You have a limited budget to spend on a sewing machine, and you want it to be the perfect machine for quilting. In this blog, I share my thoughts on the best sewing machine for quilting under 500.
I’ll be honest- there are very few sewing machines for quilting in your price range, but I have found 3 that I highly recommend as they’re well-known brands and offer great after sales service. There were a couple of machines I found that were also under this price range but they were made by unknown brands and some of the feedback on these machines is the lack of support when something goes wrong. So I haven’t included those machines in this review.
Here are the best sewing machines for quilting under 500 with links to Amazon so that you can see more information and buy the machine.
Brother XR9550 Sewing and Quilting Machine
Brother CP100X Computerized Sewing and Quilting Machine
Brother Sewing and Quilting Machine, XR3774
These machines are priced well under $500, and will give you the best bang for your buck.
There are more machines for quilting that are much higher than this price, or you can use a regular sewing machine if your budget is really tight, but for most quilting projects, the machines in this blog post will be perfect.
Brother XR9550 Sewing and Quilting Machine
The Brother XR9550 is a great priced sewing and quilting machine for your under $500 budget.
It has 165 built-in stitches including 55 alphanumeric sewing stitches and 8 styles of buttonholes. The machine also has decorative, heirloom and utility stitches. The alphanumeric stitches means you can personalize your projects with names, quotes, words and monograms, great for projects such as personalized clothing.
The different types of buttonholes means you can choose one that suits the project you’re working on. You’ll find it easier to thread the needle because of the automatic needle threader, and the top bobbin is a simple drop-in system which prevents jamming. The machine also has stop and reverse buttons, if you want to go over stitches a few times to secure them and prevent them from unravelling.
The Brother XR9550 comes with a hard cover, 8 different quilting and sewing feet and has a wide table which is perfect for quilting.
And for working on cuffs and sleeves, you can create a free arm space to make it easier to do this.
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Brother CP100X Computerized Sewing and Quilting Machine
The Brother CP100X sewing and quilting machine is also another great option for the best quilting machine under $500. It’s a computerized sewing machine.
It has 100 built-in stitches including 8 auto size buttonholes. Unlike the Brother XR9550, it doesn’t have number or letter stitches but does have decorative, heirloom and utility stitches.
The machine has a metal frame, making it very sturdy and suitable to use when working with thicker fabrics such as denim.
Brother has improved its automatic threader, so you can easily thread your needle while the workspace is also bigger than previously. This is great for when you’re working on a quilt as you have more space when you’re quilting your pieces together.
Accessories that come with the machine include 10 sewing fet including a quilting foot, button sewing foot, zipper foot, buttonhole foot and zigzag foot. There’s also a monogramming foot however the machine cannot monogram,the foot should be used for sewing with decorative stitches.
Other accessories include 3 bobbins, spool pin, twin needles, accessory pouch and other standard tools for sewing.
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Brother Sewing and Quilting Machine, XR3774
The Brother XR3774 sewing and quilting machine has 37 built-in stitches including quilting stitches, making this a great machine choice if you only have less than $500 to spend.
There are also decorative and blind hem stitches and a 1-step buttonhole. Similar to the Brother CP100X machine, the XR3774 doesn’t have monogramming number or alphabet stitches, so if you need those stitches for some of your crafts, then I don’t recommend the XR3774.
The machine comes with an automatic needle threader that saves you a lot of time trying to thread the needle, and the drop-in top bobbin prevents any jamming and makes it nice and easy for you to pop your bobbin into the machine.
I really like that the machine has a wide table which is perfect for your quilting projects, and the machine comes with 8 sewing and quilting feet such as the walking foot.
If you’re working on cuffs or sleeves and need the space, you can remove the accessories compartment so that you have a free arm to make your life easier. The XR3774 is a lightweight machine, making it great for moving around if you need to put your machine in different places or need to pack it away for storage when it’s not in use.
The machine is sturdy enough that you can use it when working on projects with thicker fabric like denim. Other people have said that they’ve used the Brother XR3774 when making jeans without any problems.
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The three machines I’ve reviewed are your best choices for sewing machines when working on quilting projects. Most other quilting machines are over $500, so would be out of your budget range.
The main thing to think about when buying a machine under $500 is whether it has all the features that you need for your quilting project. If you’re only new to quilting, then spending no more than $500 is wise and then you can wait until you’ve got more quilting experience before you upgrade and spend more money.
Another option is to wait until November to see if there are any Black Friday deals on Amazon. This is not always a guarantee, but if you can wait, it might be worth doing.
