Is Liberty Edition Bernina A Show Piece or Useful?
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There are two Liberty Edition Bernina sewing machines on the market. They are pretty machines. But, this article hopes to highlight features so you can decide whether or not either model would be of use in your sewing setup.
Bernina 495 Liberty Edition
Blue and white themed 495 offers a number of accessories that make the machine attractive to many. Accessories include:
- Dust Cover
- 8 presser feet
- Rolling trolley
- Accessory box (for all those presser feet)
- Knee lift
- Free arm extension table
There is a jumbo bobbin on this sewing machine as well as BSR enabled technology. The jumbo bobbin allows you to quilt for a long time before needing to reload. However, garment makers and those who do quilt piecing would find the jumbo bobbin less appealing. It has less appeal to those groups as they have a tendency to change thread colors more frequently and require less thread than those who do quilt tops.
As far as the BSR is concerned, its a hit or miss. BSR just evens out your free motion stitches rather than you having to manually control the stitch length. While computer aided stitching is nice, the downside is 495 doesn’t include the BSR foot needed to use the feature. The BSR presser foot is sold separately. Likewise, this model doesn’t even come with a darning foot out of the box. The lack of presser feet for BSR and free motion is a downside because Bernina feet are quite expensive.
On the bright side this model is small enough for travel weighing in at just 20.94LBS. It also has 1027 stitches including 32 liberty decorative stitches for your enjoyment. While there are a number of decorative stitches on the 495, you’ll find the designs stitch out quite small because the max stitch width is only 5.5mm. This is a non-issue for someone who makes garments or uses the machine for piecing. In fact, a smaller stitch width allows users to get around tight corners easier than with using a machine with wider stitch width.
The Other Liberty Edition is Bernina 580.
This machine comes with a number of accessories including:
- 8 Presser Feet + 1 Embroidery darning foot
- Dust cover
- Rolling trolley
- Accessory Box
- Touch Pen
- Free arm extension table
- Knee lift
This model is has a maximum stitch width of 9mm, which makes it ideal for stitching out decorative stitches. Speaking of decorative stitches, Bernina 580 Liberty Edition has 1482 stitches including 91 Liberty embroidery designs and 32 Liberty decorative stitches.
On this machine, you get a maximum embroidery window os 15.7in x 5.9in. However, the 580 doesn’t come with a 15.7inch embroidery hoop. Instead, you get a 10inch x 5.7inch hoop along with a 5.1inch x 3.9inch hoop. Like the 495, this model is BSR enabled without including the appropriate foot needed to operate the function.
Overall
Both models are visually appealing to those who enjoy Liberty fabrics. However, others may find the designs too busy or distracting for their liking.
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