<p>My daughter needs a sewing machine. She will use for making clothes and such. I looked at singer and brothers. New “project runway models”. The saleslady knows her stuff, but she is directing us away from the singer models. Any thoughts?? Price and models??</p>
<p>I would look at Viking and Bernina. Singer are not what they used to be and I don’t know anything about Brother. Make sure that whatever one you purchase has a repair shop in the area. Also, try to purchase from a sewing store - not a department or discount store. </p>
<p>As for the sales lady directing you away from Singer - ask her why - if she doesn’t have a solid reason, it might be because she gets a salesperson spiff on a Brother or something like that . . . .</p>
<p>What about a used one on Craigslist? An old singer? Would that be worth checking out? I am thinking for myself not OP :D</p>
<p>Bernina, Pfaff, Hasqvarna/Viking(sp?) in that order… Stay far, far away from Singer, Janome, White, Brother, etc.</p>
<p>I would not buy a singer. I had one and had endless problems with tension etc - really frustrating as I would sew a whole lot then look at the back and find the tension was messed up again - unsewing takes so much longer than sewing!! </p>
<p>If it is within your budget I would go Bernina - I love my Bernina. Just got mine out to invisible (ish) patch the knees on my daughters favorite jeans. They will soon be more her dads old overalls than her expensive jeans - stupid acid wash. But she comes home to get them fixed so I can’t complain !!</p>
<p>I should add that I was twice a Singer owner and now am a Bernina owner. My first Singer was all-mechanical circa 1960-something. I bought it at a military base thrift shop in the late 80s and it was fine for the minimal amount of sewing that I did. We moved overseas so I sold it via the same thrift shop in the early 90s. At our next stateside assignment I bought a new Singer that was a PITN from Day 1. Tension was bad, it skipped stitches, etc…I wavered between a Pfaff and a Bernina for a long time. I chose the Bernina 153QE and have been very happy.</p>
<p>It really depends what you are sewing. I am a quilter so I do not need a lot of the embroidery gizmos.</p>
<p>My W sews every day and uses an Elna (25 year old one) and a Bernina. Keep in mind that these and some others mentioned here are ‘expensive’ and if your D isn’t going to do a LOT of sewing might not be worth it.</p>
<p>We purchased Janome machines for our Ds and they work fine - no issues.</p>
<p>I agree that Singer is not what it used to be. I’ve always had good experiences with Bernina and Viking and in a number of high volume situations. I have a White serger which has worked well, but don’t know anything about the sewing machines. I had an old, old (> 40 yrs) top-of-the-line Brother that worked very well, but I don’t know about the newer ones. I have an old Necchi (don’t even know if they still make them), that I love and that will sew through anything.</p>
<p>Oh my, it’s good to know that <em>someone</em> under 45 knows how to use a sewing machine.</p>
<p>I know quite a few who can sew. D made a couple of satin dresses for homecoming and other dances. She’s good at following directions, and not too much of a perfectionist!</p>
<p>My mom has a Singer from the 80s that she pretty much hates because it also has tension problems and skips stitches. Apparently my dad traded in her old, indestructible one for this one and she always grumbles that she wants it back.</p>
<p>I need to learn how to do some basic sewing like hemming at least; I wish she had time to teach me.</p>
<p>
Then you’ll be happy to know that not only did my W teach my two Ds how to sew, she’s also teaching some other kids for several years so they should be pretty good at it.</p>
<p>I’ve sewn on my 14 stitch Kenmore for 25 years and, while it still does its job, I’ve lost the zipper foot and I’d really like a rolled hem foot and I can no longer find such parts for it. I made a few skirts for my daughter recently and made do with a generic piece-of-poo zipper foot, by I looked into buying a new machine. From my perspective, as one whose made all kinds of things from my wedding gown to my living room roman shades, and numerous baby quilts, I’d let the intended use dictate what I bought. I’d go high-end and get a Pfaff if your daughter’s in design school and will be cranking out her designs for the next four years and beyond (or whatever high-end brand if most easily service where she is). If she’s going to be making the occasional dress, pillow and baby quilt (in future years), I’d get a Janome and use their website’s selector function to choose which one (again, that’s the brand I can get serviced locally most readily).</p>
