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Ready to get sewing? We've tested 23 unique machines in the last 7 years, with 15 of the best options in our current lineup. We used a wide variety of fabrics to score sewing performance, along with evaluating each machine's convenience and ease of use. We tested default settings, adjustability, and user-friendliness, recruiting a panel of judges and expert sewers to help us analyze and score the overall operation of each machine, as well as the quality of the stitching. Read on to find out which models are best for novices, veteran sewers, those on a budget, and more.
If you're serious about sewing, some other accessories will be useful. No sewing room is complete without a powerful top-rated clothes iron for getting the wrinkles out of your fabrics, and sturdy storage bins are an excellent place to keep your extra material and sundries. Once you really get rolling, some clothes hangers will also help keep you organized. Finally, a bright desk lamp may be a needed companion for your sewing table, especially if you want to work late into the night on your latest creation.
Editor's Note: On November 10, 2023, we added a dozen videos to highlight the performance and ease of use of each top-ranked sewing machine.
Lip can catch thread while threading machine, pedal-less sewing button doesn't light up, bobbin winder is plastic, needle jumps when making buttonholes
Big learning curve
No thread cutter on bobbin winder, no default setting indicators, no top position needle indicator on hand wheel
A bit harder to set up
Bottom Line
Well worth the money if you are a serious sewer and have the time to devote to learning the machine
A very easy to use machine with plenty of options, a great screen, and a solid price, though not the best at buttonholes
An all-around great machine with more than enough stitches for even the pickiest sewer
A great all-around option with plenty of options and great usability features but at a premium price
A great machine for the price and a good bet for both beginning and seasoned users
# of Stitch Options: 185 | # of Buttonhole Styles: 8
REASONS TO BUY
Great user interface
Lots of stitch options
Easy bobbin loading
REASONS TO AVOID
Plastic lip may catch while threading
Buttonholes can be messy
The Brother HC1850 is the sewing machine we recommend for just about every at-home sewer. It is exceptionally user-friendly, with a large light-up screen, easy-to-read numerals, and simple forward and backward buttons for each setting. Selecting your desired stitch from one of the 185 available options is a piece of cake so you can get to your sewing faster. With denoted default settings, the HC1850 makes it easier to remember how you adjusted your stitches and determine how you'll adjust them for a new project.
The HC1850 can't quite match others like the Singer 7258 Stylist when making buttonholes. On easy fabrics like cotton muslin, buttonholes come out looking beautiful. However, the needle can jump at the start on many other fabrics, creating an odd off-shoot of the stitching. But if your plans for adding buttonholes are minimal, the HC1850 excels at everything else. And with a reasonable price, we solidly recommend this for pretty much any hobby sewer. If buttonholes are important, the Singer 7258 doesn't cost that much more.
If you hope to save some cash with your sewing machine purchase, the Brother CS5055 is our top recommendation. This user-friendly model produced high-quality stitches with most of our test fabrics, the setup is fast, and choosing your stitches is super easy. It has the standard needle threader and does an average job at winding a bobbin. This machine also has enough stitches for most projects and produces a quality buttonhole.
That said, we were disappointed by the thread cutter and the way this machine sewed a zipper. We also had some slight issues with the bobbin tension; the CS5055 bunched up the fabric a bit in a few of our tests. Still, these are minor inconveniences for those looking for a great deal on a new sewing machine, especially for a beginner. If you are okay with spending a bit more, both the Brother CS7000X and the Brother HC1850 offer more precision and features.
The Juki HZL-F300 was our favorite overall sewing machine, earning the highest score of the entire group. This machine is a powerhouse, quickly and easily going through many layers of denim or anything else we tossed at it. It has excellent quality stitches, exceptional lighting, and above-average buttonholes, among many other great assets.
Unfortunately, all of this performance comes at a premium price. This makes the HZL-F300 much more suitable for someone who frequently sews and is very dedicated to the craft. Users looking to undertake small projects or the occasional patch would be much better served by some of the other machines in our lineup, which retail for considerably less, like the Brother HC1850. Or, if you want over 600 stitch types and want to save some money, check out the Singer 9960 Quantum Stylist.
