looking to buy a new sewing machine, what does everyone use?

[KnowOne's Designs]

Hey! My husband and I are looking into getting a new sewing machine, one that is a bit more versatile and can sew a wide range of thickness's and materials. (The one I have now is called a "jeans machine" and you know the one thing it doesn't sew? Jeans. Go figure...)
I figured this was the best place to start and ask what everyone uses and likes. Thanks!!

 

[jgawne]

Do you want the bestest, most greatest KING OF ALL sewing machines? Then you need ot get an older Bernina. like an 830, 1130, 1230, etc. They are just killer in terms of how well they hold up and sew. The new ones are not at all as good as they started making them in cheap countries. Which is why poeple will KILL to keep their old machines.

Of course these are pre- computerized widgets machines. But they sew like hell, keep their tension and all that good stuff. DO NOT waste money on a cheap machine. You buy a #200 machine and it will die right away. If you buy a decent machine it will actually hold its resale value.

If you have to buy a new machine, then Husqvarna. They've been pretty good consistantly and you now get them with all the embroidery stuff. Second choice would be a Pfaff. Oddly enough both names that are fun to say.

 

[BRRogers]

If you want a NEW machine I'd go with Baby-Lock.
Their brand has a AWESOME reputation, and working at a fabric store I never saw one come in for repair unless it was around 10 yrs. old and needed to be cleaned.

Brother also has some very good machines right now, full of tech and well built assuming you buy them from a private retailer.
The high quality line actually uses the same manufacturer as Baby-Lock... so you'll notice a similarity between the two. Go figure

Brother also has a line that they are selling in corporate retail stores. Anything from Wal-Mart or any other corporate store is very likely to fail on you because like jgawne said, their production is outsourced to foreign manufacturers who's only real focus is to 'make units'. Not 'make the highest quality product possible'.

Another option would be to find a local machine repair store or private fabric retailer and see if they have any older sewing machines worth looking at.

Like jgawne mentioned, older machines were more reliable because they were produced with heavier parts (and more likely in the States, or Japan). For instance, many people search for a very long time to find a machine with ALL metal parts because it's great at sewing things like canvas, denim, and even leather. However they are now rare, and hard to find (but that is why I suggest PRIVATELY OWNED machine repair/ fabric stores... they are more likely to be helpful)

If nothing else, do what you can to avoid the 'big name' stores.

P.S. Last thing... this is all assuming that you intend to put a lot of love and heavy wear into your machines. If you don't expect to do much with it... why bother getting something new or fancy?

Determine what sort of work you desire to be doing with your machine, and weigh the pros and cons of:
~Old Vs. New
~Technology Vs. Simplicity
~ Light project Vs. Heavy Duty
~ Repair costs on various years/ manufacturers/ models

...and see what might be the best.

For the record:
I have a Singer sewing machine, and a Baby Lock serger both from the 70's. Both have lived up to and through my (rather rigorous) use.

 

[Tommyfilth]

I would never suggest any machine that has a plastic bobbin carrier, I had a
Bernina embroidery machine that had a plastic bobin carrier and any thick material or threat would cut a groove into it and catch the thread and not work at all. For heavier sewing projects I use my grandma's portable singer from forever ago (40's or 50's) for special stitches I use a cheapo White and for patches and embriodery I use my now repaired Brother. I would kill for a Viking though. But if you're looking for heavy duty go for an industrial machine.


TL

 

[Knowone251]

Ok so Im the husband in this equation and I'd like to chime in that our budget is $1000, so keep that in mind with your suggestions. Thanks everyone!

 

[KnowOne's Designs]

Thanks guys great advice!! Ok to be less vague than "I would like a new sewing machine that doesn't suck" our budget is about a $1000 and I've been looking at the SailRite brand because it has a wide range on things it can do. The one in particular is this one: Sailrite Ultrafeed LSZ-1 Sewing Machine ZigZag / Straight Stitch Sewing Machine
because it has a walking foot to do the leather and thicker stuff and a zig zag stick so I can do a faux finished seam if need be. My worry is that it's not going to do finer materials like satin and such, I made a Zuul costume recently and that was a pain in the ass even on my home sewing machine.
So basically I want it all, but I also want it to be simple. I'm probably going to stay away from the ones that have the computer embroidery stuff because frankly I'll probably never use it and I like my machines simple and tough!
Thanks keep the suggestions coming!!

 

[pumpkiny]

I swear by my 103 year old Singer 27K.

