The Best Machine to Take to a Sewing Class
Brother has always been a company you can rely on to deliver good quality products at affordable prices, and they rarely fail to do that.
So, if you’re looking to start sewing or you need a good machine on a budget, Brother sewing machines are what you need to turn to.
Today I’ll tell you all about one of their newest offerings – the Brother HC1850, which can do both sewing and quilting with a lot of varied features.
Which features are those?
Keep reading to find out and get my full Brother HC1850 review!
The Brother HC1850 Sewing and Quilting Machine at a Glance
If you want to get a close look at the basic specs of the Brother HC1850 before going into more detail, here it all is organized in a neat chart.
To find out all about the features of the Brother HC1850, how useful they are and to get the full review, just keep reading.
The Most Important Features of The Brother HC1850
The HC1850 offers a lot of great features, but there are a few which stand out above the rest in their usefulness – here they are.
130 Built-in Stitches
This is a computerized sewing machine, and it comes with 130 built-in stitches to choose from – good for both beginners and those with more experience.
Among the stitches are 42 garment construction stitches and 8 one-step auto-size buttonhole styles, along with tons of decorative stitches. They are all easy to pick from the layout on the side of the machine.
170 stitch functions
Besides the 130 built-in stitches, this machine also features 170 stitch functions. This includes 14 quilting stitch functions, 94 decorative stitch functions, and 12 heirloom stitch functions.
8 Specialty Sewing Feet
This machine includes a total of 8 different extra sewing feet included. There’s a zigzag foot, an overcasting foot, a zipper foot, a monogramming foot, a buttonhole foot, a button sewing foot, a blind stitch foot, and a quilting foot.
Quilting Functionality
One of the best features of this machine is that it doubles as a quilting machine, which is supported by a few other additional features. There’s a detachable wide table included, as well as a spring-action quilting foot. The machine is also able to do free-motion quilting if that’s what you prefer.
Multiple Accessories
You get an accessory pouch with this machine, and it’s full of goodies. It has 3 bobbins, a 3-piece needle set, a cleaning brush, a ball-point needle, a twin needle, an eyelet punch, a screwdriver, an extra spool pin, 3 spool caps, and one seam ripper.
Other Features of the Brother HC1850
While those are the most important features, they’re just a little taste of what this machine offers. Here are some of its other important features:
- Adjustable sewing speed
- 1 built-in monogramming sewing font
- LED-lit working area
- Backlit LCD display
- Quick-set drop-in bobbin
- Automatic bobbin winding system
- Needle threader
- Built-in carrying handle
- Detachable foot controller
- 25-year limited warranty
My Full Brother HC1850 Review
The first thing you might notice about this machine is how small and compact it is, and it’s definitely made with portability in mind, though not at the expense of other features.
It weighs barely 10 inches, it’s not large in any respect, and it even has a built-in carrying handle. It’s perfect for taking with you to sewing classes if you’re a beginner.
As I mentioned, it’s still full of features despite the fact that it’s a portable sewing machine. It’s got 130 built-in stitches to choose from, and you can easily find one you like no matter what your skill level is.
Since this is a computerized sewing machine, that’s not the only option available. It also has 170 different stitch functions too, and it even has a built-in font for monogramming, which you can do with the monogramming foot.
Speaking of that, you also get 8 different sewing feet, allowing you to perform a lot of different stitches and there’s also a specialized spring-action foot for quilting.
The quilting function itself works rather well, and the machine is more than strong enough to go through multiple layers of fabric with ease. It’s not quite a heavy-duty sewing machine, but it does perform rather well for its size.
To help you with quilting, you also get a detachable wide table which you can use for the extra fabric, and the machine is also able to do free-motion quilting if that’s what you prefer.
There are also a lot of other useful features here and they’re all made to make your life a little bit easier. For example, the bobbin can be placed into the machine from the top, and you can wind it with the press of one button.
You also get an LED light that shines on the work area and allows you to see better. The machine does cast a shadow on the work area otherwise, which can be a problem.
Besides that, there’s also a needle threader, but it doesn’t work quite as intended. You’re probably better off trying to manually thread the needle since it’s fairly inconsistent and doesn’t work right half the time.
Packaged in with the machine is also a bag full of many small extras which will also make your life a lot easier. My favorites are the extra needles, especially the double needle and the ball-point needle.
You also get a detachable foot controller which is always handy, especially when you’re quilting and juggling a lot of fabric.
As you can see, there’s a lot of stuff that this machine can offer – but one thing it can’t give you is longevity. This is a machine made out of mostly flimsy materials, and it probably won’t last more than a few years, even with repairs.
However, it’s fairly affordable, and you can call on the 25-year warranty in case of certain faults, which is not too bad. You’re not without options when the machine fails.
Still, as a quilting and sewing machine for beginners, it’s almost ideal. It has a lot of the functions that you would need from a machine like this, and it doesn’t cost too much at all.
You’ll probably outgrow it before it fails if you’re serious about getting into sewing and quilting, but it will help you a lot along the way.
The Pros and Cons of the Brother HC1850
To sum it all up, here are all the major pros and cons of this quilting and sewing machine.
Pros
- Has a good quilting function supported by extra features
- Comes with 8 different sewing feet
- 130 built-in stitches
- Relatively small and easily portable
- More than strong enough
- Works quickly and quietly
- An LED light focused on the work area
Cons
- The needle threader doesn’t always work
- It’s made out of flimsy materials
The Final Word
At this point, you should probably know if the HC1850 looks like your type of sewing machine or if it’s a hard pass for you.
For those of you that are just starting out with sewing or quilting or just need a good, reliable and affordable machine that can do both, you’re probably already looking at how to buy it.
It is a highly versatile and affordable machine, and even though it has a few faults, I would say it’s more than worth buying. At the least, it’s worth a look.
If you think it’s the right one for you – go out and buy it as soon as possible!
I hope you enjoyed reading and that I managed to help you out at least a little bit. If you have any additional questions feel free to post them in the comments and I’ll answer them as soon as I am able to.
Until next time – happy sewing!