Singer Fashion Mate 7256

Full Review of the Singer Fashion Mate 7256 Sewing Machine

This machine looks very sophisticated with no dials just scroll buttons and an LCD screen. It offers 70 stitches and no fewer than six automatic buttonhole styles. Storage is provided in the table which slides off to provide a free arm. It is light and portable and offers a lot of features for a machine in this price range. The sage green livery is a little old fashioned, but the colour is a Singer classic and really not an issue.

Getting going with the Singer Fashion Mate 7256 Sewing Machine

I had instruction booklets and usually ignore them, but you need one with this machine, as with any other that involved an LCD screen really. With knobs and dials you can fiddle about, but when everything is a button to press that doesnt work. Can you hear the voice of sad experience? Fortunately for me, the book is very easy to follow, with useful pictures and explicit instructions.

I found it quite hard to get the bobbin to fill evenly; it seems a bit hit or miss because I cant work out what I do when it is a success or a failure, but I have learned to discard unevenly wound ones as they will only cause trouble down the line. Perhaps I will improve with time. Threading is easy and the automatic needle threader seems pretty reliable. There are a good few decorative stitches, but I am more of a bread and butter stitcher, so I have mainly used it for blind hemming and basic seams, although I did put a scallop on a little pram set the other day and I must say I was pleased with the finished article.

Problems?

The Singer Fashion Mate 7256 Sewing Machine has a few problems which I think may arise because it is electronic and the programs clash. If you press the reverse button, the whole thing freezes sometimes. This only seems to happen on certain stitches, say a scallop or herringbone, but these stitches have to be secured at the end of the row just like the more basic ones, so really this shouldnt happen.

The bobbin winding, if it doesnt resolve as I practice more, will become really annoying as well as rather pricey on wasted thread. I am being patient with this machine because there is so much to like, from its weight and its quiet performance to the six different buttonholes, but if any more glitches appear I can see myself getting seriously testy with it. The Singer Fashion Mate 7256 Sewing Machine is well designed and it would be a shame if it were to be let down by a few uncorrectable problems.

The best price I can find it for is £299.00 from John Lewis.

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