Brother Sewing Machine 9000 Review

The XR9000 is very lightweight, I don't know if that makes it less robust or not- it seems pretty sturdy but I would not use it for leather. The sewing mechanism is wonderful- very quiet and soft, like cutting through butter. Foot pedal is responsive and the speed limit slider works great. There's also a button control but for whatever weird reason you can not use the start/stop button while the pedal is plugged in; I don't foresee that button getting a lot of use.
There's a reverse/reinforce button which unfortunately is a temporary switch only- not a toggle. It can be used in conjunction with the foot pedal or you just hold the button down and it will go in reverse at a slow speed.

Several extra presser feet are included, e.g. buttonhole, buttonstitch, zipper, blind hem. The one thing I am missing is a quilting guide. There's a slot for it in the foot but it has to be purchased separately. While the accessories are fine, the accessory storage is not. There's a front panel section that you have to pull out and then inside there's a plastic pouch with all the goodies. You have to keep the stuff in the pouch or they'll fall out of the machine. For $0.20 more Brother could have added a proper compartment with a hinge- instead they took a very cheap and impractical storage approach.

Lighting is provided by a bright but focussed white LED. I am somewhat spoiled by having a high wattage light bulb in the previous machine which lit up the entire working area. The XR9000 LED lights up the presser foot really well but that's about it. The "automatic needle threading" is not automatic, but still extremely useful (I keep missing the eye when trying to do it manually).

Even though I wound 3 bobbins I still can't tell whether the machine has an automatic stopping mechanism or just slows down a lot once the bobbin is full. Either way you can run the winding at full speed for a minute and it's quite noticeable once it's complete. The bobbins are full-size and top-loading. There's a somewhat tricky part about catching a hook when loading the bobbin which is not well explained in the manual. The first time I missed that which resulted in unbalanced stitches; reloading the bobbin more carefully took care of it. Another nice feature is that you don't have to pull up the lower thread before you can start to sew.

The stitch patterns are plentiful and half of them look quite nice. The other half has weird default settings where the default stitch length is too long, you can adjust that in the display but it still strikes me as odd. The monogramming feature works- it's fixed size, fixed font and does not look all that great. The XR9000 does not have any adjustable settings for presser foot height or pressure. However, the included default presser foot has some kind of spring adjustment built in which is supposed to help with thick fabric layers. I have not had a chance to try it out yet. The manual and instructional DVD are great and cover all the essentials.

EDIT- 2 months later: I have been having problems with thin fabric veering off to the side which made it impossible to do blind hems or other straight stitches with tight tolerances. For 2 months I thought this was me using it wrong until I brought it to a local store. As it turns out the machine shipped with some defects- the shank was slightly angled and the feed dog timing was off. Repair was $60 and came with a warning by the mechanic that the Brother machines are not particulaly reliable due to lack of solid metal construction. Machine loses 1 star for this and the fact that Brother does not have many authorized service centers.

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Product Description:
80 built-in garment construction utility, decorative, hand look quilting, and heirloom stitches, each with multiple stitch functions (120 total stitch functions).To see all Brother XR9000 80 built-in stitchesTo see all Brother XR9000 120 stitch functionsExplore your creativity with the Brother XR9000 Computerized Sewing Machine, which offers 80 built-in utility, decorative, blanket, hand look quilting and heirloom stitches, each with multiple stitch functions (120 total). Create free-form or traditional quilt patterns with the drop feed. Features 8 styles of one-step auto-size buttonholes. Lightweight with a built-in handle for easy portability.

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Singer ESP-2 Electronic Steam Press Review

Worth every penny!DH and I both wear business professional to work each day.At $3.25 per pair of pants, my dry cleaning bill was at least $45 - $50 a week doing both pants and shirts.It was getting ridiculous!So I splurged for this Singer steam press and it has worked out perfectly.I only do the pants (shirts are $1.25 each and it's worth it to me to drop those at the cleaners bc they are a pain and I simply don't have the time).

I near-dry the pants and then let them hang overnight.Then I steam press them, half a leg at a time, from the hem to the highest point the presser can go, only doing from the center seam out to the crease.So each pant gets 4 presses.I don't bother with the tops of the pants or the pleats.They look fine coming straight from the dryer.But if they need it, I'll use a traditional iron for that.It took some practice, but I've got it down to less than 1 minute per pair without rushing.They come out perfect and I'm saving a ton of money.We wear 10 pairs of pants each week.So each week I'm saving over $32.00 on my cleaning bill.In about 2 months, I was already ahead.

My only beef was that the steamer would leave little wet spots on the pants (that dried and no problem).But I discovered that was operator-error.I was steaming for 2-3 seconds and you really only need 1 second.And don't try to use this for shirts.You'll spend more time fixing the little creases than if you just used a regular iron.But for my purposes, this thing is a dream!

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Product Description:
Give garments that "fresh from the cleaners" finish with this electronic steam press. Almost 14 times larger than a conventional iron, the unit's 24-by-9-inch pressing area reduces pressing time by as much as 50 percent, delivering a professional-looking press to large fabric surfaces such as table linens and draperies. Using just fingertip force to lower the handle, the appliance exerts 100 pounds of pressure for easily removing stubborn wrinkles or pressing several layers at a time. Choose between no steam or electronically pumped variable steam. With no steam, the unit can operate as a dry press when working with delicate fabrics; its electronically pumped variable steam delivers a true burst of steam from steam openings that cover the entire pressing area, ensuring the total area receives the benefits of steam.
"Power" and "temperature-ready" indicators take the guess work out of knowing the press temperature. Select from nylon, silk, wool, cotton, or linen settings--the press will remain at a consistent temperature to protect fabrics. If the handle gets left in the down position, an alarm will sound after 10 seconds as a reminder to lift the handle to ensure that fabrics are not exposed to the heating plate too long. For peace of mind, the unit's automatic shut-off turns off the power if its handle remains in the up or down position for too long. Ample space at the back of the pressing board comes in handy for holding large items as they are being pressed. The portable press comes with a lockable handle for storing in a vertical position, and it weighs only 22 pounds for simple transport. Accessories include a measuring cup, spray bottle, pressing cushion, washable pad cover, and an instruction book. The electronic steam press measures approximately 13 by 24 by 12 inches and carries a one-year limited warranty.

