| Elna:7000 (Sewing Machine) | | Viewed 580 time(s) |
2 more reviews for this machine | Review rated Very Helpful by 8 people | | Reviewed by: | johnr55 | About johnr55 | | TX USA | | Member since: 3/22/08 | | Reviews written: 22 | | Sewing skills:Intermediate | | Favored by: 1 people | | sewing machines reviewed: 10 | | Bio: Freehand machine embroiderer and freehand quilter since early 80's, virtually no garment sewing. Healthcare manager, sewing work is a hobby. No interest in computerized embroidery machines out now--I ...full profile |
| | Posted on: | 3/23/08 10:21 AM | | Approx price paid: | $1300 | | Had this machine for: | 5 years | | Recommended? | Yes |  | Features
- Computerized
- Needle Up/Down Setting
- Embroidery Stitches
- One step buttonhole
- Drop-In bobbin
- Free Arm
- Adjustable Stitch Length and Width
- Adjustable Presser Foot Pressure
- Adjustable Needle Position
| | What johnr55 likes about this machine
I'll preface this review by stating that I no longer own this machine. However, I owned and used it for five years and at least hundreds of hours of work, so I am comfortable writing about it.
I traded my Elna Jubilee mechanical in the 80's for the Elna 7000. This was Elna's first computerized machine, and it was, and is, an impressive package. I'll admit I didn't need it, as my Jubilee was doing my work perfectly well. However, like others, I became fascinated with the 7000 every time I'd go to my local Elna dealer for supplies.
Particularly for newer sewers, the switch to a machine like this might seem nothing unusual. However, remember that this was before the Bernina 1130 and the Pfaff Creative. The 7000 not only worked different than mechanical machines, it also looked very different. Lots of little red lights along with red LED readouts. Its styling was nothing like what Elna had produced before. There were a few features that really sold me. First, it had dozens of stitches available without cam switching. Second, it had the famous Elna drop-in bobbin--with its easily adjusted tension. Additionally, that bobbin was somehow made jam-proof. I used it for dozens of projects with all types of thread and it never, ever jammed. Third, it would accept plastic bobbins; my Elna mechanicals used metal ones. Elna actually sold these plastic bobbins in different colors. I really liked that because I would load different weights of white embroidery thread in them, color coded to be easily chosen. Fourth, and really important to a machine embroiderer, it had a fantastic bobbin winding system that didn't require stopping the machine! The bobbin winder was a separate mechanism on the top front of the machine. I would be able to keep working and at the same time winding bobbins. Boy, did I like that--I might wind a dozen or more bobbins as I went. The mechanical Elna machines used a white plastic slide-on table that worked very well, but the 7000 used a better table. The top of the freearm next to the needle plate detached and the accessory table bed would fit into that recess, and around the free arm. Easy, quick, and very secure. Another great idea that I haven't seen on more modern machines. Now, no computer machine from these early days had the stitch storage capacity of today's machines. Elna got around that by offering little accessory stitch cassettes that plugged into the side of the machine. I of course bought these without needing them other than to play with. As I remember, one could get a total of 360 stitches with this system, and it worked very well. The outer skin of the 7000 was plastic, a first for Elna, and I was concerned at first about this. Instead, time has proven that plastic is a great covering for sewing machines as it doesn't wear off like painted metal. This machine worked with typical Elna efficiency and reliability. Stitch quality was perfect and I virtually never had to adjust tension, even for many layers of thread and various fabrics. When switching from pattern to pattern, the machine furnishes appropriate stitch widths and lengths, but these are easily changed to suit the sewer. I did like the Elna system of controlling maximum speed with a sliding scale instead of just one or two choices. Even though it was new territory for most of the people purchasing one, it was very user-friendly--at least as much so as a currently-produced machine. Unlike the Bernina machines of the 80's, it used standard Schmetz needles, which I bought, and buy, in boxes of hundreds--economical. I keep an eye out on EBay for a mint 7000, because I'd love to own one again. What johnr55 does not like about this machine
There was one real limitation with the machine for my work, and it was why I replaced it with a Bernina 1031. The stitch width is not infinitely variable. Oh, there are a pile of stitch width choices, certainly enough to satisfy a garment sewer. However, to make, for example, a tapering satin stitch (such as for a leaf in embroidery) it was very difficult. I worked around this with projects for years. Again, this would be no limitation for a garment sewer at all.
The Elna's freehand embroidery foot uses a lever on the needle mechanism to go up/down on the fabric. It is possible when doing freehand to actually catch a piece of thread on there very occasionally. I much prefer the Bernina's three feet for this, without this lever. I'm sure there is a BigFoot available for this machine to use instead, which would eliminate this problem.
This machine is no compact, either in size or weight, if that would be an issue. | *LOGIN to add a comment to this review
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| Reader Comments | | Sewing Diva Susan | 3/23/08 | I agree this is a wonderful machine. I too had one, but have passed it on to my daughter. Good review. | | * * * | | mufffet | 3/23/08 | Your reviews made my Easter Sunday even more enjoyable! Thanks for all of them. Your embroidery has peaked my curiosity, and I wonder if you could maybe start a thread and show us a few pictures of your work? | | * * * | | Celeste | 3/23/08 | Oh, yes, having infinitely variable stitches is very important to garment sewing! Which is why I recently bought a vintage Bernina 1130!! | | * * * | | johnr55 | 3/24/08 | I stand corrected, Celeste! I never garment sew, and just have never seen it a problem in any garment sewers I know. | | * * * | | BPW | 4/6/08 | FYI, Elna's first electronic machine was actually the 5000, introduced in 1985. Mine was purchased in 1986, when the Elna 6000 was introduced. The 7000 model soon followed; the series continued with the 8000, the 9000 and the last of the series, 9000/Diva. | | * * * |
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