Customer Reviews

Brother LS2125I Easy-To-Use Lightweight Basic 10-Stitch Sewing Machine

5 star:		(109)
4 star:		(40)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

I bought a Brother digital sewing/embroidery machine in February that was a total DUD...I mean it didn't survive making one garment before it went Kaput and I'm still trying to get it fixed!
I bought this "little" machine as a "back up" and it is GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!
I had to buy a bottle of sewing machine oil to oil it weekly (as the manual advised) otherwise it came fully equipped and it just purrs right along and does a great job of sewing on a variety of fabrics. I'm VERY HAPPY and it was 1/6 the price of Brother digital dud.

This sewing machine is easy to use for a beginner, but there are two main issues I have had so far. Firstly, the directions are a little bit confusing due to how they are worded and the four languages that are present throughout. Secondly, the thread gets caught on the wheel which unthreads the needle frequently. However, the sewing machine sews great and is easy to use once the directions are read thoroughly. I have never sewn before in my life, but with this sewing machine in the last two weeks I have made my first Halloween costume for my daughter. So, all in all, I am very happy with the machine.

I just bought this sewing machine for my 8 yr old daughter. Instead of waiting until Christmas and risking the possibility of a disappointed little girl I tried this machine out. I have been sewing for about 30 years and learned as a young girl myself. There is nothing more discouraging for a new sewer than a poor piece of machinery. This is an amazing machine for the money. So easy to use!!!! The auto button-hole attachement works great. I am very hard to please and I will say that I am impressed so far!!!!

I did a lot of online research before buying this sewing machine. I didn't want to spend too much money, but wanted something to handle simple sewing projects. I decided to buy this one after seeing lots of positive reviews. I'm glad that I bought this sewing machine. After reading through the instruction manual, I was able to fix two towels, three skirts (denim), one coats, and one pair of pants. I'm glad that I bought this machine. I've already saved money by doing these projects at home instead of going to a tailor. I do have to say that the instruction manual is a bit difficult to read due to all of the languages mixed together, but if I just highlight the English instructions, I can easily find what I'm looking for.

Let me premise this recommendation with the fact that I have been sewing for over 25 years as a hobby. I own my own machine, a Kenmore. I am an engineer who found my love of engineering through my love of sewing. My 10-year-old son has been asking me for over three years to give him sewing lessons on my machine, so I bought him this machine for him for Christmas. This is a lovely machine, well made, and sturdy. This is not a machine that you should buy if you will not have someone who knows about sewing to assist you. This is not like buying a Nintendo DS or a Wii, which are items that are intuitive. The instructions to thread the machine and the bobbin are substandard. We successfully thread the machine and bobbin because they are identical to my Kenmore. If you have never thread a machine before, be prepared for directions that are confusing.

If you have some sewing experience under your belt and you can get past the threading of the machine, you will love this machine. If you are buying this for a novice, make sure you get a tutorial book with exercises that the receiver can perform on paper first. I got my son several kits of projects that he can sew for himself (a pillow, mittens & a scarf), but he cannot start on those projects until he has mastered all of the examples in the beginner book. He thought that sewing was easy and that he could make all sorts of stuffed animals, etc. right away. He now has been made aware that mastering sewing starts with a good machine, and practice, practice, practice before you can really make anything.

It is a good thing to start on paper, not only because it is good practice but also the machine has been oiled and some of the residual oil will come off on the bobbin thread as you start sewing at first. Please do not use anything you value on the machine until the oil residue goes away (about 1 foot of stitches seemed to do the trick).

Also, make sure you understand how to use a sewing machine safely. My son now understands that this is a powerful machine and the needle can go through your finger easily. If you are buying this for a child, please do not let them figure out how to use this on their own. It is like a power tool, so treat it as such.

This machine is less expensive than a professional model, but still is an investment. I am looking forward to my children using this for many years to come.

I am completely new to the sewing practice. I purchased this machine after reading the other reviews, and I am happy I did it.
I was not looking for anything fancy, only a machine to do simple beginner tasks, and I find this one very easy to use. I completed my first project in one afternoon.
By the way, the included instruction book is written in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese. I am a native Spanish speaker, so the fact that my language is included in the manual was very useful.

