by Lesley Zampatti, who blogs here about her craftsy life in southern California; she's a transplanted Australian, so she doesn't have her much-loved Bernina with her at the moment -- she had to make a special trip down under to photograph it for this review!
Love it, hate it, or something in between? I love my Bernina SO much that at one stage I knew it would be the first thing — after husband, kids, and pets — that I'd rescue if my house was on fire.
When did you buy this sewing machine? 1971-72? My dad bought this for my mum soon after we moved to Australia from England, which was in 1970. My mum used to have it serviced regularly and I still have all the log books showing when she oiled it! Mum gave it to me when my two youngest kids were little, in the late 1980s.
When was it manufactured? It was a new model when Dad bought it, so very early 1970s.
Where did you buy it? Perth, Western Australia.
How much did you pay for it? My dad can't remember, but it was an extravagant present. I remember my mum was ecstatic. She'd never have been able to afford anything like this when we lived in England. This was one hell of a machine! Still is.
How many projects have you done on this machine? Too many to count. And the Bernina has never, ever, lost a beat.
Describe the kind of work you've done with it. The first thing I remember sewing on it, in mum's kitchen, was a leather shirt I made for my boyfriend (we were at university together in 1972), out of skins we bought from a tannery. It was like something a Native American would wear — with long fringes down the arm seams and natural edgings! I made him cheesecloth Indian-style shirts, and long skirts and flowing nighties for myself.
In the eighties and nineties, I sewed all the kids' clothes, in ordinary fabrics and stretch knits. I made their swimsuits and drama and ballet costumes. I made three quilts. I made slip covers for two settees and I re-upholstered a vintage armchair. I made Roman blinds for my family room. I mended shoes — re-attaching a strap to a leather sandal. Later, I discovered free-arm embroidery and made handbags and art pieces. I made an entire wardrobe of clothes for a neighbor going on holiday. My Bernina was my right arm!
What do you like and what do you hate about it? There's nothing about it that I hate. Its only slight flaw, to my eyes, is that it is very heavy. It comes in a big red plastic case the size of a sarcophagus. I'd be staggering in to quilting classes, huffing and puffing with it, while fellow quilters were skipping in with their little Elnas and Husqvarnas in their lightweight fabric cases!
This, though, is more than compensated for by the strength, endurance and sheer, non-complaining guts of this mighty piece of engineering. It's indestructible. It can handle anything. Seven thicknesses of denim? No worries. It just purrs along. Beautiful. It's easy to use, easy to maintain, and all its moving parts are steel (hence the weight) so I'll probably be handing it on to my daughter (she's making her first quilt right now — yay!).
While it is safely stored away in Australia, and because I simply cannot survive without a sewing machine, my darling husband has given me a Janome as a stop-gap. Not a top-of-the-range, but just a couple of rungs up from the basic model. It's okay, but when it stamps its little foot, I often tell this little Taiwanese-made show pony about my Immortal Swiss Warhorse. There's no comparison. I don't think I could afford this century's equivalent of my Bernina, so just as well I've looked after the one I do have. It will never die. I'll be unpacking it and getting it serviced for a longed-for reunion when we return to Australia next March.
PS: My foot pedal has broken in exactly the same way as Laurel's. I still have the piece that broke off, so I'll try fixing it, thanks to the comments Laurel received.
Heh - I have always believed that my Bernina would be the one thing I grabbed in case of fire. Interesting that your foot pedal also broke - I still haven't fixed mine!
Posted by: laurel | July 14, 2008 at 11:03 PM
I just bought one. Lucille is being serviced right now and I can't wait to see how she runs when set free from the Sew n Vac.
Posted by: Natalie | August 27, 2008 at 06:45 PM
This is the machine I want! I learned to sew on my mom's Bernina 830 and went through 11 years of 4-H, prom dresses and eventually my wedding dress. I would pay twice as much for an original like this than any new machine on the market today. So neat to see you like yours as well.
Posted by: Tamara | December 14, 2008 at 10:36 PM
i have the 830 and it was a grad gift from college in 1980...i need the spool (plastic) that goes on the spool pin...does anyone know where i can get one?
thanks I love my machine..
Posted by: maura | May 03, 2009 at 10:02 PM
This comment actually comes from Lesley, who was having trouble getting Typepad to accept it, for some reason. In April 2009, she wrote me to say:
Just adding a comment to say I'm back in Australia and reunited with my trusty old Swiss War Horse: you can check it out at
http://chapteriii.blogspot.com/2009/04/hello-old-friend-i-got-out-my-old.html
Mr Bernina and I are helping a dear friend make a quilt for a young boy whose family lost everything in the Victorian bushfires this summer, and then we'll be off on our own adventures.
We've just moved into a new house, so there are curtains and cushions and all sorts of sewing projects ahead — plus stuff for my grandson, like a family of dinosaurs ... maybe!
PS: My mum had the Bernina serviced and spruced up ready for my return, and the Bernina service guy was able to replace the foot pedal. Brilliant!
Posted by: Krista | September 23, 2010 at 11:07 AM
This post made me laugh my rear off and forward it to my grandmother. I have a Bernina Minimatic 807 which has the same giant red case and lovely "portable" light weight feel. (read: I have to drag it in a wagon behind me). The Machine was bought for my grandmother by my grand father in Nov of 1964 and was used by her till 2000 when she upgraded to a new Bernina, It traveled to my aunt down the road for 50$ and when she upgraded to a new Bernina in 2005 the old swiss warhorse came to me, for the price of drawing a fish on a board. (no.. really). I can't imagine ever not working on it, I have a small range janome which is a stand in when the old bernina had to go to the hospital and be fixed. It of course jammed and I could be heard swearing at it down the street.
Bless the vintage work horses how they spoil us!
Posted by: KoiPondering | October 25, 2010 at 08:58 PM