Just finished my 4th quilt! First time FPP. Need advice on which sewing machine to buy.
Posted Sep 8, 2019, 6:53 PM UTC
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If you could clarify your price range, folks will probably be able to give you better suggestions. I love, love, love my Juki TL2010Q which I paid about $800 for because it was an (unused) floor model. It sells for around $1000 new most places I've seen it. The Juki TL 2000Qi and Brother PQ1500 SL are both similar machines at a somewhat lower price point.
Your quilt is adorable!!
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Oh yes! I’m probably in the $300-500 range if that seems reasonable? Thanks for the tips!
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The Brother model I mentioned would be at the upper end of that. It probably has the biggest throat space of any machine in that price range, but I don't know much about its build & durability.
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I would recommend seeing what dealers are in your area. Usually local quilt shops will carry a certain brand and will be service and support for you. A good dealer is a real help. Often you get free classes on how to use the features of your machine. Then think about what you want most. If you are going to quilt your own, a large throat space and the ability to drop feed dogs is a must. A thread cutter and threader are nice, but not necessarily essential. What decorative stitches do you need? Blanket etc for appliqué is very useful. A knee lifter is really awesome for quilting, so that’s another thing to consider. Dual feed is another very nice addition. Get your list of wants. And go visit your local dealers. See what offerings they have in your price range has the best features and what the vibe is like at the shop. Sew on them. Figure out the feel and sound of the machine. That will probably do you the most good. All the major shop sold brands are going to be solid machines. There is only one rule. Do not under any circumstances buy a Singer.
I had a great little brother SE-400 as my first machine. Other than a stupid small throat space it was great. Same manufacturer makes babylock. So the machines are similar and sew similarly. It had a lot of nice features at a reasonable price. I’d say Janome has similar offerings with good features available at a reasonable price. I’m not sure how much the Janome Skyline series are going for but they’d be a great machine that would keep you a happy quilter for a while. I love my Bernina to the moon but you’re not going to find a Bernina with a decent throat space and some good features for under $1000. Plus all their accessories are expensive too. So you are going to have to factor that in. You will need to add feet. Waking foot, etc. Even if they come with some, you’ll find some you need that don’t. I bought my Bernina for the throat space and stitch regulator. To be honest I still feel like I need either a long arm or to set it into a table as I’m still struggling with maneuvering big quilts over my extension table. But it sews like a dream and has great features. Plus a lifetime mechanical warranty. Had I not wanted the regulator I would have had a hard time choosing one as there was a lot on offer at my price point in other brands. And I also fmq a lot without the regulator as you can’t use it for rulerwork, it’s probably good for Bernina I didn’t know I’d end up being too lazy to change feet.
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She said a lot of good thinks Especially never a singer. I have a Bernina 730 that I love to smell her throat I have a small brothers cs6000 I can b but online for about $150 route to take to meetings and for patchwork probably a favorite of mine I go to machine until two weeks ago when I bought Pfaff big big dollars also a 12 inch throat it’s beautiful I can do my own Quilting on it
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Ahh- this is phenomenal and well thought out advice, thanks! My machine has none of the bells and whistles, so I don’t even know what to look for. I’ll have to find some shops near me and just ask a bunch of questions to figure out what I want!
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I have a Janome Skyline S5 and I love her. The S5 has a thread cutter and knee lift, and a 9mm stitch width. For piecing, it comes with a straight stitch plate for more accurate piecing. You can get them used at the higher end of your budget, but it will take you a long time to grow out of it. My only issue is that it can't go through multiple layers of thick denim, but I'm primarily a garment sewer and you probably won't have this qualm. For quilting, this machine great. It has a huge throat space too and awesome lighting.
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I didn’t want to commit to buying a sewing machine just in case quilting was a fleeting hobby. After 4 quilts on borrowed machines, I think I’m ready for the commitment! Any suggestions? I don’t need something with all the bells and whistles, but have a decent amount of money to put into this and want it to last for a long time. I’d love your advice! The machine I’m currently using is older than I am, and quite broken. I spend more time cursing at the machine and fixing it than I do actually sewing! Haha
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I love your fox quilt! So precious!!!
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if you can find a more functional USED machine, that will likely be better off than a new one at a similar price point. A lot of lower price point modern New machines are made with lots of plastic parts that will break and won’t last as long. Singers, Brothers, etc that you can get at the big box stores. You can look at the sewing machine review threads (in the sidebar/community info) to see what folks say about what they have. I would recommend going to a couple machine dealers (usually a quilt shop too!) and give some a go! I love my Bernina (but woof $$$$). If I were in the market for new, I’d probably look into Juki and Janome.
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Have you had this current machine tuned up?
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This machine is borrowed from my mom. She tried to have it fixed years ago, but they weren’t able to really fix the main problems. At this point, I’m just going to get a machine of my own.
