The Sewing Place
Machine Talk => Sewing Machines => Topic started by: Bumblebuncher on July 10, 2021, 07:44:38 AM
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I have a Bernina Activa 135s that is obviously now past it's prime.
I have been looking for a new machine so I can pass old girl onto DD1.
Having been looking for a while I have come to the conclusion that I really do love Nina and have bought just about every attachment over the years, I think I have had her around 15 years, so that is a lot of money on Bernina attachments! We sat the other night and realised it would cost £100's to replace them all with another makes versions.
I have looked at other makes but see nothing that makes me yearn lol So generally want to stick with a Bernina.
I tend to do just dressmaking, although I have a vintage Pfaff 30 for leather sewing. Not much need for the bells and whistles type.
Any thoughts on the difference between 335 and 325? Or is it the 435 worth the extra?
I have been pondering this for a while now but DH is unable to give an opinion, need to make a decision lol Need some input!
HELP!
BB
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I have a little Bernina Activa 220 which I paid £180 for a short while ago, mainly used for taking to classes and it is an absolute little gem. A couple of my classmates have bought new the 325's which are very, very similar to the Activas.
It depends on what you want/need to sew. I purchased a Bernina 475QE last year, a lovely machine, but the biggest mistake for me was not having enough space to the right of the needle, as I do a lot of large projects. I also found the 'scissors' button was in a very awkward place, and also found it a bit 'too clever' as it automatically set tensions etc, which I wanted to do myself! (I did sell it!)
I would say the 435 is worth the extra, the touch screen is rather good, and all your feet will fit.......but have a try if you can, as the jumbo bobbins and threading are slightly different, and if you dont get them EXACTLY right they play up!
Good luck with your decision!
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@KayK Thanks for the input.
I'm lucky to have a Bernina dealer nearby so will go and have a test run.
The indecision on how much £ to have available before the visit is the main issue at the moment, Waiting for a £500 bonus to arrive in my pay packet but now becoming impatient lol
BB
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I had a little Activa 215 of around 10 years, lovely as it was as the spare it was very basic, and while I did consider swapping initially to the 325, it did not have enough to entice me or did it have the IDT which I craved. So that was swapped (for a really good price and bought a Pfaff Passport 3. For a main machine I'd up the ante to the best you can afford @Bumblebuncher even if it means waiting.
Very exciting though, a new machine <3
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Bumblebuncher if you can get hold of the booklet Bernina Accessories - solutions for your ideas, available from Bogod's Cardiff warehouse (their phone number is 029 2079 2079) and inside the front cover of this are groups of Bernina machines by their numbers, and are grouped by A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H. So for your existing machine the Activa 135S you come under the letter B. Then all the pages that show the different feet and accessories have given the groups that the feet are suitable for. You would find this extremely helpful I am sure, and then you could tell which machine you can use these existing feet and accessories for. This booklet is free or it was when they sent me my copy, as like you I have collected a huge amount of feet and accessories for my two Berninas. I have an old 830 Record(1975) and that is not mentioned in this book, and then I have a much newer one an Artista 200. Now the feet for the 830 Record do not fit on the Artista 200, nor do the bobbins and a lot of the accessories. By the way my Artista comes under Category G.
Over the years as you probably know Bernina have brought out a few huge machines with enormous bobbins and feet which are totally different in the shank to what we are used to, so if you can get hold of one of these books I am sure it will help you and guide you to what you will go looking at. By the way you are being sensible in trying to find something that you will still be able to use your existing collection of feet with.
Incidentally when I got my latest copy of this book, it came with a separate paper retail price list. As a matter of interest over the last year or so Bernina have been doing something called foot or accessory per month, and they select which one they are offering at a slightly reduced price. Bernina (Bogod) have their own direct website now and if you use this the orders go straight down to Cardiff.
