a review of the Brother DZ3000

Among other things.

As you might have noticed, I’ve had an opportunity to take a few new sewing machines for a spin — the Brother DZ1500 and the Brother DZ3000. I truly didn’t expect to love them as much as I do!

I have a few more projects to share with you all, and I’m really excited about them. Hopefully they have been a mix of functional, challenging, and fun — and continue to be as well!

Today I want to share a little bit more about features that I’m loving on the DZ3000. I wasn’t sure whether I would feel like the additional features found on this machine would hook me or not, but it’s safe to say that they have. I’ll walk through some of the features, and then in a few weeks, I have a video so you can see some of the more unique features in action.

|| Number of Built-in Stitches ||

While I tend to be a little boring in my stitch choices — yay for straight stitch 99% of the time! — I’ve taken time to test out some of the machine’s 240 built-in stitches. In my mind what really sets these stitches apart from other is the ability to choose mirrored versions of the stitches as well. When working with a typical home sewing machine workspace, sometimes it is much better to mirror the stitch design than try to rotate your entire project. I’m all about efficiency!

Of the 240 stitches, 110 of them are alphanumeric. Made up of 2 very different fonts, both fonts include numbers and symbols as well. As I showed you in yesterday’s project, the sans serif font sews up beautifully.

I know for me, I’ve struggled with the idea of purchasing an embroidery machine because I’m a little boring when it comes to those stitches. What I’ve missed and wanted, however, is the ability to sew a name or initials onto items as gifts or simply to differentiate. I love that this machine serves both needs — a great, low cost sewing machine, with some fun embroidery letters included.

|| Easy Bobbin Threading ||

I love that this machine is great for those wanting to learn how to sew — or maybe learn again after forgetting what we learned in home-ec class.

Is that still a thing anymore? I recently learned cursive isn’t either. Oh, times are a changing. I personally loved home-ec class! Are you surprised? We got to sew and bake desserts and eat them. Glory glory be.

Now you might have noticed that I am using a metal bobbin, and many Brother sewing machines include plastic bobbins. My personal tip? Swap them out with metal of the same size — class15 bobbins — and you’ll be pleasantly surprised. I honestly grabbed a package of them by accident, but found that my machine’s tension and consistently improved when I used them. So that’s my little Kacia tip of the day.

Back to the bobbin threading. This drop-in bobbin threading is not only super simple and easy, but Brother helps by including diagrams to remind you of each step — bobbin direction, thread placement, and path. Easy. Peasy. And on to the fun stuff: sewing.

|| Walking Foot Included ||

I love that Brother does such a great job of providing all the tools needed to go from beginner to intermediate to advance sewer right in the box. Many machines only come with a few sewing feet, requiring you to purchase additional accessories as you want to learn or practice a new skill. The walking foot is a perfect example of this! Because of the way a walking foot works, they can be pretty pricey, depending on the type needed for your machine. If you want to try a new pattern or project, but it requires you to invest more money into it, it might keep you from trying. The DZ3000 comes with 14 sewing feet — including the walking foot and a fun circular sewing attachment (more on that later) — so you are able to experiment, learn and practice new skills right out of the box. It allows you to figure out what aspects of sewing you love and what you hate!

Been nervously waiting to make the jump and learn how to sew? This machine would be a great place to start! But don’t be fooled into thinking it’s just a beginner’s machine — it has a lot of great features to push and challenge those in the know as well.