Have you been spending hours and hours looking for the best Brother Sewing Machines for Beginners? We appreciate it, as that shows you’re serious about your sewing endeavors.
That said, you would be glad to know that your research has certainly paid off as Brother is one of the most highly trusted sewing machine brands out there.
However, you must know that choosing the right brand is only half the job. The other, and the more important half of the job is to choose the right product.
What is the best sewing thread for a Brother machine? For beginners I would say that there is no best sewing thread for a brother machine; but there are certain threads that are definitely better than others for your particular machine.
The best sewing thread for a brother machine will be one that gives you enough of a stretch to hold onto the stitching. If you are using quilting fabrics such as denim, silk, or synthetic materials I would stay away from machine made fibers, because they do not provide the necessary strength and durability that you need. Best sewing thread for a brother machine should be made specifically for that type of fabric.
Sewing threads such as rayon, satin, and cotton are excellent choices, and all of these threads are made specifically for the sewing machines they are going to be used on.
High quality, heavy-duty threads are also great if you are looking to sew heavier fabrics, because high quality threads are able to handle the extra force that is put on them by heavy fabrics.
However, it’s important to make sure that you only get the best quality sewing threads, so that you don’t have to replace them as often as you should. Some of the cheaper generic threads can break quite easily, and the manufacturer won’t pay to replace them, so they will simply throw them out.
But guess what, unless you’re an expert at analyzing the features of a sewing machine, it would be wise to leave it to someone who is.
And that’s where I come in. When it comes to reviewing sewing machines, I’m have scoured through all the brother sewing machines to make my recommendations..
In other words, I can help you choose a sewing machine that would be just perfect for you; nothing more, nothing less.
| Image | Brother Sewing Machine | Rating |
|---|---|---|
 | 1. Brother SE600 | 99% |
 | 2. Brother CS6000i | 96% |
 | 3. Brother 1034D Serger | 93% |
 | 4. Brother DZ1234 | 89% |
 | 5. Brother 2340CV | 82% |
How we decide on what to buy:
Our goal is to help you find the best sewing resource for your requirements. We’ll do the legwork to ensure you get the most for your money, whether you’re shopping for high-end gear or the bare essentials. We consult experts, friends, and family members who are also sewists, teachers, and/or craftspeople; we scour the Internet for information on how sewing supplies are used; we read customer reviews by real users; and, of course, we rely on our own accumulated expertise as sewists, teachers, and/or craftspeople.
Things to Think About When Buying Your First Sewing Machine
When you’re ready to start sewing, there are a few things to think about before purchasing a mechanical machine.
Size, weight, and portability are the first three factors to consider.
I generally recommend buying a full-size sewing machine for beginners so that you have a variety of sewing possibilities.
Miniature, more portable sewing machines are available, however, their usefulness is limited. They are less expensive, but they can only carry out the most basic of tasks.
All of these machines will come with a free arm, allowing you to sew little items even when the arm is removed.
The weight of a sewing machine varies depending on its construction and functions. Choose a portable sewing machine that you can easily move if you want to take your sewing machine with you.
Mechanical vs. Computerized
Mechanical sewing machines are simple sewing machines that do not have a computer. Computerized sewing machines, in general, provide more functionality. They’re also more costly.
My computerized sewing machine is one of my favorites since the user interface and LCD screen, as well as troubleshooting, are more beginner-friendly. It also has the option of sewing without the use of a pedal.
Mechanical machines, on the other hand, have fewer possibilities, making them less confusing for non-technical users.
Setup and Automatic Features
The Brother automatic needle threader is easy to use.
Consider selecting a beginner sewing machine with additional automatic features that reduce the time and effort required in setup and sewing if you want to boost ease of use.
For example, many sewists with weak eyesight and dexterity benefit greatly from the automatic needle threader. There’s no need to hunt for the needle hole on your own!
Furthermore, inexperienced dressmakers will save a lot of time by using a sewing machine with an automatic one-step buttonhole rather than a manual four-step buttonhole.
All Brother machines include a drop-in bobbin, which is ideal for beginners.
Features and Price
- 27 Unique built-in stitches: The XM2701 includes 27 built-in stitches including decorative, blind hem, zigzag, and stretch stitches and an auto-size buttonhole
- Automatic needle threader and drop-in top bobbin: This sewing machine includes an automatic needle threader that perfectly pushes the thread through the needle and a convenient, jam resistant drop-in top bobbin
- Included accessories: The XM2701 comes with 6 sewing feet, 3-piece needle set, twin needle, 4 bobbins, instructional DVD, manual and more
- Versatile free arm: This free arm sewing machine is perfect for a wide range of everyday sewing projects, and users from beginners to advanced
- At your side support: The XM2701 sewing machine comes with Brother At your side support offering free technical support via online, live chat or phone for the life of your machine
- This product is intended for sale only in the US at 120 volts, and any other use or sale voids the warranty.
