Date: 2/7/10 8:33 PM

oh my gosh, i love this board. my eyes hurt. i've been sitting here in front of the computer for hours just reading all the posts about the Juki F-600. I am IN LOVE with this machine (along with almost everyone else, apparently! lol) anyway, my question/concern is that since I am mostly just interested in garment sewing, is the Exceed series too much for me?

I don't mind spending the money, but am wondering if there are any Juki owners (of other models) who have suggestions as to a good model to buy? I tried doing a search for: Juki garment, and some other strings I can't think of right now.

Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much. :-)

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rest in peace my beautiful kitten, monkey-stuff
03/99 - 03/29/09
~
http://kittenfish.com

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Date: 2/7/10 9:07 PM

Hi Kittenfish,

I have the Juki HZL e-80. I really like it, and I do mostly garment sewing as well. It makes beautiful buttonholes, does excellent top stitching, and has very effective feed dogs. I like the way it feeds better than I liked my old Pfaff, with whatever they called that special feed.

I should mention, however, that I also have a serger and a coverstitch, and I use them at least as much as I use the sewing machine for sewing garments--not because the sewing machine doesn't do a good job, but the serger (a Juki as well) is much faster, and the coverstitch gives such a professional finish, I think.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

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Reply to ksavila
Date: 2/8/10 10:13 PM

Hi, I am mostly a garment sewer and was attracted to this machine because of the variety of buttonholes. I don't know of other machines at this price point that offers as many styles of buttonholes. After I used it, I definitely appreciate the box feed of the machine. I don't have to guide the fabric as much when I sew to keep it feeding straight. On my other machines, if you step on the pedal and just let the fabric feed, it tends to veer off to the side. I've tried it on knits too and if I lighten up the pressure on the foot, the knit feeds pretty well without pushing the top layer too much. At the end of the seam, the fabric ends still matched up. I don't sew as much as some of the other ladies though, so my machine hasn't gotten a heavy workout. Good luck with your decision.

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Date: 2/9/10 2:00 AM

I own a Juki HZL e80. I paid $395.00 on Amazon from a vendor named City Sewing located in NYC.

Overall it's a good machine with a nice straight stitch and a strong 1 amp motor not seen very often these days. It sews at approximately 955 spm and has no problem sewing through thick layers of fabric.

My only problem with it is that it jumps around the table while sewing. This is a problem for me as I make custom made window treatments and it will move backwards away from me while sewing. I glued some jiffy grip to the bottom of the machine and that has helped a little.

I find myself always reverting back to my Kenmore 19606 or Singer 417 which is a Touch & Sew with metal gears and a regular drop in bobbin, a 1 amp motor and a zigzag and straight stitch only but an incredibly fast and strong workhorse of a machine.

My opinion is that the HZL e80 was a very good buy at the price I paid but does not measure up to my Kenmore 19606. However, for garment sewing it will suffice.

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Date: 2/9/10 8:00 AM

thanks so much for the input! :-) i'm going to continue to do some more research and hopefully buy one within the month. i can't wait!

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rest in peace my beautiful kitten, monkey-stuff
03/99 - 03/29/09
~
http://kittenfish.com

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Reply to ksavila
Date: 2/9/10 10:27 AM

Quote: kittenfish

my question/concern is that since I am mostly just interested in garment sewing, is the Exceed series too much for me? I don't mind spending the money

As long as you can afford the F600, I say, go for it! I do garment sewing only and have not interest in quilting. A Bernina salesman helped me to appreciate that many of the features that quilters need/use apply to garment sewers, such as adjustable presser foot pressure and even feeding. All I want is a perfect straight stitch, zig zag, and beautiful buttonholes. Even though the F600 is marketed toward quilters with hundreds of the crazy stitches, they also threw in great buttonholes for us garment sewers. I don't think you can go wrong with it.

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Date: 2/9/10 10:38 AM

Quote:

A Bernina salesman helped me to appreciate that many of the features that quilters need/use apply to garment sewers, such as adjustable presser foot pressure and even feeding.

ABSOLUTELY! I don't have a JUKI, but this is so true. I think that garment sewers, of which I am one, need the same basic things as quilters, at which I dabble.Good straight stitching, some interesting stitches, tough ability to feed fabric and some thickness, and a nice selection of feet. The JUKI seems to have all this.

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"Let's play librarian. I'll read and in 6 hours you come and tell me the library is closing."
--Brick Heck

"Begin each day as if it were on purpose."
--Mary Anne Radmacher

Blogging at http://eyeletsintheseams.blogspot.com/

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Date: 2/9/10 2:59 PM

I sewed on a Juki HZLE(?)71 and did NOT like it anywhere near as much as the F600. It did not seem like a rugged, substantial machine to me. But that's just me. I would have preferred a machine like one of the Janome regular sized computer machines (DC 2010) to the Juki regular sized comupter based machines. You could also look at a machine like the Pfaff 2058 or the Viking Platinum 775. They aren't so easy to find anymore, but they're really nice - they're just regular size.

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Deb

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Date: 2/9/10 3:00 PM

Why not have a look at the F300 or 400? It will be cheaper, and have fewer stitches but many of the same features of the F600.

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Deb

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Date: 2/9/10 3:37 PM

The F600 includes more lighting, which I think is nice, and thread cutter. The machine is an good machine for garment sewing.

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