One of the most important things I want to mention about looking for sewing machines with speed control is that it can be both a blessing and a curse.
The blessing is in the fact that there really aren’t all that many models to choose from. So it’s not like you’re going to spend days agonizing over your choice. There are absolutely a lot more options when we’re looking for sewing machines with drop-in bobbin.
Maybe looking for sewing machines with electronic variable speed control is on the same level as shopping for sewing machines with automatic thread cutter. Although, those can be even harder to find because they tend to be quite pricey.
Well, getting back to our discussion about models that feature an electronic variable speed control button, let me tell you why it’s a curse.
That stems from the fact that having limited options cannot be as wonderful for some people. Especially for people having a whole array of options at their disposal.
In the end, it depends how you look at it.
The truth that stands out is that having a button for controlling our sewing speed can be absolutely phenomenal.
It can be an incredible spec both for beginners but also for experienced users.
Even if our choices are slightly limited, I am still happy to tell you that these sewing machines with speed control cover a wide area of needs (sewing, making clothes, mending, sewing and embroidery machines, sewing and quilting machines, etc.) and a nice array of prices.
I like that we can find even some truly affordable options that will include a speed control button.
So, maybe we can say that shopping for sewing machines with speed control can turn out to be a blessing after all.
Sewing Machines with Speed Control Reviews
If you’re on a budget, meaning that it would be awesome if you could find a model that costs under $200 and has a speed control button, then there’s good news because that machine actually exists.
It’s the Brother CS6000i Sewing and Quilting Machine and it’s extremely popular.
Next, we have the Singer Stylist 7258 Sewing Machine if your budget is around $300. However, I don’t love this Singer machine completely because it has quite a few negative reviews that deserve our attention and consideration.
The Janome New Home 49360 with its price around $500-$600 is quite impressive and I like it quite a lot. Janome describes it as being a full-featured machine made with a quilter’s needs in mind. Besides quilting, it can also be very good for whatever sewing projects you want to take on.
If you’re interested in sewing machines with speed control that can do beautiful embroidery of whatever designs we want, I recommend the Brother SE1900.
If you are interested in a heavy duty sewing machine with speed control, I recommend the Brother ST150HDH. It’s also quite affordable.
1. Brother CS6000i Sewing and Quilting Machine: Cheap Sewing Machine with Speed Control
What makes me recommend the Brother CS6000i first?
There are two main reasons, which are pretty important to me and they might also be to some potential buyers: the affordable price, under $200, and the huge popularity.
I also reviewed it as one of my favorites for drop-in bobbin sewing machines.
60 stitches
We get more than enough stitches for whatever sewing or quilting project we want to pursue.
Among these, we’ll also come across decorative stitches and 7 styles of auto-size buttonholes.
Furthermore, in the user manual we get a table for fabric types and the needle size we should use for each.
Medium weight fabrics: broadcloth, taffeta, flannel, gabardine.
Thin fabrics: lawn, georgette, challis, satin.
Thick fabrics: denim, corduroy, tweed.
Stretch fabrics: jersey, tricot.
This table demonstrates just how versatile the CS6000i is. It’s certainly not heavy-duty but it can handle some heavyweight fabrics without problems. We just have to use the right needle, depending on what we’re stitching.
The table also includes info on the type of thread we should use and its size. You can also check out my recommendations for the best thread for sewing machine.
Features
For such an affordable price, we certainly get a lot of features and accessories. The CS6000i is quite the capable machine.
It doesn’t hurt that it’s pretty much the cheapest option among sewing machines with speed control. However, there are a few negative reviews that you should check out. Still, I’m impressed with how highly rated this Brother is, given just how highly popular it is.
One thing that it lacks is an automatic thread cutter, which is not a feature we’ll find among such affordable machines. We’ll have to do it the old-fashioned way, passing the threads through the thread cutter to cut them. Or using a pair of scissors.
Of course, we get a sewing speed controller. Slide the sewing speed controller to adjust the sewing speed.
The operation panel is quite basic and it can be very easy to use, we also get a small LCD display.
The sewing space is brightly lit.
Also, the wide table is quite the welcomed addition for larger projects and quilting.
Of course, the drop feed is automatic in case you want to do free-motion sewing and quilting.
Accessories
We get the following sewing feet: buttonhole foot, zipper foot, overcasting foot, blindstitch foot, monogramming foot, zigzag foot, quilting foot, walking foot, quilt guide, button sewing foot.
It’s easy to see that it’s a nice sewing & quilting machine with some necessary accessories.
The rest of the accessories include: seam ripper, bobbins, need set, cleaning brush, screwdriver, extra spool pin, and foot controller.
