Wednesday 6 March 2013

Sewing machine - Brother or Bernina?

I'm back after 7 months!!! Yes, my little boy is now 7 months old. I just got back from my home town, Malaysia for Chinese New Year celebration. How good to be with my family again! We had lots of good time and good food!

Mum's chilli crab



盘菜 (Pan Cai)

Well, it's time for me to get back to my sewing and singing!
I think my sewing machine is giving me quite a lot of problems recently. I need to get a new machine. Shall I go for Bernina or stick to my favourite brand - Brother? Any recommendation? I would like to buy a brand new quilting machine. 

What machine are you using ? 


20 comments:

  1. I've used and taught classes with all the brands. If you are making an investment to use for the next thirty or forty years -
    Bernina hands down! I still sew on one from 1970 and my daughter uses one from the eighties-Can't say that for either of my Brothers. I also have a new Bernina 780. Expensive - yes...but a sewing machine is one place you definitely get what you pay for. One of those cases where I wasn't unhappy with Brother until I learned how happy I could be with Bernina.

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  2. Bernina absolutely. You'll be able to use it for years and years. Quality parts. Perfect stitches. I love them!

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  3. if you can afford a Bernina -go for it. I sew with Brother's cousin BABYLOCK and I LOVE my machine.

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  4. Bernina....... no question. I also have a Babylock - and it's fine, but it's no Bernina! I have my mom's old Bernina from 1955 - it's a workhorse!

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  5. I know so many love Berninas but they are really expensive! There is nothing wrong with Brother machines. I love my Lucy. I wouldn't buy one from the big box stores but one of the better ones from a dealer, like the new Dreamweaver series, the non embroidery one is a lot like my Lucy. They are the same machines as the BabyLocks (both made by Brother) but the price is less than BabyLock charges. Good luck with whatever you choose.

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  6. I have one old Bernina that was made in the 1970's that I got several years ago. It's a good machine but doesn't have the updated features that the newer ones have. The newer Berninas are very expensive and so are the extras. I also own 2 Brothers that I bought a few years ago. One is computerized and one is a semi-industrial straight stitch machine. People who buy Berninas love them and are biased, but cost is a factor and I heard from my Brother/Bernina dealer that only the most expensive models of Bernina are made in Switzerland now, the rest of the Berninas are made in Taiwan or China. Brother machines are made in Taiwan. While I don't care where the machine is made, some people might and Bernina machines used to all be Swiss made years ago. Like my Brother dealer told me Brother is a solid company who stands behind their products and they make a lot more than just sewing machines so they will be around for a long time. Not sure about Bernina anymore. I know they were trying to sell their company once and don't know if that happened or what. I like all my machines and they each do some things that the other one doesn't do as well. You need to ask yourself how many bell and whistles that you want and will use? If you mostly make pieced quilts then all you really need is a straight stitch, so why pay for all those stitches that you might not ever use? But if you sew other things, then check out each model and the cost and go to your local dealer and try them out. Everyone has their own preferences and trying a few machines will give you a better idea what you would like. Also decide how much you can afford to spend too. There are always new models coming out, so buy one that you will be happy with for many years.

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  7. Thank you for all your comments! I have finally bought a Bernina B780!

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  8. The older Berninas were good. After 35 years on a Viking I invested in a Bernina 750. Have had nothing but trouble with it. Finally, my authorized Bernina repair guy said to send it off to Bernina to llok at it and see if they can figure it out. Well, 6 weeks and $500 later Bernina says I threaded it wrong and broke the back cover. HUH???? That caused it to work great off and on and all the various problems I've had with it? And if the cover was broken don't you think the repair guy would have seen that on one of th many times he worked on it? When I sew it shakes, winding th bobbin, the bobbin starts spinning off the spindle. digs kints into the plate, just a few things. During the 6 weeks that was gone, I got a Brother Inovis as a loaner. Ahhhh what a joy. Reliable, dependable, nice stiches, etc.

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  9. The older Berninas were good. After 35 years on a Viking I invested in a Bernina 750. Have had nothing but trouble with it. Finally, my authorized Bernina repair guy said to send it off to Bernina to llok at it and see if they can figure it out. Well, 6 weeks and $500 later Bernina says I threaded it wrong and broke the back cover. HUH???? That caused it to work great off and on and all the various problems I've had with it? And if the cover was broken don't you think the repair guy would have seen that on one of th many times he worked on it? When I sew it shakes, winding th bobbin, the bobbin starts spinning off the spindle. digs kints into the plate, just a few things. During the 6 weeks that was gone, I got a Brother Inovis as a loaner. Ahhhh what a joy. Reliable, dependable, nice stiches, etc.

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  10. Great blog and interesting and useful information about the sewing machine keep it up.  
    sewing help

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  11. The post is very informative. It is a pleasure reading it. I have also bookmarked you for checking out new posts.











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  12. I have bookmarked your blog, the articles are way better than other similar blogs.. thanks for a great blog!
    Sewing Machines compared by expert

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  13. Thank for this blog. It’s helpful as I have owned a brother machine for over 15 years and handed it to my niece. I purchase a new brother but have been interested in the Bernina. I purchased a Bernina B700 embroidery machine and absolutely loved all the features, but had so many issues with the machine. The quality was poor for the cost of the machine. The thread cutter fell off, the foot was missing a rivet on the join so was loose, causing endless needle breaks, the whole needle unit was loose and the embroidery was looping. (this was a brand new machine). The dealer was really good but was unable to fix or get support from Bernina. I wrote to Bernina sending photos etc of all the issues and had zero response or acknowledgment of my emails. I have wanted to own a Bernina for as long as I can remember but I hesitate as I am not sure I can trust their products or their service.

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  14. I sew everyday and frankly would not recommend a Bernina just for "perfect stitches". It is much harder to use and understand than a Brother, and honestly, with sewing machines, you should see yourself upgrading every 5-7 years because technology just keeps getting better. I have a 35 year old Singer, it is working well but I still bought a new Brother (for just a few hundred dollars) because of the new technology and functionalities. I will probably sell it and upgrade in a few years because I know a better model will come out. By then, I would still have spent less on a great machine.

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  15. Love this article. thanks for sharing. It helped me alot

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  16. I love brother sewing machines. Because not only they are affordable but also user friendly. Read detailed reviews on https://sewingempire.com/

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  17. I bought a Brother XR3774 quilting machine, they called it, just over a year ago. It's just not good in so many ways for piecing a quilt.
    The quarter inch seam is barely on the feed dogs.
    There is a dip in front of the bobbin cover that flips the seams over.
    More than three layers of fabric and the feed dogs go mad and jerk the fabric sideways.
    In short, it does not sew easy. And that really is the most important thing with any sewing machine.

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