r/Bernina

I'm moving out of the country and my mom offered to buy me a sewing machine as a gift. My whole life i've been using her old bernina 1080 and i love it. The new machines with screens intimidate me a bit.

Onto my dilemma, i found a 1080 second hand for 450 euros, while the newer machines would be closer to 2000 euros. I really just want to get the 1080 as it's cheaper and i'm familiar with it, but i'm also scared it might not work properly or break in the future as i have no idea how it was handled in the past.

Should i play it safe and go for the new machine or go for the older instead? Would love to hear your thoughs!

I recently found a Bernina Artista 200 with a 730 upgrade (usb) in excellent condition for cheap on marketplace. She works beautifully but I've been struggling to get the usb/cd-rom to work to be able to put new embroidery files on it. I purchased an old bernina usb since I've read the Artista 200s can be super picky. It recognizes that there is a usb attached but I get the spinning spool of death as it thinks about opening the file but it never moves past that even if I wait for hours. This happens even when there is only one small embroidery file on the usb. When I attach the cd-rom with the cable that it came with it says that the usb is not compatible or nothing happens. The light on the cd-rom will turn on for only a second or two.

I've thought about purchasing the designer embroidery cards made for the Artista that are writeable. I saw that you can buy a mini magic box but I'm not sure if you can use that with a macbook/modern computer. Does anyone have any experience with trying that?

I've also seen the vikant that says it works with modern computers and macs but it seems to be discontinued and not readily available on re-sale sites.

Does anyone have any other solutions? Thanks!

I have a new to me 1020. I bought the "know your Bernina" book published in 1987. I am excited to start the series of lessons. The book refers to an "Advanced Bernina Book" by Diana Schlumpf. I can't find one in any of the usual places. Does anyone have it? Is it worth tracking down?

Thanks in advance

Anyone following along? I’m pretty impressed with the 790 Ultra. I think it’s now surpassed the 990 as my dream machine - love the 3 point placement and 360 sewing. Plus the luggage looks cute. I’m curious to see the 620 Coverstitch machine in person and I’m looking forward to whatever new hoops they reveal.

While shopping at a fabric store that also sold sewing machines (both new and old), I was invited to put $100 down on a 155 Virtuosa that was on sale for $500.

I’m interested in having a machine that will handle heavier projects like big tote bags. I currently use a Brother Innovis NX-450 which so far handles everything except one particular thick seam.

Does this sound like a reasonable price for that? Is it a strong machine? Any advice is appreciated.

My late mother used a new Bernina 910 sewing machine for a few years and then stopped sewing. It has been sitting upright in the sewing machine cabinet for like10-15 years. What is the best thing to use on it to clean it of dust and stuff? Also, if sold as is, namely one that would need repair, what would be a ballpark price someone would likely pay for it?

Hi all, I hate this newish athletic fabric! Any recommendations for needles? No matter what I do I get skipped or puckered stitches. It’s the stretchy crap they’re using for slacks too. I’ve used microtex and adjusted all the things. Machine is fine. Any help would be greatly appreciated ❤️

No matter what I do or change, my machine will not push forward the fabric properly. The feed dogs go up and down but they only go front and back very little. I’m pretty sure it usually moves more in that way.

I looked online and tried everything. I cleaned and oiled it properly down there. It actually worked after that. But now, a week later, I have the same problem. This time cleaning isn’t solving it.

I truly don’t know what to do anymore and I need to finish a project for school.

The machine hasn’t been serviced since my grandmother died, 15 years ago. I really hope it isn’t necessary but I fear it might be time.

Is there anything I can do myself? I need to turn in my school project soon so I really need a quick fix.