Brother LS14S Metal Chassis Sewing Machine

Product Information

Yes, I think the Brother Ls14s is good enough for basic quilting. Its throat space is big enough for large quilts and quilting feet are available to buy separately. It can quilt straight lines OK, but the machine does wander slightly to the left/right, so it’s hard to sew perfectly straight. You can’t drop the feed dogs for free-motion quilting, and it doesn’t come with a “darning plate” to cover the feed dogs either. You’ll need to buy that separately.

It has the most important stitches: straight, zig zag, blind hem, rectangle buttonhole, and a few extras. You can sew most things with these.

Use only twin needles that have been made for this machine (part code: X57521-021:2.0/75 with a 2 mm width). Other needles could break and damage the machine. Yes, it’s lightweight and has a handle. You need to buy your own storage bag though because it doesn’t come with one. Most budget machines don’t.

The manual is quite brief, however there are good basic instructions for the features of the machine as well as an instructional DVD. Do not turn on the machine while pressing down the foot controller. The machine may start unexpectedly and cause personal injury or damage to the machine. Put the extra spool pin in the hole on the top of the machine. Put the second spool of thread onto the extra spool pin. It did join the fabric together strongly, but the Ls14s hated sewing this. It sounded very loud and thumpy. It also slowed down when going over the seam allowance humps. This created uneven stitch lengths and a skipped stitch. The motor isn’t powerful enough for this fabric. Faux leather & cotton canvas zipper pouch

I prefer it over the other mechanical machines I’ve tested. It’s really simple to use. But I recommend computerized machines for hobby sewists, they have more features that you can grow with. Here’s my blog post where I compared lots of beginner sewing machines, including mechanical and computerized ones. The thread should pull through the machine freely with no tension. If there is tension when pulling the thread, then the thread may be unsuitable for machine sewing and should be replaced with machine sewing thread from a reputable brand. The machine has a small harp space (the central gap) so isn’t great for larger projects such as quilts or bulky clothing, but fine for alterations, making lighter weight garments and small-medium sized homewares. You can’t disable the dog teeth, which means you couldn’t free motion quilt on this machine. The cons are: you have almost no control over the stitch length, width, and needle position. Its free arm is too big, so you’ll need to sew small tubes without it. And you don’t have many options for stretch, overcasting (= stops fraying), or embroidery stitches. Adjust the thread tension while test sewing on a piece of scrap fabric that is the same as that used in your project.

Use a good quality thread – it's common for inexpensive low-quality threads or threads designed for hand sewing to be the cause of what appears to be tension problems when there is nothing wrong with the machine. Using thread that does not pull through smoothly can cause thread breakages, poor stitching or damage to your machine. For best results, you should use a good quality, branded thread.The Ls14s also struggled to sew perfectly straight, even when I drew straight lines on the fabric. The foot doesn’t grip the fabric enough when you’re sewing multiple layers, so it does wander slightly to the left or right by 1/8″ (3mm). You can’t adjust the foot pressure to improve this. If you don’t care about sewing really precisely, then it’s not a big deal. With that being said, for the price, this is a brilliant quality machine. Our verdict: should you buy a Brother LS14s sewing machine?

If a needle and thread appropriate for the fabric are not being used, the thread tension will not be adjusted correctly, causing wrinkles in the fabric or skipped stitches. I prefer the buttonholes that computerized machines make. They look neater, they have more styles, and the machines automatically “tie-off” the ends to stop them unraveling. Expand the work area of your sewing machine with an easy to attach, wide extension table that is perfect for larger sewing projects.

Brother LS14s sewing machine quality and durability

Sewing all the stitches on 2 layers of cotton was fine. I didn’t have any problems, and I think the stitches look good. It would be hard to find a sewing machine that is as easy to use as the Brother LS14. Due to it been a budget sewing machine and therefore rather limited in terms of features, it is obviously going to be far easier to use than a computerised sewing machine. It is however, the limitations of the Brother LS14 that make it a good model for both beginners and kids. To select a stitch all that has to be done is to simply turn the dial to the required stitch, it couldn’t be easier. For more information on how to operate the LS14, see the official manual from Brother. Stitches and Buttonholes The stitch length is affected by how fast or slow you sew. So if you start fast and then slow down, your stitches will be different lengths. For comparison, all of the beginner machines I tested also have this problem. Accessories included: zig-zag foot, buttonhole foot, zipper foot, Needle Set, Bobbins X4 one in machine oval screw driver, and foot controller. You can’t lower the feed dogs for free-motion quilting. Basic sewing machines normally come with a “darning plate” instead which covers the feed dogs. But this machine makes you buy it separately, so that’s another expense.