Basic Specification
Colour: White
Product Size: 34 x 32 x 33cm (Approx. 13.3 x 12.6 x 13 inches)
Weight: 6.6 Kg (Approx 14.5 lb)
Material: Stainless Steel
Stitching Speed: 1300pm
Overall Assessment
This is a neat compact looking machine. The budget model is great value for money and it’s also a great machine for beginners to learn on but with enough features and ability to keep more experienced overlockers happy too. The free arm for tubular type sewing (sleeves and legs) is helpful.
Read on for some more details of what we think about this great Overlocker!
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Features
Trims as it Overlocks
This machine trims away the excess fabric at the same time as it overlocks. Trimming is one of the main benefits of an overlocker / serger and it saves you a lot of time having to trim the fabric to perfect size before sewing!
Can Disengage the Blade
This machine allows you to disengage the blade if you do not want to cut (for example on a rolled hem) and changing the blades is relatively straight forward.
3 or 4 Thread Overlock Stitches and Variable Width and Length
The quality of the stitches is good and you can adjust the width of the stitch to between 5mm and 7 mm and the stitch length between 2mm and 4mm.
The Differential
The differential feed (also known as the “feed dogs”), which pass the fabric through the machine are easy to adjust and to work with.
A Free Arm
This is a helpful feature which allows you to work on tubular / rolled items such as sleeves. This feature is only found on Brothers (as far as we have seen).
An Easy to Follow DVD Thread Guide and Manual
This is a great advantage! So many people buy their overlockers / sergers and then end up not using them because they don’t enjoy reading the manual. A DVD to actually watch someone use and thread the machine is a great advantage! The manual is fairly easy to understand if you can’t play the DVD.
Colour Coded Thread Paths
There are colour coded thread paths so you can easily see where each thread goes when you are threading up. This machine even comes with threads in it to show you where the threads go although these are not connected to reels of thread so its not ready to sew. The threads are just to show you how to thread up the machine.
Tip: Do not pull these threads out!
If you put your thread reels in place and tie each one tightly to the threads already in the machine you can gently pull your threads through the thread paths. This saves you having to work out how to thread the machine straight off! This is so useful for an overlocker beginner and gets you past the threading up which is the part people most fear.
That said, threading on this machine is not difficult because of the colour coded pathways. When you open the front cover there is a slider which clicks back and gives you easy access for threading the lower thread which is often the most fiddly. There are tweezers in the accessory pack that come with this machine, and these help with threading too.
A Daytime LED Light
One great feature of this machine is that it comes with a Daytime LED bright light. Although most machines come with a light (bulb) having a daylight LED is extra helpful as you see the exact colour of what you’re working on. In artificial light its all too easy to use a navy thread instead of a black by mistake, for example.
A Pack of Accessories
A useful pack of basic accessories is included with this machine. It includes, as you might expect, a needle set, a foot control and a small screwdriver to remove and replace. But it also includes extras such as:
Tweezers
Tweezers which are invaluable when you are threading up your machine. By using tweezers your hand is further back from the machine and is not blocking your view of what you are doing.
Spool Caps are Included
These look like little white plastic wheels. If you are using smaller thread reels (as on your normal sewing machine), spool caps fit over the top of the reels and secure them in place.
A Nylon Brush
This is more important than you may realise. A brush is important to keep your machine clean from fluff, fibres and threads which build up, especially if you are using the knife to cut fabric. Nylon bristles are useful as the build up of static attracts fluff to it.
Accessory Storage
Inside the front cover are plastic tags where you can store items from your accessory pack. The square box the needles come in clicks into small brackets, there is a spot for the tweezers and the screw driver. This is such a simple yet great piece of design! Its so helpful to know exactly where these items are when you need them rather than rummage through a box or bag!
Rolled Hem Accessory
This is stored neatly and conveniently underneath the differential and is another great piece of design on this machine!
The Hand Adjustment Wheel
The wheel on the side of the right side of the machine, with which you can manually adjust the needles when threading, has a small groove which indicates when the needles are at the highest point. This is a small but thoughtful and useful detail!
Disadvantages
Need a DVD Player!
Make sure you can actually play a DVD. This is becoming older technology and many homes or laptops don’t have a DVD player facility anymore. However, if you can’t play it there is a manual.
Small Brush
A tiny brush is included (as is the case with most machines, to be fair). It does the job but you may find it helpful to buy a bigger brush, for example a paint brush, to keep fluff and fibre from building up. Get nylon bristles, as the static attracts the fibres!
No Extra Presser Feet
Only the basic presser foot is included. If you want to do any specialist overlocking and using the exact presser foot (for example blind hemming, specialist gathering) you will have to buy the presser feet separately.
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