The Brother XM2701 Sewing Machine is a great choice for sewers of all skill levels. This machine has a wide variety of features, such as 27 built-in stitches and a one-step auto-size buttonhole feature.
It also has a free arm option for easy access to collars and cuffs, a quick-set top bobbin, and an easy reverse feature. With a price tag of around $200, this budget-friendly sewing machine is an excellent value for its price.
It has a LED light for working in dimly lit areas, and a jam-resistant quick-set drop-in bobbin system so you can easily change colors or thread types. The Brother XM2701 Sewing Machine is a great option for those looking for a machine that will last for years to come.
Depending on the features you choose, a novice mechanical sewing machine might cost anywhere from $50 to $500+. Consider your sewing goals before selecting the most expensive (or the most basic) sewing machine.
There’s no need to buy a top-of-the-line sewing machine if you don’t plan on stitching, monogramming, or quilting frequently. If you wish to establish a home sewing company, however, you should invest in a more expensive beginner sewing machine with more automatic capabilities to make your life easier.
What types of fabrics do you want to sew?
How much money do you want to spend on a machine?
What is your skill level?
What features are important to you?
Answering these questions will help you choose the best machine for your needs.
If you’re a beginner, it’s best to start with a basic machine. A basic machine will have the essential features you need to start sewing. As you become more skilled, you can upgrade to a machine with more features.
The type of fabrics you want to sew will also affect your decision. If you want to sew heavy fabrics, you’ll need a machine that can handle the weight. Lightweight fabrics are easier to sew, so a basic machine will be fine.
How much money you want to spend is another important consideration. Sewing machines range in price from around $100 to $1,000. Decide how much you’re willing to spend before you start shopping.
Finally, consider what features are important to you. Do you want a machine that sews a straight stitch or do you want a machine that can do decorative stitches? Do you need a machine with a lot of built-in stitches or just a few?
Take your time and do your research to find the best machine for your needs.
Here are my recommendations for giving beginning sewers a professional-looking result.
Best Brother Sewing Machines For Beginners
1. Brother SE600
If you’re just entering the sewing world, don’t waste any time looking for other products and just go for the Brother SE600.
There’s just no better sewing machine for a beginner than the SE600. It’s a computerized sewing machine that’s extremely user-friendly and has all the features a beginner may ever need.
Be it threading or adjusting, it’s going to be an absolute breeze with the SE600. The variety of stitches it offers is going to leave you amazed as well, especially for a beginner-friendly affordable machine.
However, don’t mistake the beginner-friendliness for lack of functionality. It actually comes with more features than you can expect at this price point, and offers an AMAZING value for money.
The quality of its touch screen is surprisingly good, and this machine can make you patches and free standing laces as well. In fact, the quality of work this little beast produces is easily comparable to that of some of the high-end options on the market.
The thread cutter might seem like a useless feature at first but you will find yourself using it every now and then as you realize how it enhances your overall sewing experience.
The pressure feat boasts quite some variety as well, and that’s again something you will find very useful.
Some of the other impressive features the SE600 brings to the table include:
- The ability to sew, quilt and embroider as well
- As many as 70 built-in embroidery designs
- Lots of extra accessories
If you want to make your transition from a beginner to an intermediate faster and smoother, the SE600 is pretty much what you’re looking for.
Perhaps the only downside to this machine is that its 4×4 embroidery field can turn out to be on the smaller side for heavy duty embroidery projects. No need for a standalone embroidery machine!
However, this isn’t something that should worry beginners, as they wouldn’t find themselves working on such projects anytime soon anyway.
All said and done, the SE600 is a fairly affordable Brother sewing machine that has everything a beginner sewer can ask for.
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Talking about cost-effectiveness, I’m sure I’ve some value hunters frequenting my blog.
If you’re one of them, my next recommendation for the best Brother Sewing Machines for Beginners is something that’s going to be right up your alley, and it’s the…
2. Brother CS6000i
First things first, there’s a reason the CS6000i has amassed well over 8000 reviews, with the vast majority of them being ultra positive.
If you’re on a tiny budget and want to get the most bang out of your bucks, the CS6000i is one of the very few – if not the only – option you have.
Despite its ridiculously low price tag, it offers a great value and can be used for a wide range of both sewing and quilting tasks. (Here’s some quilting fabric you may like)
The LCD screen is fairly functional and the machine itself is impressively versatile.
There are easy start/stop buttons for controlling the foot, and there’s also have a variable speed option that the beginners will love.
The CS6000i is actually absolutely beginner-friendly, what with its idiot-proof threading, bobbin winding and adjustable speed.
It’s so versatile and easy to use that you would really be hard-pressed to have any kind of trouble using it.
However, that requires you to carefully go through the user manual, as you’re likely to encounter some errors if you don’t do so.
