Brother PQ1600S High-Speed Straight Stitch Sewing & Quilting Machine, White

This is the second machine I've ever owned, my first being a Brother Pacesetter PS-1250, vintage mid 90's. At that time, never having used a sewing machine, I just wanted to learn and understand it. Up until now I've only made beginner projects: pillow cases with french seams, zippers, piping, as well covers for amplifiers, welders, etc. Now that I can make a nice seam without puckers I want to move up to clothing. My old machine works as well as it ever did. However, it does not have the slow speed control I want and need. Having no desire for decorative stitches, software, USB, LCD touch screen, or embroidery capabilities, I settled on the Brother PQ1500SL straight stitch machine. Coming with an assortment of useful presser feet, a presser foot lift lever for when you need to keep your hands on the fabric, and a matching extension table, the PQ1500SL is an attractive package. I got mine at Christmas, and after running through six bobbins of thread I'm ready to review it.How does is sew? Beautifully! It will sew one stitch at a time, a feature I very much like. I rarely floor it, and even then usually by accident. 1300 spm is way too fast for me at this time It is very quiet. The thread cutter, which I distrusted at first because I thought I'd lost the bobbin thread, is quite reliable. As for the bobbin, you don't need to catch the bobbin thread. You just lay the loose thread around the razor underneath the throat plate cover and the machine catches it automatically. Very clever I'd say. Speaking of the bobbin, as shipped, its tension was too loose. Not that I know about these things, it was just that the stitching did not look as posh as expected. The tension instructions in the manual were not detailed enough for me. A search on YouTube led me to an excellent video by an English lady who does not use electric sewing machines at all! In YouTube search on "How to adjust the Tension on a Vintage Long Bobbin Sewing Machine - 1934 Singer 128K Indian Star" for a lucid description. (I am purposely omitting the hyperlink.) After following her detailed instructions for setting the bobbin tension, from the stitches alone, you now can hardly tell the needle side from the bobbin side.The installed presser foot is called the "pin feed foot." At 3/8" it is a little narrower than the general purpose foot. It also has a slit in the back soas not to touch the pin feed. This is the main foot I use because both its back and front are hinged and spring loaded. When you come to a bulk bump, this foot just climbs up and over it, like a tank, without putting stress on the machine. Even at a slow speed you usually don't have to tug the fabric. By the way, the pin feed is a feed dog setting. Put the lever in the pin feed setting and a little sharp pin will come up with the feed dogs and give extra grab for heavy fabric. (It also retracts when the feed dogs go down for safety.)As I said, I wanted to sew clothing and have completed my very first skirt project, Simplicity #1369, the first pattern I ever bought. It turned out OK for a beginner. (It was made to my wife's measurements and fits her well, although she has no intention of wearing it.) Since I didn't like the gathers, I sewed two darts in the front and made box pleats in the back. For the first time I under stitched, stitched in the ditch, and installed an invisible zipper using the included invisible zipper foot. Now I must confess that I was very happy I bought a "professional" $6 Dritz seam ripper, because it got plenty of use! The raw edges are all serged. The seams are straight. The zipper goes up and down smoothly. From the side when worn, the skirt has a somewhat Victorian look in that the front is flat and the back side is puffed out. The project was fun, and the sewing machine enabled me to do my best.

Having only ever bought machines that typically don't cost more than $150, this thing is like the Cadillac of sewing machines.The L at the end stands for LED. The LED is not brighter than a standard sewing machine light bulb. All it does is add to the unrepairability of it. Do yourself a favor and order an LED strip light to mount on the underside. You'll thank me later.I included a photo next to my Janome HD1000 and my janome looks like a child's toy compared to the size of this Brother. Even my 1950s vintage machines are dwarfed by the size of this machine. The straight stitch is phenomenal. It is so fast yet I can stitch so slowly, due to the responsiveness of the pedal. Free motion quilting is so easy on this machine! I remember struggling with my old Janome hd1000. I barely have to mess with the tension.My only complaints, and this may be due to the fact that it's a new machine. As previously mentioned, the light.The needle threader. I just keep a needle threader next to the machine.And the inability to remove covers to oil this machine myself. I come from the land of vintage sewing machines where we take covers off and keep our machines running ourselves. I have taken to removing the needle plate after every large sew, removing the lint and dust, and putting half a drop of oil at the bobbin area.I bought the factory refurbished version of this model. Before I even took one stitch, I took a couple of the covers off to verify the condition that it was in. I found a piece of thread wrapped around the bobbin case. I believe I posted a photo of it. That shouldn't have made it out of the refurbishing process for sale. The thread is bright red.All in all, this machine has brought back my love of sewing big time. I'm still making payments on it but it's well worth the money.

The GoodThis machine is the home version of an industrial Juki in function. It even threads almost exactly like a Juki. I use industrial Jukis at school, and I wanted something similar for home, but without the mandatory table and vat of oil. I also wanted to be able to transport it for repairs when necessary. This machine suits my need for speed and a knee presser foot lifter. Machine uses industrial needles and bobbin. That means I already have accessories, because I have them for school.The Slightly AnnoyingThe caveat with the bobbin is that while it takes regular industrial bobbins, it needs the one it comes with, with the slot, to wind properly. If you use a sidewinder for bobbins, this won't be an issue. This machine is substantially heavier than a regular home machine, most of the body is metal. I looked inside and some of the gears are metal, some are plastic, so I don't know how this will work out over the long run.The really annoyingI despise the thread cutter. I'm hoping there's a way to disable it, even if I have to take it to a sewing machine repair place to do so. It cuts to close, meaning there isn't a tail left behind so you have to rethread the top thread and the bobbin. Also the thread cutter comes on when you are changing stitch length within the same scene, such as when you are doing a basting stitch for a zipper and then you change to a smaller stitch for the rest of the scene. This is a time I do not want the thread cut. I don't want to be interrupted have to rethread the machine then resume sewing.Still, this is a great machine, less fussy than an industrial, and cheaper than a similar model Juki quilting machine.