It's surprising how little one can spend for a good used sewing machine. If
you decide to start with a used machine, it will give you a chance to check
out dealers and see if there is one you'd like to deal with when it's time
to buy a new machine. Or you could try estate auctions and the newspaper
classifieds. I wonder if there are any dealers who rent sewing
machines.....when I was car-shopping, I rented a few of my semi-finalists to
see which one I preferred. When I bought my Viking 210, I had narrowed my
choices down to that machine or a Kenmore, based on data from Consumer
Reports magazine.
Of the machines you mention, I've tried only the Huskystar and it performs
well and seems to be a fair value. I have not seen any negative reports
such as one sometimes sees when a manufacturer starts selling their machines
under another name. My local dealer told me the Huskystars have that name
to distinguish them from Husqvarna's Swedish-made Viking line. Based on my
very satisfactory experience with my Viking and my brief test of this model,
I would favor the Huskystar.
I like a drop-in bobbin, which is not a feature of the Huskystar 207; but
the Singer machine uses a cover plate when you want to disengage the feed
dogs and I prefer being able to drop the feed dogs instead--this may be a
capability of the other machines but I don't know. If I recall correctly,
the 207 does have a dial setting for feed-dogs-down. I use a few functions
that require dropping the feed dogs; this might not be an issue for you.
When I see a low priced machine such as the Brother XL6542 with features
that one usually finds on a more expensive machine, I have to wonder how the
company can afford to sell them that cheap. Either they make them cheap or
they have such a high volume they can sell good machines on very short
margins. The opinions I have read in this newsgroup seem to point to the
former. I'd avoid the cheaper Brother machines, based on others'
experience. The company has a reputation for good high-end machines but
poor entry-level machines.
For some advice on used machines, consult "The Sewing Machine Guide: Tips on
Choosing, Buying, and Refurbishing" by John Giordano. He seems to have some
pretty sound ideas, though I don't share his fondness for sewing machines
with computer circuitry and/or interfaces.
I'd like to know how your deliberations go.
Max
Post by Michel Oliveirahi everyone,
I want to buy my first sewing machine. I wanna do lot of stuff, like
to be able to do jeans fabrics to fine sheer fabrics and still have a
nice stitch. i looked around but i can't seem to set my choice on a
particular model. And i don't know if i should trust salesmen... My
favorite models are singer 5070, brother xl-6452, huskystar 207 or
something from kenmore. Wich would you recommend? anyone have any
feedback on these models?
also, someone told me to get like a 75$ (canadian, he) old sewing
machine and learn on it, then later i'll be able to see what i really
want in a sewing machine... what do you think about that?