Sewing Machines

A few weeks ago, I started looking at a new sewing machine. We had around $150 for me to spend on a new machine, but it had to come from Walmart, as $100 of that was on a gift card. I did my research, I looked at the models, the reviews, and asked for advice.

I finally settled on the Brother CS-6000i model, which did have several bad reviews, but had almost 300 5 star reviews. It looked like the best machine for the money I had to spend. I ordered it last week, and it arrived finally last night.

I spent the night setting it up, and looking at the manual, then finally sewed with it for the first time today. I made an adorable Santa hat, similar to the one Tim Allen wears in Santa Clause, where the hat is gathered on one side. It turned out great!

Then, I started an apron for Gillian for Christmas to go with her Easy Bake oven. It stitched beautifully, including some decorative stitches. I added a ruffle, and one side did not want to stay down, so I sewed a straight line down it, to keep it down.

That's when it happened. A grinding sound, followed by a locked up machine, and a flashing E6 error message. I looked in the manual, and found it just meant tangled thread. Ok, no problem. I cut away the threads, cleared the tangles, and tried again. Again, a grinding sound and a locked up machine, this time with a severely bent needle.

I changed the needle, the thread, and the bobbin. I tried again. Over and over I tried. I switched materials. I just kept getting that horrible sound, and a mass of tangled thread.

It took me almost 10 minutes to locate a phone number on Brother's web site (by the way, if you miss read the first 3 digits as 866 instead of 877, you'll get a very nasty porn phone center, just so you know). I got a guy who simply referred me to another part of the manual, and brushed me off the phone in under 2 minutes. Poor customer service- he should have waited while I did that, and assisted me further. My husband is tech support, I know how they SHOULD respond.

Anyway, I did what the manual showed, which was cleaning out the bobbin casing, and removing parts to clean further in case any tangles were in there. I tried it- it still did locked up.

I had to leave and get Gillian off the bus, and when I came back, I called again. I was told the only answer now is to take a BRAND NEW sewing machine in to be fixed. I was assured it would be free. Luckily, there is a service center in Lansing.

I called the service center, got their hours, and asked how long it would take. 2 weeks, minimum. I started crying. Here I am with a brand new sewing machine, and I can't use it. I can return it, and try another model, but we can't afford to pay for a better model, and it's useless to buy a cheaper one. Out of the 3 Walmart.com had in the $150 range, this one had the best reviews, by far. Besides, they don't carry anything decent in the store, so I would have to order it- taking at least a week to arrive.

I really do not want to be without a machine for 2 weeks. I have sewing I've been putting off for Christmas because my old machine is horrible, and has issues all the time. I get fed up with it.

So, here I sit, extremely unhappy with my brand new sewing machine, and I have nothing I can do about it.