Help, I want to puchase a sewing machine
Hello All, I would like to purchase a sewing machine and get more bang for my buck. I am new to sewing but am pretty creative and tend to stick with my crafts. I want a good machine, an electronic machine. But I do not know who to purchase from and in my area there are not alot of places that I can purchase a machine or ask anyone what they prefer. I have tested the Vikings, Singers,and Babylock’s. But have not come to a conclusion. My Mom has had a Singer for over 30 years and has no problems.I want a machine like that but have heard that Singer does not live up to it’s name anymore. Does anyone have any suggestions. I want a machine that is easy to use and has a one step buttonhole, easy threading, and at least 30 stitches, one I can use with denim, dressmaking, purse making and a few decorative embroidery stitches. Any suggestions?
Replies
If you do a search here, you will find many threads on this. http://www.patternreview.com has many machine reviews by owners.
I am a Husq/Viking gal myself, I have 3 that are all excellent. My mother in law was a Singer gal, they seem to have tension problems and reliability issues the past 10 years or so. I recently helped her buy a new machine so we looked at everything. She chose the Brother NX 400 or 450 (can't remember which). It has the features you mentioned, is a very nice machine. List price was around $1,000 but she paid $500 after we haggled a bit.
You can google the name brand and go to each companies' website to see what models do what. Such as http://www.husq/vikingusa.com, http://www.brother.com, etc. Good luck in your search.
Mary
PatternReview has lots of reviews which can be helpful. Sears has several Kenmores made by Janome http://www.sears.com/shc/s/KeywordSearch?storeId=10153&catalogId=12605&sortOption=PRICE_HIGH_TO_LOW&viewItems=20&pageNum=1&keyword=kenmore%20sewing%20machine
that are highly regarded. Based on that our church women bought a 74-stitch Kenmore machine on sale at K-Mart for $170-80 last year. (They always go on sale!) The sewers like it very much. This has an electronic foot control, not a computerized machine. Not sure which you are interested in. There are both mechanical and computerized machines, all of which are highly rated. I personally would only buy Kenmores at Sears or KMart, and not the other brands there.
Good luck!
I have been very pleased with my Brother PC 6000 which was replaced by the NX600, I believe. This was formerly a TOL non-embroidery machine, not the Walmart type. (Although if I wanted a really cheap machine, I might consider a Brother after Kenmores.)
Edited 3/1/2008 1:32 pm ET by B
Over the years, I have had (in order of purchase & use): Singer, Elna, Viking, Bernina, and a Pfaff. While I liked the particular features of each brand, I especially enjoyed sewing on the Bernina and the Pfaff. I would have kept the Bernina forever, but the mother board went out on it and I needed a machine fast in order to complete a project - and they couldn't get a new mother board for six weeks.
Therefore, I tried out a Pfaff and I just love it. One of the features that I particularly like is the "IDT" feature (Integrated Dual Feed). It is GREAT as I can easily sew any kind of fabric or design (i.e. plaids) without the fabric slipping; thus everything is matched perfectively without any problems. It also has the best button hole program of any machine I have every used ...with lots of options as to design.
My particular model also has an embroidery unit that I've enjoy as well; but mostly, I love the ease of use and all the features for regular sewing. It is also quiet, which I also like, as some of the other machines I used were not ...and I like a smooth running machine.
If you continue to do your reserach I'm sure you will come up with the perfect machine for you. The other gals also had great advice, so enjoy the process and good luck with finding that one machine that was made just for you.
Digi
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