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Posted by jp on January 17, 2006, 9:38 pm
OK all, so the woman I love sews with this old piece of junk and is
always swearing and what have you, and says she would like to get a
serger but the ones she would buy cost around a grand...
SO I have the opportunity to buy one of two as a surprise gift:
a Bernina 11000 for $200 or an Elna Pro-5 Serger for around $300.
Both claim to be in largely unused condition.
What I wonder is -- are these nice machines? Are they on par with new
$1000-range type sergers even remotely? I can't seem to find out what
they cost new, assuming that would sort of indicate their
features/durability/etc.
Any help would be much appreciated
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Posted by Candide on January 17, 2006, 10:22 pm
> OK all, so the woman I love sews with this old piece of junk and is
> always swearing and what have you, and says she would like to get a
> serger but the ones she would buy cost around a grand...
>
> SO I have the opportunity to buy one of two as a surprise gift:
>
> a Bernina 11000 for $200 or an Elna Pro-5 Serger for around $300.
> Both claim to be in largely unused condition.
>
> What I wonder is -- are these nice machines? Are they on par with new
> $1000-range type sergers even remotely? I can't seem to find out
what
> they cost new, assuming that would sort of indicate their
> features/durability/etc.
>
> Any help would be much appreciated
Do not know what your financial position is, but if possible why not
purchase both and let your good lady wife choose between the two. One
can always sell on the machine not chosen on eBay or something, probably
matching or maybe even making money on the deal.
Sergers are very hard to shop as a gift IMHO as they vary widely in
quality and features. You really need to know what type of sewing a
person does to make the right choice. There is also the fact some
sergers drive their users mad, others never give any sort of problem.
Threading seems to be one of the larger problems.
Best of luck,
Candide
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Posted by HC on January 17, 2006, 10:44 pm
G'day jp
Not sure I can help other than to say get the one that is easier to
thread...has differential feed...4 or 5 thread...auto tension...possibly
has CoverStitch. These are the things I look for in a serger. Sorry
I'm not familiar with either model you've mentioned so can't comment on
either.
Bronwyn ;-)
jp wrote:
> OK all, so the woman I love sews with this old piece of junk and is
> always swearing and what have you, and says she would like to get a
> serger but the ones she would buy cost around a grand...
>
> SO I have the opportunity to buy one of two as a surprise gift:
>
> a Bernina 11000 for $200 or an Elna Pro-5 Serger for around $300.
> Both claim to be in largely unused condition.
>
> What I wonder is -- are these nice machines? Are they on par with new
> $1000-range type sergers even remotely? I can't seem to find out what
> they cost new, assuming that would sort of indicate their
> features/durability/etc.
>
> Any help would be much appreciated
>
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Posted by Chris Underwood on January 18, 2006, 2:07 am
"jp" wrote
> OK all, so the woman I love sews with this old piece of junk and is
> always swearing and what have you, and says she would like to get a
> serger but the ones she would buy cost around a grand...
>
> SO I have the opportunity to buy one of two as a surprise gift:
>
> a Bernina 11000 for $200 or an Elna Pro-5 Serger for around $300.
> Both claim to be in largely unused condition.
>
> What I wonder is -- are these nice machines? Are they on par with new
> $1000-range type sergers even remotely? I can't seem to find out what
> they cost new, assuming that would sort of indicate their
> features/durability/etc.
>
> Any help would be much appreciated
>
JP - You really need to know what her current serger does that drives her
crazy and what features it doesn't have that she needs on a new one! I have
an Elna Pro 5 (which is a 5 thread) and chose it because it was easier to
thread than the other brands. However, mine is a later model which has a
stitch finger that swings out of the way when I don't need it rather than
having to get the tool kit out and change the stitch plate... It doesn't do
a cover stitch which didn't matter to me but may matter to her. My advice
would be the same as for buying a sewing machine for someone else - DON'T!
Let her try both machines and decide whether either does everything she
wants and needs.
--
-:¦:-
·.·´¨ ¨))
¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
..·´ Chris
((¸¸.·´ ..·´
-:¦:- ((¸¸
·.·
bonnybrookfarm@hotmail.com
Washington State, USA
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Posted by Kate Dicey on January 18, 2006, 5:42 am
jp wrote:
> OK all, so the woman I love sews with this old piece of junk and is
> always swearing and what have you, and says she would like to get a
> serger but the ones she would buy cost around a grand...
>
> SO I have the opportunity to buy one of two as a surprise gift:
>
> a Bernina 11000 for $200 or an Elna Pro-5 Serger for around $300.
> Both claim to be in largely unused condition.
>
> What I wonder is -- are these nice machines? Are they on par with new
> $1000-range type sergers even remotely? I can't seem to find out what
> they cost new, assuming that would sort of indicate their
> features/durability/etc.
>
> Any help would be much appreciated
>
Don't buy either until you have considered these questions:
WHAT is she doing when her present machine drives her mad? If she does
a lot of work on stretch knits, and is already using the correct needle,
then maybe a serger is the way forward. If it's driving her batty no
matter what she sews, maybe a new sewing machine would be better...
Is she sewing a lot of fairly simple shapes? A serger can certainly
speed things up here, but they cannot do all things...
Is she sewing a lot of stuff that frays? Sergers can certainly help here!
The Bernina 1100D (I couldn't find an 11000 - are you sure it's not an
1100D?) is a good machine: sturdy workhorse, will go through most things
she'll find in a domestic setting, and $200 sounds like a good price.
See here: http://www.bernina.co.uk/1100d.htm
Ah... Just went and found a couple! :) Looks like an older machine, 4
thread, nothing fancy. You could probably get a better price than $200
for it, or look for a newer one at that price range.
Again the Elna Pro-5 is an older machine, not part of the current range,
and $300 seems a little steep, considering there's one on ebay that just
went for $45!
http://cgi.ebay.com/Elna-Lock-Pro-5-Serger-Sewing-Machine-or-Parts_W0QQitemZ8249351902QQcategoryZ83962QQcmdZViewItem
Now, the ones that are in the thousand dollar range are there for
several reasons: they do cover stitches, and take 5 (or more!) threads,
and some of them have the free-arm feature, as well as differential
feed. Does your wife want one with these features? Personally, as a
professional sewist, I find the free arm (only on the Husqvarna and
Janome TOTL machines) is a lot of use, but cover stitch is a pain, and I
get better results with a twin needle in the ordinary machine, so I
didn't upgrade to that feature when it came out.
Hope this helps! :)
--
Kate XXXXXX R.C.T.Q Madame Chef des Trolls
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.katedicey.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!
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