Brother CS6000i Sew Advance Sew Affordable 60-Stitch Computerized Free-Arm Sewing Machine
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Brother CS6000i Sew Advance Sew Affordable 60-Stitch Computerized Free-Arm Sewing Machine
Customer Review: good quality for the price
Summary: 5 Stars
This is my second experience with sewing machines. My first was a toy Singer sewing
machine that I just returned because it was was dead on arrival (well, shortly after
actually). That was a Christmas gift for my daughter - a great idea, and though we
had not thought of giving her one ourselves (my wife does not sew either) she was very
excited about it when she opened it. Unfortunately when I called the Singer toy
sewing machine support line they recommended returning it because they suspected a
faulty part that they did not have in stock. That turned out to be a lucky break for
us.
So we ventured to Sears to check out what else was available, where we saw the Singer 7442
and a few cheaper models. It seemed like it would be nice to able to do more than
just simple stitches, and the prices were not all that different ($140 - 200). A quick
look at Amazon at the 7442 lead us to this Brother. Because the reviews were slightly
better for the Brother CS6000i (and because I had just returned a Singer, and was not
all that excited about getting another of that brand) I bought the Brother. After using
it for a few days I am very happy with this purchase.
I gave it five stars, because for the price it really is a very nice machine (which you can
read about in other reviews here). Easy to use, with lots of options that actually work
and do make it easier to use. It does seem to have high quality parts where it matters.
It is fun for her to have the wide variety of stitches, and the one step button hole feature
might be useful if she gets more into sewing.
But nothing is perfect, and so here are the downsides that I did not see much written in
other reviews are:
It comes with a cheap (bottomless) cover that can't be called a case. It can't even really
be called a dust cover since it has a hole near the top so you can reach the handle of the
machine to carry it. It doesn't hold the additional pieces of the machine either.
Brother should have just just saved that poor tree instead of including this 'case'.
I'll be storing the machine and the additional parts in the original box and foam packaging.
Although that is a quite a bit bigger than really necessary, it will provide much better
protection than the 'case'. It's too bad they didn't spend just a little more on the box
packaging and give up on the 'case' idea. They could have made the box a very functional and
protective storage mechanism if they just made it easier to pack.
The machine is constructed with a fair amount of plastic (though it seems to be metal in the places
where it matters). The 25 year guarantee gives me some hope, but in general when I think
of something made of plastic with electronics in it, longevity does not come to mind. When
I was looking at the antique Singers (401a, etc), all made of metal, still working after
30-40 years, I felt a pang of anguish for our society that has shifted from making and buying
high quality long-lasting products in the US to off-shore produced planned obsolescence.
What a waste of resources, pity about pollution through the whole process, not to mention
the jobs. I will be surprised if the LCD and electronics in this system are still working
in even 10 years (I'm going to try holding on to the receipt for the life of the 25 year
warranty because I bet it will come in handy at some point). Maybe I'll tape it to that
cheap cover....
The manual is quite good (without really knowing anything about sewing I was able to
get the machine set up and sewing in about an hour), but would be much better if it were
specific to this model. There are many places in the model where it says, "Or you can do
this if your model has this feature." Well, there are times when I'm reading it when I'm not
sure if my model has that feature, and it takes some time to figure it out. It really
seems like Brother should be able to print different versions of the documentation for
their different machines at not much extra cost. I would pay a few more dollars in
the overall price to have a customized user manual. On a positive note, every time I've
hit one of those sections so far, this model does have the feature.
