BrotherHC1850 Sewing and Quilting Machine, 185 Built-in Stitches, LCD Display, 8 Included Feet

Well I just got this today and got it two day delivery with my Prime.. I can't tell you how pleased I am with it .. I am in the middle of making a dress and my not to old Singer 7422 has been acting up and I took it to the shop where they supposedly fixed it and it worked for maybe fifteen minutes.. until it started bird nesting again breaking needles and bunching fabric putting holes in it and I'm an experienced sewer and I made sure 100 times or more I had threaded it correctly .. the bobbin was right and the case was clean but nothing I did including messing with the tension could get it going again.. I threw up my hands and for almost a full day did my homework on Amazon looking for a good machine that did not say it was persnickety about thread.. had timing problems and just really had no problems at all and found this machine that only had a couple bad reviews and I'm going to chalk that up to someone not knowing what they are doing .. or just got a lemon.. one out of the three complained it did not come with all its parts, well mine came with all its' promised parts .. I promptly sat down with it after watching the CD that's about 20 mins and it really is very intuitive once you look at it .. but I wanted to make sure I was treading it right and doing the bobbin right at first since it is a Brother and I had a Singer .. well it's almost identical in it's threading .. but the Quick bobbin drop made it very easy and you know you have it in right the first time you pop it in .. Well I sat down and started putting it through it's paces with scrap fabric .. it sews like a dream.. could not be happier with it .. comes with all the feet you could needed except the edge hemming foot .. which is inexpensive and already ordered one.. Love the way it tells you what foot to use with the stitch.. the manual is complete and through and found though I did not have to read much of it as I said it's pretty much intuitive if your an experienced sewer.. I tired the monogram feature and was impressed.. still looking to find out how to space in between words but I'm sure it's there.. would have been nice to have fonts but for the price this is an excellent deal .. something you would expect to pay a lot more money for .. not sure how it handles thick stacks of material but read in one review it could sew though four layers of denim and I'm sure that's all I will ever need .. it's not as light as some of the reviews say it is and it does not walk around when sewing and I found it plenty heavy as heavy as my Singer .. If I port it around I do not want to be carrying something too heavy.. I used to sew for a living and used to carry my old Brother around with me all the time and this is about the same weight and that was 40 years ago.. I bought the Brother because I had a Brother in the past and was pleased with it and it never gave me one problem.. never had it in the Shop and so far I've had this Singer in the shop twice in less than six months.. Love the 130 stitches and various button holes it does and the fancy stitches, though, do not know what I'm going to do with them as my Grand kids are beyond putting fancy edging on cute dresses I sew .. maybe when they give me great grand kids it will be useful.. but it was fun to play with them ..Maybe on some crafts they will come in handy but I usually just sew garments.. I love the button for running the machine without the pedal but since I'm so used to pedal sewing I don't know now much use it will get .. it has all the bells and whistles I could ask for for a great price .. it does come with a foot for quilting and a board for quilting but I'm not a quilter so that's moot but looks like it's made for a quilter .. I do not know how much more I could ask for in a machine.. it has everything it seems they did not leave anything out in this machine when they designed it .. Also love the button that will raise and lower the needle and the needle threader and to be honest I've had needle threaders found them intimidating and hard to use but this one I got to work for me right off the bat.. a cinch.. my old eyes are not what they used to be.. so every convenience is a plus for me .. the large LED readout to set the stitches and the panel that shows you the stitches and what number to program even I can see that without glasses.. I can't go on enough about this machine and feel I'm writing this a bit far in advance but since my experience with Brother machines has always been good I'm giving this five stars.. My son was funny he said well you got a Brother what do you think of it and I said they are great machines I've used them before he goes really I only know of Brother because of their electronics.. lol Well I replied honey Brother has been making machines for over 100 years now .. he was amazed.. You can't go wrong with this machine .. I saw other Brothers that did not have as many features for less than what I paid for this but I wanted it all.. it was still a bargain..Oh and the light on the machine is bright .. really lights up what your sewing.. I saw some complaints that it was not bright enough .. they must be sewing in a dungeon.. again if you have the money to spend on the machine do it you will not be disappointed.. I'm not .. Also there is plenty of room between the machine and the base ,some complained it was not big enough this is as average as you'll find .. nothing has put me off about this machine so far.. It's a dream machine..

