Bernina 930

I own 4 Berninas although a couple of them are usually out visiting our daughters or friends. Nothing sews like a Bernina. Nothing. However. ( Did you see that coming?) None of them likes to stitch heavy duty stuff, not even hemming jeans. I've made maybe a hundred quilts on the newest one and she stitches beautifully. She likes good thread, frequent cleaning and a little oil on a regular basis. For the tough stuff like canvas tent stake cases and such, we move over to another sewing machine. I used to have a Pfaff that could sew through beer cans. The dealer showed me that it could. Never had the need to do that. Polly

"Chemiker" <

I have a Bernina 530 and it is a great machine. It has managed to make jeans and luggage, but I have other old machines that can handle heavier fabrics better.

--Betsy

On Tue, 22 Jun 2010 20:21:28 -0500, "Polly Esther" wrote: Funny you should mention that... the woman who accosted me boasted that she used Pfaff machines. SHe swore that Bernina's were good. but they were NOT pfaff's. LOL

Alex, who has a lot to learn

I LOVE my Pfaff, and I have 2 of these. I also have a 1930's straight stitch Singer, and a newer Singer from Wal Mart that was a gift. Also have an older Singer Serger. Main thing is to get a chart of the needle sizes and to know which size to use for what ever you are sewing. Oh, Welcome to the group and hope you post often! Barbara in SC

And how does that contradict what Polly said?

Berninas are good general-purpose machines. There are some things that they do really really well. There are also things (like sewing through lots of layers, or heavy fabric) that they don't do well.

Most sewing machines are like that.

jenn

-- Jenn Ridley : snipped-for-privacy@newsguy.com

I went over to ebay to see which model the 930 was. It is a very nice machine and you will enjoy it. Er, umm.... also, our British friends here are not awake yet. It won't surprise me if Kate's sewn a suit of armor with a Bernina. Polly

Alex, I don't know a thing about either Pfaff or Bernina, since I have a little Viking that I love. I'm writing to welcome to the group. Don't be afraid to ask questions when you have one. We have lots of people here that are so full of knowledge and are always very happy to help. Just remember, there are no dumb questions. If you want to know something fire away. Juno

This seems to be my week for seeing machines. In the thrift store the other day there was an elderly Elna, in a beautiful desk, complete with instruction book, feet and cams, for about $150. Then, at a yard sale on Saturday there was an older Necchi, knee control, no accessories but they were only asking $40. Both of them came in beautiful quality wooden desk/tables. I was tempted, but then I thought "Where would I put them?" and decided to pass. Had they been portables I might have thought differently.

Olwyn Mary n New Orleans

Damn right I have! Scale mail made out of coke cans, sewn to denim. I'll get to that...

Right now I own three Berninas. My first acquisition was a Bernina

Last year a friend came for the weekend, bringing with her 12 sewing machines for a look-see and rehoming. There were FIVE Berninas in the bunch. Two were 807's from the early 70's, and three were 707's from the early 60's. These machines had spent their whole careers in inner London schools (one had a brass plate with 'Haringay' on it screwed to the front!). They had been HAMMERED by over 40 years of school kids and social center folk sewing on them. They were all somewhat cosmetically challenged. One of the 807's had a 707 extension table with it rather than its own (the machine's free arms are a slightly different shape and it doesn't fit). The extra 707 extension table has gone to Sweden to keep a fellow ancient Bernina sewist going as hers was badly broken in a move. One of the 807's went to my Goddaughter's little sister. A 707 went to a friend for making curtains. Another went to someone I found through the internet who needed something tough for making clothes for his kids. The final one went up to South Tyneside to help a refugee cloath her family and make a bit of pin money mending and altering for her community. I have the 807 with the missing extension table here still. I think I might keep that one. Blast from the past! Thing is, after a clean inside and out, and a few drops of oil, all these machines, which were heading for the skip when my pal rescued them, WORK PERFECTLY!

I first realized how tough Berninas were when I used an 807 in a school for sewing scales cut from coke cans to denim tunics as part of the costumes for a school play! We blunted a few needles, but otherwise the machines coped well with several costumes.

My final Bernina is a lovely 1150MDA serger. Smooth as teflon-coated silk, tough as old boots, and, for a serger, pretty damned quiet.

