sewing machine with lcd screen free sample

If you have decided you want to monogram towels, clothing, blankets, and any other personal items, you will need a sewing machine that monograms. Either that or plan to monogram by hand with a needle and thread!

For example, here is a three-letter initial monogram I created with embroidery software. The letters aren’t overlapping, but the middle letter is larger than the other two.

Here is a simple monogram using letters that are all the same size. This type of monogram can be created using the built-in alphabet stitches on a sewing machine.

First, there’s a sewing machine that has a built-in monogramming font or two. There are many sewing machines that have a full arsenal of sewing stitches and then a couple of built-in fonts. These are computerized sewing machines, but they are not computerized embroidery machines. While you can use anything built into the machine, you cannot import fonts or monograms from your computer. This type of machine is able to form the monogram you saw above with equal-sized letters.

If you want to design your own monograms or make letters of different sizes, then you are likely looking for a sewing machine that is also an embroidery machine and as such monograms. Embroidery machines are typically costlier but offer much more functionality and variety.

I’ve written a very in-depth post about some of the best combination sewing and embroidery machines, which all have the ability to sew, import designs, and use their built-in fonts to create monograms. You can also purchase an embroidery-only machine that doesn’t have built-in sewing capabilities if you want just a monogramming machine.

And if you’re looking for a sewing machine that can do free-motion monogramming, this is possible with any sewing machine. No need for a special type, but there’s a learning curve, so make sure to watch tutorials if you have no experience.

Now, again, these are sewing machines that have monogramming fonts but don’t have the ability to import additional fonts or designs. If this isn’t what you’re looking for, just skip on over this to monogramming embroidery machines.

Now, the Singer Quantum Stylist sewing machine is still not a traditional embroidery machine, but it does come with five alphanumeric stitch fonts. These are just five of the 600 included stitches with this machine! It’s a diverse monogram sewing machine that will allow users to quilt, make clothes, applique, craft, and so much more.

Fun features of this sewing machine include a thread trimmer button, built-in needle threader, included wide table, and one-touch stitch selection from a computerized screen.

Overall, the Singer Quantum Stylist 9960 is an incredible value for its features, but it’s not going to be able to make fancy three-letter, differently-sized monograms without free-motion embroidery on your part.

The less commercially available Singer monogramming machines, the Singer Quantum Stylist 9980 and Singer Stylist 9985, include 820 stitches (5 fonts) and 960 stitches (6 fonts), respectively, if you’re needing even more variety!

The Brother HC1850 sewing machine is a computerized sewing and quilting machine that includes one monogramming font. This font is a one size, one style fits all font. The font is not “decorative” and is an unchangeable 1/4″ tall. It’s also not a font that you’ll be able to use to make traditional 3-letter monograms where the middle letter is larger.

However, if your main goal of monogramming is just adding your child’s name to their clothes or a label to a quilt, then you’ll be golden with this sewing machine that monograms! Of course, if you’re interested in free-motion embroidery, the Brother HC1850 has everything you need to create beautiful monograms!

The Brother HC1850 sewing machine is a full-featured Brother sewing machine. It comes with a detachable, wide table and a small LCD screen allowing for stitch selection and changing stitch length or width.

It also has an automatic needle threader, automatic drop feed, and has a jam-resistant, top-drop bobbin. As a loyal Brother sewing machine user, I can attest to how easy setting up and threading a Brother sewing machine is.

Instead of 130 stitches, you’ll get 110 stitches. Operationally, these two machines are identical and their font is the same, too. It’s just a preset font allowing you to add small letters to fabric. Again, you won’t be able to create large monograms unless you are interested in learning free-motion embroidery.

And lastly, another similar Brother sewing machine, the Brother SQ9285, has the same font but comes with 150 stitches plus the 55 alphanumeric stitches. You can read more about it on Walmart.com.

It comes with one primary English mode, but there is an option to add European accented letters or Russian/Cyrillic characters. You can change the size just a bit on the letters and do lowercase or uppercase, but this is still not an embroidery machine.

However, this diverse machine sews, quilts, and boasts several on-screen editing features. Unlike the Brother sewing machines that monogram, the Janome 4120QDC has an actual touchscreen. Thus, it offers a little bit more to the user.

Its one-hand needle threader makes threading the sewing machine a breeze, and several automatic features such as thread trimming and easy bobbin winding make setup and use so simple.

EverSewn isn’t as well-known as a sewing machine brand as Brother, but it comes with a loyal following. They produce technologically advanced products at affordable prices.

This is the sewing machine my Mom currently uses, and she loves it! It’s got two basic alphabet fonts with, as you guessed it, minimal editing capabilities. But, it will be perfect for small lettering.

These embroidery machines will have built-in fonts for monogramming, but you can also import your own. This means either buying fonts or pre-made monograms online or designing your own using embroidery software. (I show you how to design a monogram embroidery file in Sew What Pro if you want to check that out!)

Each embroidery machine will have a maximum hoop size, which corresponds with a maximum embroidery area. This is the largest monogram you will be able to create unless you split your design and stitch it in several sections. The least expensive embroidery machines will offer a 4″x4″ hoop size, and the size and price will go up from there.

If you plan to start a home embroidery small business and need to monogram, for instance, at least 7″ monograms, save yourself the headache of splitting every design, and purchase an embroidery machine with a larger hoop size to accommodate those designs. It’s not the end of the world to split designs, but it can be time-consuming to line everything up perfectly after stitching the first section, and time is money!

The Brother SE600 features a 4″x4″ embroidery area, which isn’t humongous, but again, with embroidery software, you can split designs to allow your machine to embroider even larger areas. You have the option to import any design you find online (or create with software) to the machine using a USB.

In terms of built-in fonts, there are 6 fonts that come in sizes small, medium, or large. This allows you to put together 2 small letters and one large letter on the screen to create a monogram. There are also built-in frames and borders to jazz up the monogram a bit.

I own the Brother SE625 embroidery machine and love its ease of use! I embroider anything and everything with it. If you compare the Brother SE600 vs SE625, the only differences are in the color of the faceplate and a CD with an extra 200 designs that come with the SE625. So, these are almost identical machines.

I especially love how you can set it to automatically trim threads, do reverse/reinforcement stitches, and how you have the ability to edit patterns on the color touchscreen.

