Customer Rating:
List Price: $449.00
Best Price: $179.99 (new)
Availability: New (13)
Brand: Brother
Model: CS6000I
Weight: 10 pounds
Dimensions: 16 x 6.7 x 11.4 inches
Warranty: 1 year
Publisher: Brother
Release Date: 2006-10-16

Customer Review

Pros and Cons - You Decide
by Customer A26IL4XUB0RD9U at May 03rd, 2008
I bought the machine for the price and the features, but I have to admit, I was nervous after reading some of the reviews that told about all the problems that they had right away. But I figured it had to be better than my 35-40 year old Kenmore. I want to state right away, I am very happy with my purchase thus far. I've had some problems (read below), but I have managed to figure some things out. But, if you are looking for a good machine to quilt, this machine has all the features you will need, and it's priced so you can actually afford it. 2 other points to know, Amazon has a good return policy and from what I have heard, Brother has a good customer service history. These were 2 other deciding factors for me.

So here are my first impressions. I thought I was going to get a 1/4" foot that is shown in the instruction manual. I didn't. If it was supposed to be in the box, I'd love to hear from someone to let me know. I also read in the reviews that some people got a instructional DVD. I didn't get this, but if I was supposed to get it, I'd like to get it. The hard cover does not allow you to keep the machine plugged in to use it, so it's not going to be useful for me, except when I want to store it long term. I cover my machine whenever it's not in use with a quilted cover that I made for my old machine. Luckily, it fits my Brother.

The instruction manual is very helpful. I followed it from front to back so that I could learn everything I could. When I finally got ready to test sew, the tension was really messed up. I worked at it for quite a while, referring back to the manual to adjust it correctly, but it just wouldn't work! So I threaded the machine again, and took the bobbin out and made sure that I inserted it exactly as the book indicated, and magically, it worked. I think I must have did the bobbin wrong at first. Lesson 1, read the directions! And if all else fails, read them again.

My next problem was very strange. Suddenly the thread was bunching up on the bottom side of my project. Out came the instruction manual again, but the answer wasn't there. I changed the bobbin thread to a different color, which showed me that the top thread was the thread that was bunching up on the bottom. So I started messing with the tension again. But that wasn't helping at all! So I decided to try a different thread, and SHAZAM! it worked. The original thread I was using was a cheap thread, I changed it to a good quality thread. Lesson 2, this machine does not like cheap thread.

The quilting table is a fabulous accessory! But I am still working out one problem with it. The backside of the table doesn't seem to attach to anything on the machine. So as I work on my project, the legs shift and eventually they fold up. The instruction manual does not help in this case at all. I'm still working on this one.

Even with these issues, I am still glad I got this machine. I am able to work faster with more precision. The machine is quiet, compared to my Kenmore. And it is much lighter too! The downside is that it moves around on my table more than I like, especially when I am quilting a larger project. I'm not sure how I will fix this problem, but I will eventually.

So now it's time for you to decide. Good luck!

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