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Handy Stitch Sewing Machine (As Seen On TV) Review

This is one of those items that really is too good to be true.I've read reviews of people saying that it doesn't work because the stitching just pulls out and because it doesn't have a second bobbin underneath, but that actually isn't true.If you pull the tailend thread through the fabric, you can tie it off and it'll hold the stitching.And the thread actually loops onto a hook underneath, where you would expect a second bobbin to be, and that's how it makes stitches.
The REAL issue with this is that the thread often slips off the the hook in the middle of sewing and you have a bunch of loose stitches.When it doesn't slip, it's great!Too bad it doesn't ever NOT slip.I managed to sew one seam of a dress I was making, the first seam, and after that it wouldn't sew without dropping stitches.Luckily I got this as a gift, and it has inspired me to start sewing, but now I need to get my hands on a actual machine that ACTUALLY sews.Don't waste your $10 + shipping on this!!Put it towards a real machine.

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Product Description:
Introducing the New Handy Stitch - Cordless, hand-held sewing machine thats so compact it fits in the palm of your hand. Great for beginners or experts; for use indoors or out.Handy Stitch is the portable hand-held sewing machine that packs the power of larger, more expensive machines. Its great for quick repairs or jobs that conventional desktop machines cant handle, like sewing curtains while on the rod, or mending a torn pocket without having to remove your pants.AC ADAPTER NOT INCLUDED This item will take 2-3 weeks to ship. Shipments cannot be expedited on this item. .

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Handhel Sewing Machine Review

I bought this item and it never worked. It made this pathetic little whirring noise like it was trying to , but just couldn't. It was flimsy, cheap, and a couple metal pieces were starting to rust. Keep in mind that I bought this new. The knob on the side fell off on first use to. Don't waste your money. I wouldn't buy this even at a dollar store!

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Product Description:
Handhel Sewing Machine

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Singer 1748 32-Stitch Sewing Machine with 4-Step Buttonhole Review

If you don't sew too much it's a good little machine, but oh so frustrating to change the bobbin and every time you use the thread cutter the presser foot falls off. If I looked closer on this machine I would never have bought it, I would have made sure the bobbin loads from the top. If you want to put this machine in a sewing table, you have to crawl under the table to change bobbin. To thread a new bobbin you have to rethread...........summary. good for once in a while sewing and mending,priced good,but not user friendly.


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Product Description:
Equipped with 32 unique stitch patterns, this multifunctional sewing machine handles an array of sewing projects. The unit features a four-step built-in buttonhole system to create perfect buttonholes, a timesaving automatic needle threader, adjustable stitch settings, and a free arm for sewing pant legs, cuffs, and sleeves. Accessories include four snap-on pressure feet--a standard presser foot, zipper foot, buttonhole foot, and button-sewing foot, as well as a feed cover plate, a pack of needles and bobbins, two spool caps, a screwdriver, oil, a seam ripper and lint brush, and a dust cover. A built-in compartment for storing all the accessories and an instruction manual (in English, French, and Spanish) are also included. The sewing machine measures 15 by 8 by 12 inches and carries a 90-day parts warranty, a two-year electrical and motor warranty, and a 25-year machine-head warranty.

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Thread/ bobbins Kit for all Sewing Machines Review

I was very dissappointed with this purchase. The colors shown in the photo were not all included and everything was cheaply made.

There were only 5 colors, and very little thread on each bobbin.It was difficult to find the end of the thread to start unwinding, and even the cardboard bobbin was very thin, and collapsed easily.The case for the needles broke apart when I attempted to swivel the top to dispense needles, and the scizzors is a very cheap metal.Don't waste your time with this item.I'll be shopping for another sewing kit, and replacing this one.

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Sewing With Nancy SWN10 EZ Lock Serger Machine Review

This is my first serger. I'm thrilled with the instructional video it came with, the easy to use manual, and the quality of this machine. Nancy recommends practicing threading daily until you're comfortable.It didn't take long! Adjusting tensions is also clearly explained. It has a number of features I couldn't get without spending much more money and comes with lots of accessories. I easily found the needles online too. I can hardly wait to try out all the stitches this machine is capable of.I'm an experienced seamstress but a novice about serging. I feel confident I'll be able to use the EZ Lock without difficulty. I'm very happy with the speed and simplicity sewing is now. I'll always have my sewing machine - but boy am I glad I finally bought a serger!

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Product Description:
A multifunctional must-have for any sewer, this easy-to-use machine sews a seam, finishes the edge, and trims away any excess fabric--all in one step. The serger offers 4/3/2 color-coded EZ threading, differential feed, a free arm for hems and sleeves, and adjustable stitch length and width. For added convenience, it provides stitch functions to do a rolled-edge hem, flatlock seaming, and gathering and decorative chaining. A filled accessory case comes included containing needles, a snap-on blind-hem foot, a snap-on elastic foot, a rolled-hem needle plate, and more. The versatile machine comes in handy for a variety of sewing projects, and features a lightweight design for portability and feet to help keep it stable during operation. The user guide and instructional DVD help get sewing enthusiasts started. The serger measures 13 by 9-3/5 by 11-4/5 inches.

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