They are beautiful machines and very strong.
I once sewed a Spoonflower swatch book with 16 layers of cotton and a faux suede cover - it handled it fine !

 

[BRRogers]

I'll tell ya what... that SailRite machine looks pretty sweet!

... Did you notice that it weighs 44lbs though?
That's an issue for some folks anyway...

Might also want to double check and see what their warranty is, and determine how easy or difficult it would be to get it repaired.

I also wonder if it's overkill? With $1000 dollars you could get some really decent equipment! (Sewing machine/ embroiderer AND serger?)
Just playing devil's advocate

 

[mdb]

It' an industrial machine too which means it is limited in what it can do- here just zig zag and straight. Industrials tend to do one thing and so are built super well to do that one thing. And as it is built for sail cloth it will not be able to deal with fine fabrics.
They also go extremely fast. Great for mass producing large sails not so great for trying to sew up smaller garments.

For that I'd second the recommendation of a really antique machine. Not only are they as solid, usually much cheaper to, but they are easy to fix and repair at home. Well relatively easy. I can fix them and I am not trained in any form of machanics And you won't believe how smooth they run.
They also have a variety of feet that will roll and ruffle and have feed dogs and everything else you want in a machine. I think Singer machines still use the same feet so you can go to town with all the nifty attachments.

I'd also second the suggestion to get three machines for that money. If you are wanting to do bodysuits you need a machine that deals with stretch. Zig zag will not cut it for very stretchy fabrics you need an overlocker or stretch stitch machine (stitch patterns go forward and back and may go side to side as well). Again an older machine with all metal insides will do you well. I have a Janome made in Japan I picked up in a thrift store. Same store I got my embroidery frame (2X3' with stand) and vacuum cleaner

 

[Hoverboots]

If you want a really nice industrial machine, go with bernina. If you want a more economic, portable machine, go with husqvarna. Their emerald series is really nice, VERY resilient.

 

[FANGS]

I have a Juki and I love it. It sews through most anything. I was fortunate to get it on sale but regularly it was around $1,000 so they aren't cheap but definitely worth while. It is computerized with all kinds of fancy stitches but I've found it simple to use. I highly recommend it.

 

[LastImmortal]

I personaly have one of the old Kenmore's from back when they still had all metal part. If you want a realable one, so for something like that. If you are wanting a new one, my step mom has a new-ish Bernina that could run all day if she wanted to, but I don't know that much about new machians.

 

[Eveningarwen]

I use a PFAFF Select 1538

I love my preset buttonhole stitches on it. It's not set in a table or anything like that which is a concern for some people I know and I believe it is used a lot by quilters. I do some pretty intense and thick projects and it works great. I've sewn leather with it, fosshape, corsets, really thick petticoats.....it has a zigzag and a sort of overlock stitch....not as great as an actual overlock but better then just a plain zigzag. I'm probably biased lol but I say PFAFF all the way. I love it! And you can defintely find them under a $1000. Mine was I think around $6-700 because it was a floor model but had never been used, just for display. You may look into something like that as well.

 

[noble]

I recommend an industrial "walking foot" machine to sew thicker materials.

 

[KnowOne's Designs]

I swear by my 103 year old Singer 27K.

They are beautiful machines and very strong.
I once sewed a Spoonflower swatch book with 16 layers of cotton and a faux suede cover - it handled it fine !

Oh my! My firend had one of these and it was beautiful! I would kill for one!

I'll tell ya what... that SailRite machine looks pretty sweet!

... Did you notice that it weighs 44lbs though?
That's an issue for some folks anyway...

Might also want to double check and see what their warranty is, and determine how easy or difficult it would be to get it repaired.

I also wonder if it's overkill? With $1000 dollars you could get some really decent equipment! (Sewing machine/ embroiderer AND serger?)
Just playing devil's advocate

Yea the weight isn't really an issue because it "says" it's still portable but the 1000 bones did seem a bit over kill for a simple machine...

Which is why all of you lovely people have come in handy! Thanks!!

It' an industrial machine too which means it is limited in what it can do- here just zig zag and straight. Industrials tend to do one thing and so are built super well to do that one thing. And as it is built for sail cloth it will not be able to deal with fine fabrics.
They also go extremely fast. Great for mass producing large sails not so great for trying to sew up smaller garments.

