madamekelly

I have the Walmart machine that is not the lowest price but the next one up in price. I think it came with 35 stitches. I bought it in 2004, and took it cross country under a greyhound bus, (in a box padded by bath towels) from Texas to northern Washington state. It still works as good as the day I bought it. Unless you are worse that the gorillas who handle baggage for Greyhound, you will be happy with it. I have the model 5130. I also bought one of their way more expensive quilting machines. I spent so much for it, I will never put in in a car to go anywhere except possibly for service. Lol. I am very happy with the Brother brand, they have wonderful customer service too. I would say go for it. Good luck with whatever you chose.

Jules51

I'm also in the market for a machine to take to classes. Thanks for all your remarks!

coopah

I bought and Eversewn 30. A walking foot is available for quilting. It is lightweight and a light pink color. It has been put through its paces...two crib size quilts, and several other projects since buying it a month ago. No problems. It has 310 stitches (includes alphabets) and a nice stitch. I have 2 FWs, 2Pfaffs and 1 Janome. The Eversewn is every bit as good as any of these and is reasonable priced. I bought it because I don't want to take my FWs on the road for classes.

Jingle

My Walmart machines have too small of a throat for me. I could do piecing but I already have a baby lock Jane I use for piecing and straight stitch quilting. I have a Juki TL98QE Straight stitch only I mainly use for FMQ Quilting, I like the foot pedal than BL Jane. I could and have used each for everything but I want to be able to use each. Juki since 2008 and BL since 2010, never been in the shop.

oreo1912

Brother XL3750 from target. Comes with lots of accessories and a nice big bed. Small throat though. I've had mine for 7+ yrs and no problems. Light weight to carry also. Does like 25 stitches.

Maire

I also agree almost any Brother is great, I have 2 of the Walmart ones, actually had, a granddaughter took one & one is at daughter's house for when I visit. But I also love the Janome Jem Gold, Janome also makes the Necchi TM8, both machines are exactly the same, about $229, less at Christmas time. Great for travel & classes & Stitch Camp, Another granddaughter has the Necchi & I have Jem Gold at another daughter's but also have one of each for travel & Stitch Camp. Small but sturdy. One granddaughter loves to sew but has a lead foot & speed is her thing (worried about when she starts to drive) but the Necchi can keep up with her. I don't think you can go wrong with a Brother Or Janome in your price range. I've heard many good things about the Eversewn but have not seen one in person, I did look at them on You Tube but felt they sounded very loud.

amyjo

The janome jw8100 is a nice lightweight machine. I bought it for my 12 yr old grandson. Cost was $270 free shipping. Has start stop button plus speed control lots of options. I even sewed with it while I was in rehab, he was here from New York visiting me and we made 3 baby quilts together

Irishrose2

MSQC has an Eversewn for $149 now. I'd be willing to try it if I were in the market.

rryder

I’ve had good luck with the inexpensive Brother PC420PRW machines from Amazon and Home Depot (these are also sold at Walmart (yes, I have 2 of them). Throat is nice and big At 7.5” to right of needle- I've quilted a large double bed sized quilt in it no problem. It has adjustable needle positions- very handy for getting the perfect seam allowance for precision piecing; adjustable presser foot pressure- good feeding of very thin and also very thick fabrics; needle up/down- handy for quilting; speed control- also handy for quilting; a number of beautiful decorative stitches (including serpentine stitch, quilting stitches and heirloom stitches) and useful utility stitches that stitch out beautifully. You can adjust length and width of all stitches

It also comes with a bunch of useful feet including a walking foot, fmq foot, overcasting foot, teflon foot, open toe satin stitch feet, etc. (there were 13 or 14 included) and a knee lift. The owners manual that comes with it is like having a sewing class in book form - very extensive at over a hundred pages and has excellent instructions for how to use all the machine’s features as well as what they are used for in sewing. It’s also incredibly quiet unless you are sewing at top speed.

I paid $390 and free shipping for the first one from Amazon 7 years ago. The second one I bought last year from Home depot for $320 + shipping (the total came to around $336).

It’s heavy enough not to dance around on the table, no matter how fast you go, but is light enough to carry to classes etc.

I've also heard good things about the Eversewn and Janomes in that price range, though I haven’t sewn on them.

PM me if you want more info.

Rob

jmoore

I am a Janome fan and have considered a smaller one for travel as my 6600 is a bit heavy...but I just watched a YouTube video last week on MSQC about all the Eversewn machines and their capability. They look like a nice option for the price.