It’s also a portable machine that only weighs 13 pounds.
2. Janome New Home 49360: Overall the Best Sewing Machine with Speed Control
I am quite fond of a few Janome sewing machines. I reviewed one for my article recommending the best sewing machines for leather. Or when looking for large throat sewing machines for quilting.
I even recommended a Janome when I was reviewing the best sewing machine under $50.
In our search for sewing machines with speed control I set my eyes on the Janome New Home 49360. I can say that I very much like it, even if it’s not very popular.
There are quite a few models from Janome that include the speed control feature.
But I think that the Janome New Home 49360 achieves a good balance between price and quality.
The price around $500-$600 is not the cheapest but it might seem quite decent if you’re closely acquainted to Janome. We can say that it’s neither expensive nor cheap.
Janome recommends it as a full-featured machine made with a quilter’s needs in mind.
However, I really like it as a general sewing machine for people who appreciate this brand or have the budget for it.
60 stitches
These 60 stitches are enough for whatever we want to sew.
Among these we will also find 6 one-step buttonholes.
It can handle a wide variety of fabrics. The user manual will include a table featuring the types of fabrics we can stitch and which needles to use.
Light fabrics: lawn, georgette, tricot, wool, polyester.
Medium: cotton, polyester, fine jersey, wool.
Heavy: denim, jersey, coating, quilting.
Features
I love the design of this Janome. Overall, it’s a smaller model that looks nice. And I like the simplified navigation keys. It makes it quite appealing for beginners or for sewers who enjoy simple navigations.
The speed control button is very easy to spot. It’s a big slider that pops up and I like it.
The sewing speed can be varied by the speed control according to our sewing needs. Slide to the right to increase speed and slide the slider to the left to decrease the speed.
We can also control sewing speed from the foot control if you find the speed control slider unsatisfactory, although I don’t think that will be the case.
This model also comes with a superior plus feed system with a 7-piece feed dog. We can drop the feed dog for free motion sewing and quilting.
It also has a free arm for sewing sleeves and cuffs.
Another interesting feature is the memorized automatic thread cutter.
It also includes a built-in, one hand needle threader.
While the automatic needle threader is certainly quite common, the memorized automatic thread cutter is far less often encountered in sewing machines of all kinds.
This Janome New Home 49360 only weighs 12 pounds, which is great. It’s a portable sewing machine, which is very nice if you want to take it with you to quilting retreats, for example. Or we can take it to classes and guild meetings.
Accessories
We get the following sewing feet: custom crafted zigzag foot, automatic buttonhole foot, zipper foot, overedge foot, satin stitch foot open toe, blind hem foot, ¼” seam foot.
The other accessories are: bobbin (3), spool pin felt, needle set, additional spoon pin, seam ripper, screwdriver, lint brush, small spool holder, large spool holder, spool stand, foot control, hard cover for transportation.
Overall, I would say that the Janome New Home 49360 can be amazing both for beginners and for advanced sewing. It has all the features and accessories necessary for a variety of projects, quilting included. It can be a fantastic investment, if we can afford it.
3. Singer Stylist 7258 Sewing Machine
It’s certainly not my favorite Singer, I guess that title belongs to the Singer Heavy Duty 4432, but we’re here to talk about sewing machines with speed control.
However, Singer is stingy with this feature and that’s why we only have the 7258 to review.
100 stitches
Singer always includes a high number of stitch applications for any fabric or project. We get 100 stitches and 203 stitch applications.
It also has 6 different styles of buttonholes, like the basic bartack style, round end and keyhole, great for menswear and outerwear.
The 750 stitches per minute speed is not extremely fast. I would call it moderately fast.
Features
The speed control lever looks really nice. It seems that Singer doesn’t call it a slider but a lever.
We also get an automatic needle threader.
It’s certainly on the slimmer side with 5.5 inch sewing space and 3.7 inch height but it can be easily used for many sewing and mending projects.
The free arm allows us to sew around trouser hems and cuffs.
It has a top drop-in bobbin that is easy to wind and we can easily see when the thread on the bobbin is nearing its end.
Accessories
We get the following sewing feet: general purpose foot, zipper foot, buttonhole foot, satin stitch foot, blind hem foot, overcast foot, darning/embroidery foot, rolled hem foot.
The other accessories are: spool pin felts, thread spool caps, auxiliary spool pin, screwdriver, bobbins, needles, seam ripper, and darning plate.
The darning plate goes over the feed dog, which enables us to do free-motion sewing for quilting, monogramming, and for sewing on buttons.
A machine cover is also included.
4. Brother SE1900: Sewing & Embroidery Machine with Speed Control
Up to this point, we reviewed some very interesting sewing machines with speed control that can be used for making clothes, mending, and quilting and that can stitch a variety of fabrics.