As a 60 year old man who has never sewn a thing this machine is awesome.Super simple to set up, navigating the options are just as easy, loading bobbins and threading needles is a breeze.I did a lot of research before I committed to this particular machine with ease of use being a priority, than customer support and of course price. This machine checked all the boxes, I am by far no expert now but after spending 5 hours playing with the functions I have confidence.

Love this machine! I read the reviews and I’m glad I did. It runs so quiet and smoothly. My other machine was always having tension problems. I didn’t realize how much time I was fighting it until I got one that doesn’t have those problems. Definitely a joy to use.

First, let me say, I LOVE this machine. Yes, it is plastic-y, yes, you have to use the bobbins made FOR the machine, & Yes, you must read through a few directions here & there in order to use some of the features ~ HOWEVER ~ you can also pull this right out of the box, wind a bobbin, thread it up, & sew a seam. It's extremely intuitive. VERY easy to figure out. I did have to look at the instructions for the buttonhole feature, however, once done, WOW, SOOOO EASY! And turns a perfect buttonhole every time! One of the nice features on this machine is that for whatever stitch you may choose to use, the little LED screen tells you exactly which foot to use. Moreover, you can look up in the book guide if you are unsure what a particular stitch is used for. I was able to make a VERY nice heirloom blessing bubble suit for my grandson with this machine, complete with entredeaux, pin tucks, machine embroidery, & even his initials & birthdate machine embroidered on the back leg. Tensions were perfect EVERY time, switching threads & bobbins was a breeze, & the embroideries turned out so nice & even. I would totally recommend this model over other comparable machines. Another great feature is the built in flip chart. Well, say you, that doesn't sound like too big of a deal. BUT< say I, Oh yes it is, it gives you instant visual access to all of the stitches & allows your imagination to get working. While someone else might still be thumbing through their handbook, trying to figure out what to use, I can just look at the chart right on the machine, with the numbers & buttons handy in a second. I LOVE that feature! Another nifty thing ~ the threading legend is numbered right on the machine, for both the bobbin & the thread. Why does that matter? Because I deal with a LOT of different machines, & it is just so nice to have it right there, permanently on the machine, you can never forget how to do it, all you have to do is look at the top. Again, VERY intuitive & user friendly! I have been sewing for 30+ years, & have sewn on everything from a foot cranked "New Home" treadle, a vintage necchi, several ancient Japanese models from the 50's & 60's, a few singers mixed in there, right on up to the cheapest starter Brother available, to some very expensive ($3 & $4K) models (I did not own the spendy ones), & I have to say, this Brother HC1850 is my favorite. I just love it. It is true that the old treadle is really the only machine I have ever found that perfectly mimics hand-stitching on quilts, & it is also true that I loved the heavy metal quality &, smooth sewing on the necchi, however, when you stack all of the features of this HC1850 up, it just wins every time. I can finish a project faster & with less headache on this machine, simply because of the many awesome little details. Flip- chart, automatic threader ( which, by the way, works perfectly if you understand that there is a tiny hook in between the two larger side wings that pulls the thread through the needle eye; you must simply catch it & it works perfectly every time!) drop-in bobbin, visible bobbin, numbered threading system ON machine, heirloom stitches, perfect buttonholes EVERY time ( you don't even have to look, it just whips it out, SO awesome!), LED screen tells you which foot to use, along with typical correct tension & stitch length, last stitch or two slows down to a smooth stop, tons of parts & pieces come in the included kit, and last, but certainly not least ~ the price!!!!! I am still a little geeked out that I got this from Amazon for only $199, & free shipping!!!!! Can I just shout that last part out! ;-D Fantastic value for the money ~ I researched machines for months prior to purchasing this machine ( it was to be my Christmas gift, & my husband gave me $600 for a new machine) & this is the one that just had all of the features for such a fantastic price. The awesome price left more than enough to get a huge lot of the bobbins for it, a few new spools of thread, and QUITE a bit of fabric. And ladies, you KNOW that although the stash may teeter from being piled a bit too high, it is with great anticipation that you walk into that fabric store, eyeballing this or that for your latest project ~ therefore, money saved on the price of the machine is money gained in the acquisition of new & more fabric! ;-D ~ Conclusion ~ well worth the price, lots of features, & easy to use!