My Go-to Sewing Machine - Review of a Bernina and a Brother

You Need a Sewing Machine!

I currently have two Brother sewing machines. I have a fancy Brother Quattro that I love, love, love for machine embroidery.  But my go-to machine is my little Brother NX450Q.  This little machine is one tough cookie and perfect for taking to class.

First, my disclaimer: I know there are diehard Bernina fans out there, and I don’t mean to offend anyone.  This is my opinion and my experience.  When I was deciding on a machine I found it very helpful to hear other peoples' experiences.

I had heard so much about Berninas, I really felt like I needed one, but could only afford a less expensive model.  So I bought a Bernina 350PE which I had for 5 months and then traded it for a Bernina 530 to get a few more features.  I had the 530 for a year.

My plan was to use the small Bernina for classes and such and keep the giant Quattro at home for embroidery and fancy sewing.  After sewing on both for a while, I realized I really missed not having the auto threader and the thread cutter on the Bernina.  I started researching and found I couldn’t justify the price of a Bernina that included those features; especially since I already had a top-of-the-line Brother. 

For about one quarter of the price, I got a Brother NX450Q with the features I wanted.

Things I love about the Brother 450Q

• Auto threader: my poor eyes need this
  
• Thread cutter: love this 
• Weighs 18 pounds: great for carrying to class 
• Same throat space as the Bernina 530 
  
  

This is a great beginner machine! 

I did have the 2 machines side by side to test them out for a while.  The Bernina 530 weighs 23 pounds and sews at 900 stitches/minute (the Brother sews at 850/minute).  I wasn’t unhappy with it; I just wanted specific features that I could afford with the Brother 450Q. 

The Bernina 530 went to a new home with a happy fellow quilter and I bought a Babylock Serger; which I had been wanting and was the only item missing from my sewing machine lineup!  I love the serger and plan to post some serger tutorials in the future – it is the coolest thing!  By the way, I didn’t mention all of my machines; but that’s for another time (or maybe not)  ;) 

Feel free to e-mail me with any sewing machine questions you may have.  In the end, I think it really depends on what features you want and your priorities.

See this week's Tuesday Tip where my Brother 450Q is featured adding binding to a full-size, custom-made quilt.