Seven-year itch: Sewing machine research

A family member recently gave me a very generous gift of $1000 with the caveat that I spend it on something for myself. I desperately need some organizational furniture/goodies for my sewing room, so I'm earmarking several hundred dollars of that money for some form of shelving/bookcase/baskets and a trip to IKEA, but with most of that money, I'd like to get a second sewing machine. If there's anything left over after that, I'd like to get one of those fold-away cutting tables so that I don't have to cut my fabric on a pad on the floor any more.

My must-have for this second machine is that I want to be able to have both machines set up so that I can do construction on one machine and top-stitching on a second machine. However, I have a number of "nice-to-haves", which is why I'm looking beyond a straight-stitch mechanical machine.

 

Some history

Outside of "helping" my mom sew when I was a little kid, I've sewn on exactly two machines in my life:

• My grandma's 1970's-era Kenmore
• A Bernina Activa 230 PE

I took the Kenmore in for service a while back to get it up and running, but even though it has a zig-zag and a few other stitches, the straight stitch is the only thing it does reliably, and it does balk at bulky seams. Unfortunately, as much as I'd love to keep this in the family for sentimental value, it really doesn't meet my needs.

I purchased my Bernina as a floor model seven years ago because this was the machine that we used in my sewing classes, and I was comfortable with it.

I mostly love my Bernina--it's a great, basic all-around machine.However, there are a few things that I wish it did better, and I am hoping that whatever second machine I purchase complements my Bernina and "picks up the slack" in a few areas. Here are the things that irk me about my machine:

• My Bernina lacks adjustable presser foot pressure. I have a walking foot for it that I bought used, but wow, that walking foot is a pain to take on and off.
• The automatic button holer HATES doing button holes on bulky fabric. Button holes on shirts/blouses are fine, but doing them on a pant waistband or jacket up near the collar is largely an exercise in frustration. It's not enough to trim the seam allowance to a tiny amount; the button hole foot balks at the unevenness caused by even a trimmed bulky seam allowance.
• It's passable (but not great) at going over bulky seam allowances.
• Perhaps it's user error/inexperience, but the decorative stitches are often a bit wonky; I know that I'd use them more if I could get more consistent results.

 

The candidates

I posted a thread on Pattern Review and swung by my local everything-but-Bernina dealer. I think I have my list of machines narrowed down to the following three machines, but I'm open to looking at others, if there's a model that I'm missing. Ideally, I'd like to spend around $500 my this machine, but obviously, I have a little bit of wiggle room in my budget.

I suspect that I won't make a final decision until I've test-driven all three machines and see which one I "click" with the most. Of the machines listed here, the Pfaff Passport 2.0 was the one that was set up on the dealer floor when I visited. She'll unbox the other two for me when I come in for my serious test drive.

Janome DC2014

I haven't read a bad thing about this machine in the reviews or elsewhere online. Everyone describes it as a "workhorse", and everyone who has it seems to love it.

Janome DC2014

Dealer price: $499
Pros:

• Strong motor
• Comes with a walking foot
• Price

Cons:

•  No adjustable presser foot pressure

TBD:

• How does it handle knits?
• How hard is it to take the walking foot on and off?
• Does it work with a twin needle? (Definitely not a deal breaker; I use the coverstitch option on my Evolve for most knit hemming, unless I need a lot of precision.)

Pfaff Passport 2.0

IDT! IDT! IDT!  I am completely intrigued by Pfaff's IDT, and I think it would be the perfect solution to most of the things that irk me about my Bernina. My understanding is that the Passport is a smaller, lightweight machine meant for classes.

Pfaff Passport 2.0

Dealer price: $599 (after rebate)
Pros:

• IDT
• Nice button holes (via dealer demo)
• One-step button hole via sliding a button into a slot on the foot
• Should be able to handle all kinds of fabrics, thicknesses very nicely

Cons:

•  Price is slightly higher than I'd like

TBD:

• Size compared to Pfaff Ambition Essentials (I have some space on my sewing desk; I don't necessarily need to be limited to a travel machine.)
• Motor compared to Janome?
• Does it work with a twin needle? (Definitely not a deal breaker; I use the coverstitch option on my Evolve for most knit hemming, unless I need a lot of precision.)

Pfaff Ambition Essentials

IDT (again)! According to my dealer, the Ambition Essentials is the same as the other machines in Pfaff's Ambition line, but with a few fewer bells and whistles. She also said that it's very similar to the Passport 2.0, except that the Ambition Essentials is a bit larger and does have a few more bells and whistles than the passport. Given that the dealer is offering them at the same price, she advised that I assess the space that I have for the machine and allow that to influence my decision if I decide to go with a Pfaff.

Pfaff Ambition Essentials

Dealer price: $599 (after rebate)
Pros:

• IDT
• One-step button hole via sliding a button into a slot on the foot
• The most bells and whistles out of the three machines
• Is supposed to handle all thicknesses/types of fabrics very well

Cons:

•  Price is slightly higher than I'd like

TBD:

• Size compared to Pfaff Passport 2.0 (I have some space on my sewing desk; I don't necessarily need to be limited to a travel machine.)
• Motor compared to Janome?
• Does it work with a twin needle? (Definitely not a deal breaker; I use the coverstitch option on my Evolve for most knit hemming, unless I need a lot of precision.)

 

Summary

I am planning to test drive all three of these models on Sunday. Do any of you own any of these machines? What has your experience been with your machine (good or bad)? Are there other models that I should be looking at in my $500-ish price range?