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The 8 Best Sewing Machine Brands (and 4 You Should Avoid!)

There are literally hundreds of sewing machine brands, so it can be hard to tell the good from the bad. Let’s take a look at the good old brands, that stood the test of time. The best all-around sewing machine manufacturers.
Note: We only consider home sewing machines here, not industry models

Here are the top10 sewing machine brands we recommend

Brother, Baby Lock, Singer, Bernina, Janome, Pfaff, Husqvarna Viking, Juki, Melco, and Simplicity. These are famous for a reason, and most resellers will convince you to choose one of these for a reason.

Let’s take a quick look at each brand, and dive into what makes them unique. Because they are different, even though the machines may look alike.

Brother

Probably the most popular sewing machine in America. For that reason, people think they are manufactured here in the states, but it’s actually a Japanese company.

Price range: $159- 799
Machines: Sewing machines, embroidery machines, sergers, cover stick sergers, and cross-over.

Brother also has a cheaper sub-brand called Simplicity. Very affordable machines with good bang for the buck!

Baby Lock

Baby Lock is an old Japanese company with more than 50 years of history. They started out by only producing overlock machines and eventually started producing sewing machines as well as cross-over models. They have about 50 models today, and they make machines for sewing, embroidery, quilting and serging.

Price range: $99- 499
Machines: Sewing machines, embroidery machines, sergers, cover stick sergers, embellishing machines and cross-over.

Singer

Singer sewing machine company

One of the first American producers of sewing machines. Their old foot-pedaled models are iconic, and the old Singer-building in New York is a must see. Covered with beautiful vintage machines from the floor to the ceiling.

Price range: $99- 499
Machines: Sewing machines, embroidery machines, sergers, cover stick sergers, and cross-over.

Bernina

Bernina is one of the biggest brands in Europe, and the Bernina 830 is a real classic. The company just celebrated its 120 year anniversary, and they are still top of the line. It’s a Swiss company named after a local mountain in the Alpes.

Bernina produces high-end products, and they are well-known for being passed down generations, as they are built to last more than a lifetime.

Price range: $149 – 1,799
Machines: Sewing machines, embroidery machines, sergers, cover stick sergers, and cross-over.

Bernette is the budget brand from Bernina. They are also made in Switzerland and offer very good quality for the price.

Janome

The needle of a sewing machine quilting

Janome is another Japanese company. Also very reliable and good machines. Janome has always had a strong focus on the tech side of the machines, with wireless Wi-Fi connection so you can send over designs from your iPad or computer. Janome means “Eye of the snake” and refers to the innovation of the thread system on the early sewing machines.

Price range: $100- 6,000
Machines: Sewing machines, embroidery machines, sergers, cover stick sergers, long-arm quilting machines, and cross-over.

Pfaff

Pfaff was originally a German sewing brand. They eventually were sold to Singer. They have a proud tradition of German precision machinery and fine craftsmanship.

Price range: $350- 15,000
Machines: Sewing machines, embroidery machines, sergers, cover stick sergers, long-arm quilting machines, computerized quilting machines, and cross-over.

Husqvarna Viking

Husqvarna was initially a Swedish brand but is owned by Singer today. Very well-known in Scandinavia (+ most of Europe), and they are probably the most sold brand in countries like Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Countries famous for design and craftsmanship.

Price range: $200- 3,000
Machines: Sewing machines, embroidery machines, sergers, cover stick sergers, long-arm quilting machines, computerized quilting machines, and cross-over.

Juki

Juki is also Japanese. They are actually the best-selling sewing machine brand in the world, even though brands like Brother, Singer, Bernina, and Pfaff are more widely known. This is probably due to the fact, that they both produce sewing machines for home use as well as commercial use.

Price range: 100, 4,000
Machines: Sewing machines, industrial sewing machines, sergers, long arm quilting machines, and embroidery machines

5 sewing machine brands to avoid

If you want a good and proper sewing machine, you should probably stay away from these brands. They are cheap for a reason, and we cannot recommend them. If you start out on a crappy model, you might just lose the interest in sewing altogether.

Avoid these brands: Vof, Toahine, Oemer, and Jukky (not to confuse with Joki!). These are cheap Chinese models, that will probably not last one season. Always go for a well-known brand, then you also have a much better chance of finding a good repair shop and new parts.