Some of the other things I liked about the CS6000i include:
- An option that allows hand control when you don’t want to use the foot pedal
- Extremely lightweight – so much so that you would have to be careful not to accidentally knock it over
- The feeding process is very smooth and there’s no choking
All in all, if you’re looking for a feature-loaded sewing machine on a very tight budget, you just can’t go wrong with the CS6000i.
However, what if you’re looking for a serger and not a sewing machine for some extra versatility? Well, we have got something for you too…
3. Brother 1034D Serger
As we just mentioned, versatility is really a strong point of the Brother 1034D.
It allows you to produce professional quality work using a variety of fabrics, which is certainly more than what you can expect in this price range.
Similarly, unlike other beginner-friendly overlocker sewing machines, the 1034D is versatile enough to be used for different types of sewing projects, including creating attractive edges and ruffles, joining laces and many more.
It boasts 22 built-in stitch functions with 4-thread and 3-thread overlock. There’s a huge variety of stitch functions so regardless of the kind of sewing task you’re looking to work on, this all-in-one serger would have you covered.
While what it does is impressive, what’s even more impressive is that it does it at a great speed and efficiency, and would definitely save you tens of hours of work over time.
Also, its versatility is not just limited to its features and sewing abilities, but it allows you to remove its arm to perform some of the otherwise more complex sewing tasks like sewing cuffs with great ease.
You can also adjust it the way you want to allow for a perfect sewing experience according to the type of fabric and stitch width you may be working with.
There’s also this unique feature that lets you tuck the blade out of the way when needed, which is something hard to come by in a serger at this price point.
Finally, there’s just one thing you need to keep in mind BEFORE you start using the 1034D serger. You need to oil it before you put it to use. Here’s how to oil a sewing machine.
This is something you may not get to know from the manual but not oiling it before using it for the first time can lead to durability issues over time.
Apart from that, there’s nothing that should stop you from going for the Brother 1034D Serger, especially if you’re on a budget and looking for something that’s not too advanced.
But I’m sure some of you are a bit beyond the beginner phase and looking for something that can help you take your sewing skills to the next level. In that case, we have for you the…
4. Brother DZ1234
Many sewers don’t think they need to upgrade their (beginner-friendly) machine even when they get well-versed with the important basics of sewing.
This isn’t an ideal approach to your sewing, as in order to keep improving as a sewer you need to make some upgrades from time to time.
With that said, the Brother DZ1234 is likely the best bet for anyone that can now proudly claim that they are more than a beginner sewer.
It comes with three different types of foot so that you are introduced to different ways of approaching your sewing projects.
In fact, it comes with pretty much everything you can need when working on something that involves creating unique, high-end finishes.
Oh, and did I tell you about how it compares to a sports car? Well, with a stitching speed of up to 1300 stitches per minute, the Brother DZ1234 seems to offer the fastest way to create highly fashionable pieces of clothing.
However, you get that kind of crazy speed WITHOUT compromising on the stitch quality one bit. The DZ1234’s differential fabric feed achieves a 0.7 – 2.0 ratio on most of the common fabrics, including the lightweight ones.
This translates to consistent, durable stitches for almost all types of projects, no matter the type of fabric being used for the project.
The DZ1234 is also surprisingly versatile when it comes to the stitch width, with a range as wide as 3.0 mm to 7.0 mm.
Now, you may have used or are familiar with some other sergers offering the kind of performance and power that the DZ1234 does.
But, believe me, most of them wouldn’t even come close to being as quiet and smooth as the DZ1234 is. If you’re looking to work on some heavy duty projects, it can really make a lot of difference.
For those of you cost-conscious folks out there, you would be glad to know that the DZ1234 has no problem accepting standard sewing machine needles.
This means that you can use your old ones or use them interchangeably with your other machine. That’s quite a bit of savings for you right there.
Now that we have reviewed a few affordable and beginner-friendly options, it’s about time we get to some of the more high-end ones.
However, people with some different sewing needs may be interested in the next and last product on this list…
5. Brother 2340CV
Now, when I said people with different sewing needs, I primarily meant those that are looking for a cover stitch machine.
It’s important to note that the Brother 2340CV isn’t exactly a serger, but a cover stitch machine. You need it if you’re into advanced sewing and work on projects that require making cover stitches, as well as hemming and finishing.
With that out of the way, let me tell you that you will thank yourself for getting the 2340CV if making cover stitches is one of the regular sewing tasks you work on.
Sure, you can also use a high-end serger to do that, but it’s going to be way more complicated and time-consuming, making this a best Brother sewing machine for Beginners..
Using something like the 2340CV, on the other hand, is going to be surprisingly convenient; not to mention you will end up with cover stitches that are way nicer.
It comes with an impressively long list of features for something that’s only designed to perform some specific sewing tasks, primarily making cover stitches.
