Questions on Machines : Sewing, Embroydery, Quilting

First off if you are going to sew you can't embroider. The machine will do one or the other but not both at the same time.

Your best bet might be going to a dealer as you have after service support and lessons. The price range may start around $500 and go up depending on what you want to do. Getting a machine with some weight to it means the machine will stay put when sewing and not slide on the table. Take some of your work with you to "test drive" the machines in qusetion. Quilting take several sandwiches. Jeans take several layers. Check out how the machine(s) handle the items and the sound of the motor. Does the motor sound the same or is it laboring with the work?

Embroidery machines. So far I have found the Brother to be the easiest to work with and download designs from the web. Hubby got it for Father's Day so technically it IS his machine. The stitching is tight and looks great. I have a Bernina and a Viking that I have to learn how to use the embroidery modules and each have things I like that the other doesn't have.

Industrials are more for sustained use over a long period of time like four or five hours straight. Your home machine will do this but it will complain.
As the book states they are meant to do a certain number of things only with great results. Whereas with home machines they do many things quite well.

The lighter weight plastic machines are fine if you can't lift much weight and check into where they are made. Many machines even high end are being made in China.

Write a list of the things you want your new machine to do and see if the dealer can come up with a machine that will fit your needs and allow you some room to "grow" into your machine.

Good luck to you and enjoy your sewing.

The other S.

PS I had a Singer from Italy and did quite a few military uniforms on it and the foot pedal would be warm after sewing for three hours straight in the morning before work. I also wore out two other machines and broke the shaft of one -- these machines were all home machines not industrials. I still have the original machine I started my business with which is one of the last Singers and it is over 24 years old.

I can not speak for embroidery machines, but for standard sewing I first, second, and third a Bernina. We are talking $$$$ though so I would recommend you look for a used one in excellent condition.

I was looking at (I believe) a Brother machine at Costco and it was so chintzy and cheap. I think you get what you pay for so you are better off going with a better used machine.

[As for the poster that mentioned Singers. I understand the quality is not what it used to be. Apparently the company sold the SInger name years ago. Plus from my own experience I would not waste my money on a Kenmore. It was riddled with bobbin issues and I lost many good years of sewing.]

I don't know about the embroidery machines, but I do a lot of quilting.. (sort of.. I really just started this year, so all the sewing I do IS a lot, in my opinion.)

Anyway, I had an older Singer (my M.'s ... she got it in about 1993, I think), and was having a lot of problems with bobbin tension. The last time I had it cleaned/adjusted it cost almost $100.... it really made M. wonder if it was worth putting that money into it again...

then my kids got together and bought M. a new sewing machine for Mother's Day..... it is the Brother CP 7500..... I've been doing a lot of sewing on that since May. It has held up well, even going through multiple layers.

Over Thanksgiving, I got my mother's old Bernina.... it is the QE 1080... and it is such a SWEET machine! (1990's, also, I think....)

At this count, I have 6 sewing machines! One is an antique Singer (electric, but only goes forward... no reverse)... then I got my mother's first Bernina.. a 1940's commercial machine she bought used..... then my M.'s old Singer, my new Brother machine, my M.'s second Bernina, and also my M.'s Serger... I really don't know what I'll do with the serger, though..... but my dad gave that to her for Christmas, a week before he died.... so I'll never get rid of that one!

An embroidery machine would be fun, I agree....

The best advice I can give you, though, is to be sure to use GOOD thread... not coats and clark.. that is full of lint, and will gunk up your machine quickly. I use Metzler and Aurifil for quilting, and sometimes Gutterman.... they are more expensive, I agree, but I think they are worth it.

I have a couple of friends who do quite a bit of embroidery and they both have Brother machines. For straight up sewing, I have a singer, but I think if I were to go with an embroidery machine, I'd probably get a Brother.

I don't do embroidery, but I sew just about every day. I work from home for a local company, as a seamstress. I have owned various machines. My favorite and preferred, is my brother. Hands down. I will never sew on another brand. My biggest advice, is to go into a sewing machine shop. They will show you all the machines, and might let you try them. You won't get better customer service and help anywhere else. They have to be educated on all the machines, in order to be a licensed seller.