How to judge the quality and/or versatility of a home sewing machine?
The sewing machine presently in use has problems with the tension knobs. It is more than fifteen years old. Have the features on newer machines changed drastically and is it practical to invest in a newer moderate priced machine — $200 range – versus having this older one repaired. The sewing machine will be used for quilting and home sewing projects. I’m not into fancy embroidering stitches but zig-zag is useful. Can anyone recommend the merits of different brands.
Take you machine in for a good cleaning and servicing. It’s possible the tensions knobs have slipped or the mechanism is gummed up with lint or other gunk or the springs have unsprung. If you are comfortable and happy with your current machine then a repair is a far better investment than buying a new machine.
There’s been a lot of consolidation in home sewing machines, a few companies own many different brands now. Some new machines, especially the lower priced ones -are simply not worth the money.
If you do end up needing a new machine, then take your time when buying a new one. Try to buy through a dealer, they will be able to give you lessons for operating your new machine, they will have needles, accessories, whatever you need to keep your new machine happy and healthy. Take sample of the type of sewing that you do so the dealer can help you select the best machine for your needs. I agree about not needing fancy embroidery stitches, what good is three thousand duckies and bunnies if it can’t do straight and zig zag? Test drive as many machines as possible to get the one that’s best for you. Don’t buy only based on price, try to buy the best machine for your purposes.
I like Janomes the best. They are good quality versatile machines and have many different models for many different purposes. They can take generic low shank presser feet, so you can buy all those fancy specialty feet that make sewing so much easier. I also like SInger, I have a couple industrial singers and they would happily work 24-7 without complaint. Bernina is a durable and hard working brand, but quite expensive, as are Pfaffs. Pfaff has the very best top of the line machine with every bell and whistle ever imagined; for those times you have an extra 10,000 dollars floating around for buying a sewing machine. (yeah, sure, i can afford that…NOT!) Their lower priced machines are okay, but in my opinion overpriced for what you get.
And that’s all I can think of for now!
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