sewing machine advice?

[surfergirl602]

My 1972 singer has died.

But the good news: I get a new one!

Now the issue??? I don't know what one to get! So many choices!

I'm looking for something under $500, with embroidery capabilities, and the option to be able to upload my own patterns, or alphabets etc. Maybe a card reader or usb capabilities? Self threading?

Are there any machines out there in that price range that do that? I was looking at the brother HE 240 http://crafts-sewing.hsn.com/brother-embroidery-and-sewing-machine-with-usb-port_p-4279542_xp.aspx?web_id=4279542&wishlist_id=1395096&o=!GiftRegistry but I don't know if that's a good machine or a good price or not.

Any sewing gurus out there have any suggestions?

 

[rie'smom]

I'm not familiar with this particular machine but I have the 750D, the 4500D and the Quattro which are all Brother machines and I love them. They are absolutely the most user friendly machines on the market, IMO. I've had the Pfaff, Bernina, New Home, Husqvarna Viking and none of them come close to the ease of a Brother. The price looks good and so do the reviews + easy pay!

 

[surfergirl602]

I'm not familiar with this particular machine but I have the 750D, the 4500D and the Quattro which are all Brother machines and I love them. They are absolutely the most user friendly machines on the market, IMO. I've had the Pfaff, Bernina, New Home, Husqvarna Viking and none of them come close to the ease of a Brother. The price looks good and so do the reviews + easy pay!

thanks for the reply - I will look those up! lol It seems like the more I look at, the more features I find I like! I wish there was a website that I could click on the features that I want, and it would give me the machines that have those features. ha ha

I'm not *that* experienced of a sewer, but I'm hoping that with a new machine, I'll get better. My old machine certainly gave me more than a few migraines. It didn't work well at all, and I got very frustrated. I was overjoyed the day it finally died!

 

[surfergirl602]

I'm not familiar with this particular machine but I have the 750D, the 4500D and the Quattro which are all Brother machines and I love them. They are absolutely the most user friendly machines on the market, IMO. I've had the Pfaff, Bernina, New Home, Husqvarna Viking and none of them come close to the ease of a Brother. The price looks good and so do the reviews + easy pay!

oooh, I just looked up the singer futura ce-250. After reading the reviews, I think I'm going to stick with a brother. I can't find any info on the quattro at all. Not even on amazon!

 

[surfergirl602]

ugh... I think my eyes are going to bleed.

I can't seem to find how big these machines will embroider. It's all so confusing. LOL

ETA: I found that it's a 4x4 hoop. Does that mean that I can only make something 4 inches tall and 4 inches long? What if I wanted to write something long, like my name for instance? "Melissa" would I just have to do each letter at a time by moving the hoop, etc?

 

[joyah]

Wish I could help but I've got my mil's bernina and I LOVE it it's old and tempermental but I've had 2 singers and my 1960's was great and the 1980's one well it's JUNK. My mom bought a new bernina after using my old one it' $$$+ but that machine. I keep hoping she'll upgrade and I'll get the one she has.

does the joanns site compare them?

 

[dogsleder]

I am most fond of Berninas- They are just great workhorses. My first is at least 30 years old and has hundreds of hours of sewing on it. Janome is a great brand also. The Brothers are the only ones that have licensed Disney designs, though. Get it at a store where you can get lessons. They will know how to get the most out of the machine and will be able to give the best advice. That is the most important piece of advice.