If you want to upgrade to a 5″x7″ hoop size, consider the Brother SE1900 embroidery machine. (You can read my review of the Brother SE1900 sewing and embroidery machine for all the details.) In addition to the larger hoop size, it offers 240 sewing stitches.

The EverSewn Sparrow X is unique in that it does not require design transport via USB. Instead, it works by WiFi. All you need to do is download the free EverSewn Pro app to a WiFi-enabled device of your choice. On the screen of your phone, tablet, or computer, you then edit your designs and control embroidering from your device.

If you’re a newbie to embroidery, let me be the first to tell you: it’s not a quick hobby. Stitching even a small, single-color monogram on my 4″x4″ field takes 4-5 minutes. If you have a large design that requires more than 5 threads, this becomes a lengthy adventure! You have to sit near your machine to monitor when it’s time to change threads. If you have a device, though, to alert you of the machine progress, you can do something else around your house and then return to change threads more efficiently.

One other cool thing about this monogramming sewing machine is it reads all of the most common embroidery file formats (.pes, .xxx, .dst, etc), so you won’t constantly have to convert embroidery files.

First, it comes with its own Embroidery Intro PC Software. This has another 10 included fonts and the ability to create an unlimited number of other embroidery fonts for monogramming. You can also create decorative monograms within the program. This saves having to buy additional software, which is the case with most embroidery sewing machines that monogram. Of course, you can use a USB to transfer designs to the machine also.

With the Designer Jade 35, you also have the ability to embroider up to 9 1/2″ x 6″ monograms without rehooping and a large 8″ sewing space to the right of your needle.

If you have problems with poor eyesight, poor dexterity, or just plain hate threading your sewing machine needle by hand, you might benefit from a self-threading sewing machine.

By touching its lever, wrapping your thread around it, and releasing it, the apparatus threads the needle for you. Below is a picture of me with my automatic needle threader on my Brother cs6000i. The gray lever on the left and the piece with the upside-down, V-shaped hook make up the apparatus.

The upgraded version of the Brother CS6000i and CS7000i sewing machines, the Brother CS7000X sewing machine is one of the best Brother sewing machines for the money.

I’ve had this sewing machine for several months now and have included pictures and extra info about the needle threader in my Brother CS7000X sewing machine review!

Being a more advanced computerized sewing machine, the use of the foot pedal is optional. You can instead sew with touch buttons and a slider on the front of the sewing machine.

An updated machine, the Brother CS5055 now has the same new needle threader as the Brother CS7000X. (The CS5055 is also identical to the Brother CP60X sewing machine, just with a different faceplate coloring.)

It includes a bit more than the Brother XM2701 (listed below) to the tune of 60 stitches, 7 automatic buttonholes, and 7 presser feet. This gives you more options when making dresses or other garments as well as sewing more advanced projects. One of its sewing feet is an overcasting foot, which when used with an overcasting stitch, can form a seam and finish fabric edges simultaneously.

As a computerized sewing machine, it offers a bit more help and accuracy to the user at times. For instance, there’s an LCD screen on the front of the sewing machine. On this screen, you choose the stitch number and alter the length and width.

Furthermore, the screen suggests a matching presser foot for your selected stitch. If your sewing machine isn’t functioning as expected, the screen also displays an error code that can help you troubleshoot problems.

Complete with 27 stitches, one automatic buttonhole, and a surprising collection of accessory feet, this Brother self-threading sewing machine will impress you with its ability to sew and quilt.

A great value, the Brother XM2701 sewing machine is one of the least expensive sewing machines with an automatic needle threader you’ll find. It’s also one of the best Brother sewing machines for beginners.

If you like the ease of sewing machines that practically thread themselves, you’ll also appreciate the other automated features of the Brother XM2701 sewing machine.

Specifically, bobbin winding is accomplished easily and almost automatically on the top of the sewing machine. The bobbin is also a top-drop, quick-set bobbin. This means you don’t even have to worry about drawing the bobbin thread up when you start to sew. The sewing machine will do that for you as soon as you start sewing.

If you’re a Singer sewing machine lover, the Singer 3232 is a great self-threading sewing machine. It’s not as snazzy as their Quantum Stylist sewing machines, but it has a nice set of features for most sewists.

With 32 stitches (you can adjust length or width using the dials) and one automatic one-step buttonhole, it is fairly comparable to the Brother XM2701 sewing machine.

Like these other automatic threading sewing machines, the Singer 3232 features a built-in free arm, which is helpful for sewing cylindrical projects like pants hems.

The Singer 4423 is the most cost-efficient heavy-duty sewing machine that includes an automatic needle threader. It’s the heavy-duty sewing machine that I own and use!

What differentiates it from a standard sewing machine is its increased versatility as it relates to fabric selection. As such, the maximum sewing speed is much higher, and the sewing machine frame is composed of heavy metal. That way it won’t skip around while sewing!

Heavy-duty sewing machines, while uniquely set apart to handle thick fabrics like denim or canvas, can sew with ease through even thin fabrics. So if you’re looking to routinely test the thickness limits of a regular sewing machine, I’d recommend considering a heavy-duty sewing machine. In general, I’ve found anything greater than about 6 mm in thickness is a stretch for my Brother CS6000i.

If you want more stitches or more features, the more advanced Singer 4432 and 4452 sewing machines also boast identical automatic needle threaders. And if you’re looking for a very high-tech, heavy-duty sewing machine, consider the computerized Brother ST150HDH.

Within brands, and even between brands, the threading apparatuses are very similar. Thus, your choice of self-threading sewing machines ultimately depends on what other features you want in your machine.

As a note, sewing machines with automatic needle threaders may take a few minutes of practice and a YouTube video or two to learn to use, but they’re well worth it!

Just be careful with your automatic needle threader. Within my first few weeks of use, I managed to bend the tiny inside hook in a battle between my threader and myself. So while these self-threading sewing machines will save you a lot of time and hassle, be sure to treat this tool with the delicacy it deserves.

The Brother SE625 2-in-1 sewing and 4" x 4" embroidery machine gives you more! More color with a large color touch LCD screen, more designs, more fonts, more workspace, and features for creative sewing. View your embroidery designs in full color on the large, 3.7" Sew Smart color LCD touch screen display, and preview your design edits on the screen, before stitching. Expanded embroidery design editing features include the ability to change individual thread colors, place lettering in an arc, move designs on the touch screen display with the touch of a finger, and much more.