The Singer 9960 Quantum Stylist is an excellent machine with enough stitches to satisfy even the pickiest sewer. It is relatively easy to set up for such a complex machine, with fantastic lighting and a well-designed automatic thread cutter. Scoring high marks on all our many stitching tests, we love all the interesting and unique stitches this premium model can produce. We were also impressed with the ease and quality of the buttonholes on this machine, making it one of our favorites for this task.
We did have some problems with the default tension settings. The needle threading and bobbin winding processes were only average. The instruction manual is also a bit clumsy to read — the layout requires a lot of flipping back and forth to find, read, and follow directions. That said, it's relatively easy to use for the complexity this machine is capable of. If you've been dreaming of more stitches to embellish and accent your projects, the 9960 Quantum Stylist is a fantastic option.
If you are new to sewing or are looking for a good all-around machine, the Singer 7258 Stylist is a great choice. This machine is among the easiest to use and set up, and it has a respectable library of stitches that should cover most projects. The buttonholes it produces have excellent stitch quality with a straightforward one-step process. The 7258 has a built-in thread cutter, and its automatic bobbin winder makes it easy for beginners to get up and running with their first sewing project without major frustration. Amateur and veteran users will have no problem quickly and efficiently accomplishing their desired tasks.
While the stitch quality on this machine is quite high, it isn't the best we tested. Still, the stitches produced by the Singer 7258 are sufficient for most projects, and its ease of use and modest price tag make it an enticing option. It's not the only solid choice for the budget-conscious sewer, but it stands out from similar-scoring models by how well it makes tidy, usable buttonholes. If you are shopping on a budget and want a hassle-free and competent machine that will make neat buttonholes in almost any project, this is the model we recommend. If you want to save a few more bucks for a slightly lower buttonhole performance, check out the Brother CS5055.
We buy the best sewing machines and compare them in head-to-head tests.
Credit: Laura Casner
Why You Should Trust Us
We spent hours scouring the market for the best at-home sewing machines before purchasing the most promising models and putting them head-to-head in a long series of rigorous tests and side-by-side comparisons. In our quest to find the best, we enlisted the help of both expert sewing machine users and complete novices. We had them try out each product and get a feel for how easy they are to set up and operate. We then made thousands of different stitches on various fabric types, rating and judging their quality in appearance and consistency. We played with the settings to see how adjustable each model is. And we used each machine's buttonhole attachment and function to compare the process of creating a buttonhole and the quality of the finished product. We have been reviewing and testing these products for years, creating thousands of stitches along the way.
We use the same series of tests on each machine, divided across three key metrics. Each of these metrics includes detailed sub-metrics so we can fully assess each stitch type and feature. These metrics are divided as such:
Sewing (9 separate tests, 45% of overall score weighting)
Ease of Use (6 separate tests, 35% weighting)
Buttonholes (2 separate tests, 20% weighting)
A sampling of some of the machines we've tested.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Our in-house lead tester, Austin Palmer, has been extensively testing sewing machines from day one and has logged hundreds of hours doing everything from hemming jeans to machine embroidery. Backing up Austin and adding her testing expertise to this category is Senior Research Analyst Jessica Riconscente. She is a lifelong tinkerer with a passion for product development and an eye for detail. They are joined by seamstress and author Ruth Bruckbauer, who has had a lifelong passion for sewing. She originally learned how to sew at age nine from her mother when she made a purple corduroy skirt. She continued to sew and eventually made her children's and husband's clothing, moved on to prom and bridesmaid dresses, and now does expert tailoring on bridal and bridesmaid dresses and other clothing. Her real love, though, is quilting, and she makes stunning one-of-a-kind art pieces from cloth. Finally, this review benefits from the brainpower of Maggie Nichols. With a scientific background and a penchant for details, Maggie played a key role in deciphering charts and collating data to help transform pages of data into the helpful assessments presented to you here.
Austin and Ruth spent hours studying, sewing on, and comparing results from all the machines.
We try every setting on all kinds of fabrics to get a true sense of our tested machines.
So many projects!
We put these machines through their paces on some challenging projects to see which perform the best, which are the most customizable, and which are the easiest to use.
Analysis and Test Results
To determine our award winners and the overall scoring, we divide our testing process into three weighted rating metrics: Sewing, Ease of Use, and Buttonholes. Each of these metrics is weighted based on its significance to these products. These machines have been put through the wringer to help you find your perfect match. Our sewing and ease of use metrics were subdivided into dozens of individual tests calculated into an overall score for each contender. Read on to see our breakdown of these tests and learn which machines performed best and on what tasks.
