Anyone know a good brand of sewing machine?

I'm learning how to make my own clothes.....Anyone know a good brand of sewing machine I can start out on?

 

I have a White Jeans Machine that I like. It is just a basic machine. I bought it for around $200 at allbrands.com

 

i have a bernina 1008, it works great. its a little hard to learn to use if u havn't sewed much before, but it works great once u get the hang of it.

 

I have a Pfaff.. It's always worked for me. I don't know much in the way of comparing different brands, try a Google search

 

i have a Brother LS 1217.. its pretty basic, you know, doesnt do anything real fancy.. its a decent model to learn on.. i got it about 2 years ago from WalMart for about $100.. but im not sure if they still have that model or not..

 

I have a Singer portable. I have had this machine for 36 yrs, my dad bought it for me when I was 10. Singers are very reliable, I have never had any problems with mine.

 

bernina, go for a bernina, sturdy as all hell, easy to thread, will last a lifetime.


but a little pricey, still, its a worthy investment.

 

i have a janome and i love it...

looks like everyone is going to give a different answer

i think there's a consumers report website or something where you can research the different brands, i'll post the link if i can dig it up.

 

I have a singer thats been passed down in my family for 4 generations. Its from 1902 and it still works incredibly

 

my advice would be to buy a machine older than you are. my 3 machines all range from 30-60 years old. you couldn't pay me to use a new machine. they are just junk. old machines are sturdy, and easy to fix. it doesn't even matter what brand--as long as it's old and metal. so check out some rummage sales and thrift stores. good luck!

 

definitely agree!!! ^^^^

my machine is a kenmore (ie sears brand) from 1970. it's actually MADE OF METAL. they just don't seem to make them out of metal anymore. not even the singers i've seen, and i know singer is supposed to be excellent... but now they all cost about $200 and are made of plastic it seems.

my roommate has a plastic one and i just find it to be too light weight; if something snags, it feels like you're about to break the whole machine to fix it plus there are 28903747981 more snags than with mine.

btw sergers are the best if you can get one too. i barely even use my sewing machine, except for finishing edges, button holes, drawstrings, etc - just use the serger for everything else. that one i have is a juki, and is also from around 1970.

yay sewing! now if only corduroy didn't cost so much...

 

my 3 machines are also sears kenmore, and my serger is an old bernina. i have a sewing machine addiction! but how can i say no to a 1940's rotary sewing machine in a cabinest for only $10. and it works!!.


singer used to be a good brand way back in the day, but now they're no better than anything else.

 

yeah i'd agree with you on that singer thing. i mean you just hear the word "singer" and you think SEWING MACHINE. you hear "kenmore" and you think REFRIGERATOR! WASHER! DRYER! POWER TOOLS!! or something..

 

i would have to agree on the singers machines, singer is my reg sew machine and my serger.,

i aslo have have a industrial cast iron singer tredle machine, which is a mucho work horse and u operate the machine with a foot tredle which was tricky at first,
but go singer and go old.

 

I gotta Viking last year for the same reasons I've already heard here. The problem is most of the new ones aren't all metal and will wear out fairly fast. This one was about 350.00 but considering how fast my other two bit the dust it'll be lots cheaper than replacing it. I also like the fact that you can sew any kind, any thickness in this one.

 

Mine's a Kenmore, from about 1975 or so. Every time I get it out of the case I see the little plaque on the back that says "25-year warranty" and I just smile (yes, I know it's expired, but when did you ever see anything so well built that the maker could give it a 25-year warranty?)---I had it in for maintenance and the sewing machine guy went on and on about what a wonderful machine it is.


Sometimes I think I want a fancy one that does all kinds of cool stuff and then I get back to reality. What I have does what I want.

 

My husband bought me a basic Singer for about $150. It doesn't do anything fancy, but it gets the job done. I have had it for quite awhile now and it works great and is very easy to use. I would recommend something simple (and cheap) if you haven't used a machine much. Good Luck!