Some of them include color-coded threading, looper threading, being easily able to adjust the stitch lengths using adjustment dials, a differential feed, a pressure foot dial and many more.
However, it’s great at what it’s intended to be – a cover stitch machine.
It’s capable of making many different types of cover stitches, as well as working on a variety of fabrics, irrespective of their thickness.
Needless to say, it’s perfect for both decorative and constructive sewing tasks.
Something to keep in mind while deciding to go for the 2340CV is that it has a bit of a learning curve. However, you wouldn’t have much of a problem getting used to it fairly quickly if you follow the instructions to the T.
The 2340CV is the only cover stitch machine on this list, but, given the quality of cover stitches it produces, it’s probably more than enough.
Below are the other Best Brother sewing machines for Beginners we reviewed.
6. Brother CS7000i
The Brother CS7000i is the newest sewing machine from Brother. It’s an upgraded version of the Brother CS6000i that we reviewed above. It’s an excellent option for around $200.
- 70 built-in stitches
- Up to 850 stitches per minute
- 10 included accessory feet
- Best budget brother sewing machine
7. Brother XR9550PRW Computerized Sewing Machine
The Brother XR9550PRW Project Runway Limited Edition sewing machine is a good option if you’re looking for a Brother sewing machine with lots of stitches. It’s a jack-of-all-trades machine that can handle most household projects. Just don’t expect it to handle heavy duty sewing.
- 110 built-in stitches
- 140 stitch functions
- Up to 850 stitches per minute
8. Brother HC1850 Computerized Sewing and Quilting Machine
The Brother HC1850 is a combination sewing and quilting machine. It’s one of the best multipurpose Brother sewing machines you’ll fine. Priced just under $200, the Brother HC1850 is a great option for people looking for a very reliable sewing machine on a budget.
- 130 built-in stitches
- 850 stitches per minute
- Comes with detachable wide table, spring action quilting foot, and ability to do free motion quilting
9. Brother Project Runway CS5055PRW Electric Sewing Machine
The Brother Project Runway CS5055PRW is another offering from Brother’s Project Runway line. It’s made for the most basic of sewing, such as cuffs, sleeves, basic patterns, and hemming. If you want in the Project Runway line, we recommend the XR9950PRW reviewed above. It barely costs any more money. It is one of the best Brother sewing machines for beginners.
- 50 built-in stitches
- Up to 850 stitches per minute
- Great for basic domestic sewing
10. Brother Project Runway CE7070PRW Computerized Sewing Machine
Here’s yet another Brother sewing machine in the Project Runway Line. The CE7070PRW is an upgrade to the CS5055PRW, with an emphasis on embroidery. It comes with a full set of accessories, including a wide table, giving you the option and room to do a variety of stitching.
- 70 built-in stitches
- 7 presser feet included
- Drop feed for free-motion quilting works well
11. Brother PQ1500SL Quilting and Sewing Machine
The Brother PQ1500SL Quilting and Sewing Machine is a high-end multifunction sewing machine. It is extremely reliable and can handy heavy-duty sewing. The multiple settings allow for great fabric control and the needle threader makes loading new thread a breeze.
- Up to 1,500 stitches per minute
- Push-button automatic thread trimmer is amazing
- 4 feed dog settings
12. Brother Designio Series DZ3000 Computerized Sewing and Quilting Machine
The Brother Designio Series DZ3000 is an upgraded version of the DZ1234 that made #4 on our list. It’s a much more robust sewing machine, offering more built-in stitches, sewing feet, and accessories. If you have the extra money, this is a great option.
- 240 built-in stitches
- 14 sewing feet included (one of which is the Circular Sewing Attachment)
- Great for household and professional sewing
13. Brother SE425 Sewing and Embroidery Machine
The Brother SE425 is a simpler version of the SE600 that made #1 on our list. It’s still a high-end Brother sewing machine, but comes with fewer features and accessories. We feel that the SE600 is a much better value, but the SE425 is still a decent option.
- 67 built-in stitches
- 120 frame pattern combinations
- Included design editing features
14. Brother ST371HD Sewing Machine
The Brother ST371HD is a great budget heavy duty sewing machine. It’s a strong, tough, durable sewing machine that will help you churn out project after project. There’s no fabric too thick or heavy for this machine.
- 37 built-in stitches
- Can handle a wide-range of fabric weight and thickness
- Meant to handle high volumes of sewing
15. Brother SE1900 Computerized Sewing and Embroidery Machine
The Brother SE1900 is a great high-end multipurpose sewing machine from Brother. You’ll be able to handle any sewing or embroidery project with this beast. If you have the money to spend, you definitely cannot go wrong with the SE1900.
- 240 built-in stitches
- 138 built-in designs
- 8 versatile sewing feet included
Want to learn more about sewing machines? Check out our Beginner’s Guide to Sewing Machines
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