Great article! I have a Bernina 1001 that still works great. I bought it in 1990 I think for a little over $300. It has a foot pedal instead of the knee lever. When I described it back then to another lady who loved Berninas, she didn't believe me!
As a BERNINA brand ambassador, this is SO interesting to me. I fell in love with the 700 series and use a 590 as well as L890. I would love to read your thoughts on the timeline of their overlockers!
This is so interesting! The sewists in my family are all Pfaff loyalists (except for my grandmother, who sewed a lot of my clothes and my mom's and the BEST flannel jammies on a Montgomery Ward machine circa 1960) and I'm a Janome fan. I've never used a Bernina.
This is a bit dated, but I still wanted to comment that every detail written here was on point. The only understatement was the travesty of the newer 8 series, they held on too long and lost a lot of customers because of one man's ego. I am very happy to see the replacement top of the line to incorporate the B9 hook system, and to once again be able to access important areas like take up and hook without a service call.
Wow! So informative! I’m a Bernina loyalist with a 440QE. It’s on its last leg as the screen is now blank and I recently learned that Bernina stopped making parts for the 440😩
So interesting! I learned to sew at high school on one of their many Bernina Sport's, i made a career out of it and ultimately ended up with a workshop full of Juki, Brother, union specials and many other Japanese and now Chinese machines...... when the demand came to be a traveling, on-set tailor a few years back i found a cheap used 1230 to use, complete with knee lift, its my absolute favourite (and in my opinion the best they made) machine, right down the the thoughtful little quirks , like when the feed dogs drop when you lift the foot using the knee lever, such a great feature to avoid snags in fine silks and tweeds...... No industrial machine does that , in fact i dont know of any other machine that is so polite!!! I'm patiently waiting for a wireless foot pedal or perhaps a semi-industrial tailor-specific machine ..... c'mon Bernina! Step up!!
Great article. I have an older Janome…the 7700…and am thinking about selling it because I have three berninas. Two 770QEE and a sit down Q20,,,but would love a frame to put it in. Your articles are very informative. Thanks for taking time to tell us all this.
I’m loving all your articles! I look forward to each one as you look at sewing machines from so many angles - cinema, a personal story (yours), the elderly gentleman (how it saved his life), practical (offering tips) and this series (great research).
Great article, I love the details and the frank narrative about the evolution of Berninas. I bought a Bernina when I saw that most of the machines used in the sewing classes I took were Berninas; I figured if they could take the wear & tear of novice users and still work, and the teachers loved the machines, there must be something to it.
I have the B570 but it's *completely* different from my friend's B570: smaller bobbin, no built-in even-feed, no thread cutter, etc. Not sure why Bernina went with that numbering system but it got me a bit annoyed to learn there was an updated machine with the same number as mine. And finding videos online on how all the controls on my machine work is very limited. As it is, there are functions I still don't know what they're for or how to use.
Now with your comment about Janome, after 45+ years with Bernina, I'm starting to reconsider what my next machine will be.
I agree with this comment. I'm a Bernina owner since 1980, my 830 Electronic Record is still going strong after 40 years of sewing. As much as I love it, and the simplicity of it, I recently purchased a 770 QEplus. I figured I needed to treat myself after 40 years of sewing and maybe, my hands might benefit from a lighter touch on the newer machines. I do appreciate working on the 770 as there is less stress on my hands but often peer at my 830 with fondness and longing for simpler sewing, aka no computer!
I wish Bernina would return part of its inventory to the 830 Record type machines for the multitudes of sewists who could care less about all the embroidery jazz and other expensive bells and whistles on "high end" machines. We just want our dear old Berninas to work well. For decades!! And be repairable for ever.
Great article! I have a Bernina 1001 that still works great. I bought it in 1990 I think for a little over $300. It has a foot pedal instead of the knee lever. When I described it back then to another lady who loved Berninas, she didn't believe me!