Choose from 280 fresh, inspiring embroidery designs built in and on the included CD, or import your own designs through the USB port. Sewing features include 103 versatile built-in sewing stitches, needle up/down and variable speed controls and drop feed for creative free-motion sewing. The expanded 6.4" w x 4.1" h needle-to-arm workspace allows more room for folding quilts and bulkier projects to the right of the needle, for easier sewing.

Included are 7 quick-change sewing feet, with spring action zigzag, buttonhole, overcasting, monogramming, zipper, blind stitch and button sewing feet. The spring action zigzag foot is designed with a longer foot, and, combined with the longer 7-point feed dogs, help provide smoother fabric feeding.

280 embroidery designs total, with 80 built in and 200 on the included CD, including beautiful decorative alphabet, Greek applique, borders, holiday, sports, florals, kids and nature designs

I learned how to use a sewing machine as a kid in a "Here, earn your Girl Scout badge" kind of way, but it wasn"t until early 2020 that I took a six-week beginner sewing class at SewLeana in Maplewood, New Jersey, and got hooked. Less than three years later, I’m an avid sewist, and I’ve made clothes, quilts, bags, home-decor items—even a pair of jeans. (And yes, my butt looks great in them.) Fun fact: My first sewing machine, a holiday gift in 2019, was this guide’s previous top pick.

In preparation for writing this guide, I spoke to several sewing professionals to get their advice and personal requirements for a good machine. This group included sewing teacher Léana Lu of SewLeana, professional tailor and jeans-making queen Lauren Taylor, tailor and workwear designer Kelly Hogaboom, sewist and accessibility advocate Samantha Waude, and sewing-ergonomics expert Rose Parr. For previous versions of this guide, other writers interviewed couture sewing teacher Susan Khalje, longtime sewing machine repairperson Harvey Federman of Sew Right Sewing Machines, and Sarai Mitnick of Seamwork and Colette Patterns.Who should get this

If you’re seeking a reliable, versatile sewing machine that can bang out projects from quilting to garment making, as well as handle heavier fabrics like denim or the kind used in home decor (especially if you don’t think you’ll want or need to upgrade to a pro-level machine in the next few years), this guide is for you.

The pandemic brought with it a more widespread interest in sewing, whether because it’s a creative, practical hobby that can be carried out at home, or because people finally found the time for those “I’d love to learn if I ever had the time” activities, or perhaps as a side effect of the “homesteading” mindset. For many people, sewing face masks for themselves or others was a gateway.

But regardless of the impetus for learning, the benefits of knowing your way around a sewing machine are manifold. It’s undeniably useful—not to mention particularly satisfying—to be able to hem, repair, or even entirely design and create your own fabric goods. Sewing can be a great way to make new friends, since there’s an active and generally friendly online sewing community to connect with. And the health benefits of having a hobby, regardless of what it is, have been documented time and time again.

If you’ve never touched a sewing machine before, we recommend trying one out at a dealer and purchasing in person. Although sewing machines are relatively simple to operate, the mechanics of even basic manual machines can seem a little intimidating to the novice. A good dealer can show you the ropes—stuff like winding the bobbin, replacing the needle, threading the machine, and adjusting stitches—which will probably save you hours of frustration trying to learn on your own. Plus, dealers often throw in complimentary sewing classes or other perks like servicing if you purchase through them.How we picked

A person can spend anywhere from about $100 to over $15,000 on a sewing machine, but more expensive doesn’t always equal better. There is no one-size-fits-all “best machine”; the ideal option for an expert quilter doesn’t necessarily have the right features for a DIYer who wants to make curtains or repair fraying cuffs and dragging hems. You don’t need to go all-out for your first machine, either, but it should have enough features so that you can continue to use it as your skill set grows.

To assemble an initial list of models for potential testing, I consulted recommendations from publications such as Good Housekeeping and The Strategist, scoured Reddit and the forums on PatternReview.com, looked at reviews from Amazon and Joann customers, and polled sewing friends near and far, in person, over email, and on Instagram, where the modern sewing community is alive and well. I also asked sewing machine manufacturers about their best sellers and fan favorites.

For this guide, we focused on machines that cost $500 or less and were simple enough for beginners to use but had features and options that more advanced sewists might be able to take advantage of. We also prioritized versatility, seeking out flexible machines that could work well on a variety of fabric and project types.

Sewing-ergonomics expert Rose Parr told me, “A big mistake a lot of people make is buying [a first machine that’s] too simple,” since they’ll end up needing to upgrade too soon. But at the same time, it’s important that beginners not buy a machine that’s so complicated, it’s intimidating or confusing to use. To strike that crucial balance, here’s what we looked for in a good starter sewing machine:

Easy to use: First and foremost, the controls should be simple and intuitive. It should be easy to set up the machine to sew—winding the bobbin and threading the needle—and straightforward to select and customize the stitches you want. Workwear designer Kelly Hogaboom told me that more than once they have encountered beginner sewists who wanted to give up because of a frustrating machine but were too inexperienced to know that it was the machine’s fault things weren’t turning out how they wanted, not their own. It’s important that your machine makes you feel empowered and is easy to get good outcomes from. Lauren Taylor, a sewing teacher and tailor, said, “Tools are not going to make or break your skill level. I can sew on anything. I can make anything work at this point. But starting out, if I’d had [bad] tools, I would have given up.”

Smooth stitching:The machine should produce even stitches and seams that don’t wander. It should pull the fabric along at an even pace without the sewist feeling like they have to force it, and the machine should smoothly sew through a range of fabrics without jamming or damaging the material.

Variety of presser feet:A presser foot is a small, flat attachment that holds your fabric in place as the needle pierces it, and presser feet come in many varieties to suit different tasks. “The right specialty foot can make learning new techniques so much easier,” Sarai Mitnick emphasized. Some of the most useful feet include a clear-plastic foot, an edge-stitching foot, a buttonhole foot, a zipper foot, an invisible-zipper foot, and a blind-stitch foot for creating blind hems. Some machines work only with presser feet from the same specific brand, whereas others work with generic feet. It’s a bonus if a machine takes generic feet or comes with a good variety in the box, because additional feet (such as walking feet) can be expensive.

