Customer Reviews

SINGER 14SH654 Finishing Touch Sewing Machine

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I bought this item at Walmart for $229 and was excited to begin sewing my first project. That was a huge mistake. The thread kept popping out of the tension on #3 no matter what I did. I tried tightening it several times, went back to directions repeatedly looking for what I could have done wrong, though everything appeared to have been done correctly. To finish the initial project I was sewing I ended up having to hold thread #3 by hand to create the right tension to finish sewing. Thank goodness for dexterity! The other major problem I had was the machine jumped around a lot on my sewing table as it sewed. It didn't weigh enough to hold it in place, nor were there any suction cups on the bottom to keep it stable. I ended up having to chase the machine down while I was holding thread #3! I'm sure it all looked quite comical, but it was WAY too much of a hassle for me. I returned the item to Walmart, got my money back and went to a local sewing shop and found a Janome serger that didn't cost too much more. The Janome threads beautifully with perfect tension and has little suction feet to hold the machine in place while sewing. Going from the Singer to the Janome in the same day made it very clear to me what a cheap piece of junk the Singer is. As a side note, I asked the repairman at the sewing shop about the Singer and he says he won't carry them anymore because they break too often. 3 Months later and I haven't had a single problem with my Janome!

Two stars because it does serge all right.
BUT... it's a bizarre model that I can't find needles for. I've been to my local Singer dealer, manual in hand, to try to get him to order needles for it. Been on the phone to Singer's 1-800 number a half dozen times getting part numbers and numbers of service centers from New York to Michigan. One service center said "we don't sell that machine. why would we stock parts for it."

In fairness, after enough calls the 1-800 number said they'd send me a "sample pack" of two needles... which hardly gives me a lot of confidence as to what I'll do some months down the line.

And the New York place said they'd look into it and phone me back in a few days.

But folks, my time is too valuable to spend chasing around like this.

So... I'd recommend sticking with another brand, unless making frustrating phone calls is one of your particular hobbies....

bought this machine from Wallmart when my old serger broke in the middle of sewing a project. Did not read any reviews until after I had sewn on it. I found it excellent, and much less in price than I had expected to pay. I bought my first serger in the 70's a Juki and it was a devil to thread - traded it in . for a MyLock in about 85 - neither of them had differential feed . I like this one lot and think it is a good value .

I have been using a similar priced brother serger for years and when it broke I couldnt find it in my town so i purchased this singer machine.

I am returning it tomorrow.
i am rather good at threading sergers and have used many other models besides my own with no dificulties (its still a pain though). but this machine makes it as dificult as possible.

the #1 & #2 threads go through these loops that they seem to come out of pretty easily while the machine is in use.
the #3 & #4 thread that go through the needles could not be harder to thread. the machine has an arm that sticks out just to the right of the needles (it is for the cutting blade i believe) which makes it nearly impossible to thread with your right hand. and even while threading with your left the arm blocks most of your view. making this very dificult.

the tension dials already began slipping from the factory setting after no more then 10 min of use and had to constently be adjusted to keep them at the right tension.

i did like how the threading instructions were very well marked on the machine (although a very important part for thread #2 was left off the drawing which makes it inoperable without this one instruction which you do find in the manual). i also liked how the tension was clearly marked on the machine. but after 10 min of use those settings were already wrong.

the machine itself does not feel as quality as the similar Brother 1034D model. at first i thought the threading looked easier but after threading it several times it in fact is much more time consumming and much more dificult. the machine also sergers at a slightly slower pace.

i am very disapointed with this machine and will be returning it and ordering the Brother 1034D instead. that seems to me to be the best machine for the cost (although once the coil inside stretches it is not repairable (says the guy at the repair shop). although i had the same machine for 4 years and i used it on a daily basis for my evening business. so it got lots of use. after the 1st year i had to baby the tension but it still worked!).

i purchased this machine from walmart in store in november 2005 as it had a free arm that is small enough to trim and hem ladies slacks.this is important to my type of sewing as i always seem to be doing circular stitching on ready to wear as well as fashion sewing.i am very pleased with the speed of stitching and the ease of threading. the manual is excellant. also the singer company website has a full color threading guide to print out if you need a large sized picture. the #2022 needles are hard to find in stores however singer website has them in 5 packs for 5 dollars each i have ordered 5 packs as they are combo of size 11 and 14. they are special because of the longer grooves front and back to reduce friction in high speed sewing. however my manual says #2020 may be used but you have to tinker with the tensions. in regard to the creeping or machine walking i have the machine on a sturdy surface, an old typewriter table from a second hand office supply store that is on wheels and has side extensions. i placed the machine on a vinyl placemat and this cured the creeping and quieted the sound as well. for 193 dollars i got a good deal.however i would suggest this for a person who has sewn with sergers or someone who can go to an experienced sewer.

Bought from WalMart in 2005 and have used it a lot. Just replaced with Brother 1034D which is quieter and easier to thread. Singer vibrates a lot and walks all over the place even with suction cups and I use a rubber sink mat under it. I do use regular sewing machine needles with it and have not had a problem. The tension is extremely difficult to adjust and it won't hold. Even if it does hold, it will sew differently from one session to the next. That has frustrated me a great deal - plus having to re-thread frequently. But, it has held up through many hours or sewing.