I don't understand why Polly has such poor luck sewing thick stuff with her Berninas. Mine will sew through jeans hems with no problem. The son & heir to the fambly debts (known as the Giant Mutant Ninja Teenager) made a pair of jeans on the 1005 with no problem. It is my machine of choice for sewing eyelets in costumes and corsets. I've just completed a pair of vinyl spats on it. I sew things like wedding dresses and historical costumes for folk on it. I recently had a new

The only thing I've sewn recently that was too much for the Bernina was the hood of a friend's kit car. I used an old Singer 28 hand crank for that one, and it took a clamp to keep the machine from sliding and two of us to move the fabric! We were sewing with upholstery thread in both needle and bobbin.

I found you some more info about your machine:

Why, Richard, how very sweet of you to warn our newest sewist about the dangers of nicknaming! ;-:) Now, could you possibly work on getting certain people to stop top-posting? Thanks,

Yes, a complete PITA!

I tend to ignore, even kf persistent top posters. It's lazy in the extreme 'I do it because it's easier for me!' Pah! Interleaving (and proper trimming/snipping is all about courtesy to, making life easier for, others. If people don't want to offer common courtesy to me, I just can't be arsed to read them. You know who you are!

Hmm, and I notice my settings for this NG have gone awry. My news reader went haywire a couple of weeks back.

As a complete aside, this one is looking foward to a glorious warm and sunny day after a few very long days of having some elderly and very cantakerous cousins of SWMBO staying and complaining about the unseasonably cool weather...... (Well this is the UK!)

I have a Pfaff 7530 Quiilt and Craft Pro, bought in 2000, which mostly sits quietly in it's case in the workroom because it is my least favorite. The best thing about it is the quietly charming sound it makes when sewing. It has the best sound of any of my other machines (Bernina 1090s and new Janome Horizon) but it has very poor penetrating power. Struggles a bit over thick bits. The Bernina is much better. I haven't had occasion to try the Horizon on anything really thick yet.

The itegrated dual feed on the Pfaff is more compact and elegant than on the Janome Horizon, but the Horizon's works better. Much better.

Iris

Alex, the machine has two things going for it!

First, it is a Bernina, which is one of the best made machines there are! Second, it was owned by a Home Ec teacher, who would have no doubt taken the BEST care of it. So, I suspect your machine is in the best possible condition!

I suggest first taking it in for a servicing, unless you know for sure it was serviced recently. The tech will test and adjust the tensions, feed, hook timing, bobbin winder, etc, and make sure everything is set to factory specs. This way you know you are starting off with the machine in perfect running condition - and it takes machine issues out of the equasion if you run into problems (for example you know the timing is correct - so the loops under your fabric have to mean something else).

If it has recently been serviced, do get into the habit of taking it in once a year for a tune up.

Next, make sure you have a manual, as the manual is the best 'tool' you can have for your machine - it explains use, user maintenance, cleaning, etc.

Enjoy it!

-Irene

There is no such thing as a machine that will sew everything well. Just like any other tool, some are better suited for specific needs than others. This is one reason why there are industrial machines for specialized purposes. I have a friend with a industrial Singer 31-15 which she uses for upholstry and leather - the 31-15 just glides right through.

I love my Vikings, and my D1 makes the most beautiful stitches! But they have problems with heavy work. My older Viking 6570 will handle stuff the D1, Rose and 1+ cannot - but even that machine is no match for my 'new to me' Juki Tl98Q which has 10.5 pounds of foot pressure and 1500 stitches per minute! The Juki is labeled a 'home professional' machine and boy it is amazing.

-Irene

LOL. Enjoyed your post so much, Kate. Polly

Indeed.

After several instances, I use an OE rule to display those messages in "white" and rarely take the time to open and read them unless I have excess time on my hands. Life's too short.

Or, "But, my software puts the cursor at the top..." as if somehow they CANNOT move the cursor and/or delete a few lines..

LOL Actually, I think they don't.

We have had an unusually cool and wet May and June (U.S.A. Pacific NW), summer is just now starting at long last. I tried not to complain about the soggy weather, but I confess to being happy to see the sun.

Thanks. I just ordered a new bobbin case for it (just in case....) and am looking for a good source for bobbins. SWMBO (my wife, "She WHo Must Be Obeyed") told me sho could find only 3 with the machine. I'm giving myself inservice training on our new Brother XR7700 and have been pleasantly surprized what a light machine can do. I also went online and looked at the video on the new Bernina 830 computerized model, and was absolutely amazed. I don't remember my mother *EVER* anything that complex. I guess I'm not in Kansas anymore, as they say.

Was over at a local Hancock's day before yesterday. Spotted a really attractive piece of cloth in the remnants section. There's got to be

Alex