Value
Though we never consider the price of a product in its scoring, the cost makes a big difference in your decision of which model to purchase. While you might expect more expensive sewing machines to perform better, our tests reveal that this correlation is not always true. Some low-cost units outperformed models two or three times their price, making them high-value sewing machines.
The Brother CS5055 is a great example of a high-value machine. This model performs well in all areas and is easier to use than many others. Solid performance, user-friendliness, and low cost make it an excellent model for beginners. The Brother HC1850 is an exceptionally high-value sewing machine. It outcompetes all but one other unit in our lineup yet has a price tag well below average. It's easy to use, has many helpful features and settings, and is one of our favorites — even before considering its low relative cost. That said, if you are looking for the best of the best and are willing to pay for it, your first choice should be the Juki HZL-F300, as it earned the best overall score of our entire group.
We used a microscope to evaluate stitch quality. Here the CS5055 performs well despite its incredibly low price.
Credit: Natalie Kafader
Easy to use and set up, the Brother CS5055 is a low-cost, high-value machine.
Credit: Laura Casner
Sewing
We rated and compared each sewing machine's sewing performance and stitch quality. This is the most significant of our testing metrics, accounting for 45% of each machine's final score.
We used the manufacturer's default settings for each stitch and tested six common stitches on four different fabrics. We sewed through multiple layers of heavy denim, embellished quilting projects with dual batting layers, and installed zippers. To gauge each model, we looked for visually appealing, consistent stitches with proper tension and minimal fabric bunching.
Breaking down the performances of all the sewing machines in our lineup across the 6 types of common stitches we rated. The premium Juki HZL-F300 is the most impressive, by a far bit.
Credit: Austin Palmer
The Juki HZL-F300 proved itself the best at sewing, across the board. Using the machine's default settings, it did very well with all our stitch tests except the scallop stitch on cotton jersey, which needed some setting tweaks to get it right due to the fabric's stretchiness. This machine also did an amazing job with our basting and quilting challenges and stitched through eight layers of 12-ounce denim easily. It installed zippers fabulously and consistently produced neat, clean, even rows of whatever stitch we needed.
The HZL-F300 showing off its top-scoring sewing performance.
Credit: Natalie Kafader
The HZL-F300 is the best stitcher we tested, pumping out evenly spaced, clean stitches on every fabric.
Credit: Laura Casner
The Brother HC1850 is another top contender for sewing like a pro. It produced impressively flat running and basting stitches on smooth, shiny satin and silk and breezed through other common stitches with few hiccups. Its triangular and scalloped stitches needed a little tweaking of the thread tension to make them just right. But this machine, too, sailed through multi-layer denim projects and quilt batting without any issues. It wasn't our favorite at zipper installation, but it managed to get through those pretty well after a few practice runs. And we loved being able to decorate our projects with 185 available stitch options.
The stitch quality of the HC1850 was some of the best we observed.
Credit: Natalie Kafader
The HC1850 makes excellent stitches on its default settings and managed to get through every task we threw at it without too much trouble.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
The Singer 9960 Quantum Stylist also did very well with denim and performed quite well on fabrics like a stretch cotton jersey — though it sometimes really struggled with chiffon. The Quantum Stylist is an impressive machine due to its excellent performance across basic stitches, the ease with which it tackles challenges like zipper installation, thick material seams, and quilt batting, and its almost overwhelming 600 stitch options.
One of just 600 unique stitches the 9960 is capable of producing.
Credit: Natalie Kafader
The HZL-LB5100 creates even stitches on delicate chiffon.
Stitch samples on silk.
The front side of scalloped stitches (arched stitches in the center) on silk.
We sewed the same stitches into multiple types of fabric to compare machine performances in great detail. From left to right: chiffon, silk, and satin.
The Juki HZL-LB5100 also impressed us during our testing. This machine made exceptionally flat, even stitches in every stitch option we tested. It only fell slightly short in our satin testing, where it dropped a few stitches in otherwise perfect seams. The Singer 7258 Stylist is another of our favorites. This machine has 100 stitch options that all did an above-average job at every one of the six basic stitch types we tested.