For that I'd second the recommendation of a really antique machine. Not only are they as solid, usually much cheaper to, but they are easy to fix and repair at home. Well relatively easy. I can fix them and I am not trained in any form of machanics And you won't believe how smooth they run.
They also have a variety of feet that will roll and ruffle and have feed dogs and everything else you want in a machine. I think Singer machines still use the same feet so you can go to town with all the nifty attachments.

I'd also second the suggestion to get three machines for that money. If you are wanting to do bodysuits you need a machine that deals with stretch. Zig zag will not cut it for very stretchy fabrics you need an overlocker or stretch stitch machine (stitch patterns go forward and back and may go side to side as well). Again an older machine with all metal insides will do you well. I have a Janome made in Japan I picked up in a thrift store. Same store I got my embroidery frame (2X3' with stand) and vacuum cleaner

This is the route I think everyone has been going and is definitely worth looking into. I need to do more research to see which ones still take modern parts and if there are dealers that still service them, that's my only concern with older ones, but I think I'm leaning more towards that because I want it to do a wide variety of fabrics. Thanks for all the info!!

I have a Juki and I love it. It sews through most anything. I was fortunate to get it on sale but regularly it was around $1,000 so they aren't cheap but definitely worth while. It is computerized with all kinds of fancy stitches but I've found it simple to use. I highly recommend it.

I have not heard of this brand but I'm definitely going to check it out!

I use a PFAFF Select 1538

I love my preset buttonhole stitches on it. It's not set in a table or anything like that which is a concern for some people I know and I believe it is used a lot by quilters. I do some pretty intense and thick projects and it works great. I've sewn leather with it, fosshape, corsets, really thick petticoats.....it has a zigzag and a sort of overlock stitch....not as great as an actual overlock but better then just a plain zigzag. I'm probably biased lol but I say PFAFF all the way. I love it! And you can defintely find them under a $1000. Mine was I think around $6-700 because it was a floor model but had never been used, just for display. You may look into something like that as well.

I also have not heard of this one but I'll look into it! So many great suggestions guys thanks so much! I see all of the beautiful things you all make and I appreciate the feedback, this helps a ton!

 

[MjolnirArmor]

Bermina. Love mine.

 

[FANGS]

Totally agree about the older Kenmores. I have one that is 21 years old. I don't use it a lot anymore but I keep it because it's a reliable stand by.

 

[Lonewolf1183]

You can get a regular straight stitch clutch motor Juki industrial for about $850 new.

I'm lucky that at work I have access to an industrial Juki 8300 (which oddly is the same exact thing as the 8700) straight stitch machine and a Juki 1508 walking foot industrial. The 8300 will chew through a lot, and the 1508 will really go thru anything. Sewing together two pieces of 10 oz leather is like butter, for some of my body armor prototypes I've sewn thru 5 layers milspec webbing, 2 layers cordura, a layer of velcro, and a piece of reinforcing plastic with absolutely zero trouble.

 

[Darth Mule]

There are alot of good suggestions and routes to go with here. What it all boils down to is how heavy duty you want it to be. I own two machines. One is an old 40 lb Kenmore. One is a newer model Bernina that is my baby. It sews pretty much anything fine to jeans. I've even built a Selene corset from Underworld on it. It did have some trouble going over the straps, through the leather corset, but that was its only hitch.
Contrary to popular belief, Bernina still makes a mechanical machine marketed specifically towards costume shops and the fashion industry. This is the one I own. Ran me about $700.00 brand new about 5 years ago.
BERNINA USA \ Products \ Sewing & Quilting \ BERNINA 1008

Pfaff is also a great machine. My buddy has a 10 yr(ish) old home pfaff that is so powerful it would probably sew through my Bernina (but don't tell him I said that).

Juki makes some great industrials that will sew fine as well as they will sew through lead. And you can get some good deals on the straight stitch only models. Check out Atlas Levy Sewing Machine, Co. - Industrial Sewing Machines & Pattern Making Supplies they have some great deals on both new and used machines.

You can often get a good deal by looking at refurbished machines. Particularly if they are the older metal built machines. Those last forever.

Also, if you do a lot of fine fabrics, I would look into investing in a serger as well. Particularly one that is capable of a fine serged roll hem. Baby-Lock was mentioned early on. They make great home sergers as does Bernina and New Home.

 

[SeanB13]

I have any opportunity to buy a gently-used Viking Husqvarna 980, with all its component parts, pretty cheap.​

What do you guys/gals think about this particular make and model?​

This isn't the actual machine, but it's the exact same model.​

I'm not concerned about the price, my main interest is the actual quality of the machine.​