I was sent an Innov-is 900 sewing & embroidery machine from Brother to take on a test drive and I was really impressed with the results. A massive upgrade to my 1960's Singer, this computerised sewing machine offers professional stitching made easy, along with an attachable embroidery unit.

The Basics

The machine is sleek and compact with a helpful LED to light up your work and an easy-to-use touchscreen for selecting your stitches, choosing embroidery patterns and setting up the machine. Threading up the machine and filling the bobbin is so simple (something that was a nightmare on my previous machine), with cleverly situated thread cutters, and a lever to thread the needle for you - so there's no time wasted fiddling around trying to slip thread through the eye of a needle.

Sewing

With dozens of stitches to choose from, as well as a feature to design your own via the touchscreen, this machine can tackle virtually any sewing project. The use of a foot peddle is optional, so you can start sewing with just a touch of the button. It'll even do all the back-stitching and cutting of the thread for you, which gives your sewing a tidy finish with no loose threads!

The machine comes with a wide range of feet and attachments including, allowing you to sew in zippers, attach buttons, make button holes, set eyelets, sew appliqueing stitches, decorative edges and do blind hemming to name just a few. There's even an optional side cutter, so you can overlock and give your projects a professional finish. One of the best extras included with this machine is an attachable sewing table, which slides on to the machine and gives you extra room to sew.

Embroidery

With an attachable embroidery unit, you can transform the machine in to a powerful embroidery machine in a few easy steps. This model comes with dozens of inbuilt designs, allowing you to stitch monogram initials, words with a range of fonts, decorative borders and a range of other designs including butterflies, animals, crowns, flowers and many more. The machine allows you to change thread colour on the designs quickly and with additional software (such as PED) you can design your own patterns - so if you've ever wanted to sew your name on everything you own, this is the machine for you!

This may all sound way to complex for us average crafters but when you get your hands on the machine, it's really instinctive and easy to use. There's even an in-built help on the touchscreen, with animated tutorials to sort you out when you get stuck.

Instinctive, sleek and powerful. The Innov-is 900 has completely modernised the way I sew, making projects faster, easier and more professionally finished. Now my sewing project possibilities seem limitless, I can't wait to get started!

You can find out more about this machine at Brother >>