The HZL-LB5100 makes high quality stitches.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
We appreciate the Brother XR9550 because the machine automatically sets the length and width once you choose your stitch. Adjusting these predetermined settings is as easy as pressing the +/- buttons. The Brother CS7000X is another solid stitcher, with 70 stitch options and good default settings, making it a great option for novice machine users.
The CS7000X has 70 stitches available and is customizable in ways that make it easy to learn for beginners.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Each machine has a specific presser foot for attaching a zipper, though some were better than others. We used this foot for each of these machines to sew a zipper onto a test swatch of fabric — on some machines, the presser foot cleared all parts of the zipper and attached it cleanly. Others collided with components of the zipper, causing the stitches to become uneven and tangled on top of each other. The Janome 3160QDC-T, Janome MOD-50, Singer 9960 Quantum Stylist, and Juki HZL-F300 were exceptional with zipper installation — if your work will involve a lot of them, strongly consider one of these models.
We did a side-by-side comparison of each sewing machine's ability and ease in attaching a zipper.
Credit: Kat Elliott
When sewing stretchy cotton jersey, satin, or chiffon with the Bernette 35, the fabric would bunch up a little, but in the blind hem assessments, this machine was on the high side of the entire group. The Bernette delivered a terrific blind hem on every type of fabric we used, only bested by the Singer 7258 Stylist and the Singer 9960 Quantum Stylist. The 9960 offered good stitches on almost every fabric and grabbed the top spot for the blind hem. That said, it did struggle a bit more than the top models with delicate fabrics like chiffon.
Some of the different test swatches from the 9960 Quantum - we gave this same lineup to all of our tested models.
Credit: Laura Casner
Ease of Use
Next, we rated and compared the convenience and ease of operation of each sewing machine, which accounted for 35% of their final score. We considered how easy it was to set up your desired stitches and change their settings. We judged the quality and clarity of the printed labels on each device and the convenience and readability of the display screens, knobs, and buttons. We compared additional convenience features like the needle threading mechanism, the thread cutter, the needle stop position settings, the quality of the integrated work light, and the ease of winding and loading bobbins.
Overall, the Juki HZL-F300, Brother HC1850, and Brother CS7000X are three of the most user-friendly sewing machines we've tested. The Juki HZL-F300 stands out for being surprisingly easy to select the stitch and settings you want from a large number of options. It also has a nearly automated needle threader, a fully automated thread cutter, and one of the best lights of any model around. The Brother machines have fewer options and aren't as automated, but they set themselves apart from the rest with exceptionally easy-to-use interfaces and buttons that make them some of the easiest for beginners to understand and feel confident using.
The premium-priced HZL-F300 comes with all the premium features we could ask for.
Credit: Natalie Kafader
Comparing all the test results in our Ease of Use metric for all machines in our lineup.
Credit: Austin Palmer
The Brother XR9950 is similarly easy to use as the other Brother machines we tested, though its thread cutter only facilitates cutting in a single direction, and its light creates some distractingly dark shadows to the left side. The Janome 3160QDC-T has intuitive and straightforward labels and directions printed on the machine for easier adjustments and general use. It also has a fully automated thread-cutting mechanism, which we think is wonderful to use. The Juki HZL-LB5100 is another fantastically straightforward machine, with a large display and settings that are easy to scroll through once you understand the arrow button system.
The Janome 3160QDC-T has easy to use labels, simple arrow buttons, and a large display.
Credit: Laura Casner
The Janome MOD-50 has a similar stitch selection setup as the Janome 3160QDC-T, making it easy to select your stitch and get sewing. The thread cutter is also located in a position that's quite natural for the hands while sewing. The Singer 9960 Quantum Stylist can feel overwhelming at first, with its 600 stitch options, but common stitches are available on quick select buttons, and scrolling through all the available options takes no longer than any other computerized model we tested. This is also one of the few models in our lineup with a fully automated thread cutter.
The MOD-50 has a good-sized screen with simple to use buttons.
Credit: Laura Casner
The Brother CS5055 is close behind the many other Brother machines we tested. Across all models, we love the very easy-to-use displays and selection buttons that make choosing your desired stitch straightforward. The Singer 7258 Stylist is also quite easy to use, with customizable options and easy-to-learn features. However, we're less in love with its light — though bright, it's angled in a way that creates very dark and distracting shadows.