Automatic buttonholer: Buttonholes are difficult to sew cleanly on your own even once, not to mention seven times in a row, as on a button-up shirt. This is one area in which modern technology can really help out. Some machines sew buttonholes in four steps, while others do a one-step buttonhole or even offer multiple types of buttonholes that are suitable for different purposes. Typically, manual machines feature a four-step configuration, while computerized models usually have automatic (one-step) buttonholes. It’s possible to sew a buttonhole using a bar-tack (essentially a very dense zigzag), but for a uniform buttonhole that’s the exact right size for your button of choice, a clean automatic buttonhole function is a lifesaver, sparing you the time and frustration that you might spend with a more manual application.

Good light: Sewing is close work, and having a good light built into your machine is essential to saving your eyes and your posture. None of the machines we tested offer the ability to adjust the light, and many sewists choose to add a desk lamp or an LED strip of lights to further brighten their sewing space, but a machine shouldn’t have you squinting from the get-go.

Adjustable needle position: This feature allows you to move the needle off-center (to the left or right) while straight-stitching, which is helpful to get professional-looking edge stitching and essential for precise stitch placement on tiny surfaces as in lingerie sewing or detail work.

Needle up/down: With this feature, you can choose whether the sewing needle rises or stays embedded in the fabric when you stop sewing. Most computerized machines have a button to automatically raise or lower the needle, and often you can change settings to always have the needle stop in the down position. That’s extremely handy when you’re pivoting around a corner or curve, or when you want to make adjustments without accidentally jarring your line of stitching.

Adjustable feed-dog height: The feed dogs are the small metal teeth, just below the needle, that help pull the fabric across the sewing surface. If you can adjust the height of the feed dogs, you can more easily sew a variety of fabrics, or you can even put the feed dogs all the way down for something like free-motion quilting or darning. If you’re interested in sustainability, you may want to learn to darn garments on your machine. Hogaboom mentioned that “the mending movement is getting bigger all the time,” and advised that sustainability-minded sewists should make sure they have a darning foot (sometimes labeled as an embroidery foot) and the ability to drop the feed dogs to more easily focus on areas that need reinforcement.

Variety of stitches:More stitches on your machine doesn’t always equal better—who’s going to use 600 separate stitches, really?—but the right stitch can make the difference between a cringing “Is that homemade?” and an awestruck “You made that?” Ultimately, what matters is that the stitches you need (straight stitch, stretch stitches, and triple-stitch are all versatile options) are included. “Unless you are making embroidered items for your Etsy shop, you’ll never have a need for all those stitches,” sewing instructor Léana Lu said. But decorative and specialty stitches can be fun and can add a special touch to projects.

Sewing surface: The most versatile machines can also transform the size of their sewing surfaces to be both bigger and smaller, depending on the project. For larger projects like garments or quilts, an attachable extension table is helpful to keep the fabric from slipping around. For something like the cuffs of a pair of jeans or a similarly tight squeeze, being able to remove part of the machine’s surface to expose a free arm—a much smaller surface that helps you get to that part without accidentally sewing your pants leg (or any other tubular piece) closed—on the machine is especially useful. Most machines we tested had a free arm, but not all came with an extension table.

Thorough manual: A great manual is clearly written, offering general use instructions, troubleshooting tips, maintenance guidelines, and advice regarding what stitches to use when. Be wary of machines with skimpy or poorly written manuals, since they probably portend other issues with support down the road.

Warranty:We found that most machines designed for beginners come with a similar warranty: one year on labor (for things like calibration or other issues that occur right out of the box) and two to five years on electronics. Although all of these machines have what is called a limited 25-year warranty, it’s usually not all that helpful. “As for the 25-year warranty, that will never come into play,” Harvey Federman told us in an interview for a previous version of this guide. “That is on the head, which is essentially the frame. If you don’t drop it, it won’t break.” If you do end up needing to use the warranty, Federman told us: “The labor makes up the bulk of the repair charge, and that labor is usually only as good as the dealer it was purchased from. In a low-price machine, that could mean that after the first year it might not be worth repairing.”

Built-in needle threader: Most machines come with a built-in needle-threading mechanism to save sewists the often frustrating work of grappling with the tiny eye. However, in practice, some of these mechanisms are fussier to use than just doing it yourself. Still, if you have poor eyesight, a good needle threader can be a huge help, no matter how finicky it is.

Adjustable presser-foot pressure: A machine with this feature allows you to adjust the pressure of the presser foot to make it easier to sew a variety of fabrics or projects of varying thickness. This is a rare feature at this price range—available on just a few of the machines we tested—but it’s nice to have for the occasional instance when you need it.

The 2017 update to this guide included testing of seven models. In 2022, we tested 12 machines, including our former picks and new contenders. Six of the machines were mechanical and six were computerized, and they ranged in price from about $150 to $500.How we tested

In updating this guide, I put our 12 candidate machines through their paces and came out the other side with a dress, a jumpsuit, an athleisure ensemble, a backpack, a tote with many useful pockets, a pair of overalls, a quilt, and a pile of finished mending and alterations that had been staring at me pleadingly from their basket of shame for far too long.

I logged over 40 hours of total sewing with the test group, read every machine’s included manual, and frowned at tangled birds’ nests in bobbin casings more than a dozen times. A few of the machines even came on a beachside vacation with me, as I put their portability to the test. I began testing with a straight stitch on plain quilting cotton, and then I tested each of the machines with a stable fabric like linen, a fussier fabric like cupro, a knit athleisure fabric, heavy waxed canvas paired with thick cotton webbing, and an assembled quilt stack to see how they would handle different situations. I also sewed buttonholes according to each machine’s instructions, with varying degrees of success.

I didn’t use formal metrics to measure stitch quality, instead going by feel and visual cues: How easy was it to feed fabric through? How did the stitches look? I also kept an eye out for different things depending on the fabric: Did the stretch stitches make a ripply mess on knit fabrics? How did the look and ease of use change when I used a walking foot? Did it feel like I was having to muscle a quilt sandwich or a multilayered bag or bottomweight project through a machine, or did it slide through easily? Did the presser foot leave marks on delicate fabric?

Rather than just sewing test stitches, I found it helpful to use the machines for actual projects. This approach revealed both pain points and delightful surprises in everyday sewing tasks such as swapping presser feet, changing needles, switching between stitch patterns, and beginning and ending seams. When I inevitably jammed the thread (some things never change, no matter how experienced you become), I had the opportunity to test how easy or difficult it was to remove the machine’s needle plate and clean out the ruins of the bobbin casing. Lucky me!

