I always research before I buy too. When I was getting ready to buy my embroidery machine I saw the Brothers in WalMart much cheaper than the older model Brother I wanted to buy. At the same time DH was looking for a small riding lawn mower. John Deere is popular here and are sold all over, but like the Brother machines, the prices, and the warranty vary. We found out that many of the internal components in inexpensive machines aren't replaceable, and are made with cheaper materials. Even though they carry the name they are sold as 'throw aways' and don't last as long as the higher end machines. I have read so many complaints about the WalMart Brother machines and my older, but higher end model works great. So I would ask questions and research any prodeuct you buy. $300 may not be a lot of money to some, but it is if it only lasts a few months!!! Rosa

Be sure you take some fabric with you the thickness which you will need to sew through. I've done uniforms, nametag sewing etc. with my Elna and it has taken on all jobs ...I also own a Pfaff serger and would purchase a Pfaff again no problem. I am not familar with the machines you talk about but do as others suggest and take some fabric with you and YOU sit down and try the machine vice watching a sales person do the demo..you need hands on. And you are making a very smart move purchasing your own machine...it can save you lots of money in the long run with all kinds of repairs and alterations...the more you do the more it pays for itself. Good luck in your search

22 years ago, when my daughter was a baby, I wanted to dress her in the beautiful hand smocked clothes that are so popular for little girls in my city (Charleston, SC). My husband and I were living on one salary, and it wasn't a big one, so buying those clothes was out of the question. I learned to smock myself, and then needed to learn to sew so that I could put together the dresses I had smocked. My sweet husband bought me a Montgomery Ward sewing machine for Christmas and I began to learn so sew. Honestly, I can't believe I didn't quit right away, because that sewing machine was the worst piece of junk ever made. The stitches were terrible, and wouldn't hold any adjustments, because the machine was mostly made of plastic. I loved the smocking but I was a terribly frustrated sewer because that machine made the simplest task difficult. After a couple of years of that we spent our entire tax return ($700.00 - a tremendous amount of money for us at the time) on a new Viking machine. What a difference! I couldn't believe how reliable and easy to use that Viking was. I still have that machine and will never get rid of it, unless it is to let my own daughter use it if she wants to. I've recently bought a new Viking that has more capabilities, but it was quite expensive, so I doubt you want to start there for your daughter. I would check out your local sewing or quilting shops and see what they have available. Personally I would stick with a Viking, Elna, or Bernina and I would probably go with the brand that has the most supportive dealer. I would buy a used machine in one of these brands, as the quality will be much higher than if you buy a new machine of lesser quality. I think it is really important to buy from a place that can help her learn to work with her machine, versus a big box store where there will be no support available at all.

I love my serger, I've used it to make lots of things, last year I made table runners with matching placemats for all my girls for Christmas. I find if you go slow with the threading it isn't that hard. The main issue with threading is to make sure the thread goes into the tension disks for each needle. I also have the floss threaders but it's almost just as easy to use my fingers and a bent tip tweezer. YouTube has a bunch of serger videos and they are really good for helping you understand the tension set up and threading. Baby blankets are a really fast project and comes in handy when you need a shower gift. I don't know what we did when we didn't have YouTube lol.