We here at So Sew English love sewing, and we love our machines! We thought that it would be fun to share our favorite machines with you- sewing machines, sergers and even vinyl cutters!- and what we love about them! Read on to find out more:
I recently upgraded my serger and there are so many choices out there, that it was a bit overwhelming at first. Luckily, I was able to try the machines that Amanda has in her sewing room, and it helped me narrow down my choices. For years I’d been using the Brother 1034D and although it had served me well, I was ready to move on to a machine with a bit more power to keep up with my prolific sewing. When I tested out Amanda’s machines, I was blown away by the Bernina L850! It is such a beautiful machine, but was I was looking for a more mid-priced machine. I researched Bernina and discovered that they have a line of machines that are more affordable, the bernette line. I fell in love with the bernette 64 airlock and reached out to Bernina to find out more. They kindly offered to loan me a model to see if it is a good fit for me. I’m crazy about it and so glad that I picked that one! The air threading is a dream come true! I’ve been using the b64 for a few months now and have grown to appreciate the cool features that it offers, such as the micro thread control that allows you to adjust the looper thread with a flip of a switch, so your looper tension is always perfect. I love to use the extension plate when I’m working on larger projects, and it even has a rolled hem setting to take the guess work out of sewing a rolled hem. I haven’t tried the accessory that allows you to lift the presser foot with your knee, but it looks so cool I need to try it. I’ve used my b64 on a wide variety of fabrics from the lightest weight woven to heavy denim and it has proven to be a real workhorse! Check out the air threading here, up close.
I have the Juki HZL-F600 sewing machine. I love my machine because of the variety of stitches it can do, and because of its ease of use. The knee lever is incredibly handy for controlling the presser foot, and the buttons and dials make it very easy to choose a stitch style and control the length/width. It has loads of decorative stitches that I haven’t even used yet, as well as a few fonts for some fun embroidery accents. Threading the machine is a breeze, as is winding up a fresh bobbin. Tension control is also very straightforward, and I haven’t had any issues sewing a wide range of fabric weights. The workspace is very well lit, thanks to the LEDs, and I have found it to be spacious enough for all my sewing and topstitching projects. I look forward to learning about the automated button hole feature, and playing around with all the stitch styles in the future!
I have the Cricut Explorer Air 2 that I absolutely love! It has made crafting so much more fun and easy. There are hundreds of things it can do but one of my favorite things is that I can easily create custom iron-on decals for the clothes that I make. It can take less than 10 minutes to get a custom decal created and applied to the garment of your choice. It comes with Design Space, which is the platform where you will be able to design or upload already purchased designs and create what you want. Whether it’s a random idea or for a special event you can customize any clothes you make with ease. If you enjoy creating and want to take your outfits to the next level then one of these machines should be on your radar.
Where do I start with my Juki 654DE? How about the fact that it literally worked perfectly right outta the box!
This machine is a SOLID workhorse that powers through many layers of fabric with no difficulty. Its smoothness is undeniable, and its purring is music to my ears. Nothing stops this little beast, as proof by the many headless pins that have gathered in my scrap tray.
Not only is this machine reliable and dependable, it was also super affordable and was the first true PROFESSIONAL piece of machinery I purchased to help me improve and expand my sewing skills. This serger is the reason I fell in love with the Juki name brand.
My most used machine has to be, by a landslide, my Brother 1034D serger. This affordable serger was even more cost effective for me because I bought it used from a thrift shop at an amazing price! All it took was a little cleaning, new needles and thread, and she was good to go!
I use this machine daily to do everything- sewing seams, finishing hems, gathering skirts- you name it, and this little machine can do it. As a beginning apparel sewist a few years ago, I appreciated the wealth of information available online about this serger. A quick YouTube search showed me hundreds of tutorials about everything this machine can do- from threading help to advanced techniques. There's even Facebook groups dedicated to the Brother 1034D! That was invaluable to me as a beginner, and helped me to gain a lot of confidence by enabling me to just jump in and start using it right away. Plus, it's a great machine!
After years of using this little serger daily for all sorts of tasks, it's still going strong! It doesn't have a lot of frills, but it's the dependable workhorse of my sewing room, and I couldn't do a thing without it!
Hey everyone! I wanted to share a little about my Bernette b77 that I recently got. I am so pleased with it! I’ve used it for sewing woven and knit, attaching buttons, even sewing through several layers of webbing making my son a fanny pack and it has performed beautifully! I love that the needle threaded works well every time and it’s easy to set up and navigate. My favorite feature is the dual feed which makes sewing knits a breeze. I used it to attach elastic to my bra straps and everything feed through smoothly and evenly! You can check out a video of it in action of my Instagram as well. I would highly recommend the b77 and the b64 airlock serger as well!
Here's a link to my Instagram with a video that shows more about my Bernette B77: https://www.instagram.com/p/CRZkgRXAuGE/?utm_medium=copy_link
And that's it for our favorite machines! What is your favorite machine to use while sewing? Let us know in our Facebook group, So Sew English Fabrics!