Customer Review: Excellent bargain, quality, features
Summary: 5 Stars
My friend got this as a gift and I pitied her at first. Surely such a flimsy plastic machine could not compare to a "real" machine like my heavy-duty Singer and Bernina machines that I've been using for over 20 years. But, as we practiced on her machine, it turns out that it was much easier to thread and use than my professional machines. Not only did it come with all the feet and attachments for doing anything you could possibly want with quilting and clothing (walking foot, embroidery foot, button-holer, zipper and hem feet and more), but the attachments are very easy to swap around and use too. After a few weeks of borrowing her machine (to make sure it was working properly, you know), I ended up getting one of my own! Then another friend saw mine and got the same one too! So now the three of us are doing all sorts of quilts, costumes, clothes, and crafts with this machine. PROS: an extremely easy-to-use and well-written manual, ease of threading and adjusting things like tension, ease in swapping attachments for different purposes, a nice table surface for larger pieces, an excellent light, and oodles stitches and features without them getting overwhelming or hard to find, absolutely excellent value for the money, good for beginners who aren't sure if they want to invest in a higher quality machine, but still good enough for pros who want quick and easy. CONS - Although the three of us have had absolutely no problems with our machines after a over a year of heavy usage, they still FEEL flimsy and like they won't last. Perhaps impressions are misleading. Like all other machines in this price range, the needle is too close to the body of the machine, making it challenging to do quilting on large quilts as bunching the quilt within the arm of the machine can get tight. As other people have noted, cheap thread makes trouble on these machines. For quilting and piecing on cotton fabrics, we use King Tut, Sulky, or Coats&Clark 50 or 60 wt 100% cotton threads and have had no problems. I've gotten some bunching or tangled knots when using cheaper poly threads. There is no way to adjust the bottom (bobbin) tension, but I also haven't needed to. I've just never had a machine that you couldn't before. If you are doing super-delicate detailed work, the stitches are ever-so-slightly uneven. By this I mean that stitch length can vary by ~1 mm between stitches in a line. This is completely unnoticeable at a distance of 2 ft or more, but if you are a perfectionist or competing for the #1 spot at a quilt show, then the more rock-solid stitch patterns of a more expensive machine like a Bernina might be for you. The case is decent for storing in a closet, but you have to remove the plug to put it on, so if you leave your machine out all the time and just want to cover it, you'll need to buy/make yourself a different case. I also wish the table extension would somehow fit inside the case instead of being a separate object. The advantage of more professional (generally $1000 and up) machines is that they have PERFECT stitching and tension adjustment and you can adjust things in very precise ways. Most people will never want to have that level of control - they just want to sew clothes or quilts or crafts together quickly and easily. The added features of my expensive machines are so minor, that I find myself using them less and less. Even if the Brother wears out more quickly, I would have to go through TEN of them to get to the price of even the cheapest Bernina. The only things that I have HAD to return to my nicer machines to do in the last year is some delicate embroidery on silk for a flower-girl dress and when I was quilting the center of a queen-sized quilt (although that was a stretch even for my Singer - for quilts that size you really need a long-arm machine or send them out to someone to do for you).Customer Review: Awesome machine, I'm glad I made a really good choice!
Summary: 5 Stars
I recently decided to learn sewing, so I came to Amazon, did some research on machines and after looking at quite a few, I decided this one appeared to be what I needed. It struck me as a machine that would be good for a beginner, but also have all the features I would need once I was at intermediate or advanced levels so I wouldn't need to get another one for a while. I also wanted something at a mid-price range, not one of the really cheap ones below $100, but also not in the 300-500 dollar range.
Since I had never tried sewing with a machine before in my life, I signed up for a few sewing classes at Joann's and had my first class last Saturday. It was great that they let you bring your own machine to the class, since I didn't even know how to put the thread through the machine. Once I got there, there was another lady who had bought her machine the day before and she was going on and on about how much research she had made and how great her machine was. But, as the class proceeded, it became clear that lots of things my machine did automatically, such as putting the thread through the needle, sewing backwards, raising the needle, etc., had to be done manually with her machine. Even changing the needle and little foot by the needle were incredibly easy tasks to do with my machine and she seemed to struggle with hers. By the end of the class, I was really happy I had chosen this machine. Having someone else with another machine helped me realize how much easier mine was to operate and set up.
At the next class, which was today and with another teacher, I was told by the teacher that I had a really good and nice to work with machine.
So, here are my thoughts:
PROS
- light-weight and easy to carry around
- comes with a hard cover included
- needles included are German-made and of great quality
- comes with all the accessories you need for quilting, etc.
- incredibly easy to set up, thread (there's actually a drawing of how the thread is supposed to go around the machine, all you have to do is follow it, really dummy-proof!), change accessories, etc; easy to operate in general.
- really nice and large selection of different stiches, about 60 of them
- beginner friendly
- has all the features an advanced user needs (the only thing it doesn't do is embroidery). I don't believe I will need another machine until this one breaks.
CONS
- I haven't run into any yet! :)
Since someone posted a comment asking about the quilting foot, I thought I'd add here that it comes with two quilting feet, one for straight quilting and one for free quilting when you are not doing straight lines. It also has a button foot, a zipper foot, an edging foot, and two or three more feet I am yet to find out what they are for.
I have to say that it appears this machine comes with all the accessories needed, and some just nice to have ones. So far, I have made curtains for my bedroom (two windows, so 4 panels with room-darkening linining) and a very nice fleece vest. I'm impressed at how easy it is to learn sewing and have to say that I believe having a good machine has probably made it a lot easier for me. Today, I have a friend coming to visit me and we are going to Joann's to pick some fabric. She liked my curtains so much that she asked me to make the curtains for her living room, which is really exciting!
Good luck and happy sewing!
Customer Review: Pros and Cons - You Decide
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought the machine for the price and the features, but I have to admit, I was nervous after reading some of the reviews that told about all the problems that they had right away. But I figured it had to be better than my 35-40 year old Kenmore. I want to state right away, I am very happy with my purchase thus far. I've had some problems (read below), but I have managed to figure some things out. But, if you are looking for a good machine to quilt, this machine has all the features you will need, and it's priced so you can actually afford it. 2 other points to know, Amazon has a good return policy and from what I have heard, Brother has a good customer service history. These were 2 other deciding factors for me.
