Choosing a new sewing machine.

Cheryl Gough
by Cheryl Gough
I have worn out my old machine and am looking for a new one. I want something that will have some decorative stitches, has capability for reading a thumbdrive but will not break the bank to buy. I have looked at but not " test driven" Babylock and Bernina. Any advice would be helpful.
  7 answers
  • Adrianne C Adrianne C on Jul 24, 2014
    They've made a lot of improvements, not all are so great. Light weight plastic housing tends to bounce around during use, and computerized machines break easily. Depends on how you use it and how often.
  • Cheryl Gough Cheryl Gough on Jul 24, 2014
    Thanks Hannah. You have been very helpful!
  • Global alarms Global alarms on Jul 25, 2014
    That would be the first thing I would want to know. What are you sewing? Quilting, clothing or just repairs on some clothes? I can sew but I do quilt! Having a machine with lots of cute stitches doesn't get me excited. But one with a throat wide enough for me to turn my quilts in will! You need to go to a sewing center, used machine shop or somewhere that will walk you through the different types of machines, talk to propel who sew. The honest best piece of advice given to me was to make sure that any machine I bought had a metal bobbin feed and not plastic parts! I had picked up a new machine , a brother, are the local wal mart. Wore it out in two years, I replaced it with a used Janome! I love it! But you need the machine that works for what you want it to do.
  • Cheryl Gough Cheryl Gough on Jul 25, 2014
    I sew garments, home decor, a little quilting and crafts. A little bit of everything.
  • Evey's Creations Evey's Creations on Jul 25, 2014
    If you quilt constantly Babylock, if you do a little of everything, many Brother or Singer machines can suit you just fine. I do everything from dresses for my daughter to draperies for my interior design clients on my Brother. :)
  • Kimberly Young Kimberly Young on Jul 30, 2014
    Hi Cheryl, I was researching sewing machines when my husband surprised me with a Bernina 560B for Christmas. The Bernina was one that I liked because it had a lot of decorative stitches and I could add the embroidery module later if I wanted to. Bernina also makes a stitch regulator that is awesome for machine quilting. I really love the machine but because I do a lot of machine quilting, I wanted one with a wider throat. Good luck. There are many, many amazing machines on the market.