Linda1

I have 2 Brother machines and 2 heavier Janomes and love them all.

eparys

The bottom line, imho, is it all about the $$. There are lots of good light weight machines out there. All the manufactures have them. I would love to purchase one of the small Berninas but it is too pricey for what I really need.

My first light weight machine for classes was a Brother 6000 which I found on Craigslist for $50. It stitches beautifully and has a huge variety of stitches. About 2 years ago I picked up a featherweight. I now use it all the time for retreats and classes and keep the Brother for a backup.

himnherr

I got my Singer 301 on Craigslist for $70. That's my travel machine. Not heavy and sews a beautiful straight stitch.

maminstl

I have a small Brother, but price a bit higher because it has embroidery function - the 950D. What I like about that machine and would look for in a travel machine, is a hard case cover and a slide on table. Although I am tempted by the old machines all the time, probably due to all the love they get on these forums, they bring back nightmares of fussing with tension problems on my old Kenmore when I was a teenager. Those Costco machines always tempt me - but I then remember that I don't need any more sewing machines. They have a nice one right now for under $200.

pjamerican

My Walmart Brother has been a work horse. Great little machine.

maryroth

Several years ago, a nearby store was promoting the Pffaf Passport 2.0. I got one and it's been a terrific machine. It sews anything, uses any kind of thread, and has enough stitches for anything I make.