Today my peeve is the cost of a sewing machine. I don’t know if I mentioned this, but I priced a few new ones a while back when I was thinking about getting rid of my 2038 for something that would handle my jeans and stuff a bit better. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that I could spend more buying a not-quite-top-of-the-line sewing machine than we’re going to spend gutting and remodeling our bathroom*. Can someone please tell me how that’s possible?! Hell, we’re going to spend less on that remodel than what they wanted for a low-end Bernina (that somehow butchered a buttonhole even worse than my Pfaff)! Criminy!
Someone tell me this; how on Earth does one justify buying a new machine, especially a Bernina-flavored one? I know there are people out there with those outrageously overpriced hunks of technology that do the embroidery with a single needle and I just can’t wrap my brain around it. I think I need to lay down. In the meantime, I guess I’ll stick with my Pfaff for a while longer.
* And before you think it, no we’re not using subpar materials or taking shortcuts on the remodel–we plan to use it when it’s done, and we’re going to do it right. I’m actually planning to do a post on it soon. 🙂
Splinters & Stitches 
I ended up buying a second hand Janome on ebay. It was still expensive, but I am a happy camper.
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I hear you on this one – probably why I take such goooooddddd care of my little old Janome Memory Craft. Fingers crossed she has a few more seams left in her yet…
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My Bernina was worth every penny and more. I bought the 1008, the low end machine with the 5 step buttonhole, which is kind of a pain. But it has not hesitated at a single thing I’ve sewn on it (hundreds and hundreds and HUNDREDS of projects), the timing has never gone out of whack, and I’ve never had a tension problem. I cried and cried over the Crappy New Home ™ I had before it. So worth it to sit down and sew, rather than fiddle (and cry).
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If you want something to handle jeans and heavy-duty (but simple) stuff, get yourself an old, sturdy, metal machine. (But you knew I was going to say that, didn’t you? 😉 )
Someday I’ll splurge big on a coverstitch machine and maybe a better serger, but unless I decide I really can’t live without an embroidery machine, I doubt I’ll ever be looking at a brand-new machine again. I’m way too happy with my ancient clunkers.
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Hi Just visiting your blog for the first time. I’ve just splashed out on a Bernina 330 and it is hard to think how I could be happier with this purchase. My previous machine , a Husqvarna Viking, came with self-adjusting tension and stitch length (normally mid seam), from the moment I bought it. Woeful buttonhole too. No amount of servicing ever fixed it. Finally I decided life’s too short, and bought the Bernina. Love at first sew. This is your basic sewing model too – you don’t need to go for the quilting and embroidery bells and whistles. My mother sewed everything for me from birth to wedding dress on a simple Bernina too.
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