Sewing Machine Review – Brother PQ1500s

Today one of my favourite blogger friends, Daryl of Patchouli Moon Studio is sharing her review of one of her machines, the Brother PQ1500s. SURPRISE! Zero rambling from me today so straight over to you Daryl! 🙂

Please share the brand name and model number:

Brother PQ1500s

Is your machine classed as Domestic or Industrial?

It’s a semi-industrial machine. It’s easy to use like a domestic machine, but like an industrial machine it only sews straight and it sews fast! Up to 1500 rpms.

How long have you had this machine, did you buy it new and what was the purchase price or approximate price range?

I bought this machine December 2008. It was brand new. I paid $700.

What made you decide to buy this particular machine?

I wanted a good solid machine for piecing and quilting. The local dealer who sells Brother sewing machines says that Brother is a good solid company that has been around for years and because they sell other things besides sewing machines (printers, scanners, adding machines, etc.) they will be in business a long time. That is good for him selling and servicing Brother sewing machines and good for me because I know that he can get parts if needed to service my machine.

Approximately how often do you sew with it and what types of projects do you sew?

I sew almost every day. I make bags and quilts mostly, but I do sew clothing sometimes too.

Does your machine have any special features which you enjoy or any special features you do NOT like and drives you bonkers? LOL

What I love is: the fast speed, the knee lift, the pin-feed is a great feature which keeps fabrics that can be slippery moving together. I love the wide throat space which make is perfect for quilting. And it free-motion quilts beautifully! The thread cutter is nice although half the time the thread comes out of the needle when I use it, so that drive me bonkers. The needle threader hasn’t worked for years and when it did work it shredded the thread a lot. The wire is so tiny I cannot even see it to bend it back into place. When I take my machine in for servicing next time, I will see if they can fix the needle threader and adjust the thread cutter. Meanwhile I thread it the old fashioned way by hand, lol.

Are there any features you really wish your machine has BUT is lacking?

I wish it had a low bobbin indicator. I wish it had the great needle threader that my computerized Brother machine has.

Like what you see? Daryl sells these wallets so be sure to ask her about them if you would like one! 🙂

How about features it does have BUT you find you never use?

Since this machine only straight stitches, there are times I wish it had a zigzag function too, but then that’s why I own more than one sewing machine so I can have other stitches.

Would you recommend this machine to others and if not, why?

Yes I would recommend this machine and I actually did recommend it to Marilyn from Shades of Bold blog and she bought a different version of this same machine.

If your machine suddenly vanished, would you replace it with the exact same machine or a different one? Why?

Before I would replace this machine, I would check out what other machines are out there now and test them all within my price range. If I found something I liked as well or better I might replace it with something different. But if nothing else compared with this machine then I would buy this same machine again for sure.

Daryl’s version of the Bag of the Month Club’s Poolside Tote!

Do you have any interesting stories to share about your machine?

No interesting stories as I bought it new.

Do you have any special projects you made with this machine you would like to share with us here?

I sew nearly everything with this machine, so just pop over to my blog to see what I have sewn, lol!!! If it has zigzag or other stitches then only those stitches were sewn with another machine, but the straight stitching and quilting was done with this machine.

Any Sewing Machine hints or tips you would like to share?

Buy from a local sewing machine dealer. Go test several brands and go to several dealers and bring your own fabric to test the machines out. If you quilt, then bring little quilt sandwiches and your own thread to test the machines. You will never know how a machine feels if you don’t give it a test drive first. It’s similar to test driving cars. You will want to choose a machine that you will love using for years. Plus the real advantage of buying from a dealer is you get free sewing lessons on how to use your machine. I learned more about my machines by taking the lessons. Not everything is explained in the sewing machine manuals and some things are not explained very well because most machines are made in other countries where those manuals are translated into English, so there can be things that are lost in translation.

If you won the lottery and could add ANY new machine to your collection, which one would it be?

I would have to test drive several machines to see if any machine out there would be something I would fall in love with. Since money would be of no concern, if I won the lottery, then I would test machines that were certainly above my price range to see if they really were worth having all those extra bells and whistles that can drive the cost up.

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Thanks for a very interesting review Daryl! Daryl has so many awesome creations on her blog so do make sure you pop over for a visit! 🙂 You can also find Daryl’s patterns on Craftsy!

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Would you like to share your thoughts on YOUR machine in your own review? We’d love to hear them! Please email me and we’ll chat! 🙂

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