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05-01-2019 01:22 PM
I had an older Singer, replaced with a Brother, now replaced with a Janome. Most of the brands make a basic model, but I do like my new Janome. I sew mostly on fleece and it never skips a beat.
Truth is, you can spend a fortune, depending on your needs and budget. One of my fellow sewers in a blanket making group has a Bernina with ALL the bells, whistles, quilting arms, and then some. It was $10,000! Yikes.
But, she sews exquisite items and uses it ever day.
Mine was under $200, works just fine.
05-01-2019 02:01 PM
I have enjoyed the Brother I bought from Walmart many years ago....good basic machine.I do quite a bit of sewing my own clothes, and home decor sewing.
05-01-2019 04:42 PM
OP, I had exactly the same problem. Hadn’t sewn for 30 years, but really wanted to get back into it. When I learned to sew, you absolutely had to have a Singer. When I did a little checking, I found that Singer has sold out and is mostly plastic parts and has very few good reviews. I went to the local sewing center and they insisted I needed a $14,000.00 top of the line machine, that came with free instructions. It scared the daylights out of me for many reasons. I ended up with small Brother 625 machine that had some capabilities for embroidery. (I have never tried embroidery before). The cost was about $300 and it is perfect. Not one of those cheap plastic throw away machines, but hard working on denim and everyday fixes. I am very happy sewing again, and I even did a little embroidery on my jean jacket.
Hope this story helps.
05-01-2019 09:21 PM
Thanks so much everyone for the recommendations! It really helped to hear about your experiences..and I have a good list to check out now. Oh my! Some of the expensive sewing machines out there!!
05-02-2019 11:41 PM
I would suggest you get what you can have serviced. Bernina is highly respected.
05-02-2019 11:57 PM
@Drlinda wrote:OP, I had exactly the same problem. Hadn’t sewn for 30 years, but really wanted to get back into it. When I learned to sew, you absolutely had to have a Singer. When I did a little checking, I found that Singer has sold out and is mostly plastic parts and has very few good reviews. I went to the local sewing center and they insisted I needed a $14,000.00 top of the line machine, that came with free instructions. It scared the daylights out of me for many reasons. I ended up with small Brother 625 machine that had some capabilities for embroidery. (I have never tried embroidery before). The cost was about $300 and it is perfect. Not one of those cheap plastic throw away machines, but hard working on denim and everyday fixes. I am very happy sewing again, and I even did a little embroidery on my jean jacket.
Hope this story helps.
I have two Singers and have never had a lick of problem with either one whether it's all plastic parts or not. One is an electronic sewing/embroidery machine, the other is considered one of their heavy duty (not to be confused with an industrial) machines. I use it for stuff I would prefer not to use on my electronic machine even though that machine might also be able to handle it. I have sewn faux leather, layers of pleated upholstery fabric, and even a rip in my Jeep's canvas side curtain. Nothing fancy, it only does straight or zigzag stitches.
05-03-2019 12:08 AM
HSN has a lot of sewing shows. Look for their line-up.
05-03-2019 02:13 AM
I have a Janome. I also bought one for my granddaughter. My DIL also owns a Janome. Janome makes excellent, mid-range machines (in terms of cost). They have been around for decades and have a good reputation for reliable sewing machines.
There are more expensive machines, that are fine; but for that type of machine, I would wait until you are sure you would be using it enough to justify the cost. No need to spend $1,000 or more, only to find out that you don't sew much.
There are also cheaper machines. But they can have problems: jamming easily, not producing a steady dependable stitch, being prone to repairs.
05-04-2019 05:25 PM
a good friend that is an excellent seamstress. she told me not to buy a machinefrom walmart's or any of the discount stores . they all make a line that ischeap and porrly made for the discount stores. it is to check with a good dealer and see what they can offer in a goodmachine. myfriend helped mefin d a good singer that was less then $100.00(on sale) it dopesn't have all the bel;ls and such but it isjust a basic machine and that is all that i need
05-07-2019 08:02 AM
I inherited my Mother`s Elna. It is up there with Viking and Bernina. I loaned mine to a friend and her husband ruined it. He tried to sew too heavy of fabrics and leather! I cried as she was such a seamstress. Never again!
Luckily, after traveling an hour I got it repaired. at a shop The man was so strange. He had a junky shop and fixed clocks and sewing machines and even though store hours were posted not there, I called him and and he was about 15 min. away and came in as I waited in the car. He told me it was a good machine. The man retired from Munsingwear in the Twin Cities so knew sewing machines. Quite a character.
I think it depends on how much you want to sew? If it is just mending and shortening items something less expensive will do. It sounds like some good ideas here.
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