A few years ago now when I bought my Artista 200 it came with what they called a Trolley or Suitcase System - my machine does not have a hard cover, instead it came with a huge zippered bag on the trolley. The Embroidery module came in a huge cardboard box - and yes there was a matching bag to house this but was an optional extra. Well where I intended to store the embroidery module would not take this without it getting damaged, so I then spoke to a lady who had run the Sewing School at Bogod in London for a very long time - she has now retired. Bernina had also discontinued the style of the matching bags, and of course I wanted the embroidery module bag to be the matching one to my main machine bag. Well bless this lady within the day she had come back to me and had found such a bag, and of course this was tucked away in an obscure room down in Cardiff, and I received this much reduced in price the very next day - that was how I really got to know the ladies who operate down in Cardiff and prefer to use them when I am buying feet or accessories as I am dealing directly with them - and paying the same as I would from a dealer, but I do not have to keep on going miles to visit a dealer and then back again to collect, they come in the post usually the next day.
If you do get in touch with the Cardiff place, ask if they can send you The Complete Catelogue for this year and that should list all the currents models and what they can do.
Good luck with your search and I do hope you can find something that suits you and that you like.
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@Gernella Pfaff is certainly a make that is on my radar! Which brings me to...
@Elnnina ... it never occurred to me the accessories may not fit every machine!
That put a cat among the pigeons and I will definitely be trying to get a copy of that booklet, thank you for the information.
If it turns out my accessories don't fit newer Berninas in my price range, it will make me think twice about it!
I do love my Nina, but maybe I will have a nosey around a few other brands too.
Thank you both for giving me things to think about
BB
@Elnnina I found the booklet online as a PDF on the Bernina website, so thanks for the heads up :D
It appears I would have had a load of useless accessories if I had gone for the 435 lol
However, it is all good with the 325 or 335 :thumbsup:
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Bumblebuncher thank you and I am so glad that I was able to help you. Yes buying a new machine is quite an eye opener. How lucky that you found that booklet on line, and I do hope that you are able to make a decision on what machine you are going to have.
Just as a matter of interest when Bernina brought out the new 830 that costs the earth, I saw this on a dining table along with its embroidery unit in a shop and it took up the whole table - yes it is nice to have that huge harp area if you really are into quilting etc. in a big way, but otherwise it is huge.
Incidentially whlst I bought my Artista200 from a shop, the person who had part exchanged this was buying the new 830 at the time as apparently she always had to have the newest machine - I was very lucky indeed.
Are you going up to see Steve at Kings Lynn? I gather he is extremely helpful and so is his staff. By the way he is a member of TSP and is known as Machine Steve.
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I too have the Bernina Accessories booklet and have found it very useful, also Bogod are very helpful if one phones them.
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@Elnnina Kings Lynn is a bit of a long journey from here so I don't think DH could manage it (his accident leaves him with little staying power).I can try out a few machines in Norwich, looking at a Pfaff 620 or Bernina at the moment. I will be keeping my 135 as DD likes to come to mine to sew (minus children), so can still use it any time I want.
Decisions, decisions :meditation:
BB
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I have used a lot of Bernina machines and also Pfaff, they are quite different so do try.
I had a Bernina 135 years ago as my little carry about machine and loved it , later I thought I would buy a big Bernina so I bought Bernina 530 I really didn’t take to it, it was so different to my little one it was a good machine but just not what I was used to, less than a year later it went wrong and due to a long story I had an opportunity to change it so I got a Berenina 350Q and an overlocker instead.
The 350PEhas the same feel about it as the old 135 which my friend still has and loves. I have used lots of other Machines and I do love the bigger Bernina but they just are different, not worse but just not for me.
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@Celia Thanks for your thoughts.
I am sure I am not in need of anything too much bigger.
This is what makes me stop and think. Nothing wrong with my 135, it has been used a lot over the years and never let me down. i just fancy something different, but Bernina don't seem to be offering anything different without going way above my price range. I can't justify more than £1500 just for a change lol
I don't use embroidery or anything like that. I have made Victorian, Tudor, Tutu's and corsets all on the 135s, which is probably why the bigger throat area appeals on the Pfaff. It is hard shoving through some of that stuff on the Bernina lol
BB
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@Bumblebuncher, I know nothing much of Bernina's (that's now though :devil:). I'm a vintage Singer, Huskovana & Janome lover but I would say if you love the one you've got, don't part with it, past its best or not as you could regret it later on.
