Favorite Features of My Sewing Machine
In April of this year, a new toy joined me in my sewing room, a Bernina 710 Sewing Machine! I received the machine as a loan from Bernina as a part of their Bernina Ambassadors program and We All Sew.com.
Since then I’m sure you’ve seen this beauty popping up here and there on my blog, but I haven’t sat down to write up a proper review of what I think of the machine. Since I’ve now been using the machine for more than 6 months I thought it would be a good time to talk about some of my favorite features of the Bernina 710.
The first thing that stand out to me after sewing on this machine for a while now is it’s size. It’s a BIG machine. I’ve really enjoyed having all of the extra surface space to sew on. The bigger throat size (the space between the needle and the inside of the machine) I think is my favorite part by far of this machine (well the dual feed foot is a close second, but we’ll get to that in a minute). The only downside to the large size is that it is heavy, but to be honest it’s nice to have a heavy machine again, it feels so much more sturdy.
I’ve always quilted my own quilts (with only a few exception) and was frequently frustrated in the past that I ran out of room or the quilt was “squished” making it hard to move. Which in turn messed up the stitches. It’s very important when machine quilting that the quilt can move freely through the machine and is not “caught” on anything as the machine pulls it though. This has been the nicest thing! I quilted a nearly twin sized quilt for my book on it and it went though like butter! I couldn’t believe how easy it was! The strong motor of the machine did all of the work.
My next favorite feature is the dual feed foot. It’s pretty much a built in walking foot on the machine. It just “clicks” down onto the foot when you need it (btw, I had the wrong foot on the machine in that shot, should be the 1D foot).
I can not believe how handy that feature has become. I now use a walking foot for many different kinds of sewing, not just machine quilting. It has come in especially handy when I’m sewing handbags, I use it in the final step when I’m sewing the lining to the outside of the bag. It helps to keep all of the layers from bunching up.
It’s also been very handy when I’m sewing trim onto fabric (like on my Embellished Tunic), when I’ve been sewing with knits and any time I’m sewing heavy batting or foam into a project (like in my sunglasses case tutorial).
Here is shot of me machine quilting the front of my dorm room pillow project this year. I’m about to do the same quilting on a Christmas Pillow that I’ll be sharing with you next week.
I also love the onscreen guidance. I’m not the best at remembering what settings to use for which types of projects. The machine keeps track of this for me. I just touch the fabric type (woven, light, heavy, knit etc) then the sewing technique (seam, quilting, FMQ, appliqué) and the machine sets itself, tells me what needle to use and if I need extra stabilizer.
Since the machine is a bit more heavy duty than my last one I’ve been able to play around with sewing on additional materials, like leather, canvas and more home dec fabrics. It’s handled all of the above very very well, with the only exception being 4 layers of suede (but I have to admit that was MY problem not the machine, seriously 4 layers of suede ? what was I thinking?).
A few other quick things that I love.
The large sewing table attachment. I use this much more than I thought I would, as it stays on the machine most days.
I’ve decided that the giant bobbin is a blessing and a curse. Blessing in that you don’t run out all the time! Hallelujah! Which is great if you mostly sew with one color of thread. Curse in that when you do need to change the thread you feel like you are wasting thread if you have to empty out a bobbin… I guess I just need to go buy some more bobbins 🙂
I’ve only had one problem with the machine, the tension got messed up a few weeks ago. I’m not entirely sure it wasn’t my fault (remember the 4 layers of suede *ahem*)… but I took it into my local Bernina Dealer and they had it fixed FAST. It was a quick fix and I was back sewing the next day.
I must say now that I do adore this machine. I don’t want to give it back, it’s been a dream to sew on this year. This is a quality computerized sewing machine and the price does reflect that, if you’re looking to invest in a new machine, I’d recommend giving it a look.
**Disclosure, as I stated above this is a sponsored post by Bernina, all opinions are 100% my own. I have not received any other compensation other than the loan of a sewing machine.
You can read other posts about this machine here, and here.
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I bought this machine about 3 months ago & I’m in love with it! I just quilted a king size quilt on it pretty easily. Some other features I love are the perfect and repeatable buttonholes. Also the ability to adjust the pressure on the pressed foot. This really makes sewing thick things easier. I also ease the pressure when doing straight line quilting.
I also love the adjustable presser foot. I was sewing with some lightweight fabric a while back and adjusted it so that it fed though the machine perfectly! Thanks for the tip about adjusting it for straight line quilting, I’m going to try that today.
I just bought the 780 and after a few bumps in the road we are now fast friends. Moving from an old janome to TOL bernina has been quite a journey!
I think the hardest part about getting a new machine is unlearning how you used the old machine. I had that problem too- I had used the same machine for 12 years before I got my new one and there was a bit of a learning curve. So glad you are “friends” now
I bought the 710 seven months ago and am in love with it! It is an investment but the quality shows every time you sew with it! I bought it for FMQ, but I am using it for all my sewing now.
Glad to hear the positive comments about the 710. I’m trying to decide between the 710 and a Janome 8200.
i have a bernina 1001 which is a nice, heavy duty feeling machine. whenever i go to anything plastic, i feel like it’s a toy! i had no idea what a gift that machine was when i first received it, but it has seen me through 2 decades of sewing and a little bit of quilting! i love that this version has so much space at the throat. that is the only thing i would complain about with my machine.
the walking foot thing is interesting. i have often forgotten to remove my walking foot and use it all the time when i’m not really “supposed” to be using it. i always wonder if it will damage the machine, making it work too hard. i’m glad to see that this version has it built in.
the computerized thing is the only reason i never want to replace my bernina. mine came out before computerized machines were the norm. i really like to turn dials and raise levers. i just don’t know if i can hand the decisions over to a computer!
I hear the same thing from a lot of people. They really love the older heavy duty machines…. I have a friend that tried to swap hers out once and went back to the older one.