Help With a Christmas Gift

[Mojo]

My wife wants to upgrade her machine and I am at a loss as to what to get her. I would like to by her a new machine for Christmas.

She does all seamstress work ( dress making, drapes, etc. ) and currently has a brother. It is all plastic
and she recently broke off the thread / spool holder. She is partial to Singer machines and has never been very happy with this Brother.

Can anyone recommend a good, rugged machine that is designed for her use ?

These are the only machines I could come up with so far and I know nothing about them. Is this the right direction I need to be looking into ?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Singer-Commercial-Grade-CG550-Heavy-Duty-Sewing-Machine-/360319866374?pt=BI_Sewing_Machines&hash=item53e4bcd606

http://cgi.ebay.com/Singer-4411-Commercial-Grade-Heavy-Duty-Sewing-Machine-/300493703815?pt=BI_Sewing_Machines&hash=item45f6d20a87

I do not plan on buying off e-bay ( been there done that ) but I do appreciate the ease of using it to research machines. :)

Any input from anyone would be appreciated. Thanks everyone.

Chris

[MinUph]

Hey Mojo,
  I was in to see the guy at the outlet place in spring hill. Mentioned Singer and he made a remark that they ain't what they use to be. New ones anyway.
  The seamstress where I work has a bernina and says she loves it. She does drapes, clothes and such at home. Also has a commercial machine for upholstery work. Just a thought.
  I know the old 111W's were a great machine by Singer. But that would be used.
  I would say go to a large shop and try a few out. You know sewing machines and can tell what is good if you sit at one.
  I gotta get up to visit you some Saturday to say hi.

[Mike8560]

Hey Mojo,
 I was in to see the guy at the outlet place in spring hill. Mentioned Singer and he made a remark that they ain't what they use to be. New ones anyway.
 The seamstress where I work has a bernina and says she loves it. She does drapes, clothes and such at home. Also has a commercial machine for upholstery work. Just a thought.
 I know the old 111W's were a great machine by Singer. But that would be used.
 I would say go to a large shop and try a few out. You know sewing machines and can tell what is good if you sit at one.
 I gotta get up to visit you some Saturday to say hi.

I hate to hijack tour thread mojo
I'm trying to sell a old singer 111w on craigslist and a guy called and talked brother the guy told him that singer are junk and not as food as a Niki ect.  My juki is just a perfect copy of my singer and my singer keeps on ticking.  It really made me mad may e new sk ger are not that good I don't know but with older stuff just not so.

[Chill]

I really like my Bernina 950. I did all types of alterations. It would go from lightweight fabric to heavy denim, just changing needles. I did gear down the motor to slow the speed. If I were doing drapes or other straight long leams I would have left the gears alone.
Carol

[Grebo]

Aarh what a nice person. :-*
May I suggest that the general consensus is when buying someone else a sewing machine is ask her. Ok not a surprise, but you could make up a gift voucher or something... For the machine of your choice, up to $$$ (make a joke of the limit ! )
If you don't believe me have a nosy about on here..
http://www.thesewingforum.co.uk/index.php

I just got my Christmas gift  :-[ . He said he wanted to buy me a new camera, so I told him exactly what I wanted out of it, he did all the research and picked one, then asked me if it was what I wanted.
Both happy with the result  :D

[lamx]

I have never sewn on one myself, but have not heard many good things about the Singer Commercial Grade machines like the links you provided.

If Singer is preferred and she can survive with only straight stitch and zig zag, perhaps a Singer 20U would work.  2000 SPM, 9mm zig zag.  I have an old 20U33 but someday hope to get a newer model with a larger throat.  Not suitable for upholstery fabric or upholstery thread but should handle dress and drapery fabric well.

As Grebo indicated, a sewing machine is a personal choice - like an automobile - and the operator needs to "bond" with the machine in order to enjoy sitting behind it day after day. The specific model should be her choice. (although I did purchase a Singer Featherweight and a Singer 301 for my Quilter wife and she loves both of them.)

Ed

[JASS]

Does your wife do any formal work with her machine, like wedding dresses?  I still do alot of that work but I have 7 machines that do different things.  Does she have a serger?  If so, how many threads?  After doing alot of sewing I wanted to get more creative so I also purchased an embroidery machine - they are alot of fun.

[Mojo]

Yes she does have a 4 spool serger. She has done wedding dresses in the past, including the one she married me in. She makes a lot of clothes, does drapes and other odd's and end's. I asked her about embroidery and she said she has no interest in that. Currently her machine has 20 stitch modes but she admits to only using 10 of them. :)

The names that keep getting thrown at me are New Home, Janome, and Bernina. Singer and Brother do not seem to be in the mix for home machines.

It appears that rugged, metal home machines are the thing of the past. They all seem to be plastic these days with plastic attachments. :(

Chris

[JASS]

You are right most everything is plastic now a days - I have a Singer & a Brother but if had a new choice Bernina

[JuneC]

I have an older Singer home machine - plain ole straight and zig-zag stitch, but all metal.  It has hundreds - probably thousands - of hours on it and I still use it when I want to sew something lightweight that my industrials want to chew up.  I've had it personally for more than 25 years and my Mom had it before that.  I can't say it's ever been serviced.  I know I haven't, and it still sews beautifully. 

As for what to get her, I'm with the majority on here - a gift certificate.

June

[bobbin]

Janome makes a very nice machine.  The mechanic from whom I purchased my Jukis sells them in his shop and he's been very impressed with the overall quality.  I figure he would know since he services them and deals with repairs when things go wrong!

I've actually contemplated buying their coverstitch machine ($600-ish, I think) only because I get a fair amount of alteration work that would be best served with a coverstitch.  But frankly? I'd rather have an industrial one. 

I would also give Pfaff a look and I would seriously consider buying an older model that has been completely refurbished.  Oftentimes the older machines are of higher quality than much of what's been "new and improved".  I don't know how important 5 million different embroidery stitches is to your wife... that may well be the deciding factor. 

[Mojo]

Thanks Bobbin for the info. I know you do a lot of the same work she does so I was curious to know your feelings. If she has a 20 or 30 stitch machine with drop in bobbin and its rigged and dependable she will be happy.

I contacted Bob Kovar from Toledo Sewing Machine today and he suggested the Janome. Unfortunately he only stocks commercial / industrial machines and not home machines. He did give me a few good leads though and offered to help with the sale if I found one.

June, I have considered buying a used vintage Bernina or singer that has been refurbished. They made awesome machines back then.

I will keep reading and researching. Thanks to everyone for all your input.

Chris