#20dollarlolita plays rate my machine 2.0

[20dollarlolita]

I have not had time to write this as in depth as I want, but here's a sort of casual framework:

For sewing machines, not embroidery machines, not longarm quilting machines, when you start throwing more money at the machine and seeing what you get.

first, you get better build quality, stronger motors, real internal frames.

machines start getting more complex computerization. Basic computerization isn't a big thing, but multi-design things and all that. Here's where some machines start saving your programming instead of reverting to default every time you turn it off.

machines start getting physically larger to accommodate bigger throat space

sensor presser foot lift, automatic presser foot lift, automatic pivot feature, knee lift

side motion feed. With side motion feed, you get much better fonts

At this point in the price point land ($2k ish) you start seeing the brands sort of split apart. At a lower price point the difference between a Bernette and a Janome is name, but at $2k you really start seeing the difference between brands. It's completely reasonable at this price point to write off an entire brand (or stick to a brand) because you don't like how they feel.

A full size color touch screen is expected at about this point. These machines often have so many stitches that there's no way to function if they don't have a touchscreen and a menu system.

They're still getting larger and larger. The exemption to that is Bernina, who has a series of body sizes and a series of features, and will slap those features in any body size. The 735 is big and all that, but the 590 has more features, in a smaller body.

Here's also where you start seeing specific traits for different brands. If you start looking for a specific thing (integrated dual feed) you'll see what brands offer that (pfaff, bernina) and which don't.

Now it's reasonable to assume that your machine is larger than god himself.

A 9mm stitch width is really a lot higher up on the list than you'd think, and I'll tell you why: we programmed all the 7mm stitch width things back in the ancient past, but you have to program newer 9mm stitches. So they cost money.

I'm very tired.

They keep getting bigger.

the inside of the sewing machine store is just one sewing machine, like how Sandy wasn't fightin the alaskan bull worm, she was fighting his tongue. the sewing machine store is just a sewing machine. the machines keep gettin bigger.

please feel free to message me if you would like deyails on any of these parts.

[20dollarlolita]

@babelglyph

If I'm going to try to offer an option that pleases everyone, I'm going to suggest the Baby Lock BeGenuine collection (which was formerly the A-Line). It starts at around $200 with a fully-mechanical fixed-width metal-framed machine, and goes up to a nice fully-computerized machine with an extended throat space at about $1100. Also in that collection is the serger where the thread goes in front of the elephant, and a straight stitch only machine that's a bit more like a commercial machine than a standard household machine.

Almost all of this line is able to be sold online. You can find your favorite dealer that sells through the internet, and they'd be allowed to sell you something from the BeGenuine line. They can't go below Baby Lock's set sale price unless you're in the store, though, so find your local dealership and ask them about these machines, because you might be able to get a better price. (With the low end there's not usually as much wiggle room on prices, but some stores might have an excess of some models, or a refurbished or floor model or open box, and none of that is allowed to be advertised online, so if you can in any way go visit a dealer in person, please keep my industry alive)

And if it sounds weird to say someone's "not allowed to sell this" let me tell you that it gets even weirder if you get to know the situation better.

A follow-up to how cheap they can make a sewing machine:

[Original post]

Okay, but, How expensive can they make a sewing machine?

So, if we start out with a "cheap" machine, what happens when we go up in price.

Welcome to the Brother CS4000. It's a computerized machine and usually runs at like $130 right now. It does all kinds of cool things! The only thing that it doesn't do is last very long.

Well, here's what happens if you take it apart and take out all the circuit boards:

No, there's no missing central component.

If you've never taken a sewing machine apart, this might not look wrong, so let me explain.

This is a Singer Izek, and the same machine with the plastic outer casing removed. Inside, there's a metal frame that all the components are attached to.

See, most modern sewing machines are plastic on the outside, but the plastic is just a cover. The insides have a frame, and the mechanism can function without the shell at all.

That Brother up there doesn't have a frame at all. Everything that should bolt to the frame is just attached to the plastic housing. This is a problem for a lot of reasons. Notably, if the machine is being held up by flexible plastic, then there's no way for the machine to be consistent and precise. Also, the plastic shell serves as a protection, like a bike helmet for your sewing machine. When the components are attached to the outside, your machine becomes very fragile, because hitting or tapping the outside of the machine is the same as hitting or tapping the inside. This is why we don't allow newborn babies to ride bicycles, btw.

Even in a metal-frame machine, there's going to be plastic parts. Putting plastic parts in a sewing machine makes it quieter, more portable, and cuts down on maintenance. People don't fucking do the maintenance anyway, so finding ways to reduce it is going to help the machine run well longer.

Unfortunately, most machines are sold in boxes, where the person selecting the machine has to make a choice by reading the outside of the box. This means things like "This machine has 4672 stitches!" looks good and "this machine has 12 stitches but its brain is not basically exposed to the elements," doesn't. Any description of superiority that requires a human to explain it instead of a catchy tagline just isn't going to sell.

So, when you're looking at the Brother CS 4000 and the Baby Lock Zest, they're about the same price. The Zest has like 12(?)ish stitches, half of which are double-action (the same stitch but it goes forwardbacky instead of just forward) and no width control, and the CS 4000 has more technology in it than we took on the first manned trip to the moon, you might ask why they're the same price. Well, in the Zest, they cut down the features like easy bobbin setting, number of stitches, complexity of internal cams, and other features that you get in higher end machines.

In the CS 4000, they just got rid of...you know...the insides. The. The important parts. Imagine a car where there's no chassis and they just glued the engine to the underside of your hood.

Not all plastic machines are the same.

Anyhow, since I'm possibly unique in the world of budget lolita sewing blogs to be able to make a post about the most expensive sewing machines possible, I'm willing to try to undertake that expedition. Stay posted.