Customer Reviews

Brother Heavy Duty CE4000 LCD Sewing Machine w/Cover & Free Bonus Feet

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I teach sewing lessons in Spring Texas (www.GetSewing.com). I was tired of students bring "problem" machines. I bought this machine for because two students brought ones like it and I was impressed with the quality for the price range. A good thing is, you can sew very slowly. The machine goes when you press on the foot pedal, it doesn't growl and hesitate. You can also sew fast too. The only thing I don't like on this model is that every time you stop, it stops with the needle down in the fabric and you must turn the hand wheel to move it up. It would be much more useful if the needle stopped in the position.

This sewing machine has been nothing but amazing for the past six months I have been useing it. I have made so many things with this. It is really good at sewing thick fabrics. The machine is heavy duty yet so light. This machine is just way beyond worth the price. I purchased mine not from amazon and for $100 (its a refurb) it looks brand new and gets the job done like it was brand new. It came with quilting feet and that was a plus even though i have never used quilted vefore atleast i have the option. (I am a design major)

There are so many good things about this machine
-Lcd screen
-light weight
-heavy duty
-button holes are amazingly simple (not so much on the very expensive machines at my school)

overall this machine is great and i have had many sewing machine horror storys that cost 2-3 times this.

Earlier this year I was given my first machine...a 35 yr old Viking. I works great but recently broke one of it's belts. Needlesstosay it was going to take a week to get a new one, and being in the middle of a project, I needed something quickly. I picked up this model by Brother. It will take some getting used to compared to the 35 yr old one but, once I get the hang of it I think it will be a great addition. Super light weight, (especially compared to the 40lb older one), and easy to use, great easy to follow instructions, and awsome additional stitches I am excited to use it more. My only negative though is using it for what I do, embelishing jeans and overalls for my kids and friends kids, the thickness of the sewing stage makes this difficult. It seems about 1-2" thicker than the Viking. I may, for these projects, have to use the old one.

I do not know how to sew. I have not read the manual but I was able to follow pretty basic instructions and hem the curtains that have been sitting around for a year. Since then I have hemmed several pair of pants. So I would rate this machine a 5 if you need it for everyday mending.

I have two of these machines, both purchased at WalMart. I sew for a living, so they are used daily. They start out working great, but within a year, start developing all kinds of problems, including tension issues and the machine seizing up. The first machine I purchased started having tension problem that I couldn't resolve on my own when it was one year old. I have 40 plus years of sewing experience and have always been able to fix any problems with my sewing machines myself. But I could not get the tension straightened out on this machine. These machines have a "limited" 25 year guarantee. Much to my surprise, I found out I would need to pay $75 up front to have the machine sent in to be looked at, and whatever they found, I would "probably" be responsible for part of the repairs. Knowing this could end up costing me more than a new machine, and needing a machine right now, I went ahead and purchased a 2nd Brother Project Runway Machine, basically identical to the first one, only with a grey panel instead of turquoise. I do like the machine, it is easy to operate, has nice decorative stitches and runs very well, when it's working correctly! I live in a rural area where we don't have a lot of choices other than what WalMart offers, so I thought I'd give the brother a 2nd chance. It's now been 1 1/2 years and my machine has been having problems for a couple of months. Last week, it totally seized up. My husband oiled it, cleaned it (which he's done routinely), and I got it running again. But within 1/2 day, it seized up again, this time the bobbin actually flew out of the machine! Popped the little bobbin door right off the machine and went flying.
I messed with it for 1/2 the day and finally just gave up and got the older model out hoping I could get it to work long enough to finish my order. No matter what I did to that machine, I could not get the tension correct. It pulled the thread into a gather no matter what setting I had it on. I finally gave up and dug out my old Singer Metal Guts machine and finished what I was working on...
I have since done a lot of research on the Brother machines and found that many people have experienced the same problems. They seem to work great for about a year, but they just aren't built for long term use. If you are an occasional sewer, it would probably be a great machine. But if you depend on your sewing machine to be a work horse on a daily basis, don't buy this, or any, light weight sewing machine. They just don't have what the old machines did...metal guts! And these cheap plastic parts just don't hold up.
I should also say, that even though the decorative stitches are fun and easy to use, not all of them are worth messing with. Some of the stitching will "catch" and you'll end up with a bunching of thread and a huge mess. Over time you get used to the stitching that works well and which ones not to bother with.This is a problem I found with both machines. Also, this machine doesn't feed fabric as smoothly as it should, and it doesn't want to start a seam out on the very edge of the fabric. It'll bunch the fabric up and make a mess, so you have to start your seam at least an 1/8" in from the edge. It also doesn't like changing thickness's and often skips stitches when reaching a different thickness. As an example, if you try to do smocking with this machine, it's really hard to have a nice, even decorative stitch because it will catch here and there and bunch up the stitching. Another example, if you're sewing something with tabs or something else that would suddenly change the thickness, this machine will skip stitches until it gets used to the new thickness. It doesnt' matter what size needle you use, it still skips some stitches.
On the plus side, it is quick and easy to go from one stitch to another and it is light weight. Although, light weight also means the machine can move across the table easily. It's also very easy to thread, the self threading needle is a plus and the bobbin is easy to put in and take out. However, the plastic bobbins these types of machines use do break eventually, so they need replaced quite often. I ended up having to order replacements from the brother website since I couldn't find the right size in stores. Old machines used metal bobbins, and I never had one break or wear out.
For me, I've learned my lesson. No more fancy, computerized, light weight machines for me. I've ordered a Singer Heavy Duty, metal gut machine to replace these two and am hopeful it'll stand the test of time, like my much older Singer machine has done. I also have a REALLY old brother machine from the 50's, the really heavy kind. It also still works! Brother used to mean quality!! In my opinion, sewing machine manufacturers need to take a step back in time and realize the old machines were made to last, and these new machines are just adding clutter to our world because they have to be replaced so often (hmmmmm....maybe that's the point?).

I got this machine mainly to do buttonholes (I use a serger for most of my sewing). It works fine for everything I've done. It doesn't do well with thick fabric or several layers of light fabric. I don't like the presser foot lever being located on the right. Being right-handed, it's very awkward to raise & lower the presser foot while I'm holding my fabric. Also, there is no way to change the needle ending position. It always ends down & I would like to have it end in the up position most of the time. But, I got it mainly for making buttonholes & they're a breeze! I would recommend this machine for anyone doing light duties or occasional sewing.

I am a professional seamstress & I LOVE my new Brother CE 4000. It has given me more inspiration to do my only line of work & wish I have gotten it long ago. And the price was incredibly small. Thank you very much! --Jeanne Zimmerman
718 Sulphur Spgs Rd #C-5
Malvern AR 72104

It is built cheap. Not sturdy enough for 1 project a year. After it stopped working the repair shop said it was easier/cheaper to just buy a new one. We bought a non computerized machine that was built sturdier.

I love this machine. I received it as a gift and have been sewing with it for over a year. I have made many different items using fabrics of varying thicknesses. It has always done everything I've wanted it to, and the only time I have problems is from operator error. It is a breeze to sew with and I recommend it highly!

The machine shipped well. I received the machine in very good condition.
I haven't sewn in many years and bought it for simple projects. I sat down yesterday and it was great to use. I love it! I think it was a terrific buy.