Extensive testing in such practical applications helps reveal quirks that might not present themselves in quick run-throughs of comparison tests, as in the case of the machine that started stitching just fine on a quilt sandwich (not a snack, but actually the term for batting between layers of quilting cotton) but soon began making a horrible banging sound as it stitched. (It could quilt, yes, but it was absolutely making its complaints known to the management. It would rather not.)

After my controlled testing weeded out the less promising machines, I tested the top contenders repeatedly on different projects to discover even more of their secrets.A word on sewing machine dealers

If you buy your machine through a big-box retailer, you’re largely on your own if your box gets banged up in shipping or a similar mishap. It’s a different story if you find a local sewing machine dealer to buy from.

If you purchase your machine through a dealer, you may miss out on some discounts or extra-fast shipping and convenience, but dealer machines often come with classes, tune-ups and other servicing, or other perks in exchange for buying directly. Plus, by visiting your local dealer, you support local businesses and have the opportunity to try a machine out before you buy it.

“If you buy from a dealer, then you know that you’re going to have a local resource where you can buy accessories you know for a fact will fit your machine,” Lauren Taylor said. “I know for a fact that there is someone who can repair your machine or replace parts.”Our pick: Brother CS7000X

The Brother CS7000X seems almost too good to be true thanks to its combination of a reasonable asking price, a wide variety of computerized stitches, reliably excellent performance, an impressive range of accessories, and a surprisingly compact footprint (just 16 by 8 inches, in its included hard cover). All together, these things make it an easy recommendation for anyone looking to pick up their first sewing machine.

The CS7000X costs less than many of the other sewing machines we tested but comes with more features and delivers better all-around performance. It offers more preprogrammed stitches (70) than you can find in the Janome C30 (30) and any of the mechanical machines we tried, and it includes more presser feet (10) than the Brother HC1850 (eight) and the Bernette 37 (five). It’s equipped with eight different automatic buttonholes, and the included manual is a great resource for making the most of these options, letting you know when you might choose to use a keyhole buttonhole versus, say, a stretch buttonhole. Less necessary stitches include options such as little daisy-chained rows of hearts—not as practical as, for example, a lightning stretch stitch but fun to play with and cute for decorative use or quilting.

But the real beauty here is everything else that comes in the box. Reading through a pattern and realizing that you don’t have the required presser foot to complete a step is especially frustrating, but it’s not a problem you’re likely to have with this machine. It comes with the standard zigzag foot attached right out of the box but also includes a buttonhole foot, an overcasting foot, a monogramming foot, a zipper foot, a blind-stitch foot, a button-sewing foot, a quarter-inch piecing foot, a quilting foot, and, most impressively, a walking foot. Walking feet are rarely included with beginner-level machines but are particularly helpful for fabric that might be prone to shifting, whether that’s a stretchy jersey, a multilayered quilt sandwich, or a slippery lightweight fabric. Both Brother models we tested came with a walking foot, as did the Singer Quantum Stylist 9960 and the EverSewn Sparrow 30s, but none of the others in our testing pool did. A walking foot works with the feed dogs underneath to move fabric through the machine evenly, helping you get clean results on your project. (If this whole paragraph is Greek to you, see this handy overview of many kinds of presser feet.)

Another rare level-up the CS7000X offers is its included extension table, which widens the sewing area from harp to edge from 10 inches to 17 inches. None of the machines under $200 in our test group offered this accessory in the box, and even the Bernette 37, the most expensive machine at $500, didn’t come with one. Extension tables are typically a separate accessory, and they’re quite useful because they give you room to work and to distribute the weight of your projects, making it easier to keep your fabric under control for larger projects like quilts. In another nice touch, the table snaps into grooves on the machine itself, so it remains stationary and steady. On some other machines we tried in this test round, the extension tables were entirely freestanding—they nestled up to the machine but didn’t attach, which allowed them to sometimes move under the things I was trying to sew.

The Brother CS7000X is equipped with a wide variety of programmed stitches, and it comes with lots of accessories standard in the box. Photo: Connie Park

The CS7000X’s accessories compartment is one area where it falls short of some competitors. One of the tabs that attach the compartment to the machine snapped off almost immediately during our testing, and you need to put the accessories in a plastic bag lest they fall out of a hole in the compartment. Photo: Connie Park

Using the machine is plug-and-play: Plug the foot pedal into the machine and plug the machine into the outlet, and you’re stitching in no time. Photo: Connie Park

The Brother CS7000X is equipped with a wide variety of programmed stitches, and it comes with lots of accessories standard in the box. Photo: Connie Park

Using the machine is easy and, for the most part, intuitive. The stitch patterns are printed directly on the machine, saving you the trouble of digging through the manual to find a chart, and the LCD screen tells you which foot you should use for the stitch pattern you have selected. The stitches are even, the machine is quiet, and in my testing it handled all the varieties of fabric with aplomb—including multiple layers of heavy canvas layered with foam interfacing, during the construction of a particularly sturdy tote bag. As my notes read, “Like butter.”

Although this machine is mostly plug-and-play, be sure to page through the manual to save yourself some frustration with a few of its quirks. The default needle position at startup, for one thing, is to the far left instead of in the center—a setting that you can easily change but leaves you wondering why it’s like that to begin with. The manual also fills you in on the clever shortcuts the machine has to offer. For example, if you stop sewing in the middle of a seam, the needle stops in the down position by default, which is helpful for turning corners on projects or pausing to make adjustments without accidentally moving your fabric. This setting isn’t the default on all computerized machines: The EverSewn Sparrow 30s, to name one prominent competitor, requires that you push the needle up/down button during each sewing run to trigger stopping with the needle in a down position. Finally, if you’re forever forgetting to backstitch at the beginning and end of your seams, you can turn on a feature on the CS7000X to automatically do it for you.

Winding and loading the bobbin and threading the machine are easy enough, and I quickly got the hang of the automatic needle threader. Because the machine features a quick-set bobbin, sewists don’t need to grab onto the thread tails when they start sewing, nor do they even need to draw the bobbin thread up to begin sewing in the first place. This sew-and-go ability is one extremely convenient feature of computerized machines like the CS7000X that is nonexistent in mechanical machines.