All of the Brother machines we tested excel at being remarkably easy to understand, even for beginners.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
The heavy-duty sewing machines we tested were the Singer 4452 Heavy Duty and the Juki HZL-F300. We were really disappointed in the Singer — while it has awesome labeling, stitch selection capabilities, and lighting, it lacks in overall performance. On the other hand, the Juki gave a top-notch performance for all our ease-of-use tests. It took top scores for its light, needle stop feature, thread cutter, and needle threading.
This premium Juki machine is impressively easy to use and has many handy automated features, including needle threading, thread cutting, and automated buttonholes.
Credit: Laura Casner
Finally, the Brother GX37 was our top contender for bobbin winding tests. The process is clearly labeled on the machine, and our thread wound up evenly every time. The bobbin could be a bit fuller when the process is finished, but overall, everything was top-notch, and loading everything was easy.
We wound several bobbins on each machine to test their evenness and usability.
Credit: Jessica Riconscente
Buttonholes
A buttonhole might be the most frustrating and time-consuming activity while sewing, but it can also give your garment or project that finished look. We carefully tested each sewing machine for ease of setup and finished quality for buttonholes. We made buttonholes of different sizes and on different fabrics, rating them on their overall consistency and attractiveness, as well as the ability to be cut open after sewing for the actual button to pass through.
Each sewing machine has a presser foot specifically designed for buttonholes, with an adjustable size that matches your button and indicator marks to align on your project. It is much easier to execute a 1-step buttonhole than a 4-step buttonhole, and, fortunately, all but one of the sewing machines we tested had a 1-step buttonhole. The only 4-step buttonhole process we tested was on the Janome MOD-19, which proved to be far more of an ordeal than the rest and much harder to get right.
If you have to make a lot of buttonholes, the kind of automation seen here on the Juki HZL-LB5100 can really save you a lot of headache.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
The Singer 7258 Stylist and Singer 9960 Quantum Stylist were our top-rated sewing machines at buttonholes, with stellar performance in our tests. Their 1-step process is quite easy and intuitive to execute, though our one gripe came from trying to align the buttonhole in a precise location on the 7258 Stylist, as it can be a little difficult to line up the marks on the presser foot with the marks on the fabric. With a little practice, though, it's simple enough to figure out. We also like that the 9960 Quantum thoroughly reinforced the stitches on the sides, making it one of this lineup's most securely made buttonholes. The finished stitches from both these machines were very clean.
The right machine can make creating clean, functional buttonholes as easy as the press of a button.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
The many Brother models we tested, including the HC1850, CS7000X, XR9550, and CS5055, all have multiple colored indicator lines on their presser feet to help make it easier to line everything up with your fabric. The Brother GX37 only has red lines, so it was a little more difficult to line up at the beginning. It was also far more difficult to see and line things up with the Janome models — the 3160QDC-T, MOD-50, and MOD-19. They all have colorless indentations in the plastic, which are very hard to see unless at the perfect angle. Aside from alignment challenges, the actual buttonhole execution of all three Janome machines we tested was excellent.
The button foot that comes with the Brother machines we tested is easy to use, with colored indicator lines that make it easy to align it with your fabric.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
The premium Juki HZL-F300 has a sliding button foot, similar to the many other machines we tested. It features indicator lines that aren't quite as nice as those of the Brother machines but still work well enough for simple alignment. It creates beautiful buttonholes, though the sides are rather close together, making it more challenging to cut the hole open after sewing. The Juki HZL-LB5100 has a similar button foot but lacks any colored lines to help with alignment. These indicator lines are simply indented into the plastic, making them more challenging to see.
The HZL-LB5100 button foot in action.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
No matter what type of project you hope to create, the right sewing machine will help you complete it.
Credit: Laura Casner
Conclusion
Many different sewing machines are available today, and choosing which will best match your intended projects, experience level, and budget can be challenging. We hope that our in-depth testing and analyses have helped you to narrow down which models have the right levels of adjustability, functionality, and sewing prowess to be an asset to your project space. No matter if you're just learning to sew or you've been dazzling your friends and family with professional-looking projects for years, we hope our in-depth review will help guide you to the right sewing machine for your needs and your wallet.
Happy sewing!
Credit: Laura Casner
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Austin Palmer, Jessica Riconscente, Ruth Bruckbauer, and Maggie Nichols