I had an old Toyota I gave to my daughter, within a year I was wishing I still had it. I can't even borrow it back now because she's sold it
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I had a Bernina 135 years ago
135 years ago?!! Gosh @Celia I didn't think you (or Bernina) were that old!! :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:
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@realale
Not quite but I think I am 120 according to my profile :devil:sometimes I feel it
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@Bumblebuncher, I know nothing much of Bernina's (that's now though :devil:). I'm a vintage Singer, Huskovana & Janome lover but I would say if you love the one you've got, don't part with it, past its best or not as you could regret it later on.
I had an old Toyota I gave to my daughter, within a year I was wishing I still had it. I can't even borrow it back now because she's sold it
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@Celia As you rightly pointed out Bernina and other machines are different not better ;)
I sat down with Nina last week and wrote a list of all things I didn't like about her.
Two main issues were the harp space and Nina's walking foot that keeps falling apart each time I reach too much thickness! I was also not keen on the buttonholes, and why I did bound buttonholes on my 'not wedding' jacket
I then began to think that what I needed was something to use in conjunction with the Bernina. if DD wants to sew she can use either too lol
I also used my old pfaff 30 and hubby got all emotional because it was his mum's lol
So I looked at Pfaff :D Loved the idea of IDT, and there is the extra harp space! Button holes were better than Nina and more choices. I was going to go for the Ambition 630, but decided I liked the colour of the 620 more and wasn't bothered with either the touch screen or extra stitches :D
So....
Pfaff Ambition 620 winging her way to me as I type :dance:
So excited :D
Thanks for the advice, is proved very useful :thumbsup:
BB
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Enjoy your new machine, I wonder whose will arrive first.
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Ooh, have fun with your new machine 0_0
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@Silver Rose I was told it would be delivered tomorrow :scream:
Back at work Friday so keeping my fingers crossed because I want to plaaaaayyyyy
Thank you @Bodgeitandscarper not been this excited since...errr about 15 years ago when I got the Nina :dance:
BB
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Pfaff Ambition 620 winging her way to me as I type :dance:
I'm dancing with you @Bumblebuncher :dance: :dance: Much as I love my little Passport for the long hot summer, I do really wish I'd gone up a notch and got the 610 just for the harp space. Going back upstairs to his big brother is sheer joy.
I am sure you will be very happy. A clunky walking foot is what sealed the fate of the Activa 215.
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@Gernella It wasn't even just clunky, the whole thing fell apart on numerous occasions ><
When I think about it, I love the Nina and she did me well over all the years, but there are just niggles that could be so easily fixed by the company :\
I just couldn't see the point of getting another if the same niggles are still there!
I think I will have to call her 'Madge' after DH's mum, he was so happy I decided on it because of his childhood memories watching her sew on her Pfaff. I think he also has a fondness for the Pfaff labelling as it is etched in his mind from being a boy :D he was literally pushing me to buy it this morning :o I don't think he would have done that with another make lol
BB
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Lovely to hear you have a new friend on its way to you, can’t wait to hear how you get on.
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Apparently Scott is just an hour away from me (loving the DPD app today lol)
I'm not sitting staring at the door, honest I'm not...
...
...
Yes I am :laughing:
BB
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Love those tracking devices, watching the Amazon van's dot on the map moving closer to my address.
Enjoy playing today.
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Pictures please @Bumblebuncher let's all have a lust. From memory, sewmanju has this machine and did a very good review on her blog.
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Look forward to sharing your joy @Bumblebuncher ! Nothing like a bit of SM envy to start the day! :laughing:
I have had my Pfaff 1475 for donkeys years, but just can't get the same feel for the Bernina... - just sayin'
Jessie
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Madge is here!
Had a little sew :D
She is purrrrring! In love already lol
Downstairs for an early lunch and read of the booklet then I will be going up for a longer session!
Had a hiccup to start, needle bent in transit, but a quick change and it is all systems go.
Thank you all for your comments and advice, all I need to do now is get used to her :loveit:
BB
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Ooh lovely @Bumblebuncher. Enjoy! I love it when someone gets their new machine out straight away.
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Now I really do have SM envy! She's a lovely colour @Bumblebuncher !
I'll go and stroke my new chair as a consolation... ;) :rolleyes:
Jessie
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@Ohsewsimple You mean people don't get them out straight away :scream:
I had hardly got it through the door and I was tearing the tape off!