I recently purchased this from Amazon.com as they had the best price on it. I bought it specifically for my 11 year old daughter, who wanted to start sewing doll clothes. I am all for her sewing, and am excited to teach her how (I teach sewing and have since 2002), but I wasn't excited about the thought of her monopolizing my Bernina 930. I decided on this Brother not only because the price was right, but I have had experience with just about every machine created (yes-hand cranks to the extreme high-end embroideries and everything in between) that a student can bring into class, and have found any Brother model I have dealt with to be reliable, easy to use, and simple. It is basic but has enough added features to experiment and be creative. Nice buttonhole, too!
It is very light weight, but does not have a handle, so think about that upon purchase-if you are going to take it to classes, get a case for it (hard or soft will do). It is the perfect machine for the beginner, off-to-college person, or just for the basic stuff. I wouldn't tackle something like making slip covers out of heavy interior dec. fabric with it, but for PJ bottoms out of flannel...perfect.

***UPDATE: well, shame on me-I would sew anything on this machine and did this past summer, when I sewed one million (no, just kidding, but seemed like it, excuse the pun) cleaned out juice bag mylar bags together. It was a volunteer gig for my local elementary school for the science department. Initially, we were going to make a sun shade for when the kids went outside in the science garden, but sewing a 12'x16' thing just got out of hand, so we decided on sitting "blankets" for little ones to sit on in the shade of a tree to discuss science. I popped a leather needle in, 100% nylon thread on all the bobbins, and jammed it all out on THIS machine. THIS machine cranked on those juice bags without a hiccup!
Daughter isn't sewing soo much, and this machine will stick around anyway as my total-total back up machine. During Nutcracker season, I keep it at the theater to sew anything from satin ribbon on toe shoes to delicate chiffon for some of the costumes. You can't go wrong with this machine.

My parents bought me this Brother machine to replace a disfunctional Singer they had just given me as a gift. Though some parts were similar, this was the better budget-priced machine. I had no problems with the upright bobbin or with thread tangling like some other users reported. My problems were with the feed dogs, which had difficulty with anything thicker than medium-weight denim, and the speed, which is fast ONLY - not so great on curves. My other complaint is that you cannot fine tune the stitch length or width, and you have to turn a screw to adjust the buttonhole length. I also had a problem with uneven thread tension. Finally, the manual was written and printed on a budget. In the interest of squeezing in four languages, directions were often too brief and did not correlate with the illustrations. I would recommend this machine to intermediate sewers primarily working with medium-weight woven fabrics.

After reading the previous reviews for this machine, I was expecting instructions on oiling religiously and an over-zealous foot pedal. I suspect the manufacturer has made improvements to the design, however, as neither was the case. There wasn't any mention of a need to oil the machine before using or even any indication on how frequently it would require oiling, but because of the reviews I decided I ought to oil before the first use. But, alas, there wasn't any oil included! Luckily I had some from my other Euro Pro machine (which I've never actually oiled). As for the previously mentioned foot pedal issues, I didn't notice any problems with speed whatsoever. The pedal was pressure-sensitive and the speed increased and decreased as it should.
The plastic bobbins thing... Really, what is with that? In the instructions, it says to only use these particular bobbins as standard bobbins are the wrong size. It even provides a diagram showing "actual" size for their own bobbins vs. standard bobbins, which illustrated that regular bobbins would be too small. However, the standard metal bobbins I had on hand (the same that pretty much everyone has on hand) were precisely the same size as the plastic ones included and recommended. In fact, I struggled with some lower thread tension issues when using the provided plastic bobbin, but when I (finally got the nerve and) replaced it with a metal one, the problems went away completely. I've got to say, I just don't get the plastic bobbin thing.
This is otherwise a great machine. It is FULL-SIZE, not mini, as I'd thought when we ordered it. It offers lots of features and is a very good value. Recommended.

My mom bought me this machine about a month ago & I have to say that I love it. It's very easy to use & not intimidating at all. (Although I am a "manual reader" so I rarely dive into anything mechanical blindly.)

Two reasons I gave it 4 stars instead of 5.
1.The manual layout could be better. Directions & pictures should be on the same page. Especially since the directions refer to the pictures & both helped a newbie like me. Flipping back & forth between written directions & the pictures while trying to load a bobbin for the first time was frustrating.
2.Why plastic bobbins?