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Why do you love your Brother, Singer, Janome, or ???
I'm shopping for a new one! A new sewing machine for my upcoming birfday!
I know a lot of you crafty folk sew and I'm looking to upgrade from my Singer Simple. a great machine to learn on as it's always getting jammed or tangled. What do you have and why do you like it/hate it? any recommendations on a machine? i'm looking to spend <$300. I'd like one with a drop in bobbin and a lot of different stitches. I'm not into quilting (yet...) although i do like some of the features of the quilting machines.
So what say ye? I'm kind of non-plussed about the more recent Singers. There seems to be a problem with the quality of the machines and knowing my luck I'd get one that has all sorts of issues.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by The Oracle on -
I may just be incompetent but I cannot seem to get the stupid bobbin in place on my Janome without dropping it and re-threading it about sixteen times. It's also a very un-intuitive bobbin in terms of threading it. Really, you should not have to drag out the manual every time just to set the thing up. Other than that it's been fine for its annual Halloween costume extravaganza.
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Permalink Reply by Herasmus B. Dragon on
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I wish I could remember what mine was, other than a Singer. My mom, a lifelong accomplished sewer, picked it out for me 5 years ago. I'll see if she remembers. It's fantastic. I bought a few acessories, like a buttonhole maker, and they've increased my abilities. Sadly, they have not increased the number of hours in the day required to sew more clothes for the girls. When I was a SAHM I used it a lot and didn't have any quality issues.
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Permalink Reply by rommie on -
I hate Hate HATED my Singer Simple. Like, I have never hated a piece of equipment that much. I literally spent more time ripping out seams that the machine screwed up than I spent sewing, which reduced me to sewing gowns by hand just to avoid the frustration. I won't even give it away because I don't want anyone to gothat. I finally gave up using it as anything but target practice and got a Brother cs6000i, which I really love. It comes with pretty much all the presser feet you'll need to start off, it runs like a dream, and it has all the basic stitches plus a lot of fancy ones. Using it is pretty intuitive. Because of the era I do in living history presentations (late 14th century England), I can't exactly buy my gear at a thrift store like some other eras can, so I sew dozens of yards of linen and wool into custom-fitted gowns during the year (hidden seams only--heaven forbid I don't hand finish the visible bits). I also sew baby carriers (mei tais) for myself and friends, and the machine trucks on through six or eight layers of heavy cotton twill without a problem.
Hope that helps.
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Permalink Reply by Boring User Name on -
Without hijacking the thread too much, I have a similar question: I was planning to bring my mom's back here following a recent trip. I see to recall using it back in grade school/middle school without much problem. I thought I would see if I used it a lot, and if I did, buy a new one and if didn't either keep hers or ditch the idea. Is it a reasonable plan to use a 30 year old machine? Or will I get really frustrated and just give up before starting?
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Permalink Reply by rommie on
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The machine my mother-in-law uses is an old all-metal one built into a table that she found at a yardsale around the time I was born. Heaven only knows how long the previous owner had it, but it still runs fine. My mom, on the other hand, has one that's around 30 years old but is very finnicky. It's of the more modern plastic variety. Part of the problem might be that she's never taken care of it and doesn't know how to sew very well. I guess it mostly depends on what kind of machine it is and how well it's been maintained. Which is a total non-answer, but whatever.
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Permalink Reply by Andromeda on -
that's the same problem i have with my singer simple. CONSTANTLY ripping out bad seams. D wants it when i get a new one, so i'm going to let him have it. it will sew fine for short bursts of time -i did 8 long straight seams with no problems- but FSM forbid I do a curve or a corner or sew more than 2 thin layers.
thanks for the recommendation. i will check out that machine more. i was looking at more expensive machines figuring they might have more features, but in the end, i just want one that works really well. and one that isn't a singer. lol!
rommie said:I hate Hate HATED my Singer Simple. Like, I have never hated a piece of equipment that much. I literally spent more time ripping out seams that the machine screwed up than I spent sewing, which reduced me to sewing gowns by hand just to avoid the frustration. I won't even give it away because I don't want anyone to gothat. I finally gave up using it as anything but target practice and got a Brother cs6000i, which I really love. It comes with pretty much all the presser feet you'll need to start off, it runs like a dream, and it has all the basic stitches plus a lot of fancy ones. Using it is pretty intuitive. Because of the era I do in living history presentations (late 14th century England), I can't exactly buy my gear at a thrift store like some other eras can, so I sew dozens of yards of linen and wool into custom-fitted gowns during the year (hidden seams only--heaven forbid I don't hand finish the visible bits). I also sew baby carriers (mei tais) for myself and friends, and the machine trucks on through six or eight layers of heavy cotton twill without a problem.
Hope that helps.
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Permalink Reply by mcglory13 on -
Daria, get the machine serviced before you try to use it and if there are any major issues they'll let you know.
I have a Brother that was purchased for me at Costco. It's got a fair number of automated stitches and does a good job with button holes. It's not a perfect machine, I find it tends to drift a bit to the left if I don't pay attention, but it is easy to thread and fairly consistent in quality. It's not the highest quality machine, but for the price it was a good deal. I just had it serviced after five or six years (you're supposed to do it once a year) because the timing got messed up after the move. But I abuse it like crazy and it keeps going.
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Permalink Reply by TommysMommy on -
Daria - my mom still has her old Singer that's at least 30 years old and she loves it. So as long as yours is in decent condition, it should be fine.
I "inherited" my SIL's newish Singer when she moved to Australia a couple of years ago. It's okay. I hate the way it threads bobbins, always getting tangled, but otherwise sews great. My mom wants to buy a new one since her old one is at the cottage but she can't find one she likes as much. She says she'd prefer less bells and whistles if it actually SEWED better.
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Permalink Reply by Boring User Name on
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So, I was coming back to this, because my sewing machine is in hand. The last time my mom used it was about 5 years ago when working on a quilt for my wedding. So, the first plan is to take it to be served. It hasn't even left the car :-)
But, while looking at fabric stores/sewing classes/etc., I saw a recommendation for a Kenmore sewing machine on a local hipster sewing shop. It is the Kenmore Drop-In Bobbin Sewing Machine. They call it their favorite sewing machine and says it will work for all levels.
Provided the machine still works, I'm planning to take a class that lets you take your own machine. Apparently a few don't and then you are just confused when you get home.
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Permalink Reply by Andromeda on
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Good you got your machine! i hope it works well!
yeah, some places that offer classes are real bitches about using your own machine. i inquired at a Jo-Ann's and the lady was like, "well, i can't teach you to sew if you don't buy our machine because i don't know how to use your machine and i'm not going to go learn one to teach you." she was such a bitch about it. honestly, machines can differ, but one thing i've noticed is they all work about the same. the features might vary slightly, but each one has a reverse stitch, a foot lifter, a pedal, and a needle. but really, take a few minutes with the guide and you can figure it out pretty quick. maybe it's just me, but i figured if the lady was so dumb that she couldn't easily identify these features on a machine then she probably had no business teaching people how to sew.
I ended up getting a singer. it's a nice machine though. my mom REALLY wanted to take me to go buy a machine and we got good deal on it from a locally owned business so i'm happy and so is she. in the end, it seemed no matter how many reviews i read on all sorts of different machines, it sorted out to be about the same in the end. some people liked 'em, some had problems. mostly though, people seemed to like the machine i ended up getting.
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