One of my students gave me her Mom's old Bernina Record- I think it is the 830. It's hard to get it from the floor it's so heavy!
As a BERNINA brand ambassador, this is SO interesting to me. I fell in love with the 700 series and use a 590 as well as L890. I would love to read your thoughts on the timeline of their overlockers!
Drooling over the m8 but a hefty price tag !
Can’t wait for your m8 review !!!!!!!
Great info and interesting as usual. Thank you!
This is so interesting! The sewists in my family are all Pfaff loyalists (except for my grandmother, who sewed a lot of my clothes and my mom's and the BEST flannel jammies on a Montgomery Ward machine circa 1960) and I'm a Janome fan. I've never used a Bernina.
This is a bit dated, but I still wanted to comment that every detail written here was on point. The only understatement was the travesty of the newer 8 series, they held on too long and lost a lot of customers because of one man's ego. I am very happy to see the replacement top of the line to incorporate the B9 hook system, and to once again be able to access important areas like take up and hook without a service call.
Wow! So informative! I’m a Bernina loyalist with a 440QE. It’s on its last leg as the screen is now blank and I recently learned that Bernina stopped making parts for the 440😩
So interesting! I learned to sew at high school on one of their many Bernina Sport's, i made a career out of it and ultimately ended up with a workshop full of Juki, Brother, union specials and many other Japanese and now Chinese machines...... when the demand came to be a traveling, on-set tailor a few years back i found a cheap used 1230 to use, complete with knee lift, its my absolute favourite (and in my opinion the best they made) machine, right down the the thoughtful little quirks , like when the feed dogs drop when you lift the foot using the knee lever, such a great feature to avoid snags in fine silks and tweeds...... No industrial machine does that , in fact i dont know of any other machine that is so polite!!! I'm patiently waiting for a wireless foot pedal or perhaps a semi-industrial tailor-specific machine ..... c'mon Bernina! Step up!!
Great article. I have an older Janome…the 7700…and am thinking about selling it because I have three berninas. Two 770QEE and a sit down Q20,,,but would love a frame to put it in. Your articles are very informative. Thanks for taking time to tell us all this.
I’m loving all your articles! I look forward to each one as you look at sewing machines from so many angles - cinema, a personal story (yours), the elderly gentleman (how it saved his life), practical (offering tips) and this series (great research).
Great article, I love the details and the frank narrative about the evolution of Berninas. I bought a Bernina when I saw that most of the machines used in the sewing classes I took were Berninas; I figured if they could take the wear & tear of novice users and still work, and the teachers loved the machines, there must be something to it.
I have the B570 but it's *completely* different from my friend's B570: smaller bobbin, no built-in even-feed, no thread cutter, etc. Not sure why Bernina went with that numbering system but it got me a bit annoyed to learn there was an updated machine with the same number as mine. And finding videos online on how all the controls on my machine work is very limited. As it is, there are functions I still don't know what they're for or how to use.
Now with your comment about Janome, after 45+ years with Bernina, I'm starting to reconsider what my next machine will be.
I agree with this comment. I'm a Bernina owner since 1980, my 830 Electronic Record is still going strong after 40 years of sewing. As much as I love it, and the simplicity of it, I recently purchased a 770 QEplus. I figured I needed to treat myself after 40 years of sewing and maybe, my hands might benefit from a lighter touch on the newer machines. I do appreciate working on the 770 as there is less stress on my hands but often peer at my 830 with fondness and longing for simpler sewing, aka no computer!
I wish Bernina would return part of its inventory to the 830 Record type machines for the multitudes of sewists who could care less about all the embroidery jazz and other expensive bells and whistles on "high end" machines. We just want our dear old Berninas to work well. For decades!! And be repairable for ever.
Now I’m not sure it’s an 830. There’s something inside the machine that says 730. Hmmm
Hmmm It says 730 in there. Could it be a 730? Is there such a one? I’d like to post a photo but I don’t think you can do it here.