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Your quilt is gorgeous. I love the fox and the grey background. A good (affordable) option is old, used Kenmore machines. They’re extremely hard to kill but very easy to find parts for. And I just got my current one for $20. I have one from the 60s and one from the 70s. Both are great, but ones a little more heavy duty, so I use that one for quilting and the lighter one for piecing.
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I have an old Bernina 830 that I've had since the late 70s that's an absolute beast and still sews like a dream. (You can sometimes pick up used non-electronic Berninas on ebay or goodwill for a reasonable price. The model 810 is also excellent.)
For a new machine, I recently bought a Bernette London 5 for a friend who's just learning sewing, was surprised at how well it worked. Yes, the outside is plastic, but the guts seem very solid and it has some nice features. (It's about $150.00).
I also recently picked up a $99 BabyLock Zest to use as a travel machine ( since my beloved all-metal Bernina weighs over 35 pounds.) The Zest isn't the greatest, and it doesn't have a quilt-friendly needle position, but it's not bad for a starter.
(Personally I like front-loading rather then top-loading bobbins.)
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No tips, just LOVE your quilt!
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I love it. Gonna save it so I can steal the idea, BTW.
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Please do! I got the fox pattern on Etsy- the rest was just kinda made up.
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Could you link the fox pattern please? It's so cute!
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I found it to be relatively easy to follow, and it turned out so cute!
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Ooh thank you!!
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So artsy, this is great! I have a cheap singer, but it works great for my rare projects these days.
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I have a Viking sapphire 830 and oh my goodness am I in love with it. Does embroidery and all the stitches that you would ever need
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I’ve actually used 4 different borrowed machines (one for each quilt) and the first was a Viking. It was amaaaazing.
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I've heard good things about Viking. I have a Bernina, and when she works, she's fantastic. When she doesn't (bottom thread tension issues) she's a time-vampire. The last quilt I just finished took absolutely forever because of this. She is in the shop now, and I look forward to working with her again. They're expensive, but wonderful to work on when they work.
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Love your fox quilt! I have a Babylock Quilters Pro I got on Craigslist for a steal. I agree with the posters who recommend trying several machines at dealerships. However I would not rule out an older machine. I collect vintage sewing machines. One of my favorite machines to sew on is a Singer 201 from the 50’s. They made those machines to last. Happy for you that you have found this creative hobby and ready to make the leap to sewing machine ownership. Happy sewing!
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I love you both
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This looks lovely. The colors just look So good together here.
My machine thoughts: I personally use my moms old jcpenny machine from the 70s/80s and its held up quite well. She uses a Viking which is much fancier, although my non computerized machine has some repair advantages. You may be able to also get a higher quality machine for the price point if you can find used options.
People have already mentioned some features like throat space, but I thought I'd mention the two best features I'm jealous of on my moms machine. One is the abilty to autostop the needle up or down and the other is that the bobbin cover is clear, so you can see when it's running low. On my machine, the best thing I ever did was upgrade to an led bulb that's both brighter and doesn't heat up like crazy, so know that's an option.
My only other machine experience was with a singer one at work. I hated that the stage had a curved edge. I was super surprised that it felt so off and I never got used to it, so I would absolutely take time in testing any machine your considering in case you have weird feelings about the shape like i did.
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Nice work! I'm like the little unfancy girl hiding in the corner among all these fancy Jenome and Babylock suggestions, but I have two Huskystar machines, a 215 and a 219 and I loooooooooove them. Never any issues with them, good solid machines that make my work look good, and they didn't cost an arm and a leg. My 219 has the drop in bobbin and boy is it nice to be able to see how much thread is left. I've done all my own quilting with these two, and have quilted up to queen size. It's not like having a giant actual quilting machine and I'm sure I'm limited in some of what I can do, but I manage and can't complain!!
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No comment on the machine but I LOVE the quilt!! I adore foxes and yours looks perfect!
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Juki and Janome are solid machines. I almost bought one to replace my 25 year old mechanical Pfaff... but then I fell in love with my Pfaff again and ended up buying and extension table instead! Your quilt and quilting are lovely! Best advice is go to various sewing machine dealers and try them out. I love the integrated even feed on my Pfaff- no walking foot needed... they are no longer German made so not sure the quality is there on newer machines. You might also consider the Bernette machines made by Bernina. They are under 1000. Do your research. Find features you want and find what fits your style and budget. Good luck and happy quilting.
Thank you- that’s great advice. The quilt shop nearest to me isn’t super welcoming/friendly... so I think I just need to branch out and find another shop!
Not a quilt shop. A sewing machine store. Though some quilt shops do carry sewing machines; find a store that will also help you service your investment. :) though you can find a lead on a good store through a quilt store. Look for good reviews on yelp. Hope this helps.