Robin Of House Hill Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 My better half's sewing machine is getting to the end of its days, after a long happy life, and she is looking into replacing it. She is looking for a machine that has all the useful stitches, rather than a million that never get used. She does general sewing, creation of clothes, costumes, and quilting. Reliability and serviceability are a must. Let's try to keep the cost below a grand. All suggestions are welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xray the Enforcer Posted November 8, 2016 Share Posted November 8, 2016 I had asked a very similar question of my friends a few years ago. I will post this query on my timeline to see what I get back. I have a lot of friends who sew/make their own clothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xray the Enforcer Posted November 8, 2016 Share Posted November 8, 2016 update: check my FB thread. a couple of good recs there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xray the Enforcer Posted November 8, 2016 Share Posted November 8, 2016 whoa, got a number of responses that I didn't even expect! Let me know if you want me to tag you in the comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inigima Posted November 8, 2016 Share Posted November 8, 2016 You should post them, might be others interested in these answers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xray the Enforcer Posted November 8, 2016 Share Posted November 8, 2016 1 hour ago, Inigima said: You should post them, might be others interested in these answers. Good idea. Going to wait for 12 hours or so to get the bulk of the responses, then I'll add them here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
litechick Posted November 8, 2016 Share Posted November 8, 2016 I am not an expert. I have a Brother LX3125 specifically because a friend of mine recommended it by name and model number. He is a fashion designer and uses his machine much more than I ought to and he said, "get one of these. When it wears out, get another one." If your price ceiling is $1000 I'm betting that you will want something higher quality than $100 so take my advice for what it is worth. An appropriate question to ask oneself would be, "how long might it take me to wreck 10 cheap machines?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xray the Enforcer Posted November 8, 2016 Share Posted November 8, 2016 OK -- going to copy/paste the responses I've gotten so far: Quote I have a Brother Project Runway Edition (don't judge! It was on sale!) and I love it. It was under $200 on Amazon, does everything I need it to and more, and Brother has good customer service, unlike Singer nowadays. But if she wants to test drive some machines, and she is in the city, City Quilter has a selection of machines at a range of prices, and they offer repair services too, I think. Quote I also seriously rate a Brother with a warranty. Quote I was gonna say that I got a really nice Brother machine from Walmart that was like $150 Quote I got mine at Costco. Check for floor models at JoAnn's. Quote Janome machines are great work horses. You can find a good general model for $500 or less. (according to mom). Mom makes quilts. Lots of them. Constantly... She has an upper end Janome machine but started smaller. She swears by them and suggested CL to find a gently used one. Quote I have and love this one:http://www.sewingmachinesplus.com/babylock-anna.php It has the feel of an old Singer, not a lot of fancy stitches, but a workhorse. Im a professional costume designer and use mine for hours daily on a variety of crazy costume fabrics. It's only around $150 too, so even if you replace it every few years, you are way ahead of the game I like it more than my expensive Janome. It's available at the sewing store on Jefferson highway where they also do repairs. Quote Baby lock is a great brand. Quote "I'd go with a Bernina..starters have just the basic stitched needed, but it's a high quality machine. It will give her another long happy life :) If she wants more bang for her buck then pick a BabyLock." Quote The Sweethome has separate reviews of beginner and intermediate machines. I was vaguely thinking of getting one and then just today a friend said she would give me her old one for free!http://thesweethome.com/.../best-intermediate-sewing.../ Quote The long version?http://sewing.bovil.com/articles/sewing-machine-guide The short version? A Viking Colormatic, Bernina Record or Pfaff from the mid to late 70's. Quote An Elna Supermatic or SU from the same period would be excellent too. But the "Air Electronic" models are a smidge fussy, I would avoid them. Quote I absolutely love my Janome HD3000. Very burley for gear repairs but gentle enough for delicate fabrics. Quote I have one that is lovely, but it might be too basic as I've only just started. My mother-in-law has been persuaded to get one though and she's being sewing for years. http://www.husqvarnaviking.com/en-US/Machines/H-CLASS-E20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maarsen Posted November 8, 2016 Share Posted November 8, 2016 Many years ago I worked in the garment industry and Brother sewing machines seemed to dominate the market then. With the demise of the industry I imagine you could pick up a decent used one for a relatively cheap price. These machines were designed to work day in, day out, all day. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Of House Hill Posted November 9, 2016 Author Share Posted November 9, 2016 Many thanks. I would have replied sooner, but was distracted by the start of the zombie apocalypse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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