Great to hear you're getting a new machine. As I have been an owner of various machines(sewing and embroidery) I can definitely say the Babylock wins hands down. The self threader is THE BEST on the market. And anyone can sit and either sew or embroider correctly the very first time it's used. But yes do get one that does sewing only or one for embroidery only. I finally did that and am so happy. Just sit and try them out. Be sure to have any questions you have written down to ask dealer. Enjoy your choice of machine .
I have an old janome 9000 the good new it's a work horse I use almost daily it is easy to use, It has decorative stitches which I use quite often and it does heavy seams, I love the way the needle moves from left to right in small amounts at a time, I use this feature a lot. Now the bad news I hate the needle threader on all janome machines, I had a Baby lock with the most wonderful needle threader it has spoiled me for all other (needle threaders)
Good to know......it can get frustrating to thread those darn needles.....wouldn't it be wonderful to put all the good things in one machine for us all!! Thanks for the input....I am almost certain this is the one I will go with in this picture....
If you are a bernina girl I would recommend you take this machine for a test drive. I own janomes and berninas and find they feed the fabric and turn differently, one is not necessarily better than the other just different. Yes I have way too many machines but that's another story. Take different fabrics and test it going over a seam with layers like when hemming jeans. Test it out with some stretch and also something like satin too.
This machine has loads of stitches and depending on how much you sew and what you make you may never use many of them. I sew almost every day and predominately use less than 10 stitches.
I love most janome machines but one thing am not a fan of is when the stitch chart is not built into the machine. It's not a deal breaker but I find they can get in the way or break. I prefer not to have to fiddle around to find the right stitch number. This one you need to press the up and down arrows repeatedly to get to the stitch number. Most janomes don't remember the last stitch you used so when you turn it off you will need to reset to go back where you left off.
I like the janome needle threader except it won't work with needles that have tiny holes so it may get damaged.
This one has some good extra features with lock stitch and the speed changer. My janomes that feed thread sideways I usually end up using a thread stand as the thread seems to feed better that way. I like having a thread cutter in the machine so miss it when I use my machines without it. The feed plate on this has loads of marking which i find helpful. It has metric and imperial. Yay!
It looks like a really good machine but again if you can, give this machine a good test drive to see if you like it. Take your own threads too for the test.
Good luck with your decision. It looks like a good machine.
Thank you so much for all this info....you gave me lots to think about.....I don't do much sewing at all but hope to get into it more if I have a less complicated machine than the one I sold. I don't need it to embroider either, just sew....
At my age, I'd want a machine that has a self needle threader that actually works and good lighting!
Yes, this has an auto needle threader...however I don't know how well it works...
Sorry I can’t help as I and my Bernina minimatic have sewn together since the mid 1970’s. Hope you get some great replies and look forwards to seeing what you get.