Help with Sewing Machine Purchase

My garage sale purchased sewing machine is having timing wheel trouble again. I can't get it to stop hitting the wheel and bending the needle. I called around and a repair of this would be $75 - $100. At that point, I may as well chunk down a few extra bucks and get a new machine.

Can anyone recommend a machine that will do a good job with general costume sewing? I know Singer is "the" brand, but there are others out there. Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Scott

 

It may be worth taking a look at these sites:

Purchasing a Sewing Machine FAQ

Guide to buying a sewing machine


I'm personally a BIG fan of Elna machines. They can get rather pricey though.
I will also confess that when one of my machines died in the dead of night a few years back when I REALLY needed to get something done, I ran to the 24-hour Wal-Mart and purchased a $129 Brother as a "just for now" machine, and was pleasantly surprised by how well it worked. I still use it quite a bit, and it's held up quite nicely through some very rigorous and unkind usage.


-sg

 

My machine is just a simple Kenmore from Sears. It works like a charm, and in the two-and-a-half years I've had it, I've never had a problem. Of course, it's all in what you like, and how much you're willing to spend, but there are some great machines out there that don't cost what some of the Singer machines cost. It's just one of those shop around things.

kreleia ^.^

 

I have a Bernina, and wouldn't give it up for the world. They run about 400.00, but it's really worth it. I use my machine daily, and it's a real work horse.

 

I got an Elna for christmas. I love it! It's a very basic version, nothing very fancy, so it couldn't have cost too much, but it serves its purpose very well. It is excellent at sewing sheers and very fine fabrics. I haven't had a chance to sew wool on it yet. But my singer had big problems with it, and I am looking forward to see if my machine can handle it.

Does anyone have any input on embroidery machines? What brands can you get that give the most punch for the lowest price? (I know they can get VERY expensive)

 

I'll throw in my 2 cents here and say go for a Viking. They run from $200 to $4000. And have an embroidery/sewing machine starting at $2000. Of course, I used to be a Viking saleslady so I'm probably not the most objective opinion here. But if you have questions about Viking machines just PM me, I'd be happy to give you the non-sales spiel on them (just the facts).

 

I got my first sewing machine from Wal-mart. It was the 99.99 brothers sewing machine. Hasnt done me wrong yet. Ive made all 4 1/2 of my costumes with it. Its a good machine.

 

Need 2 cents more? I have worked with all sorts of machines--I personally use a kenmore for my "work horse" sewing, and elna for fancy and heirloom stitches, a viking for super dooper fancy stitches an industrial machine is always cool for super fast sewing--but have seen a lot of fingers sewn on them I don't care much for brother -sorry- I bought a cheapo Walmart brother machine to teach someone on--and I ended up returning it because it was nothing but a headache--maybe I just got the mutant one-But the experience gave me a bad taste. I have an Elna serger and swear by it--and have heard a lot of wonderful things about Bernina, but haven't done much more than "test drive" one.
For embroidery machines I hear the Viking is just about the best--the only one with an 18" hoop on the market--maybe one day...

 

Yeah I'm gonna save for a really nice Viking. hehe.. It would be nice to whip out the bodice part on the gold padme gown Cheating i know, but I don't care

 

Ferd, I had a Kenmore that I adored for 16 years of relentless abusive sewing! That was actually the one I killed in the night... I took it to a repairman, who looked at me with fear in his eyes and told me I'd managed to fuse the metal gears together... I think he thought I was some kind of demon to have done that.

So, Kenmores also get my vote as solid workhorse machines.


-sg

 

Geez--SG!! You yourself must be a workhorse. I never heard of anyone fusing metal together when they sew HA HA!! LOL! However, I know those middle of the night projects can pull out the weirdest of occurances, but it always works out that's when I do my best work. Go Figure!

As far as my Kenmore, anything avacoda green that still kickin' after all these years and projects has gotta be the toughest machine made by man. "Used by devil women everywhere "

 

I had an old Singer machine my parents bought me and a couple years ago I bought a new Singer to make costumes with. Unfortunately, not 2 months went by without me having to buy a completely new foot pedal and cord. Since I had bought the Singer machine and an "unlicensed" Singer sale held at a hotel, I learned that those are not endorsed or covered under warranty. I would not buy another Singer again. In addition, I guess they went bankrupt about that time (2 yrs ago) and had been having some troubles. I have heard that White machines are very good and I have heard that Brother machines (the higher dollar ones) are good because they have all metal parts. I will be using this Singer machine until it falls apart and then I'll be in the market again. Good luck with your search, hope this helped a little. If even to beware a little of the special Singer "overstock" sales, etc.

 

I too have the Brother Walmart $100 machine and it is great. Since I am a new sewer, I didn't want to spend a ton. It has been great for my costumes. Nothing fancy, it does a few cool things but if all you need is something for basic sewing, it's perfect and the Price is Right!

 

Well, the gear fusing only happened after I had been sewing a satin stitch for about 11 hourse straight (no joke!) at a pretty good clip -- making the spiderweb lace for the black travel gown from Ep. I.
It was definitely a freak occurence all around, as I'd normally never be at the machine for that long a stretch.
It made the most ugly sound imaginable as it ground to a halt... I hope I never hear such a thing again!

-sg

 

I too got the Wal-mart $99.99 Brother machine. I am not attempting anything fancy, and it works great. Most of the problems I've had making my projects comes from my very limited sewing knowledge (teaching myself by trial and error as I go) and not the machine.
I have noticed that it does vibrate a lot, it's not as smooth running as some of the pricier machines I've seen in action.
-Karma

 

Suddenly I feel much better owning a Kenmore, now that the label "workhorse machine" has been applied. I forgot to mention, though, my serger is by White. I didn't even think about it when I was writing my last post, but I love it. Apparently, it's of the "older" compact design (it's looks like the kind we all learned on back in high school - when sergers were brand new), and isn't showy like a Viking serger - but it's a dream come true. I think it ran about $250 to $300, and it doesn't do all the nifty tricks that the Viking sergers can do - but when am I ever going to quilt with the thing? (nope, never - quilting ain't my thing) So, I have to throw in my praise for my White serger.

kreleia ^.^

 

Actually, I'd say steer clear of White these days. They were bought out by Viking and the manufactuirng is now being outsourced and the quality is defintely not what it used to be. The same can be said for Kenmore and Singer. Athough, I have to say I really want one of those little White SewCutes. They're....um.....so cute!