Sewing machine recommendations

[Mittsy]

I'm  really a novice at sewing, but I need a good machine for help with my waldorf dolls, quilts, hemming... Can anyone help me out please? Thanks!

[ms.shell]

Check out the Janome machines online.  These are the most affordable, best designed machines, imo. Janome made machines are also sold through Sears with the Kenmore brand on them.  I got a really excellent deal on my computerized machine by buying it as a Kenmore on sale at Sears.

I noticed they no longer include a needle threader standard on their lowest priced machines, and I would definitely get one that has that feature.  Janome has a whole bunch of models to choose from, and I have had excellent experiences with every Janome I have had a chance to use, including bare bones basic models, deluxe versions, and especially the 3 that I own and use a LOT.  I would get a Janome with a needle threader and a one step buttonholer (you just pop the button you are using into the back of the foot, and it automatically calibrates and sews the perfect sized buttonhole), although the 4 step buttonholer is also pretty darn easy to use. 

Personally, I would choose the machine that offers the most stitches that I could afford, but I tend to use many of those stitches regularly.  I have heard a lot of people say they don't use the "fancy" stitches much at all...those sorts of sewists will be just fine with a machine that only does straight and zig zag (and stretch, I would think that everyone would need at least one stretch stitch).

If you get a well designed machine with user friendly features, you will sew more and love sewing more.  If you get something like a Brother (for the same money), you might scream and cry and hate sewing!

There is more about these machines on my blog (click my user name), and also more in the archives on this forum....people ask for machine recs here all the time and the concensus seems to be Janome...you might want to see what others have said in similar threads.

Good luck!

[punkrockmomma]

I would look at a Brother innovis machine. This is the higher end line of Brother machines, and you can only get them at sewing machine dealers. I sold my Bernina on ebay so I could could get a Brother innovis NX-450Q. It's an amazing machine, with lots of bells and whistles, it's a heavy duty, high quality machine, and it came with LOTS of extras. This machine was recommended to me by the owner of one of my local dealers, who also sells Vikings. She said that the innovis line of machines are just as good as the high end machines, and come with more features and accessories, and additional feet are much cheaper. Her personal machine is a Brother innovis. I also like that the machine itself is also much lighter and easier to transport then the Bernina I had.

I know everyone on this forum recommends Janome machines, but I've never been impressed with what you get, for the price. I think there are other machines out there that are the same quality as Janome and have better features.

[cyberfish]

I have two Kenmore machines and they've been great.  One of them I got for less than 50% of the original price because it was a floor model.  I could never have bought that nice of a machine at full price or even a sale price.  I've had zero problems with it in the 10+ years I've owned it.  So you might check out the floor models and see if one you like is up for sale at a discount.  It could be a good way to get a better machine than you can technically afford (and I speak from experience!)