I was wondering what the best sewing machine for general purpose sewing would be for around $1000. Let me know what you like and dislike about the machine you currently have.
thanks
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I love my Bernina 135PE, though I probably would have gone for the 145 if I had to do it over. It handles going from thick to thin easily, can do sheers and denim with equal ease, and generally sews a very good stitch with no adjustments. I love the needle up/down feature, as well as being able to adjust the needle side to side. Buttonholes are excellent, though I wish they locked at the end so I wouldn't have to pull them through and knot them.
The 135PE has a quilter's stitch that stitches very short stitches at the start and finish; I use this for most sewing even though I don't quilt. The 135 does backstitches instead, and I much prefer the tiny stitches.
Not all the embroidery stitches are that nice, but that's okay. You can't memorize a reverse stitch, so that really limits custom stitches. The 145 has mirror imaging and bound buttonholes--the two things I wish I had. The light is not very good.
I have always thought I would like a Bernina but the one I was looking at was a little more than I could afford. I saw a Baby Lock Ellure advertised for $999 and think it has a lot of features for the money. There is no Baby Lock dealer in my area and I would have to travel several miles to look at one. I do have a Bernina dealer which makes it easier to look at and purchase and service is this is necessary. Does the Bernina 145 have an embrodery feature?
No, the 145 does not have embroidery. When I bought mine a year ago, I think the 145 was running slightly over $1000, and the 135PE slightly under. The machines with embroidery were way over my budget.
Price seems to be my problem also. I would love to have a Bernina embrodiary machine but they are way over my price. The new BabyLock Ellure seems to be a real deal on sale until May 31 for $999 but I don't know anything about them. So I am still researching to find the right machine for me ( that I can afford).
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