My MIL left us a Pfaff Creative 1475CD with cabinet that my wife has no interest in and could make someone very happy….

Mrs. Sigmund has a (brief pause to check) Brother Project Runway Limited Edition NQ700PRW, whatever that is. She's happy with it.

She's in a sewing club and gets together with other ladies every few weeks. She bought her current machine NIB at a local shop, it may have cost $1K, it keeps her happy and that is priceless. There are worse - and more expensive - hobbies she could have.

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Originally posted by Powers77:

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Originally posted by HK Ag:
Find the local sewing machine store and take her there and tell her to get what she wants.
You already know the high end price.
It’s your wife she will buy this once and it will outlive her.

A gift like this is the time to let her buy what she real thinks she needs, not make the best of what you pick for her.

+1 on this advice. There are a number of options out there. Watched my mom go through the process of picking out her grail machine. She ended up not liking it much because it was too complicated for what she wanted to do. So it's important to let her spend some time with a good shop looking for the best fit.

HK Ag

+2 This is the correct answer !

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A gift like this is the time to let her buy what she real thinks she needs, not make the best of what you pick for her.

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...go through the process of picking out her grail machine. She ended up not liking it much because it was too complicated for what she wanted to do. So it's important to let her spend some time with a good shop looking for the best fit.

This, because at the very least, if nothing else, if she hates it, it'll be her fault, not yours!



Oh who are we kidding, it'll probably still be your fault.

My wife worked at a Bernina dealer years ago. She has a very fancy one and a midline machine. She is more inclined to use the midline one for the run of the mill jobs. Her fancy one does amazing things but also almost requires a computer programming degree to get the best out of it. They had classes where she worked.

More importantly, the store had many floor models that customers could test drive for hours with knowledgeable sales staff. They also had a service department and a warranty policy.

Sewing machines have service and maintenance requirements much like cars, the more features and functions, the pricier the service.

If you want a very fancy machine, look for dealer with a support program. If you want a midline machine, most anywhere will do if you know what you are looking at and it has a owners manual.

SJ, my wife will own nothing but Berninas. Oh the guns I could have... Anyway, I just asked her for advice and she suggested that you check out "shop goodwill.com". There are five machines on there at this time. She bought a "backup" Bernina for what she said was a great price. (I told her that a few times on various things I bought.) If you purchase a used machine, my wife suggested you take it to an authorized Bernina dealer for cleaning and servicing. They will also be able to tell you how many hours are on the machine. Let me know if you have any questions, my wife would be glad to help.

I'm not an expert on sewing machines, but I know enough to know that you can get very, very good deals on lightly used mid-to-high end machines. As reflex posted, 10% of the sewers do 90% of the sewing, so there are a lot of good deals to be had if you know where to look. Budget in some extra money to have the machine serviced.

IMHO, most of the high end models aren't worth it unless you plan to connect your sewing machine to a computer often, or you're running a home business sewing things all the time (e.g., someone w/ an Etsy business).

My mother has had one for over 30 years, and it still runs like a Swiss watch.

She also has the Bernina overlock machine for edge stitching. Loves that too.

Hers is "pre computer" but still has an amazing amount of functionality, and it's feed and tensioning are perfect.

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Originally posted by smlsig:
My MIL left us a Pfaff Creative 1475CD with cabinet that my wife has no interest in and could make someone very happy….

Pfaff...made in Germany.

ah, Bernina sewing machine, a trip down memory lane. My mom used to have a Bernina (pre computer model, Bernina 830 Record), which I loved to clean as a kid. It just was a fascinating thing.

Later in high school we had (mandatory) sewing classes where we used Pfaff's and Berninas. I prefered the Berninas. They're actually made not that far from where I live, it's right at Lake Constance, beautiful spot.

Let us know what your wife got.

I got my wife a vintage Elna Supermatic a few years back. It is a great all mechanical Swiss-built machine. The Elna name has since been sold to some asian sewing machine conglomerate. Stay away from those. Depending upon what you are looking for, that or similar vintage models from Pfaff or Bernina would be a cool machine to get.
Computerized machines do crazy stuff, but they lack the soul of the old mechanicals.

My late wife made the whole family clothes....even suits for me. She had a Bernina 880(I think) and swore by it. She knew her sewing machines. After her passing, I kept it for a while to do some mending, but it was a waste of a great machine. My wife's best friend actually wore her Bernina out, and I gave her Miss Patti's machine. You would have thought I gave her a Rolls Royce!! It made me feel good, as I know Starr will use it a ton, and think of Patti when she does.

Thank you all for your extremely useful comments.
One reason I'm thinking about surprising her with it is that she hates to spend money on herself. Yes, that's a problem.
If I present her with a fait accompli (as I did with the Zeiss stereo dissecting microscope last year), she's very appreciative.

But yes, I do believe that the anticipation of buying, looking into different models, etc. would be half the fun for her.

Thanks again!
You will likely be hearing more about this in the future.

The future is here.

What did you get and how is it working for her?

Curious minds want to know

Sewing machine for a woman is a lot like a pistol for a man. Get her a nice card and put a picture of a Bernina in it and tell her that the two of you are going shopping. That way you can encourage her to step up to the one she actually wants but is afraid to lay the money out for. Buy once, cry once as is often said here.
Good point below, don't advise, just encourage.

My wife is a quilter. At Christmas I gave her box with the manufacturer’s catalog. She picks whatever she wants. I would not offer any input because then you can never be wrong.

^^^ perfect advice.

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The future is here.

What did you get and how is it working for her?

Curious minds want to know

Friends, my wife is still without a Bernini; but since 2021 a lot has happened--COVID, two more grandchildren--and she hardly ever talks of sewing.

Our current project, which we are doing jointly, is digitizing old family photos, particularly now prints. The toys we've bought for this include a couple of scanners.

But yeah, no Bernina and I don't hear any indication from her of a desire for one.

I must say I was quite shocked to see this post resurrected due to Bendable's interest.

Just because you, myself and many others have not bought a new firearm, vehicle, tool etc. for a few years does not mean we don't still really
want one.

If your wife still sews or has any interest at all she would probably love a new sewing machine / Bernina ! Ask her ?

Just my 2 cents worth. Good luck !

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Originally posted by sjtill:
My wife has always wanted a Bernina since she saw one demonstrated probably around the time we first met.
She doesn't do embroidery, does do general mending and sewing.
I see used model 530's and others on eBay at "reasonable" prices compared with the fanciest models new which cost around $4,000.
The ones I see advertised say they have been serviced.

If any of you (or your "better halves") have any advice on buying such used machines, please share.

Thanks

I watched my mom go through the selection process for her "Grail" machine. She failed the first time, causing her much frustration. The first selected machine was too technical oriented for her usual tasks.
So, my advice would be to let her make the choice. Looking outside in on the process it appears to be a very personal choice type thing.
Your probability of selecting the "true grail" machine is very low.