<p>artmommy,
Does she already sew? Is this an investment or something she may use for a while and then put aside? I got a simple mechanical Singer ($99) for my HS graduation. Had a separate buttonhole attachment and not much in the way of stitches, but I used it for over 25 years and through costuming several shows. It was in the shop once. Passed it on to my niece five years ago when I got my first Viking. Bought a second one this summer that was being discontinued for 1/4 of retail. (YES!) Also have a newer Singer which H got for me as a second machine to use while I’m running my embroidery and yes, the tension on the Singer is always a problem.</p>
<p>Vikings and Berninas are not cheap. Consider your budget and what use your D expects to get out of the machine.</p>
<p>My sister in law swears by her Bernina. I don’t sew much, but my Singer is still going 30 years later.</p>
<p>I had a newhome for many years- and gave it to a village in Ghana- D has a Janome which is made by same company, she sews quite a bit, mainly “restyling” vintage wear.</p>
<p>I think she would recommend SEWU as a guide for new seamstresses by
[Built</a> by Wendy](<a href=“http://www.builtbywendy.com/]Built”>http://www.builtbywendy.com/)</p>
<p>You might look at an old Singer Featherweight machine. You can buy one on ebay or from a sewing machine store. I do not like most sewing machines much, but I love that little Singer. It is very sturdy and functional and doesn’t act up. It’s very handy and portable.</p>
<p>A sewing machine repair person explained to me that older machines with all metal parts are much better made than newer, more expensive, plastic machines.</p>
<p>Well you guys are just wonderful! I’m am learning all the time from the CC community. My D goes to an art school (RISD). She is not majoring in clothing design, however she does do the occasional project. Last year she did an evening dress. Anyway, she does know how to sew and has taken lessons. I know she will use it a lot from day one and I think she will grow into a good machine. Also, my mother had an great old singer for years and years, then she bought a new singer and had the same problems you all have had with the new singers: Tension problems and dropped stitches. She never could get it fixed enough. So I want to avoid that. But, as we are paying for school, we are looking for a deal. I did go to a sewing store and the lady told me about staying away from Singer. So I am looking for the names of reliable machines and price considerations. What did you really need and use on your machine and what was the junk you didn’t need.</p>
<p>Good buttonholes!
Sews well on slippery knits, organza/sheers AND denim.
Good zipper foot (I loved the zipper foot on my old Singer and have not found one I like yet for my Vikings.)
Nice satin stitch
Drop-in bobbin
Good lighting
Free arm
Automatic up/down needle positioning
I like a long neck (distance between needle and the right side of sewing machine – I sew a lot of bulky things and it’s nice to have extra room for the fabric.</p>
<p>Viking offers free owner’s classes. I assume most of the higher-end machine dealers do, too. Advantage to a buying from a dealer – I can call my dealer for troubleshooting issues (esp. useful when I was learning the embroidery modules). Disadvantage: I am sick and tired of my dealer trying to get me to upgrade to a $7500 machine! Not in this lifetime!!! Not with a kid in college! Geez!</p>
<p>If your D knows you are purchasing this, it may be well worth your while to let her take a test drive at the store on a couple of machines. Take fabric swatches of differing weights/textures and see how each machine responds. Do this with not just a straight stitch, but with decorative stitches, too. </p>
<p>There are some fairly basic Viking models in I believe the $400-500 range. I have a Scandinavia 300 (the basic embroidery machine), a Designer 1 (more advanced embroidery machine w/bigger hoop) and a Singer 9940. Our Viking dealer also sells White machines – not sure what their reputation is like.</p>
<p>I use the walking, free-motion, and 1/4 inch feet more than any other. I wanted a blanket stitch as a decorative stitch but didn’t care about the other decorative stitches. I couldn’t sew without my extension table as I do a lot of bulky projects</p>
<p>This is actually a good time to buy a machine. My local quilt shop always has a huge sale in January to reduce inventory and change out their classroom and floor model machines. My Bernina was a floor model that was 40% off retail.</p>