Swiss, German, Italian and Swedish machines turn up on eBay all the time, and some do things the old Singers can't, like Pfaff's built-in dual feed. They also bring their own feet, cams, bobbin cases and quirks, and a few were built for European power. Here's what to know about each maker before you buy.
Bernina feet and knee lifters
Bernina is a family company from Steckborn, Switzerland, and its Record line began with the 530 in 1954. That machine introduced the patented clip-on presser foot Bernina still uses, so the way the feet attach hasn't changed in seventy years. The feet themselves have. The old feet with engraved numbers fit the 4.5 mm machines up to the 930. The later feet with a black number on a white label fit the same machines and the 5.5 mm 1000 series up to the 1630, and they're still sold new. Feet for Bernina's newer 9 mm machines are a different family. So when a listing promises that its feet fit any Bernina, check which machines it means.
The knee is the other Bernina hallmark. Bernina credits the 730 of 1963 with its patented knee-operated presser-foot lifter. Some early 530 and 730 manuals, though, describe a knee lever that only sets the speed, with the foot lifted from the back of the head. The 830 has a knee lifter, the 930's lifter also drops the feed dogs, and the 1000-series 1090 has the Free Hand System. If you want a knee lifter, ask the seller what the knee lever does.
The x30 machines, the 730 and 830 included, have a nylon cam gear and a nylon vertical shaft gear. A restorer who works on them says the cam gear is more often than not cracked, so ask for a video sewing several cam patterns. One more trap: Bernina reused the 830 name decades later for a computerized embroidery machine, the B 830, so search for 830 Record when you want the 1970s one.
Pfaff and the dual feed
Pfaff was founded in Kaiserslautern, Germany, in 1862 and dates its 130 zigzag to 1932. The 130 is a heavy belt-driven machine with a knee control or, on some portables, a foot control, and Pfaff told owners to use its own 130R needles. Check the belt and the bobbin case, and ask whether lint has been cleaned out of the hook and tension.
The machine most people want is the 1222 of 1968, the first with the built-in dual feed Pfaff now calls IDT. Its early manuals call it the Matchmaker foot. It walks the top layer of fabric along with the bottom one, which makes plaids line up and stops thick seams creeping, and you snap it in or out at the back of the foot. Ask for a video of the dual feed sewing two slippery layers, and look closely at the main switch, which owners say breaks and is hard to replace.
Elna discs and the folding Lotus
Elna began in Geneva inside a watch company, and its first machine of 1940 was a free-arm portable. The Supermatic of 1952 reads plastic Elna discs to sew its patterns. Single discs set the zigzag and double discs also move the feed back and forth, which Wikipedia calls the first automated reverse feed on a home machine. Its speed is set by a knee lever, so the lever needs to be in the case. The color tells you roughly when it was made, from dark green in 1952 to light grey by 1964.
The Lotus of 1968 folds shut like a flower and is in MoMA's design collection. It came as the straight-stitch EC, the zigzag ZZ, the SP and the later TSP. The small latch tips on its flaps break off and original foot controls are getting scarce. Elna later sold a computerized machine with the same name, so look for the letters on the machine.
Necchi, zigzag without cams
Necchi of Pavia, Italy, finished the BU in 1932, and Necchi calls it the first domestic zigzag. It has no cams. The needle and the central-bobbin shuttle move sideways together, and you sew buttonholes, monograms and darning by hand with that zigzag. The needle goes in with the flat side to the right, the opposite of a Singer, so a BU that skips may just have its needle in backwards. Necchi's own brochure said its hooks, bobbin cases and bobbins fit other standard makes.
The Supernova of 1953 added removable cams under a cover on the arm and a motor built into the arm, and it won the Compasso d'Oro, Italy's top design prize. Ask which cams come with one, since the patterns live in them.
Husqvarna Viking's Colormatic machines
Husqvarna started as a Swedish arms factory and began making sewing machines in 1872, sold in America as Vikings. Its 1970s 6000-series machines, like the 6440 and 6460, use the Colormatic system. You turn the dials to matching colored symbols and plug cams into the back for more patterns. Their low gear sews a stitch at a time at full power, and their snap-on feet came in with Husqvarna's 1972 machines.
They're also where plastic shows its age. Husqvarna used acetal and nylon gears in the pattern mechanism, the original lubricant hardens until the machine freezes, and repairers often find a cracked internal cam gear. Cams need all three prongs on the back to work. A serviced machine shown sewing is a much safer buy than one that hasn't been touched.
Check the voltage on anything imported
Many European machines were made for 220 or 240 volt power, and plenty have crossed the Atlantic. The Pfaff 1222, for example, came with 110 volt, 220 volt or dual-voltage motors. Read the plate on the motor or the machine in the photos before you buy. A 220 volt machine needs a converter or a new motor in America, and it's better to know that before you pay.
Which to choose
If you want a sturdy zigzag with feet you can still buy, a Bernina 730 or 830 is hard to beat, as long as the cam gear is sound. If you sew plaids or quilts, the Pfaff 1222's dual feed earns its place. The Elnas and Necchis reward collectors who like design, and the Vikings suit buyers happy to service them. Compare them all on the zigzag machines page, and run any listing through our used-machine checks before you buy.