However, there’s another category we have to address: sewing and embroidery machines with speed control.
While we could also consider the Brother SE2000 and the Janome memory Craft 400E as excellent options as well, I chose to review the Brother SE1900 simply because it’s almost half the price of these two more expensive models.
The SE1900 from Brother is also one of the best embroidery machines for beginners.
While the price under $1,000 is not exactly cheap, in the world of embroidery machines, the SE1900 can be called affordable.
And, if your budget is around $400 and you don’t mind a 4 x 4 hoop, then you can check out the Brother SE600. It also has a speed control slider.
5 x 7 embroidery field
One of the most important things that we check out when it comes to embroidery models is the size of their embroidery field (hoop).
The 5 x 7 inch embroidery field is quite generous. We can import whatever designs we want via USB as long as they’re up to 5 x 7 inches in size. They can be smaller but not bigger.
We also get 138 embroidery designs but these aren’t extremely important because we can import via USB whatever designs we want as long as they match the hoop’s size.
240 sewing stitches
Since the Brother SE1900 is a sewing and embroidery machine, we can also pursue whatever sewing and mending projects we want.
For that, we get a selection of 240 stitches.
We can also design our own sewing stitches with My Custom Stitch feature.
There are 10 buttonhole styles.
Features
The SE1900 obviously includes a speed control slider.
It also has automatic needle threader, LED light, and many other features that make it a great choice for both embroidery and sewing projects.
It also comes with automatic thread cutter. It’s a complete sewing machine with any feature we might need.
Accessories
There are 8 sewing feet: buttonhole foot, overcasting foot, monogramming foot, zipper foot, zigzag foot, stitch guide foot, adjustable zipper/piping foot, non-stick foot, open toe foot, embroidery foot, blindstitch foot.
We also get a knee lifter.
5. Brother ST150HDH Strong & Tough Computerized Sewing Machine: Heavy-Duty Sewing Machine with Speed Control
Yes, another Brother recommendation. It seems that Brother and Janome dominate the niche for models with electronic variable speed control.
Well, we also reviewed a Singer but it’s totally obvious that Singer still relies only on foot control for increasing and decreasing sewing speed.
I thought that it would be nice to end my recommendations for sewing machines with speed control with another affordable model.
The price around $300 is definitely more expensive than the Brother CS6000i but it would be nice to see what it offers.
At first glance, we can easily see that it’s a highly rated sewing machine. Of course, there are negative reviews we should check out, too, but I’m impressed with how highly rated this ST150HDH is.
It is described as a strong & tough computerized sewing machine.
50 built-in stitches
These 50 stitches also include 5 auto-size buttonhole.
We can say that the Brother ST150HDH is a heavy duty sewing machine with speed control.
We are told that we can sew on everything from multiple layers of heavyweight fabrics and denims to lightweight silks.
There are also many users who use it for leather sewing, for making faux leather & leather bags, bonded leather bench cushions, etc.
You can also use it as a sewing machine for making wigs.
Thus, the ST150HDH is truly a heavy duty model, which is absolutely impressive and amazing.
Features
We get the usual: automatic needle threader, speed control slider, LED light, and all the other features that make the ST150HDH an excellent machine for all types of projects.
Accessories
We get the following sewing feet: walking, ¼” piecing, buttonhole, overcasting, monogramming, zipper, spring action zigzag, bling stitch, button sewing feet.
A heavyweight needle pack is included.
We get #14 heavy duty needles for sewing heavier fabrics such as jeans and leather, two #11 needles for medium weight fabrics, and two #14 ballpoint needles for knits and other stretch fabrics.
It will also work nicely for quilting and bulkier sewing projects.
How to adjust the sewing speed
We get a very short guide from Brother on the two ways in which we can adjust the sewing speed.
The classic way is quite obvious and most of us have used such a machine, many of us for decades or years until we’ve heard about electronic variable speed control.
Adjusting the speed from the foot controller, from the pad that still comes with so many models even nowadays is the classic method. We press on the foot controller gently if we want to sew at a slower speed or more aggressively if we want to go top speed. When we want to back down to slower speed, we release the pressure on the foot controller gently.
The other method of adjusting the sewing speed is the subject of our article.
A button called a speed controller. We can slide the button left or right for a slower speed or for a faster speed.
The sliding of this button left or right allows us the freedom of not using a foot controller, which can be phenomenal for beginners or for people who have been frustrated with using a foot controller and not being able to achieve the speed they need by simply moving their foot up and down.
Overall, looking for amazing sewing machines with speed control is certainly a worthy thing to do.
