I had a couple items holding until the machine was delivered so that I could finish the hems using the new machine. Worth the wait!
This is the Brother 2340CV Coverstitch Machine. Threading it is slightly easier than the serger because it only has one lower looper instead of two. The machine can do 3 needles, but I'm only using two for the time being since I prefer the two parallel lines in my hems. Three's a crowd.
Operation is very smooth. I spent a lot of time deciding between this model and the Janome that was comparable in price, and so far I'm happy with this one. Plus, all of the videos and feedback on the Janome model mentioned the metal foot was hard to see where your stitching begins and ends, and needing to buy a special clear foot, but this one came with a clear foot, so I feel like I'm a winner.
Yes, it's harder to get your fabric out of the machine because you do have to hold down the tension releases on the threads to shimmy the fabric out, but it's really not that hard. Because I had done my research beforehand, it made sense to me how to do it. However, I can understand for those going in blind, this would be annoying. I was going to say I ignored this aspect of the product reviews, but I didn't...I looked into it and watched some YouTube videos and once I understood how to do it, I was able to ignore that particular gripe in the reviews.
Both items I was holding needed bottom hems and sleeve cuff hems. Both are for me, I figured after banging out so many garments for other people for Christmas, I deserved a couple for myself!
Which one did I coverstitch and which one is store-bought?
The navy one is the one I did
This model doesn't have a free arm option, so that's kind of a bummer, but something I can live with. That just means I need to do a little more shimmying of the fabric on smaller items like cuffs. However, having this is waaaay more efficient. When I want to hem, I just slide on over to this machine and do it, rather than having to stop on my regular machine, take out the needle, put in the twin needle, rethread and whatnot. If you make a lot of clothing, this baby is worth it for that reason alone.
I did test out on a few scraps before diving in, messing with the tension, stitch length, and differential feed. I think I got it right.
I'm happy with this new toy!
