You need to store all your accessories in the plastic bag provided. You can’t leave your accessories in there loose or they’ll fall out every time you remove the front cover. Weighing in at 6.2 Kg the Brother LS14 sewing machine can easily be taken pretty much anywhere you want to take it. With beginners in mind, the portability of this model is great if you are new to sewing. Having a sewing machine that can easily be taken to sewing classes or a friend’s home has its obvious benefits. Included Accessories

There’s nothing wrong with the blind hem stitch itself, but in practice, it’s really hard to use without a blind hem foot. Another handy feature for beginners are the thread guides, these are arrows on the machine which basically guide you on how to thread the upper thread. Normally a tension of 4 is the standard, but on this machine, I preferred tension 5 for cotton. It makes the straight stitches look straighter on both sides. On tension 4, the stitching on one side was a bit loose, creating a slight zig-zag look. Large zig zag stitch = tunnelling

How portable is it?

This machine does not come with any quilting feet, but you can buy them separately. You’ll need the walking foot, quilting guide, 1/4″ foot, and free-motion foot. If you’re just starting out or if you’re buying a gift for a beginner, this is a great price for the included features. I wouldn’t recommend this machine for a young child, but for older children who are being supervised or teenagers who know the basics, this is the perfect machine. If the bobbin thread was incorrectly threaded, the upper thread may be too tight. In this case, refer to “ How do I install the bobbin wound with thread?” 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 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.

Expect the stitch length to become small and uneven over the humps. To be fair, all the beginner machines I tested did this too. As long as your thread matches the fabric, you won’t be able to tell. Inconsistent stitch length 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. It has the most important stitches: straight, zig zag, blind hem, rectangle buttonhole, and a few extras. You can sew most things with these. Needle threading is done manually with the Brother LS14 as there is no built-in needle threader. Freehand Stitching

Sewing all the stitches on 2 layers of cotton was fine. I didn’t have any problems, and I think the stitches look good. The Ls14s did not stretch out the fabric, which I was happy about. Many of the other budget machines I tested did. It sewed the denim hem OK, but there were a few issues. It struggled to feed the fabric when going over the seam allowance humps. It did manage it, but the stitches got smaller.

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. The manual is quite brief, however there are good basic instructions for the features of the machine as well as an instructional DVD. 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. The path for threading the machine to the thread take-up lever is the same as for normally threading the machine (for a single needle). Refer to How do I thread my machine?

Brother LS14s sewing machine quality and durability

Not really. It’s one of the cheapest sewing machines on the market, so build quality isn’t great. I think it’s best suited for light use. 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 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.

More expensive machines have a better feeding system which solves this, like my Brother innov-is a150. It doesn’t matter how much you change the speed during a line of stitching, the stitches are consistent. Very little control over stitch settings It’s OK, but not amazing. You’ll get the most important stitches, but very few stretch, overcasting (=stops fraying), and embroidery ones. The blind hem stitch is really hard to use without the blind hem foot. This is not included with the machine. You have almost no control over the stitch length, width, or needle position. And the free arm is too big for small tubes.There’s no automatic foot release button, you’ll need to use a screwdriver, while this might be a bit of a faff, for the price point this isn’t really to be expected. If it’s a big deal for you to have really neat-looking, consistent stitches, go for a mid-range machine instead. Their feed dogs and motors are more powerful. My Brother innov-is a150, for example, has a consistent stitch length no matter what speed you’re going. Fleece hem Overall it’s quite easy to thread. There’s no needle threader, but I like the threading instructions printed on the machine. I like the clear top-loading bobbin (also known as a drop-in bobbin). It lets you see when you’re almost out of thread. And most importantly, it doesn’t get jammed like front-loading systems do. Stitch selection is really easy. You just turn the dial to the stitch you want and sew. You don’t need to make lots of decisions about stitch length and width settings. It’s all pre-set.