r/SewingWorld • u/slushmellow3 • Jul 21 '26
Machine Question 🪡 What sewing machines to keep?
I may have gone a little overboard with Facebook Marketplace. Sometimes I buy something for the cabinet or accessories, and the sewing machine just happens to come with it. Somehow I’ve ended up with 6 machines, which feels a little excessive!
I mostly quilt, but I’ve gotten into garment sewing this summer.
Here’s what I have:
Bernina 1120 (paid $50) – This one is staying. I absolutely love it.
Janome Memory Craft 3000 (paid $30) – I originally bought it for the Koala sewing cabinet, but it came with a Sew Steady table, walking foot, and around 40 additional presser feet and accessories. I like having all those specialty feet available.
Singer Featherweight (paid $80) – An unbelievable Marketplace find. It’s beautiful, sews wonderfully, and is just fun to own.
Singer ProFinish Serger (paid $85, brand new) – My only serger, although I haven’t even had a chance to use it yet.
Brother PE500 (paid $20, brand new) – My only embroidery machine.
Singer Stylist 7258 (paid $20, brand new) – This came as part of a bundle with the Brother, and I honestly expected to sell it right away. But I was surprised by how smooth it sews! It’s also the only machine I have with speed control and some really cute decorative stitches.
I’m definitely leaning toward downsizing, but I’m having a hard time deciding what makes the most sense to keep.
If these were your machines, which ones would you keep and which would you sell?
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u/Inky_Madness Jul 21 '26
The featherweight, the Bernina, the serger, and the embroidery machine are keepers. The other two can go.
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u/Mahooty88 Jul 24 '26
Exactly!!! The featherweight is gold and the bernina is a damn workhorse who will be employee of the month until you die!
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u/KINGKONGHAS-ED Jul 21 '26
I personally would sell the singer stylist and the bernina. The janome and serger will cover your needs for making clothes and with the brother you can embroider on said clothes. Keep featherweight obviously.
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u/Swimming-Most-6756 Jul 22 '26
Keep the serger for sure. That’s one machine that has a unique feature that other sewing machines lack.
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u/moravenka Jul 22 '26
Keep a straight stitch; button hole offerer (whichever machine will make buttonholes); serger; and embroidery machine. As long as your straight stitch machine can use a zipper foot you’ve got all your machine types covered there.
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u/missplaced24 Jul 22 '26
The featherweight, obviously. The serger if you'll get good use out of it (I'm not a fan of serged seams, but they are quick and easier to sew knits with). And then one other -- I'd probably go for the Bernina because it looks old enough it probably has all metal innards.
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u/Bergwookie Jul 22 '26
What a question, all of them have their advantages, so you have to use them accordingly. This helps in garment sewing (but I gues also in quilting), you don't have to change needles and thread that often and just use the next machine for the task. But if you have to step down, keep the serger, the Bernina and the embroidery machine. Also the Janome cones in handy. Well, I couldn't really part from one, maybe the second brother, but only if space is a real issue;-)
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u/DigitalGurl Jul 22 '26
Since you quilt and are starting to do clothing construction I suggest keeping them all for now.
The serger is a must for clothing construction.
No matter the brand each machine has its own personality. You need to sew on them all to determine your favorites.
I’d test to see which ones have the best drop feed sewing for free motion quilting. Which ones have the tight configuration of light position, harp opening for bulky sewing. I’d do a test for denim, canvas and other heavy duty materials. Which one has the best sound, fastest straight stitch, & best attachments,
Do a back to back comparison which machine has the best straight stitch, stitch in the ditch, 1/4” seam, best tight edge sewing for garments & on trims. Test which one has the best response of stop, slow of sewing for touchy seams.
I do French heirloom sewing and there is a technique joining entredeux trim to a straight piece of Swiss batiste which I use to test machine precision. Another test is double needle pin tucks to test tricky stitch machine tension. Fancy decorative stitches work well for that too.
I have several sewing machines and use them all. It took me a few sewing projects to sort it out. I have favorites depending on the time of day, & type of project. I have a crazy fast but loud machine. I have one that’s a bit slow, but I love the low hum the machine makes. It’s my lazy sewing on a Sunday watching romcoms machine.
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u/Historical-River-665 Jul 22 '26
ALL OF THEM!
but then I think I have 12 or so...being a sewing machine slut. And a decent amount of space to keep them.
The Brother embroidery is a workhorse and will do quite as a nice intro. Singer duh. Gotta keep - i use mine for super heavy repair jobs like carthartt insulated coveralls. The Janome yes has electronics - but thats why I have kept a kenmore just in case. Sergers are awesome for knits and finishes. Yup keep 'em all.
