Sewing machine recommendation?

[spidervain]

I need a sewing machine. Something that isn't a piece of junk so I will use it and keep it. But nothing too fancy. I want to hem pants, make blankets, easy stuff for now. Maybe later I'll try something harder, but I don't make clothes or have an etsy shop or anything. I've sewn before, but not for a long time, so a middle of the road feature/price-wise is all I really need.

Bonus points for an amazon link.

[lys]

Huskvarna or Viking offer quality machines at a variety of levels - basic to all the bells and whistles.

[thatgirl2478]

My mom has a baby lock that wasn't too much $$ and is a good machine.

Bernina, Viking, Janome, Pfaff are all great brands.

Brother (basic, not the high tech $5k machines), Singer, Kenmore are pretty much junk unless you can find OLD ones - pre 1970's.

[thatgirl2478]

the best place to look is a sewing machine shop, or vacuum repair shop where they frequently have customer trade ins for less $$.

[irene adler]

The best route is to go to a sewing machine dealer--you can get a high quality refurbished machine for a great price.

I love the Janome machines-- had one similar to this and it has held up amazingly for over 10 years (and I sew way more than the average person.) www.amazon.com/Janome-HD1000-Heavy-Duty-Built-In-Stitches/dp/B001I1IZ2K

I was also very impressed with the Brother Machine available at Costco. It's a pretty good starter machine.

If you see a kenmore, shoot it. Put it out of its misery.

[spidervain]

This is very helpful--thanks!

[Redpoppy]

I love my Janome but it is a high end model. I also have a Janome Jem Gold for travel (sew ins, etc) and because it has a free arm which my big one does not. I like the machine but if it were my only machine I'd want a little fancier of one.

You will want a free arm if you are hemming. How big a blanket are you thinking? If it's larger than a baby or throw you want to look for one with larger throat space. I would also look for one with automatic needle up/down as it's super helpful have the needle stop in the fabric to make a turn.

[Susie]

I have a Bernina, that was a Christmas present from my parents. It's definitely way smarter than I am. It does beautiful work when I can stay out of its way. Eventually I hope to get good enough to need a machine that nice.

[spidervain]

Bigger blankets. So that's a good point.

I edited the subject. I can't believe I didn't notice that the 4 times I've been back to the post.