Review on 🧵 Brother ST371HD Sewing Machine: Strong & Tough with 37 Built-in Stitches, Free Arm Option, and 6 Included Feet! by Nicole Mcleod

I've been a seamstress all my life and at the age of 70 I thought I understood sewing machines. I used Bernina which I felt was too picky for me and switched to Brother when I bought my first Serger. Apart from the quality of the Brother machines I think this is a great company that stands behind their products. I have made over 40 Renaissance costumes on Brother machines including those of the king and queen. Now that I'm a grandmother (Mimo), I've started sewing clothes for dolls. I've had a computer controlled Brother for the past four years, but as I now plan to make covers for garden swings and patio chairs I decided to buy a Brother Strong and Tough to use with the heavy fabrics these projects call for to need. Once I took this machine out of the box, it was set up in minutes. The stitches are nice and even, the tension and type of stitches are easy to adjust. I have now used it on feil und dot swiss when sewing dresses for my granddaughter's dolls and my seven year old granddaughter used the machine when I was teaching her to sew. I bought her a light brother as a birthday gift but I think I'll get her one of these instead. This is a much better car. I abandoned my computer controlled machine to make room for this on my sewing table. I've now found that after all these years I prefer a mechanical machine to a computer controlled one. What a revelation! Any extra stitches on my computer controlled machine will be lost as every embroidery that needs to be done is done by hand. Is always. always will be I appreciate that this machine has a rubber base so it doesn't move while sewing. I appreciate that there are no skipped stitches and that you can just start sewing from the edge of the fabric without holding the thread at the back to keep the stitches from sticking together. I love that the presser foot has extra height adjustment for thicker fabrics that I need for lawn swings. There are a few things I miss about my old car, but I'll adapt quickly. Lower needle button to turn the fabric. A longer cord at the foot of the pedal that I could tuck behind the tabletop instead of pulling forward across the table. The motor is quieter so I can sew at night without waking my grandchildren and their parents. However these are all minor issues in exchange for a really nice car which I expect to be the last I get. All the machine feet I have for my old Brother will fit this machine, but the bobbins are slightly different sizes and are not interchangeable. It comes with four bobbins and I have bought more bobbins for my granddaughter's other machine which are great for this machine. And it comes with a teflon base, which comes in handy with a lot of the fabrics I use for doll clothes. I am a very happy buyer. Thank you brother for continuing to make such wonderful products.