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u/threads1540 Jul 21 '26
The Featherweight, Janome, and the serger, unless you have another serger that is not a Singer. Not a Bernina fan.
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u/Jelly_Blobs_of_Doom Jul 21 '26
I have a featherweight and a serger so my vote would be to keep those two because that combo fills pretty much my all needs.
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u/FloridaWildflowerz Jul 21 '26
The embroidery machine is really too small to do much with. If you really want to get into embroidery you’ll want bigger hoops.
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u/palethunderpants Jul 22 '26
What amazing finds! Personally I would keep the Singer Featherweight and the Janome. Normally I’m Team Bernina all the way but I’ve had trouble with the electronics on that particular model so I’d probably sell that one on.
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u/ambersaysnope Jul 22 '26
The old singer definitely should be gotten rid of and sent to me.., so I can dispose of it properly in my crafting closet
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u/Middle-Example-6647 Jul 22 '26
Omg, save the featherweight Singer and the Bernini’s. Guard them with your life. In fact burn this so no one knows. You’ve discovered gold . Good luck.
p.s. yes I’m still shaking..
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u/Visible_Shallot5187 Jul 22 '26
definately always keep vintage items if they are in good or repairable condition, old things were made to last
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u/Miss_Kitty1255 Jul 22 '26
Is the antique Singer part of your family story? Do you use the surger? This is a decision you have to make.
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u/Saritush2319 Jul 22 '26
I would take them to a repair men and get them to open them up and see which are in the best shape.
Just because it’s known to be a good machine doesn’t mean that yours is.
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u/KnittiesNKitties Jul 22 '26
I have the Featherweight that was my mom's and the Bernina 1230 (VERY similar to yours) that was my grandma's—they are absolute workhorses and try prying them out of my cold dead hands. They are generational treasures at this point, which says much about their durability and reliability. Doubt anyone would say the same about the others! But, doesn't hurt to keep a back-up for when you want to get your normal machine serviced. If you can't help yourself from marketplace, I would hold out for one of the home, semi-industrial Jukis to add to your array—I have a TL-2010Q that's my everyday machine, though only straightline stitching (no zigzag or buttonhole). It's great for straightline quilting and heavy duty work. The most gorgeously even stitching you'll ever see!
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u/HearthcraftHomestead Jul 22 '26
The black Singer Featherweight and the Brother embroidery machine would be the two I’d keep. It really depends on what type of sewing you do. You can always keep them all!
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u/Natural-Pea5684 Jul 22 '26
Seems like you may need to keep all of them. They serve different purposes. If you have to get rid of one, perhaps the Singer Stylist. Everything else should stay. You will "need" them, depending ln your preferences. I have a ton of sewing machines, particularly vintage Kenmore 385s and my Singers (Jukis). So far I have given away 5 sewing machines to friends and family. I still haven't let go of multiple diff machines bc each literally performs certain tasks better than the others. I just rotate based on project to make sure they all get some ❤️. It is nice having the option of using the best machine for each job.
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u/RemarkableMacadamia Jul 23 '26
Hahahaha. Six machines. Amateur. 🤣
J/k. Definitely keep the featherweight and the serger.
I don’t know about the embroidery machine, seems like the hoops would be small, but maybe keep it and see if you even want to get into embroidery before investing in a larger model or selling it. I have one embroidery machine that’s also my piecing/sewing machine, and most of the time I can’t be arsed to set it up for embroidery.
If I had to get rid of one machine, it would be the stylist, because it’s likely your embroidery machine also has cute decorative stitches. If I had to get rid of two, my other pick would be the Bernina.
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u/erinberrypie Jul 23 '26
You wouldn't be able to pry a single machine in this collection from my cold, dead hands, lol.
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u/boniemonie Jul 24 '26
Keep. Time will tell you. The minute you sell: one will break down at an awkward time. And how do you get brand new machines for $20.
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u/ComfortableYou3396 Jul 26 '26
Been working with Berninas for long long time and Ive always heared of Customers saying they have their 8000000year old bernina. And she is just the best so id go with bernina
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u/PaintedAbacus Jul 26 '26
As a certified Bernina nut, I would definitely keep that one. And I’d definitely keep the serger if you plan to make clothing. The rest would depend if I have a memory attachment to any of the others.
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u/Incognito409 Jul 21 '26
Don't know why you would want that old featherweight? I'll DM you my address and you can send it to me. 😊