I measured how loud the Ls14s was at slow, medium, and high speeds. I used the Sound Level Meter (Android) app. For comparison, I also measured how noisy my personal machine was, the computerized Brother a150. Speed I don’t love the buttonholes it makes, but they’re acceptable. The bottom 3 buttonholes have uneven left and right bars. The top buttonhole is even because I adjusted the ‘buttonhole screw’. Expect the stitch length to become small and uneven over the humps. To be fair, all the beginner machines I tested did this too. As long as your thread matches the fabric, you won’t be able to tell. Inconsistent stitch length Another handy feature for beginners are the thread guides, these are arrows on the machine which basically guide you on how to thread the upper thread. The flat bed attachment is described as a storage compartment in the instructions, but as there is no ‘compartment’ so to speak you will need to put the accessories in another bag inside the compartment to avoid them spilling out when you open it.

Yes, it’s lightweight and has a handle. You need to buy your own storage bag though because it doesn’t come with one. Most budget machines don’t. It’s definitely worth the money – although if you have any accessibility concerns, read that section of this review before you dive in.

What is the Brother LS14s sewing machine?

The stitch length is affected by how fast or slow you sew. So if you start fast and then slow down, your stitches will be different lengths. For comparison, all of the beginner machines I tested also have this problem. It has the most important stitches: straight, zig zag, blind hem, rectangle buttonhole, and a few extras. You can sew most things with these. The Ls14s did not stretch out the fabric, which I was happy about. Many of the other budget machines I tested did.

The first time I sewed buttonholes, the left and right bars were uneven. Brother obviously knows about this because they designed a “buttonhole screw” to fix it. It’s a bit of work the first time, but then you don’t need to do it again. The path for threading the machine to the thread take-up lever is the same as for normally threading the machine (for a single needle). Refer to How do I thread my machine?The thread often jumps out of the needle when you’re about to sew. It’s so annoying. You need to make your thread tails really long to avoid this, which wastes a lot of thread. The cons are: you have almost no control over the stitch length, width, and needle position. Its free arm is too big, so you’ll need to sew small tubes without it. And you don’t have many options for stretch, overcasting (= stops fraying), or embroidery stitches. When removed the flat bed attachment doesn’t give you that much of a smaller worksurface. Cuffs and narrow trouser legs most likely wouldn’t fit around the smaller arm unless their circumference is larger than 32cm. It would be hard to find a sewing machine that is as easy to use as the Brother LS14. Due to it been a budget sewing machine and therefore rather limited in terms of features, it is obviously going to be far easier to use than a computerised sewing machine. It is however, the limitations of the Brother LS14 that make it a good model for both beginners and kids. To select a stitch all that has to be done is to simply turn the dial to the required stitch, it couldn’t be easier. For more information on how to operate the LS14, see the official manual from Brother. Stitches and Buttonholes

More expensive machines have a better feeding system which solves this, like my Brother innov-is a150. It doesn’t matter how much you change the speed during a line of stitching, the stitches are consistent. Very little control over stitch settings Cheap machines have more plastic parts inside and weaker metals are used. Quality control isn’t as strict, so manufacturers don’t mind if things don’t fit together tightly, or the metals don’t meet a certain standard.The included screwdriver is a flat metal piece, so is more slippery than a standard mini screwdriver. It kept slipping out of my (completely dry) hands. This would be even harder for anyone with arthritis or other hand mobility issues. You need to store all your accessories in the plastic bag provided. You can’t leave your accessories in there loose or they’ll fall out every time you remove the front cover.

There’s no automatic foot release button, you’ll need to use a screwdriver, while this might be a bit of a faff, for the price point this isn’t really to be expected. The Ls14s also struggled to sew perfectly straight, even when I drew straight lines on the fabric. The foot doesn’t grip the fabric enough when you’re sewing multiple layers, so it does wander slightly to the left or right by 1/8″ (3mm). You can’t adjust the foot pressure to improve this. If you don’t care about sewing really precisely, then it’s not a big deal.

How portable is it?

This machine does not come with any quilting feet, but you can buy them separately. You’ll need the walking foot, quilting guide, 1/4″ foot, and free-motion foot. For more tips on buying a sewing machine, read our best sewing machines guide. Brother LS14s sewing machine stitch options I couldn’t sew perfectly straight with the standard foot, so many of my blind hem stitches didn’t catch the hem! If you’re going to use this stitch, I highly recommend buying the blind hem foot too. Or get a different machine that includes it (here are my recommendations). Buttonholes Needle threading is done manually with the Brother LS14 as there is no built-in needle threader. Freehand Stitching