About Sewing Machines

Sewing machines.  Choosing a machine is kind of like choosing a car.  It's an investment.  There are a lot of things to consider, like affordability, longevity, the amount and type of sewing you'll do, etc.  And there are secrets.  I discovered a few of those when my newest machine broke down this week.

All of the sewing machines I've owned have been Brothers. In the beginning, this was because of affordability and availability.  

I got my first machine at WalMart about 20 years ago.  I think it was a Brother XR-33.  It cost about $125, which was a huge expenditure for me at the time.  It was probably the nicest piece of property I owned.  It was fairly basic, but that was okay because so were my sewing skills.  And it was a work horse.   I loved that machine!  I'm still kind of emotionally attached, because aside from my kids, it was the best thing I took with me from my first marriage. Ha! 

After all this time, I've only had to give it 2 tune-ups, and it's still going strong.  About 2 years ago, I upgraded my machine, and that first machine became my loaner.  My mom is currently using it.  It has been such a good machine that it made me really partial to the Brother brand, which turns out to be good and bad these days.

The next machine I got was for my kids to use.  I didn't want them breaking my precious machine!  I found a super cheap model on Amazon.  A Brother XL2600I for about $60.  This is a great entry level/learner machine.  On the box it's described as "sew affordable" and "sew advanced."  Cringe-worthy puns.  It is definitely a starter machine.  It has a fair amount of stitches, it's completely mechanical (no computerized anything), and not a lot of guts.  It's a great machine for sort of learning how to drive.  Also great because if you've never sewn before and want to try it out without much financial commitment, you can buy a cheap one like this and not feel too guilty if you decide you don't like it.

This was my newest machine.  I loved her.  Brother SE-400.  This one has like a bajillion stitches, quilts and embroiders, and is really darn easy to figure out how to use.  It has a variable speed control switch, and can be run using a stop and go button on the control panel instead of using the gas pedal.  My doting hubby got this one for me just over 2 years ago because I was on bed rest, and the hand controls made it so that I could sew while I was laying down!  I also wanted this model because some of the stitches are for hemstitching (the machine pokes little holes in the fabric that you can crochet through).  My friend and I were crocheting edges on baby blankets at the time, and that was a bonus to be able to hemstitch whatever fabric I wanted, instead of being limited to flannels that were professionally done.  This machine had a lot more power and was loads more quiet than the other machines I had used. Switching back to the older machines when I needed a backup was just gross.

I paid a little over $300 for this machine.  Since I had only ever paid $60-120 for a sewing machine in the past, and had seen loads of machines for a much lower price at WalMart and on Amazon, I figured that at this price, I was getting a machine that would last a lifetime and I could hand down to my daughter.  I learned to keep it clean on my own, kept it covered when not in use, was careful with the settings, and changed my needles regularly.  I never did get the chance to try the embroidery or quilting capabilities.

This is where our story gets a little sad.  Recently, something went weird with my upper tension.  I would be sewing along just fine, when suddenly the tension discs would clamp down on the upper thread, which would snap.  Thread type didn't matter.  I assumed my 2-year-old had messed with the settings, and adjusted those. It worked for a minute, but then the thread started knotting on the underside of my projects.  I cleaned it (featured a few posts back) and adjusted the settings again, and all was well for a few small projects.  Then suddenly, it started having both of those problems and randomly skipping stitches.  This was all beyond my capabilities, so I took it in for a tune-up.  

When I got to the repair shop, I found out that a tune-up and simple repairs would run a jaw-dropping $120!  That was almost half the price of the sewing machine new!  When I started to hyperventilate, the shop owner explained that manufacturers have 2 classifications for sewing machines.  Anything priced under $400 is considered a "throw-away" machine by the manufacturer.  Those over $400 are generally considered "lifetime" machines (a lifetime of 20-30 years.)  If I wasn't hyperventilating before...  

Now, I'm just going to say that I've probably only even met 3 people in my lifetime that just have $400 laying around that they could throw away.  And even those 3 people wouldn't do it willingly.  I scooped up my newish, broken sewing machine and headed home and made some calls and visits to more stores and repair shops, which all told me the same thing.  A tune-up would be $90, which might fix the problem, and repairs would run more.  Each place advised me that they wouldn't even consider investing the cost of repairs in what they also called a "throw away" sewing machine.

Now I had to make a hard decision.  Repair my relatively new investment, raising the cost to well over $400,  try to exchange it for the exact same model which might have the exact same problem in 2 more years, or get yet another newer and better sewing machine.

After some soul-searching and investigating, I decided to go with door #3.  Hubby was able to convince Amazon to refund half the original cost of my SE-400 and keep the broken machine.  I was then able to use the broken one as a trade-in at a local shop, which would either repair it and resell it at a discount, or use it for parts for repairs for other poor suckers.  That made it possible for me to get my latest installment in the sewing machine saga, a "lifetime" machine,  for a price I could feel comfortable with.  

This newest guy is also a Brother, a "Project Runway" Innov-is NS 85e.  This one, however, is in the higher end classification.  It's made with all metal parts.  (The others are loaded with plastic parts.)  It has all of the stitch functions that are important to me.  It has the hand controls that I love for those times when I'm bedridden.  It powers through 9 layers of denim, whereas  the little XL2600I stalls out at 5 layers of lightweight cotton.  It does not have an embroidery function or an automatic thread clipper.  The purchase came with $200 of free sewing classes, which will be a huge benefit to me.  Because this is more machine than I can currently handle.  And as the salesperson was demonstrating the capabilities, I discovered that I am basically a sewing nincompoop.  Who knew?!

As I did my research and interviewing, I also found out that there are only a few main sewing machine manufacturers.  They are Brother, Viking, and Bernina.  Brother makes all of the Brothers and Baby Locks.  Viking makes all of the Vikings, Husqvarna, Elnas, and Singers.  Bernina is a stand-alone, so they only make Berninas.  All three makers abide by the "throw-away" vs "lifetime" rule.

**Update - I believe Juki is a 4th manufacturer, based in Japan. Like Bernina, Juki is a stand-alone company and only manufactures and sells Juki sewing machines and sergers.

When shopping for my newest sewing machine, I didn't even bother trying out a Bernina, because a comparable machine was hundreds of dollars more, and I've heard that once you sew on one, everything else is a disappointment.  I didn't want to spend that much, and I didn't want to be disappointed in my purchase every time I worked on a project, so I just stuck with testing what I could afford.

So, in summary:  If you're just thinking about sewing, just learning how, by all means grab a really cheap one from WalMart or Amazon.  Then, if you discover that you love to sew, save your pennies so that you can go to a dealer and buy one that is over $400, which should last a lifetime.  (The lifetime sewing machines are not available from regular retailers.  They are only available from a dealer.)  Once you've stitched on a starter, then try out a good machine, you'll see, hear, and feel exactly why there's such a price difference.

I'm pretty excited to sew my first project on the newest member of my crafting team.  I wish I had known this stuff a few years ago, but life is about learning, and I'm really grateful that I now have a quality piece of equipment that will be reliable and enjoyable for years to come.