I’ve been using my Brother CS-6000i regularly for about a year and a half, after my fabulous mother gave it to me as a birthday gift to replace the ancient avocado green Sears Kenmore that she inherited from my godmother, and I inherited from her. (Nobody freak out—I kept the old machine too!) Overall, I’ve been extremely pleased with the reliability and ease of use of the CS-6000i, and haven’t had any significant mechanical problems since I began using it. I’ve found it to be a quality machine for a reasonable price, and it more than meets my sewing needs.
According to the Brother USA website:
Overview:
This light weight computerized sewing machine is heavy on the features that you are looking for! The CS-6000i has 60 built in stitches including, utility, decorative, heirloom, quilting and 7 styles of one step auto-sizing buttonholes. Whether you sew for crafting, garment, home decoration, or quilting; this machine has it all for you at an affordable price! The CS-6000i also includes a plastic fitted wide table to support your larger projects such as quilts.Features:
•60 Built-in Stitches
•Easy Needle Threading
•Quick-Set™ Bobbin
•1-Step Buttonhole with 7 Styles
•LCD Panel with computerized stitch selectionComes with:
Accessory Storage: Yes
Carrying Case: Hard case
Included Accessory Feet: Buttonhole, Overcasting, Monogramming, Zipper, Zigzag, Blind stitch, Button fitting, Walking foot, Quilt guide.
Wide Table: Yes
In the box: Seam ripper, Bobbins, Needle set, Twin needle, Cleaning brush, Screwdriver, Extra spool pin, Foot controller, Power cord, Manual
What I love:
1. The price: The list price is $449.00, but that’s deceiving. If you shop around at the usual suspects of online retail, you can almost always find it for under $200.00—at that price, it’s a total bargain.
2. It’s idiot-proof. If something is wrong, it simply won’t let you sew. This includes missteps like leaving the presser foot up, leaving the buttonhole lever down, or trying to sew while the bobbin winder is engaged. It also stops if it encounters tangled thread that could damage or lock the motor.
3. The threading system is incredibly straight-forward. If you follow the numbered arrows, you’re done in fewer than 5 seconds.
4. The machine is set up for double-needle threading, and can hold two spools of thread.
5. There are 60 built-in stitches that range from utility to decorative. They all appear just as shown in the stitch menu, and are selected with two stitch selection keys. Once you’ve selected a stitch type, you can also set the length and width of each stitch. Plus, when you select a new stitch, the screen tells you the correct presser foot to use.
6. You can change the maximum sewing speed by sliding a switch.
7. The thread tension is easy to adjust. If you’re sewing mid-weight fabric and aren’t doing anything special, you can probably set it between 4 and 5 and never worry about it again.
8. The quick-set bobbin automatically threads the bottom, and there are no tension settings needed.
9. It’s appliqué and quilting-friendly. It supports free-motion quilting and sewing, and includes a walking foot and a wide table attachment to support larger projects.
What I don’t love:
1. You can’t sew with the presser foot up. Sometimes, when sewing bulky fabrics, I need to be able to sew for a few stitches without my project getting caught on the presser foot. Lifting the presser foot prompts an error message and stops the machine from sewing, and I haven’t found a way to override the system. (Which, granted, is probably because they don’t want me to do it.)
2. You need to use the (included) screwdriver to change the needle. My old machine had a simple twist mechanism, and I never had any trouble tightening it enough by hand. The screwdriver slows me down when I’m mid-project.
3. The feed dogs only have two settings: up and down. The feed dogs sometimes have trouble grabbing and moving the fabric if I’m sewing something uneven or thick, especially around corners or near the end of a seam.
Features that don’t necessarily excite me, but may help you:
1. There is a built-in needle threading system. If you have trouble seeing up close or keeping your hands steady, this will probably help a ton.
2. You can sew with the included presser foot OR by using a start and stop button on the machine (with no presser foot attached).
If you’re looking for a particular feature that I haven’t covered, you can check out the full specifications here.
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