You’ll find some nice accessibility features here, too, such as a sliding switch for adjusting the sewing speed. This is a trait that all six of the computerized machines in this round of testing share, and it is not available on manual machines. Other extras include the option to turn off the beeping sounds on startup (a feature that Samantha Waude called out as being a great option for people who have sensory-processing issues relating to sound), as well as a start/stop button that allows you to operate the machine without a foot pedal. Again, this last item is a feature that doesn’t exist on mechanical machines, and it can be helpful to reduce muscle fatigue from using the foot pedal, or for those who can’t use the foot pedal at all.

Overall, this sewing machine is easy to use and approachable, yet it also offers impressive longevity and features; some of the more serious sewists I know are still using their previous-generation computerized Brother machines with no complaints or plans to upgrade, even years after their purchase. I also recommended this machine to a very new sewist who recently caught the bug, and she has been thrilled with it so far, commenting that in quality and ease of use it’s far superior to the machine she had borrowed to learn (a mechanical machine from Singer’s Heavy Duty line).

As previously mentioned, it’s annoying that the CS7000X’s default needle position is not in the center when you turn on the machine, and although you can move the needle to a custom position on a straight stitch for precise placement, the manual doesn’t make it immediately obvious how to do so. (Spoiler: You use the stitch width adjustment buttons in straight-stitch mode to move the needle.) The presser foot’s pressure isn’t adjustable, either—an omission that might frustrate more experienced sewists in some cases but doesn’t come into play often. The only computerized machine we tested that offered this feature was the EverSewn Sparrow 30s, and the Singer Heavy Duty and Bernette 05 manual machines we tried have the feature, as well.

The CS7000X offers an impressive array of buttonholes, all of which are automatic and one-touch, but on default settings some of them came out a little scraggly looking (though still usable) in our tests. You can remedy these aesthetic flaws by fiddling with the stitch length, but we were surprised to see that the buttonholes were less than polished by default.

Brother keeps the CS7000X’s price down by using a metal interior frame but wrapping it in plastic casing—a cheap-looking exterior that belies the machine’s power and utility. Anecdotally, my machine arrived with one of the accessory storage compartment’s tabs nearly snapped off; it hung on only until the first time I removed the storage compartment to use the machine’s free-arm feature. The compartment still stays attached thanks to the surviving tabs, but for a high-stress component of the machine, we expected a sturdier connective piece.Upgrade pick: Singer Quantum Stylist 9960

This quiet, versatile machine does it all, and it comes with almost all the accessories you’re ever likely to need. It’s about twice the price of our top pick, but it’s still a relative bargain for a dedicated sewist.

If you have a higher budget and want a versatile sewing machine that’s easy to use but designed to last for years, we like the Singer Quantum Stylist 9960. It’s a sleek little computerized machine packed with extras and upgrades, but what really makes it stand out is how much of a joy it is to use. Hang around the online sewing community for more than a few minutes, and you’ll undoubtedly hear the term “sewjo”—that’s “sewing mojo,” also known as inspiration to sit down at the machine and make stuff. A good machine can’t make you a good sewist, but a bad machine, one that makes you feel like you have to fight to get it to do what you want or is just plain unpleasant to use, can hold you back from developing. After all, how can you improve and grow in confidence without actually sewing?

The Quantum Stylist was a thrill to use, thanks to its smooth, powerful sewing, its wealth of features, and its intuitive controls. It’s a little quieter than the Brother CS7000X, and it has a few features that our main pick lacks, such as an automatic thread-cutter button. And although looks aren’t everything, this machine looks sleek, modern, and inviting on a table, whereas many other models look childish or old-fashioned. It comes with a hard storage case so you can tuck it away if you don’t have the table space to keep it out all the time, and the case even has a clever little storage compartment for the machine’s very thorough manual. In my testing, I quilted the majority of a throw-sized quilt with this machine—that’s how much I loved sewing with it.

Like the CS7000X, the Quantum Stylist comes with lots of extras in the box, including 13 presser feet (one of them the coveted walking foot) and an extension table. It offers 600 stitches, including five separate alphabets (should you ever need to stitch a ransom note into a quilt) and 13 automatic buttonhole styles, all of which allows the maker to customize their projects even further.

It’s the little extras that set this machine apart. Take the automatic thread-cutter button. It may seem unnecessary—how hard is it, really, to pick up a pair of scissors and make two quick snips? But in our testing, it proved to be a game-changer in terms of time and convenience. No more blindly groping around under your fabric to try to find the bobbin thread to cut it. No more littering your workspace with lengths of wasted thread from pulling your project away from the machine, cutting the threads, and then trimming them off. With this feature, you just push the button, and the machine automatically ties off and slices the thread, easy as that. Only one other machine in our test group, the EverSewn Sparrow 30s, offers this feature.

Other little details also make this Singer machine feel more luxurious than our main pick. Though its casing is still plastic over a metal skeleton, as on the Brother model, its shape is sleek and modern, and its construction feels more thoughtful than on the CS7000X and other machines we tested. For example, on the CS7000X you have to entirely remove the accessory compartment to access its contents, and you must keep the small feet and bobbins inside a bag in the compartment, lest they fall out. On the Quantum Stylist, you can simply open a door on the front of the accessory compartment to access your tools, and it has a dedicated groove to fit the buttonhole foot into—a nice detail.

The default depth of the Quantum Stylist’s sewing surface is much larger (8 inches to the CS7000X’s 6 inches), and the free-arm option is smaller (3.5 inches to the CS7000X’s 4 inches), which makes it that much easier to fit fiddly little projects. The included extension table allows this Singer machine to morph again, to an impressive 10 total inches of depth and an additional 6 inches of space off the side—again, a larger area than on the Brother model and on the other machines we tested that came with tables.

This machine also has several failsafe features that could prove helpful for both beginners and more experienced sewists. For example, the Quantum Stylist won’t let you start sewing with the presser foot up—a careless mistake that’s easy for anyone to make, no matter their experience level. In testing, I made this mistake with both the Brother computerized machines and the EverSewn model. Manual machines also lack this feature. On this Singer model, as with most computerized machines, there’s no need to hold on to the thread tails when you start sewing, unlike with mechanical machines, where the threads can tangle or the machine can come unthreaded if you don’t hold tight at the start of sewing. One drawback is the lack of presser-foot pressure adjustment, but again, that isn’t a feature that most sewists need often (though it’s nice to have in the rare cases that you do need it).

