laadw

http://www.hancockfabrics.com/Brothe...E9153E6692A6C0

Is this a good deal?
Is this a good machine for a quilter?
What is a built-in free arm for sewing cuffs and sleeves?
Does anyone know if this has kneedle up/ down function?
Do you think you can drop the feed dogs on this one?

hokieappmom

Don't know about the quilting, but sounds like a good deal to me. I have a brother esante and really like it, but it has embroidery on it too. The one step button hole attachment is nice, and it is user friendly.

Prism99

The free arm simply means you can remove that little toolbox/table in front of the needle so you can slip a sleeve over the arm. Most new machines come with a free arm. Also, most new machines allow you to drop the feed dogs.

To find out if it has needle up/down, I would go to the brother sewing machine website and check out the model. You also really want to have infinitely adjustable stitch width and stitch length on a machine. I can't tell from the description if those 25 stitches are all pre-sets or if you can select one and then modify it by changing stitch width or length.

It looks on the lightweight side for quilting. I read the reviews in your link, and the third one mentions that it was a little difficult to sew fleece. If it doesn't handle fleece easily, it is probably going to bulk at a quilt sandwich for machine quilting.

In terms of price, this is at the very low end for a sewing machine. Some low-end machines are better than others. To find out how people like this particular model, go to http://www.patternreviews.com . Select category "sm/serger" and then put in your model. Unfortunately, all of the many Brother models will come up but, if you are patient and scroll through the reviews, you are likely to find several for this model.

I personally would not rely on a machine like this for all my quilting needs. If I needed to look only at low-cost machines, my first choice would probably be Sears Kenmore machines because they tend to deliver more bang for the buck.

cjomomma

I own 2 brothers and have been very happy with them. paid $99.00 for one and $59.00 for the other one it was on clearance. 1 has fancy stitches and the other is just straight or zigzag.

pocoellie

Personally speaking, I think this machine would be fine if you only planned on sewing once in a great while, but used daily I think it would soon bite the dust.

sewcrafty

Looks like a nice machine, but the throat on it is small and if you plan on doing machine quilting it could be bothersome. :D

Gal

I have had Brother sewing machines for over 35 years and I would recommend them to anyone, my first was a wooden base before the free arm came out, from back in the early 70's, my daughter has it now and it is still sewing!!

Gal

quilterella

It doesn't mention anything about free motion quilting, but, on that site if you click on the brother in the left hand column, they show two machines. Yes, the second one is alittle more but you can drop the feed dogs and do free motion. Good luck on which ever you choose, a new machine is always exciting.

ranger

I have had a low-end model from Brother for years. It is a real workhorse. The one thing that I don't like about it is the small throat area.I have machine-quilted large quilts on it BUT it was not an easy job. If you are going to be quilting big quilts, I would look for a machine with a larger throat area.