I've owned several sewing machines through the years, but three of the ones I own right now are my hands down favorites. I have several vintage machines, but my favorite of those is my Singer 201. It's really no contest, that's by far my favorite. I do most of my piecing on the Singer 201, and it's a beast, especially anywhere a lot of seams come together, it doesn't even pause.
In this post I want to talk about my modern favorites, and I'll be doing a bit of comparing.
I bought a floor model of the Bernina 440 QE when they were being discontinued in favor of the 500 series. I paid about half the retail price for it since it was a floor model. You can pick them up used, and if you need a good all around machine, I recommend it. My dealer told me they've never had a Bernina with as much use as I give mine, and I told them it's a good thing I piece on vintage machines then. I've never had any mechanical issues with the Bernina, but I do bring it in for a spa treatment once a year.
I bought my Janome M7 this spring, on a really good sale with trade-in specials. Our tax return arrived at a similar time to the Covid stimulus check, and that's when the M7 was on sale, so it was really a perfect storm for buying a new machine with cash.
In some ways, the machines are similar. They both have very strong motors that can sew through thick seams without a whole lot of drama. If I had to compare the ability of each for thick seams, the Janome would win by a smidge.
Neither of MY machines are picky about thread (I never use metallic threads, so I can't testify to how they do with that) I've read reviews that say either of these machines can be picky about thread, but that hasn't been my experience. I often mismatch weights of thread in the top and bottom, no problems, I'll use any thread from 100 weight to a 28 weight, cotton, poly, rayon, a blend...no drama from either machine for me. I use different threads for different purposes, so it's a good test.
Both machines have a variety of stitches, and I've had good luck using specialty stitches on both. The Bernina can only to a 5.5mm wide stitch, but the Janome can do a 9.5mm stitch. I don't use specialty stitches all that often, so that hasn't been a big deal for me. The Janome has far more needle positions available, so getting a perfect seam allowance is possibly easier on it? I haven't had any issues getting a 1/4" seam on the Bernina, so I'm not sure.
I don't do machine embroidery, but if that's what you are into, they did make an embroidery module for the Bernina 440, and you can find them used fairly easily. The Janome M7 is not embroidery capable.
Stitch regulation- my Bernina came with the Bernina Stitch Regulator, and I think it gave me a lot of confidence back when I was a very new free motion quilter. Now that I've been doing it several years, I don't even notice if I forget to change to BSR mode. Also, a stitch regulator is not a foolproof way to get perfect stitches, you can still get wonky stitches on stops and starts, if you move the quilt faster than the stitch regulator can function, or at the edge of the quilt if the sensor goes off the fabric. I still found it incredibly helpful at the beginning, but if you are eyeing BSR as a way to make you a master at FMQ fast, it's not magic, it still takes the hours of practice to get there. Now that I've done the time, it doesn't matter to me if I have the BSR or not, but I do appreciate the BSR foot has multiple sole options, including an open toe foot, closed toe foot and a clear foot. If you are new to FMQ, the BSR foot will make your stitching look better, not perfect. The Janome has no stitch regulator options that I know of, but I haven't looked for one either.
If I'm making garments, the Bernina wins handily. The Janome M7 is flatbed machine, no free arm for messing around with sleeves or collars.
Presser feet- This one is tough, because it's a matter of cost vs quality. Bernina sells high quality presser feet, and you are going to pay through the nose for them. I have presser feet for my Bernina that I paid over $100 for, that are basically one trick ponies. They are super helpful for doing that one thing, but mostly they sit unused. Still, if I need to do that one thing, it's going to a great job. I never invest in a new presser foot unless I have more than one project that requires it. Also, on the walking foot, the Bernina has the absolute best markings! You can measure 1/2", 1/4" and 1/8" easily if you know where to look.
Janome feet. The M7 came with SO many presser feet, I can't imagine ever having to buy one! It even came with a 1/4" walking foot in addition to the regular even feed foot. Some of the Janome feet are snap on, and some are not. To be honest, after years of Bernina and vintage presser feet, snap on feet feel flimsy to me. Don't get me wrong, once you lower the presser foot, the snap on feet work fine and are completely stable, but they feel flimsy when you first snap them on. I think that is more a matter of my perception than reality, but I'm throwing it out there anyway. Cost wise, to buy as many feet that come with the M7, I would have have to spend a couple thousand dollars to get the same number of Bernina feet.
Needle threaders- Here the M7 really shines! First let's look at where the button is to activate the needle threader on my Bernina 440
The needle threader likely already had you notice visibility differences. I decided to use a 7" cutting mat to give you the best scale of the differences between the two machines as far a visibility of your project goes. I centered the needle over the center of the mat in each photo.
The Janome has a high profile, which allows for some great visibility! There are only a couple squares that are blocked from view.
Berninas are much lower machines, and most of the back two inches of the mat are blocked from view. You can also see the lighting on the Janome is much better, but I know a newer Bernina would have better lighting than this model.
Throat/harp space- No contest here. I have quilted king sized quilts on the Bernina, but it was a chore.
At the time I bought this, it was the largest throat I had had on a machine, and it felt spacious.
When I bought the M7, I traded in my sit down longarm, which was incredibly finicky, and I was worried I might miss the extra space.
The answer to that is no, I don't miss the extra space my longarm had, because this is plenty of space. The high profile of the M7 gives me a lot of space, not to mention the 13" from needle to machine.
A few other comparisons- both machines have needle up/down buttons, but on the Bernina you can also tap your heel on the foot pedal to make the needle go up or down. The Janome has a side pedal for that. I prefer the Bernina option. The Janome has an automatic thread cutter, which honestly, I've never used. I chain piece as much as possible, and when FMQ I have no idea why you'd need to use a thread cutter. I've heard it comes in handy when paper piecing, but I don't do that often. The Janome has a drop in bobbin, and the bobbins are plastic. I don't like the feel of plastic bobbins, but they are necessary for the low bobbin alert, which I do like. The Bernina has a vertical bobbin, and uses metal bobbins. No alerts when your bobbin is out. I've heard vertical bobbins do FMQ with better stitches, but honestly, the stitches on the Bernina and the Janome look pretty similar when I'm FMQ. You have to be a lot more tech savvy with the Janome, but I find most of it pretty intuitive.
I don't plan on getting rid of either of these machines anytime soon, but let's say I needed to pack one away temporarily. I'd be packing up the Bernina and leaving the M7 out. I sew on both machines frequently, in fact, I've sewn on both of them today! I am assembling a quilt on the Bernina, quilting a quillow on the M7, and piecing blocks on the Singer 201 (which I sewed on yesterday).
I like reading sewing machine reviews, and I hope you enjoyed this one. There are so many great sewing machines out there, what's your favorite feature on yours, or the feature you wish yours had?
Lest you think I haven't been getting anything done, I finished the dolls quilts I had basted a while back. I was tired of moving them around the sewing room, so getting them finished got them out of there altogether.
I'll need to make another doll quilt soon too.
I have two of the eight quillows quilted now, but I haven't cut the pockets or anything yet. Hopefully by next week I'll have a couple finished quillows to post.
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