@b15erk she is a pretty colour isn't she :D Silly Pfaff, it's what made me choose her over the more expensive model :laughing:
BB
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She looks lovely, do report back on you progress this afternoon.
I am still waiting for my Spinning wheel to arrive but it does have to come all the way from Scotland and it only left there yesterday
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Glad Madge arrived safely, I wondered where that squeal of delight came from that I heard, Watton is not so far from here ;)
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@Celia Thank you, fingers crossed your spinning wheel arrives soon :D
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@Silver Rose That shriek was very loud wasn't it lol
Hopefully yours will arrive soon :thumbsup:
BB
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Oh sod it, you've got my jealousy thoughts going again @Bumblebuncher I was trying to keep the lid on them but that picture has set me off again. So much rooooom to the right. :thumbsup:
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@Gernella The whole machine seems huge lol so much room! I even got a free extension table. I don't quilt, but if I did I think I would be in heaven with all that room. To be fair, I am in heaven with all that room, but you know what I mean ;)
BB
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@Ohsewsimple You mean people don't get them out straight away :scream:
You’d be surprised at the number that don’t. When I was selling machines we would organise a lesson as well. Some people wouldn’t get it out of the box till we’d done that. Or they had to 'get hubby to open it and set it up'. :rolleyes: More than DH's life is worth to touch my machines! Even going in my room is fraught with danger! :laughing:
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@Ohsewsimple Around an hour after arriving and placement in my little area, DH must have heard the machine running.
His voice came up the stairs.. 'can I come and see or leave it a while' :laughing:
I allowed him entry ;)
BB
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How lovely, now just enjoy the playing and getting to know your new machine.
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You’d be surprised at the number that don’t. When I was selling machines we would organise a lesson as well. Some people wouldn’t get it out of the box till we’d done that. Or they had to 'get hubby to open it and set it up'. :rolleyes: More than DH's life is worth to touch my machines! Even going in my room is fraught with danger! :laughing:
I know this thread is past it's sell by date
But.....
Sister in law purchased a new machine last week!
Big Bro informs me the box arrived...
And....
She told him to wrap it up for her for her Christmas present :scream:
:faints:
I am related to someone that didn't, and has no intention of, opening the box :facepalm: :headbang:
Going back to the corner now
BB
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My husband opened up the box and set everything up when I got my new machine . I then, read the manual from cover to cover before ceremoniously turning it on :D
I didn't try it out in the shop as I was too embarrassed in case I did anything wrong :|
It's been fine :sew:
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@Lowena I allow that lol
But she is waiting 2 months before even looking at it.... 2 months
I am horrified
*wanders off muttering she is no relation of mine any more
BB
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@Bumblebuncher my husband is like that. He can keep "treats" for months .
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I had to wait for a whole month when I got my current Pfaff as it was a Christmas present and I wasn't allowed to open it.
I received a Brother V3 for my birthday last year and that did have to be opened as it arrived in a mahoosive box and would have just been in the way if left :D
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@coffeeandcake But you weren't allowed as it was a Christmas present so I forgive you too :laughing:
SIL bought the machine for herself then informed Big Bro to give it to her :thinking:
Still can't forgive her
BB
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Waiting two months before even looking at it is plain stupid.
What would happen if it had been damaged in transit and then you tried to get compensation months later?
Looking at it to check that it switches on, and will sew a basic seam and then wrapping it up again until Christmas is another matter.
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I agree with @BrendaP. If there’s a problem with it and they try to take or send it back I th8nk they might have problems. Get it out and check it!
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I agree too, told Big Bro that but she won't be moved so it's keep your fingers crossed time for him :laughing:
I would have checked everything worked and all the things that are supposed to be with it are with it. Then been incapable of putting it back in the box :rolleyes:
BB
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Crikey! I waited a whole 3 hours before trying out my new machine. 9nly left it that long because it arrived on new year's eve and was very cold from its journey. (I was also surprised that it had arrived already, since I only ordered it the afternoon before!)
I did wait a day before trying out my overlocker but that was because I'd never used one before and was terrified of it, so wanted to be sure of having a clear hour or so to get to grips with threading it and trying different stitches - and the different coloured threads I'd ordered so I could see what was happening hadn't arrived yet!