I am hoping there are some EFers who sew and can give me some advice. My very, very old trusty sewing machine died and I am looking into replacements. Why not get it repaired, you ask? Well, my newer sewing machine went to my sister because it wouldn't work over here. The old one belonged to my mother and is over 30 years old. It has never been repaired and up until a few years ago, got the job done - barely. I think a new one is in order. The old one can sit together with my black and white pre-windows laptop (which still works -- remember 3 1/2 inch floppy disks!) and swap stories of the good old days.

Budget is max. CHF 600; for my needs I'm sure I can get more than enough machine for that price. What I would like is some personal recommendations on sewing machines. I have been looking at Brother as they seem to get good results in test reports, but I don't really know them. Pfaff would be great but they seem to be pretty expensive. So, any comments or suggestions will be very much appreciated.

I think it's depend on what kind of job you do with your machine. If you do the normal basic stuff, it doesn't make sense to put to much money on it. In that case, You should look for Brother.

If you work a lot with your sewing machine, you should considered to by an industrial one. They are very expensive but you can find a second hand for your budget.

I know that the Bernina shop in Uster have second hand sewing machines (well they did a few years back) They are usually from people that wanted to upgrade if something new came out. Worth a try.

I have a one of the cheep models from Husquarna with the basic functionalities - it's been with me for about 15+ years - wow! - time flies...
It works fine, and I think you definitely can get hold of something like that for your budget if not even less.

How to buy a sewing machine

Bernina all the way...

It really does depend on what your sewing needs are. I've owned a Brother years ago, and now have a Singer. Both were basic models that are very reliable and well under 600 chf.

I've just treated myself to a Brother Innovis 10 - it does everything I want it to. It cost around 300 euros - I bought it in Holland. Brother & Janome came out tops in the Which? report on best buys sewing machine. What you really need to do is find a shop where you can sit down & try out as many as possible - I found this hard in Switz as there was no choice other than a Bernina. My machine does everything a Bernina can for a fraction of the cost - in fact with the 'change' I bought an overlocker. Ok Berninas run forever apparently - but my last sewing machine was over 30yrs old (it was my mums too!) but frankly it was a dinosaur & you needed a forklift to move it. Does owning a Porsche make you a better driver? No - so don't feel pressurised into buying a Bernina!

I would also lean towards a mechanical rather than a computerised machine - this is purely from a maintainence & things to go wrong stance.

I also think You may be aswell trying to source your machine from the UK as the £/Euro is very weak & theres bargains to be had - find yourself a chum who's driving back over Christmas.

Another source of really good information is TheSewingForum.co.uk - I defy you to spend anything less than a few hours sifting through that website.

With the budget you have set you can afford to buy yourself you can afford to buy a really good sewing machine - go for it!

Thanks to everyone for the good tips.

This is one I've been considering. Actually, I'd prefer the Innov-is 30 but it doesn't seem to be available in Switzerland. I've had a quote for CHF 376.- for the 10, which is good.

They sure built those old sewing machines to last! Where would we be without our mother's machines. My husband nearly fell over dead when I pulled out my mom's Elna and stitched up some curtains shortly after we moved into our house. He never would have imagined that I could sew, especially as I refuse to iron anything, don't like to cook and share cleaning duties with him. (I missed out on whatever Swiss Hausfrau course they all seem to have taken here. Not that I'm complaining.)

The mechanical vs computerized is a very good point to raise and something I haven't decided on yet. There are good arguments on both sides. If I decide for the mechanical, I'll probably go with the Husqvarna Emerald 118.

The deals are definitely better in the UK. Being American, though, my reference is the U.S., where the prices are much, much lower. Why Americans have to be such boobs and use different voltage from the rest of the world I'll never know.

You could add in the 8 1/2 " x 11" paper to that comment as well.

Do a bit more research - it could well be worth your while to take a trip to Germany - theres bound to be sewing machine shops in town centres.

How about an Elna - supposedly quality Swiss Sewing Machine.

My father bought one for my mother and it was like four times the price of a Singer at the time. They sell them in John Lewis in the UK now.

In the meantime, bx swiss2 has a Bernina for sale CHF50

well the pros use...

Was it an Elnita 120 by any chance?

My wife and I found one at the recycling bins and I brought it home.

There is no foot pedal and the one for her brand new Elna 1000 (CHF 287) has a different type of connector, so I don't know if it works.

Google found this May 1987 newspaper advert for a sale of Elnita 120s.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id...nita+120&hl=en

I think this is grasping at straws, but are there any sewing machine geeks out there who know where one might acquire a compatible foot pedal or convertor?

I have a Bernina Virtuosa 153 for 5years, its perfect, i havent had a problem as yet, and i do ALOT of sewing.
I bought it in Constance, much, much cheaper than here. There is a bernina shop, up the road from the Lago centre.