and everything works great. I find the Manuel very easy to read and customer service has been extremely helpful. I was updating the software to accept an additional hoop size and it worked so easily that I wasn't sure I had done it right. When I called and they didn't know the answer to my specific question, they asked if they could research it and call me back. I sort of figured I'd never hear from them again but within 30 minutes they called back with a very complete answer and profusely apologized that they didn't know the answer right off. I was impressed! I also test drove a Pfaff, Bernina, and a Janone. All seemed to be great machines but I honestly thought the transition from my 30 year old New Home would be easier with the Brother or the Janome. For me the choice was the price, what was included in the package and finding it easier for me personally to use the Brother menu system.

Rose S.

Oh, wow, am so happy with these reviews!!!! Thank you ladies so much. Now I feel safe directing her to a Brother machine. And so glad to hear the manuals are well written.

I will keep reading the replies to this...just so thankful for the ones so far.

terri bb

I have the Janome dc2010.. not a very spendy machine but no trouble after close to 4 years of abuse from a newbie. From the looks of the picture she has great style and imagination. Good luck on your pur base!!