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August 22, 2017

Bernina Virtuosa 150 QE

Found this little gem at an Estate sale up north while staying at Crystal lake
Again I have become very interested in the early and 2nd generation computerized machines, with my background in CNC machining I have an affinity towards motor controllers and believe that the over concern regarding a computer board failure is just that.

I think the Virtuosa is a lesser and more rare version of the Artista, but it is still a Bernina

A handsome machine, classic late 90's
During clean up I found  thread wrapped around the counter weight crank and all the joints involved with the take-up lever, that was a new one!
Got the knee lift working with a DIY steel rod it makes such a difference in operation, did a small upholstery leather project very well

Another endearing feature, if they even intended it is the thread cut-off on the left side of the machine. About 90% of the time the cut-off  holds both ends of the threads up in place, this is really nice because you know where both threads are and starting the next stitch line is like having someone holding the threads up for you


Made in Switzerland, that's all we care about!
It has a Stainless Steel free arm top cover; it will NEVER show signs of wear with that!
Reverse switch at the head

Very heavy... stop complaining about heavy; heavy is good!
The wall plug is extra long, the foot pedal has a winder feature on the bottom, nice
The foot pedal also has the needle up-down feature, just press with your heel and the needle goes down, press again and it goes back up.
 
Without any effort the basic controls are extremely easy, I used it for a little repair project and just love the sound, it is an oscillating hook but Bernina does it different than everyone else, seems hard to beat.


The small LCD screen may look a little lost on the front face but it's all you need

Look at this...
  • Needle left - right with two buttons close by
  • Needle up - down one button for that
  • Stitch width with two buttons for that
  • Stitch length two buttons for that
From a Human Factors standpoint it could hardly be easier; I spent a large part of my Advanced Vehicle Engineering career doing what's called Human Factors, the practice of how people interface with machines, sometimes refereed to as HMI or Human Machine Interface.

All in all there are a large number of nice options
Has a separate motor for the bobbin winder

Needle position left - right and ZZ are controlled by a separate servo for super accurate positioning

It came with nothing but the No.3 foot, manual, and a flat bed conversion




15 comments:

  1. One small thing... made in Switzerland, not Sweden

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  2. I have the same machine im trying to sell. Asking 350$ anyone interested please email me at ogwestern@gmail.com

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  3. I have one of these . Good machine to bad the interface is serial and not USB.

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  4. Best Machine I ever had - gave it to someone who could not afford a new Bernina as I had a new 430. Still miss it.

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  5. Would this machine work for leather belts and dog collars?

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    Replies
    1. I don't think that any home sewing machine is meant for sewing on leather all the time, you need an industrial machine for that.

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    2. The vintage domestic singers are terrific for that.

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  6. Does the machine have something similar to acu-feed or IDT? Or do you have to have a separate walking foot?

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  7. I purchased this machine a couple of yrs ago. Need to have my juki cleaned so thought I would try this Bernina. Love it. Live the stitch quality better than m juki. I wondered, however, how this does in freemotion. Don't want to but a fm foot before I find out. Anyone?

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  8. Agreed. I made a pleather zina costume and it blew the timing out. Actually lost timing 2x and cannot consider it to be reliable at all. Husband disappointed.....he bought for me as Xmas gift overv 20 years ago.

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  9. I am still discovering this machine. Very precise and I really love what quilting I have done so far.

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  10. One of the biggest advantages of Embroidery Digitizing is that it eliminates the need for manual labor, reducing the time and cost involved in the embroidery process. Digitized designs can be easily modified and edited, making it easy to make changes and tweaks to the design without starting from scratch.

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