How to Choose the Best Sewing Machine for You

Jenny K. Lyon has been free-motion quilting on her domestic machine since 1999. Her quilts have been exhibited at both the Quilt Festival in Houston and AQS Paducah. Here she gives you five tips for selecting just the right machine for you.

Jenny is a guest contributor to the Meissner Sewing Blog, and she is an instructor at the Sacramento and Folsom stores. Click here to learn more about Jenny.

Click here to read the 5 tips.

Comments

#5 trudysewist 2017-06-09 12:43

The best advise I can give anyone is to "buy" a dealer not a machine. I have two wonderful dealers within 30 minutes of my house and I only buy from them. They give fabulous classes, they are always there for me and, to quote Jon Arbuckle, "you get what you pay for." Saving some $$$$$$ is not always the way to go. Hope this helps someone from making a big money mistake.

#4 Andi 2017-06-05 15:13

I wanted another machine that did embroidery, so I bought used Bernina online from a store several states away and had it shipped to me. I was confused from the moment I opened up the box. A friend, who used to own this model, came over and walked me through it, but after she left, I was still very confused. I was able to do some very basic embroidery and sew with it, but I groaned every time I looked in her direction.

I took it to my favorite Bernina dealer and asked him to help. They walked me through it, but then I saw they had a much newer model on the shelf, so I asked him to explain that machine to me. It was much more user friendly, so I ended up trading my machine for a fancier model (which I love).

I agree--test the machines out to make sure you are comfortable. They are not cheap, so be sure you love what you get. You don't want to give up on a hobby because you and your machine don't get along.

#3 Lyn 2017-06-04 16:20

Trying it out more than once - "dating around" as mentioned is so important. I made a too quick decision at Houston and many $$$$ later, I hate this machine that many love. Totally my fault, no one mislead me, I just did not sit with it to see if it and I got along. We don't.

#2 Jean 2017-06-02 10:09

I also feel it is important to buy from a store that offers classes on your machine. There are so many features that add to your sewing adventures if you know how to use them. Also you need a store close enough to service your machine.

#1 Barbara 2017-06-02 08:41

I agree with all these tips. I followed them (before I even read the suggestions) while looking for two years. I have had my Babylock for three years and only wish it were two pounds so I could take it with me everywhere I go. LOL

Refresh comments list
RSS feed for comments to this post

Add comment

JComments

Daily Blog

Click here to read the 5 tips.