Brand lineup compared: what the store lists and where each brand comes from

Short answer. A brand's age and origin do not tell you which machine suits you. What the store does show is which brands have their own parts pages for bobbins, bobbin cases and presser feet. That matters when you need a part later. We have not tested any brand.

What the store lists

The store's main brand menu (read 2026-10-20) lists Baby Lock, Grace Company, Janome, Juki, Handi-Quilter, Husqvarna Viking, Arrow and Kangaroo, King Quilter, Bernina, Singer, Reliable, Brother and Horn of America. Its A to Z menus list more, including Elna, Necchi, Pfaff and Accuquilt.

Brand	Machine category at the store	Own pages for bobbins, bobbin cases, presser feet
Baby Lock	Yes	Bobbins, bobbin cases, feet, serger feet
Bernina	Yes	Bobbins, bobbin cases, feet
Brother	Yes	Bobbins, bobbin cases, feet
Janome	Yes	Bobbins, bobbin cases, feet, serger feet
Juki	Yes (sewing, quilting, embroidery, industrial)	Bobbins, bobbin cases, feet, serger feet
Singer	Yes	Bobbins, bobbin cases, feet, serger feet

This table is read off the store collections page, which was cut off partway through when we fetched it. A missing entry may only mean we did not see it.

Timeline of founding years: Singer 1851 United States, Bernina 1893 Switzerland, Brother 1908 Japan, Janome 1921 Japan, Juki 1938 Japan, Baby Lock 1946 United States. — Founding year and country as each company's Wikipedia page gives them, read 2026-10-20. The Baby Lock year is when its founder began selling and servicing machines.

What a source says about each

Singer. Wikipedia: founded 1851 in New York City by Isaac M. Singer and Edward C. Clark; its original design was "the first practical sewing machine for general domestic use"; by 1860 it was the world's largest sewing machine maker. Wikipedia says the Singer, Husqvarna and Pfaff brands were merged under one group in 2006.
Bernina. Wikipedia: founded in Steckborn, Switzerland; 1893 is "considered the official founding year." It calls Bernina a privately owned maker of sewing and embroidery systems, with sergers and software too.
Brother. Wikipedia: began in Nagoya in 1908 as a sewing machine repair and parts business; mass production of home sewing machines began in 1932; it says it reached 70 million home machines in 2022.
Janome. Wikipedia: founded 1921 in Tokyo as the Pine Sewing Machine factory; it lists several "firsts" for Janome, including that it was "the first to develop a computerized machine for home use" (the Memory 7, 1979).
Juki. Wikipedia: Japan, brand from 1938; "known for" industrial and household sewing machines; "used to rank as the largest industrial sewing machine manufacturer in the world."
Baby Lock. Wikipedia: started in 1946 when mechanic Nick Tacony began selling and servicing machines from his home; family-owned, based in Fenton, Missouri.

Wikipedia is a general source and these are claims about company history, not about how a machine performs.

What the sources do not say

None of these pages compares machine quality, reliability or price between brands. We make no such claim.
We do not link to the makers. Check their own sites for current models and dealers.

The simpler option

Pick the machine, not the badge. Use what you sew to choose a category, and our buying guide for frame and motor questions. Check that bobbins and feet are easy to find for the brand you pick.

Browse by brand at the store

Our reason to click: the store gathers machines, bobbins and feet for each brand in one place.

We earn a small commission on qualifying sales, and 90% of it goes to charity (you can pick which); your price is unchanged. Full disclosure.

Brother sewing machinesThe store's Brother machine category.View at SewingMachinesPlus →Janome sewing machinesThe store's Janome machine category.View at SewingMachinesPlus →Singer sewing machinesThe store's Singer machine category.View at SewingMachinesPlus →Baby Lock sewing machinesThe store's Baby Lock machine category.View at SewingMachinesPlus →

Baby Lock, from the maker's own site

Our reason to click: Baby Lock sells some machines on its own site and the rest through retailers, and its pages say which. We read them in our Baby Lock review.

We earn a small commission on qualifying sales, and 90% of it goes to charity (you can pick which); your price is unchanged. Full disclosure.

Baby Lock sewing machinesThe maker's sewing machine category.View at Baby Lock →

Sources

SewingMachinesPlus collections page: sewingmachinesplus.com/collections (store page, shown as text so it is not a link), read 2026-10-20.
Wikipedia: Singer Corporation, read 2026-10-20.
Wikipedia: Bernina International, read 2026-10-20.
Wikipedia: Brother Industries, read 2026-10-20.
Wikipedia: Janome, read 2026-10-20.
Wikipedia: Juki, read 2026-10-20.
Wikipedia: Baby Lock, read 2026-10-20.

The SewingMachinesPlus links on this page are affiliate links. We earn a small commission on qualifying sales, and 90% of it goes to charity (you can pick which); your price is unchanged. Full disclosure.

Keep reading

Which sewing machine for what you sewAuthorized dealer and warranty: what the claim means and what to askMachine care and parts schedule