Sandygirl

The only spec you mentioned was price.

Sandy

baronreads

Needle up/down, needle threader, good lighting, decent harp size, adjustable needle position, thread cutter, top loading bobbin, and the most elusive in my price range is automatic tension. I thought I might want a combo sewing/embroidery machine to be able to do labels but it's not a deal breaker.

I've also been looking for stores in my area to try some machines but none carry both Brother and Janome. I did check out Times Square Sewing but they don't list machines on their website.

Jennifer23

Auto tension is a fallacy. If you use a particularly heavy or light thread, you will have to adjust it even with auto tension. Harp space is far far more useful than auto tension.

patricej

neither of the models you mentioned has much in the way of harp space if you do your own quilting.

they are both excellent in terms of features and performance, but trying to quilt anything beyond baby quilts or small laps will be a struggle. (yes ... i know some people are able to stuff bigger quilts through and quilt successfully on small machines but it's very strenuous to say the least.)

in order to get a decent harp for quilting (at least 9") you will most likely need to at least double your budget.

my dealer sells both janome and brother. i am going there this morning anyway. i will do a little research for you.

Sandygirl

For a large harp space,..your $$ budget is in the multiple thousands. Not $500.00. TIMES square is a top selling dealer of Janome only. Not sure where, in general, you live in IL. Just sharing about my dealer. The Sewing Center in Morris carries both Brother and Janome if you are near there ...another top Dealer.

sandy

baronreads

Thank you Sandy and Patrice! I am going to Morris today actually. They also carry Juki which looks like it has more harp space on lower end models. I haven't attempted FMQ yet, and maybe it will be a long time until I do. Maybe I'm jumping the gun and don't need more harp space. It just seems that if I'm upgrading it might be nice to have. Patrice, let me know what you think, I'm not going until after work which is early afternoon. I'll check in here later!

patricej

the most interesting model for you that i saw at my dealer this morning is the Brother SB3129.
it has a decent space to the right of the needle ... 7-1/4", which is the same as the PC420PRW.
the extension table also comes with it.

my dealer said the SB3129 comes with a 1/4" foot but i don't see that listed when i check the brother website.

he said brother only offers the SB3129 model through dealers.
i sure couldn't find it anywhere online.

given that you can get the PC420PRW for as little as $399 through amazon, i'd say that's the better buy.
even after you buy the extension table and 1/4" foot you will not have spent as much as for the SB3129.

http://www.brother-usa.com/HomeSewin...C420PRW,SB3129


the deciding difference would be whether there's a brother dealer near you, what they charge for each, what sort of deal you'd get on personal instruction, classes, service, etc.

i have a friend who owns a juki and she's in love with it.

whether you settle on a brother, janome or juki i expect you will be happy for a long time.

Austinite

If you have $720 plus tax depending on where you live, the Juki 2000 is on Amazon. Several folks on here own one, it's got a nice sized harp and it's a very sturdy semi-industrial straight stitch only, it has needle-down, thread cutter, fantastic for quilting. If you can spare about $1000, the Juki 2010 is the same but with speed control and a subversion unit. I have a 2010 and I love it. There's a Brother 1500 for around $700 that is a good straight stitcher, several folks quilt with it as well. Reviews for all three on Amazon good luck, machine shopping is fun!

Austinite

Subtension not subversion lol. I was actually going to get a 2010 when my hubby surprised me with a 2010. I don't think the subtension unit is worth much but the speed control is very nice. Still you can buy a fair bit of fabric with the $300 difference

baronreads

Thanks Patrice and Austinite! Hubby and I went to a store today and left with a Janome Skyline S5!! The lady, of course, showed me this machine first and then when I told her it was out of the price range, she showed me some others in my price range. OMG, what a difference! The owner told her to not let me buy something I'd grow out of too fast then started chatting with DH. He gave us a great deal plus payments for a year with no interest. Hubby said, just get that first one we looked at. They brought it out of the back, set it up and gave me a quick lesson right then. It's SO NICE! I'm still in shock! Hubby said in the car, the other ones looked too small and clunky, lol. He thought the one we bought was top of the line for "professionals", I had to tell him NOT EVEN CLOSE! I'm excited to use it but need to sew the binding down on the baby quilt before I can do anything else! I appreciate all the help, I can't believe all of my research was for naught!