I just bought this model locally because I wanted it really quickly to do some projects. I'm surprised at how easy it is to use. It's smooth, to me it's quiet, sits stable and has not caused any problems.
I have a few tips: Read the reviews both positive and negative but be prepared to discount a lot of it. Obviously if it's not working you have to return it.
Tip #2 - watch the DVD instructions and follow along on your machine. I use a flashlight and magnifying glass. Mine came pre-threaded with all white thread. Do not unthread it. Check that the thread paths look good and that nothing got tangled or jumped off the tensioners for example.
Tip #3 - start serging on the piece of scrap they left on the machine. You will see if it's working immediately. Serge on your scrap cloth, then serge on a project where you can use white thread. It took me a little effort to sew in a straight line for example as I got used to the machine.
I made a few hand towels with hemp terry fabric and wanted finished edges. This is as simple a project as can be. If you aren't able to serge at this point then you're in trouble. The machine worked fine for me. The tensions were all good preset on 3. Later I tried adjusting these for different effects.
Last tip I'm giving - I changed the two loop threads which are the difficult ones. What I did was tie one knot to tie the original white thread with the new color thread I wanted to use then I slowly pulled the new thread through the guides all the way past the foot. Do this carefully, manually pulling the thread at different points of the path to make sure the knot passes okay - don't just pull at the end by the foot. I did one thread then the other. To change the needle threads is way too simple so I did not need any special trick.

In summary this serger worked well for me pre-threaded and re-threaded with the trick described above. If I am unable to thread it manually later that would be a separate issue. I found the sewing smooth and controllable, the cutter worked great, I had mine on a wood TV table and it never walked, I found it quiet for me and I was serging well past midnight. This was the cheapest serger that I've seen but I would have paid the extra $20-$40 to get a different make if they were available locally. I went to two stores that had one each. I bought one and somebody else bought the other. I noticed it was gone when I went back to buy serger thread in those large spools. This was on 12/18/2008. I have just enough time to make some items as presents. I would recommend you give it a try.

I have to admit right off that I am not an experienced serger, but I do have good sewing experience. This machine has been such a nightmare for me!!!! I was so excited to get my first serger, but I am having nothing but problems and have not been able to finish one single thing. ARG! It threaded pretty easily with clear color-coded instructions but nothing else has worked. Three needles have broken, one bent (I'm only sewing flannel here!). Now I am out of needles and as others have mentioned, they aren't easy to find. I will have to order new neddles online which is fine with me at the moment as I could use the week long break from this frustating machine! I'll give it one more go when the new needles arrive, and perhaps a trip to the 'local' singer dealer 35 miles miles away, but I may be returning this machiine.

I have been sewing most of my 56 years - started out standing at my mother's treadle machine before I ever started to school. I have had plenty of experience with both sewing and serging machines. I have been a loyal Singer user because I was always satisfied with the ease of use, and the value for the dollar...until I met this serger. I purchased it online through Amazon. I spend many more hours threading and rethreading this machine than I do sewing with it. Even tying on a new color of thread and pulling it through does not work with this machine. Every color change of thread, I spend at least an hour trying to get all the spools to work together. The thread breaks constantly, and I cannot count the number of broken or bent needles I have had sewing nothing heavier than cotton quilting squares. I kept thinking I had to be doing something wrong, but according to the manual and DVD the machine was set up correctly. Do not depend on the manual or DVD to explain how to set the tensions though - nowhere does it tell you the difference in the needle tension controls and the differential feed tension. That is all guess work.

After dealing with this nightmare for a year now...I am ready to simply throw it in the trash and find a better serger. Singer lost a long time customer with this piece of junk. I could not even attempt to regain any of my costs by selling it somewhere like eBay because my conscious would not allow me to pass this machine along to another innocent user.


Steer clear of this serger, it is not worth the price no matter how good the value seems.Singer 14SH6540 Differential Feed Serger Sewing Machine

I'm not sure why there are so many negative reviews of this serger. Because of the reviews, I decided to buy the Brother that is priced similarly but with better reviews. However, I had a gift card to Joann and this was the only serger they sold, so I ended up getting this one figuring I could return it if it was as bad as the reviews say.

I was pleasantly surprised to take it out of the box and immediately begin serging. It came already threaded and ready to go. I had no serging experience and it took less than 2 minutes to figure out how to start. After a week or so of regular use, a thread broke. I figured, "Here it comes. Here comes the part everyone is complaining about." I looked at the manual and it took just a few minutes to rethread the broken thread and start serging again. Again, I cannot figure out what everyone is complaining about.

For a final test before I wrote this review, I decided to unthread and then rethread the whole machine. It wasn't that it was that hard, it was tricky to thread the needles, but really it wasn't that big of deal using the tweezers that the machine came with. Honestly, I found threading my regular sewing machine for the first time more challenging when I first began sewing than I did puzzling out how to thread this serger. So I'm very pleased with this purchase. It serges well and is easy to use, so I'm happy.

EDITED 1/13/12
The tension got wonky after a few months, and I haven't been able to use it. I had a friend who is quite experienced with sergers look at it, and she wasn't able to adjust the tension to get it working properly again. So it's just been sitting on my sewing table collecting dust. I will probably take it to get serviced, but I hate to shell out the money to have it serviced when it is still so relatively new. However, I haven't come up with any better options. As a result, I'm knocking off a couple of stars because it only really functioned well for a few months.