Well, I finally bit the bullet and put a deposit on a sewing machine. I have been sewing on a Pfaff Hobby 1042 for the past 15 months and have been happy but I want more features. I love to sew and while the hobby is fine it not enough for my needs. I have been researching machines since last January and I have decided to stay within the Pfaff line. I checked out Babylock and Brother which are both the exact same machines (both are made in the same factory). I’ve checked out Elnas, Vikings. The Vikings are a solid machine but do not offer much in my price range. The Berninas are very expensive. The Berninas in my price range are compact and are not good for large projects. To get myself into a Bernina I would have to spend over $3,400.00 cad. Yikes, too much!
I narrowed my choice down to the Janome 4900QC and the Pfaff Expression 2036. The Janome’s have a lot to offer and sew great. The Janome Memory Craft 4900QC has many stitches that include 3 alphabet fonts. They also have the needle/up down feature I want, the drop-in bobbin and knee lift. When I went to try the Pfaff 2036 the store I was in only had the Expression 2046 which has a number of quilt stitches. I do not quilt but maybe one day if I do I would have the stitches. Anyways, the dealer was offering the 2046 for the same price as the 2036. I thought this was bs because my other dealer was offering the 2036 for $1,699.00 canadian instead of his price of $1,799.00. He just wanted me to purchase the 2046. But you know the 2046 has this large button that turns very easily to select stitches. I loved that. As soon as I started sewing on the Pfaff, I was sold on it. It sewed much faster and smoother than the Janome. The Janome is a good machine too. This was a very difficult choice for me. But in the end I could not give up the IDT feature. What bugs me about Pfaff is that they are not very generous with features and stitches. I originally wanted the Pfaff ClassicStyle 2029 but quickly realized that there was not much to offer as far as feature wise. You have to spend so much to get anything. That seems to be very typical of European machines. I always believe that you pay for what you get. Bernina, Viking and Pfaff are European and expensive. But I think Janome being Japanese should be included at that level too.
My choice between the two machines was very close. Speed and smoothness was the factor in my decision. The only thing I will not get from my new Pfaff machine is a knee lift. You have to buy a Performance machine to get that. See what I mean Pfaff is not very generous.
When I told the dealer I like the 2046 but will not be able to buy until January he said that I could make three payments. I said that does not work for me. I thanked him and then went to the back of the store to pick up my mom’s machine that was in for repairs. He then came to me and said that I could put a deposit down of $50.00 to $100.00 to hold a machine. So I put $50.00 down. These dealers are tough cookies. It took that for him to put it down on layaway. Others dealers in this city are the same. They don’t like layaway. I don’t have $1,800.00 in my back pocket. This machine is a hugh financial investment for me. But I think it is worth it since I love to sew so much.
When I finally pick up my machine I’ll post a photo of it.
In Stitches