So here are my first impressions. I thought I was going to get a 1/4" foot that is shown in the instruction manual. I didn't. If it was supposed to be in the box, I'd love to hear from someone to let me know. I also read in the reviews that some people got a instructional DVD. I didn't get this, but if I was supposed to get it, I'd like to get it. The hard cover does not allow you to keep the machine plugged in to use it, so it's not going to be useful for me, except when I want to store it long term. I cover my machine whenever it's not in use with a quilted cover that I made for my old machine. Luckily, it fits my Brother.
The instruction manual is very helpful. I followed it from front to back so that I could learn everything I could. When I finally got ready to test sew, the tension was really messed up. I worked at it for quite a while, referring back to the manual to adjust it correctly, but it just wouldn't work! So I threaded the machine again, and took the bobbin out and made sure that I inserted it exactly as the book indicated, and magically, it worked. I think I must have did the bobbin wrong at first. Lesson 1, read the directions! And if all else fails, read them again.
My next problem was very strange. Suddenly the thread was bunching up on the bottom side of my project. Out came the instruction manual again, but the answer wasn't there. I changed the bobbin thread to a different color, which showed me that the top thread was the thread that was bunching up on the bottom. So I started messing with the tension again. But that wasn't helping at all! So I decided to try a different thread, and SHAZAM! it worked. The original thread I was using was a cheap thread, I changed it to a good quality thread. Lesson 2, this machine does not like cheap thread.
The quilting table is a fabulous accessory! But I am still working out one problem with it. The backside of the table doesn't seem to attach to anything on the machine. So as I work on my project, the legs shift and eventually they fold up. The instruction manual does not help in this case at all. I'm still working on this one.
Even with these issues, I am still glad I got this machine. I am able to work faster with more precision. The machine is quiet, compared to my Kenmore. And it is much lighter too! The downside is that it moves around on my table more than I like, especially when I am quilting a larger project. I'm not sure how I will fix this problem, but I will eventually.
So now it's time for you to decide. Good luck!
Customer Review: Buying your first machine? Make it THIS ONE!
Summary: 5 Stars
Like everyone else reading these reviews, this is how I ultimately chose and bought this machine-so I hope this review helps you make a choice too! It seems like every machine I looked at though had several really negative reviews (some had more than others-but the really positive reviews for this one is what eventually convinced me-so I just want to add to it!) and probably like you it made me really nervous!-the only thing I can say about that is that any product on the market has a certain number of duds (errors in the manufacturing)-in which case all you can do is return it in the allowable time. By the way-this is why I buy all of my appliances/electronics with my American Express card-they will give you your money back on any purchase (up to like $1000) if it's lost, stolen or broken (even if it's your fault it broke or the kids drop it!) within 90 days. I'm not sure if this is a benefit for all AMEX cards (though I've heard it is) so just check with your customer service ...ANYWAY... sorry about the tangent.
It really is the best buy for what you get: this EXACT SAME model is selling on [...] for $[...]! So truly don't let the low price fool you, it really is a more expensive machine selling for super cheap right here on amazon. This has everything you need, and has room to grow as you become more experienced so you don't have to go upgrade. Because I'm a beginner I first thought "I'll just buy the $[...] one with 10 stitch options because I don't know what all those stitches do anyway, and then if I really get into sewing that's cheap enough that I'll upgrade in a year or two" I'm so glad I didn't do that, I'm still just beginning but I can see how valuable having more stitch options is going to be and I've already started using some of them. (see below)
When I took it out of the box I started going through the user manual was sewing within the amount of time it took to wind the bobbin and thread the machine (the automatic threader took a couple tries but now it's a breeze) In regards to the cheap thread thing: I actually went to a licensed BROTHER dealer in town and asked about it, and they said that MOST MACHINES STRUGGLE WITH CHEAP THREAD. So my following question was "Well, what is cheap thread?" and her response was "Like, when you get 5 spools for a a dollar or two" In any case I just bought my thread at a 'real' fabric store (not like wal-mart and such places that just happen to carry fabric too) and have not had any problems WHATSOEVER-no tension problems, no bobbin problems, nothing.
My absolute favorite feature is that when you change stitches the LCD display tells you what presser foot you need to attach for that stitch!!! You don't have to refer to the user manual. It shows you the shape as well as what letter it is (J, G, M....etc. and each foot has the letter engraved on it). My second favorite thing is that because I don't have a serger yet (maybe I don't need one now!) in order to keep fabric from unraveling I've really enjoyed using the overcasting stitches with the overcasting presser foot-it's so easy. I just trim seams down and then overcast (stitch #6 is what I use)-works just as well as a serger and saves me the $$$money$$$.
Good luck and happy sewing!