The Singer Quantum Stylist looks sleek on a sewing table and offers a larger sewing surface than the Brother CS7000X with the extension table attached, as well as a narrower free-arm option. Photo: Connie Park

The Quantum Stylist comes with a standard foot pedal to operate it but also has a start/stop button, which allows sewists to give their feet a break. Photo: Connie Park

The Singer Quantum Stylist looks sleek on a sewing table and offers a larger sewing surface than the Brother CS7000X with the extension table attached, as well as a narrower free-arm option. Photo: Connie Park

Like the CS7000X, the Quantum Stylist offers several helpful accessibility features, including a speed-control sliding switch, the ability to turn off beeping sounds, adjustable contrast for the LCD screen, and a start/stop sewing button, which allows sewists to use the machine without a foot pedal.

This machine is flexible and powerful, and I sewed on it happily for hours more than I really needed to in order to confirm that it was a winner. The one maddening flaw that I found is that its backstitch function is agonizingly slow if you (like myself and almost every other sewist I’ve ever seen) tend to take your foot off the pedal and stop your needle before going into reverse mode. It simply plods if you pause before hitting the reverse-stitch button, but it maintains speed if you live on the edge and push the button while still sewing forward. If you can sigh your way through that—and you’ll need to, since you typically have to backstitch a few stitches at the beginning and the end of every seam to secure it—you should be all set with the Quantum Stylist for years to come.

Note that the Quantum Stylist 9960 is virtually identical to another Singer machine, the Singer 8060. According to Singer, the only differences lie in a few accessories that come with one machine but not the other. Specifically, the Quantum Stylist comes with a straight-stitch/patchwork foot and seam guide, while the 8060 does not. And the 8060 comes with a quarter-inch foot and spool pin felt pads, which the Quantum Stylist does not. If you care deeply about one or more of those accessories, your choice should be simple; if not, buy whichever model is cheaper.Other good sewing machines

If you prefer the simplicity of a mechanical sewing machine: The Janome HD1000 is a worthy alternative to our computerized picks, though it comes with a few caveats. It’s a powerful machine that handles heavy fabrics and multilayered projects with ease, and it breezes through lighter materials just fine, too. Unlike the Brother CS7000X and the Singer Quantum Stylist 9960, it has an all-metal base, which lends it a sturdy, upscale feel. The presser foot can also lift extra high to make room for thick materials. But even though the HD1000 can handle, for example, jersey fabrics without making sloppy-looking ripples, its options for stretch stitches are limited. Your best choices with this machine are the stretch triple-stitch, which looks nice but uses a massive amount of thread, or a zigzag stitch, which is serviceable but looks amateurish on hemlines. My preferred stretch stitch, the lightning stitch, isn’t an option on the HD1000 or other mechanical machines due to its shape. Also, technically the HD1000 has a four-step buttonhole function, but, tellingly, a buttonhole foot is not among the included accessories. It’s the same four-step buttonhole as on Janome’s MOD-19, this guide’s previous top pick; the sewist is in control of the length of the buttonhole, and my inability to consistently nail a polished-looking buttonhole on that machine was a major factor in my eventual decision to upgrade my machine entirely, as a newer sewist. This machine also has a front-loading bobbin, in contrast with our other picks’ top-loading bobbins, a design that is not only more fiddly and prone to jamming but also requires you to take off the storage compartment to access the bobbin holder. But if you’re planning projects involving miles of straight stitching, or if you frequently use heavy fabrics for bags, curtains, or jeans, the HD1000 is a great, straightforward pick. If you’re looking for frills, you won’t find them here—just function.

If you don’t mind potentially divisive looks and occasionally finicky winding: The EverSewn Sparrow 30s is a good alternative to our upgrade pick. It’s a computerized machine that comes with a wealth of accessories and don’t-know-how-you-lived-without-them features including a walking foot, an extension table, and a built-in thread-cutting button, as well as nine presser feet in total. This is one of the few machines we tested with adjustable presser-foot pressure, a nice option to have in the rare situations you need it. As for its looks, you’ll either think this aqua blue and copper machine looks childish or find it delightful on your sewing table. The Sparrow’s performance is solid, and it has 310 stitches built in, including multiple alphabets. In my testing, winding the bobbin and threading the machine with the built-in threader were straightforward, though the bobbin inexplicably wound unevenly at times, filling the bottom of the spool much more than the top. I encountered a rat’s nest when I first tried to sew a knit fabric, a dramatic jam that required me to break out the scissors to free my project, but I was able to solve the problem by changing to a stretch needle. (Other machines, in contrast, sewed knits with a universal needle just fine.) This EverSewn model is an all-around solid machine, and it’s not a bad choice if you like how it looks and can find it in stock. Its availability can be spotty, but the manufacturer (Bernina) confirmed that the machine is still in production.Should you fix your old or vintage machine?

Maybe you own an older sewing machine. Perhaps you inherited it from a parent or grandparent, or scored it from a local thrift shop, and you’re wondering whether getting it tuned up is worth the effort compared with buying a new machine.

The original author of this guide, Wirecutter deputy editor Christine Cyr Clisset, spoke at length with sewing machine repairperson Harvey Federman in this 2013 podcast episode about buying and maintaining a sewing machine. His opinion: If a vintage machine isn’t great to begin with, you may be better off just buying a new one. Federman was a Bernina, Baby Lock, and Husqvarna Viking dealer, and he also worked for years as a Singer mechanic. He noted during the interview that the quality of many sewing machines went downhill after World War II. “Most people come in who have been given a machine that’s an old relic, which is an all-metal machine, that is really a hunk of junk,” he said.

But if the machine was considered high-quality back in the day, it may still be worth using. Singer Featherweight machines, for example, are coveted by many sewists. “If it’s black, and it’s old, it’s definitely worth sewing on,” Federman confirmed. We’ve also spoken with people who love working on old Kenmores, Berninas, and other big-name machines. It couldn’t hurt to take your machine to a local dealer to get it assessed.

Even if your old machine works, you still may want to upgrade simply because newer machines have more stitch options and can be easier to use. A basic new machine allows you to make zigzag and stretch stitches, can do automatic buttonholes, may feature a top-loading bobbin (which is easier to load and reduces needle jams), and may possess other features that make sewing easier or less time-consuming.

Many people assume that new machines with plastic parts are of lower quality than old or new machines made entirely of metal. But that isn’t always the case. As Federman said: “I think that the design of the machine and how the parts work together is more important than metal or plastic. However, if you look at a machine and it looks cheap and plasticky, it probably is.” On the flip side, Federman said, plenty of metal machines can sew poorly or feel cheap: “An all-metal frame or body does not guarantee anything as far as quality.”

If you are upgrading, or just coming back to sewing after a many-year hiatus, consider a machine of a caliber similar to or better than the one you learned on. We’ve read a number of owner reviews from people who learned on a parent’s or grandparent’s high-quality machine and were disappointed when they bought a really low-end new machine. The one you learn on is usually the standard by which you judge other machines.How a sewing machine works

A sewing machine is basically a small motor with a casing around it. The motor operates a shaft with an attached needle that forms stitches to sew fabric together. On a standard machine, a spool of thread is fitted on the top, and this thread is threaded through the needle; a smaller spool of thread (called a bobbin) is fitted under the needle. The threaded needle goes through the fabric, catches the bobbin thread, and pulls it back up through the fabric, forming the stitch.

Sewing machines perform a number of different stitches. The most basic (and useful) is a straight stitch, which you can use for a lot of sewing tasks, including making straight seams, basting, and topstitching. A zigzag stitch has a little more stretch and strength, and it’s great for sewing stretchy knits or finishing the raw edges of seams. Here’s a good visual guide to several basic stitches. Other common utility stitches are the lightning bolt stitch, which is a stretch stitch perfect for sewing knits in a line that looks almost like a straight line of stitching, and the triple stitch, for seams that will undergo heavy strain and could use reinforcement right off the bat. Your machine may also have a variety of decorative stitches or an alphabet. Decorative stitches can come in handy if you quilt or want embroidery-like embellishments, and alphabets allow for simple labeling or even fun hidden messages in your projects.

Presser foot: This is a removable plastic or metal foot that attaches to the shank that holds the needle. You need different feet for different tasks—a zipper foot for inserting a zipper, for example, or a blind-stitch foot for making a blind (invisible) hem. All machines come with a general or all-purpose foot that you can use for the majority of sewing tasks.

Feed dogs: These small metal teeth under the throat plate pull the fabric between the presser foot and the throat plate. The feed dogs also help regulate stitch length by controlling how fast the fabric moves through the machine. Ideally you should never have to pull the fabric—the feed dogs should do the work.Where to learn about sewing

First of all, make friends with your machine’s owner manual. Read it all the way through to learn about your machine and what it can do. Most manufacturers, including Brother and Singer, also have videos specific to their machines on their sites, walking newbies through basics like threading the machine. YouTube is an excellent free resource for questions about specific machines and demonstrations of sewing techniques, with channels like Sew Sew Live offering an impressive catalog of patterns sewn through from beginning to end.

If you’re willing to pay to learn more, Seamwork is a membership-based resource for garment sewists, with a huge library of patterns, discount codes for online fabric shops, informative blog posts and videos, a member forum, and more. Craftsy offers video classes for sewing and a variety of crafts taught by experts on a paid membership and à la carte basis, with frequent promotional deals. Kelly Hogaboom also has a donation-based community for ethical creatives on Discord where classes are often live-streamed and members offer one another advice.

For inspiration, you can’t do much better than Instagram, where sewists frequently use hashtags for sewing challenges like #memademay (a celebration of handmade clothing), hold quiltalongs for new and existing quilt patterns, or spotlight specific garment patterns to show off different interpretations and modifications. If you were wondering about different ways that people have made a certain dress, for example, you could click its hashtag and see others’ designs.

Samantha Waude emphasized the approachability of Instagram sewists and said that she spends at least half an hour each day answering questions from others. “It’s so much fun,” she told me. “I feel like [sewing is] one of those things that’s best learned by sharing knowledge and sharing your best tips and tricks, and that’s why social media has got such a wonderful place in the sewing community.”

Of course, some people learn best in person. Check around and see if there’s a local sewing studio that offers lessons, or a course at a nearby college. Fabric shops often offer workshops and classes, as well. Sewing machine dealers are an excellent place to learn the ins and outs of a machine you bought there. You can also, as Hogaboom suggested, “borrow a friend’s machine and offer to pay for it to be tuned up as the rental fee” if you’re not sure you’re ready to commit to a machine of your own.Manual vs. computerized sewing machines

Although previous versions of this guide called out more affordable computerized machines as “sacrificing quality for features,” technology has advanced in the years since our last round of testing. This change has made feature-rich yet beginner-friendly machines more available, at lower prices, hitting the sweet spot of utility and budget. The benefit to beginner sewists is clear: These days, it’s a lot easier to find a reliable machine that you won’t immediately grow out of as you level up. It’s no coincidence that in this round a computerized machine, the Brother CS7000X, has unseated the mechanical Janome MOD-19 as our overall recommendation.

Most expert sewists I spoke to prefer computerized machines. “I just think computerized is easier to use in general,” Lauren Taylor said. Waude agreed, adding that computerized machines are especially good for beginners who may stand to reap a greater benefit from the assistance such models offer over mechanical options. “What I often find with beginners is that they get frustrated that they’re struggling to make the sewing look good,” she said. “Quite often that’s because they’re fighting with the machine, but I sometimes feel that computerized just makes it that little bit easier.”Care and maintenance

Although most sewing machines are good to go out of the box, you do need to wind the bobbin and learn how to thread the machine—things the manual should explain. These days you can also find tons of great online videos that can teach you about your machine. (This is a good video overview that walks through setting up our top pick, the Brother CS7000X).

Most machines come with a small brush that you should use to clean lint from the bobbin case, around the feed dogs, and anywhere else you see fuzz collecting. Keeping these areas clean will help the machine run smoothly. Don’t use a can of compressed air, as doing so can blow the lint back inside the machine. A cotton swab or a tiny vacuum can also be helpful to remove lint or stray bits of thread from your machine’s innards.

Our picks do not need to be oiled regularly, and their manuals recommend that professionals perform any servicing beyond regular de-linting. You should also bring your machine to a professional for service and maintenance once a year to make sure you’re catching any problems before they become major issues.

If you are encountering tension or stitch-quality problems, you can do some things to troubleshoot. First, make sure the sewing needle is inserted correctly; the flat part of the shaft should face toward the back (rounded part toward the front). Second, as Harvey Federman told us, taking the bobbin out and rethreading it can solve many p