Brother XR3774 Reviews – No Need To Overpay!
Nowadays, the Brother company, once known as Yasui sewing machine company, is one of the most famous companies that produce top-quality sewing machines. The Brother sewing machines are known for their durability and functionality. That is why you can trust the Brother XR3774 sewing machine from the start.
In our Brother XR3774 reviews, we will tell you about the top functions, price, and who this machine will be good for. So read on to get the full analysis of the machine.
Technical Specifications
The Brother XR3774 machine is suitable for many sewing and crafting projects thanks to its good technical specifications. Let’s look through all of them to have a clear understanding of what the mechanical machine is:
- 37 Built-in stitches
- 800 stitches per minute maximal sewing speed
- 1 Buttonhole pattern
- One-step buttonhole
- Built-in needle threader
- Twin needle
- Top drop-in bobbin
- Free arm
- Dimensions: 12 x 5.8 x 15.3 inches
- Weight: 12.3lbs
As you can see, Brother XR3774 has all the best functions, and you will be fully satisfied with its efficiency. That is why it can be considered a great first sewing machine.
Accessories of the Brother XR3774
You will need to have a set of accessories to start sewing. And you will get all the items and tools that may be needed to fully use the sewing machine:
- Darning plate
- Twin needle
- Extension table
- Quilting guide
- Screwdriver
- Four bobbins
- Power cord
- Extra spool pin
- Instructional manual
The sewing machine provides sewists with all the necessary accessories, that include ones that may be used for quilting such as a darning plate and quilting guide.
Presser feet of the Sewing Machine
The Brother XR3774 comes with lots of handful sewing feet that should be used for different sewing purposes. There also quilting feet in the set. Read on to see all the presser feet that come with the sewing machine.
Walking Foot
The walking foot will be useful for embroidery and free-motion quilting. It provides an equal feed of both layers of the fabric. The grip foot and the feed dogs move at the same pace so you can snap this presser foot during quilting. That is why the presser foot is also called quilting.
Blind stitch Foot
The blind stitch foot makes the blind hem on different parts of clothes like pants bottom, or any other piece of material. This presser foot creates a fully invisible hem for any fabric. Some sewists also use this presser foot for topstitching.
Automatic Buttonhole Foot
The automatic buttonhole foot creates virtually perfect buttonholes. You need to choose the button you want to get sewn on and put it into the buttonhole foot, and it will make the button of the perfect size. You can choose a button of any size.
Button sewing foot
The button sewing foot should be snapped on when the time to sew the button has come. This foot will sew any button perfectly.
Narrow Hemmer foot
The narrow hemmer foot is used to process the rolled hems of your projects. You will not need to use your hands to press the hem because the sewing machine will do this job for you, and will create the narrow hem of the best quality.
Zigzag foot
The zigzag foot should be snapped on when you use the decorative stitches. This foot allows for extra maneuvering on the fabric. You can sew different types of zigzag feet. The zigzag foot is also pretty versatile because it can also sew straight stitches.
Zipper foot
The zipper foot has a specific purpose namely inserting the zipper. Choose the zipper and attach the presser foot to sew it on.
All these sewing feet will be necessary if you practice fashion sewing.
Who is Brother XR3774 Sewing Machine For?
It is crucial to choose the sewing machine to your need and the projects you plan to work with. So let’s see whether the Brother XR3774 sewing machine is just for you.
Mechanical Sewing Machine
The Brother sewing machines are divided into computerized, mechanical, and industrial machines.
Industrial sewing machines are usually used at factories and have powerful motors and sturdy frames. The heavy-duty machine can cope with big amounts of heavy fabrics like leather.
The computerized machine is considered the most advanced version of all Brother machines. The computerized sewing machine has many automatic features, like threading and winding. Yes, the computerized sewing machine is always more expensive, so many sewists choose mechanical sewing machines over computerized ones.
Brother XR3774 is a mechanical machine. It means that it doesn’t come with an extended number of features and has only the basic functions needed for sewing.
Brother XR3774 For Beginners
Many beginners worry about the learning curve and the effort they will need to put in to master certain mechanical and computerized machines. Brother xr3774 sewing machine has an intuitive design so you will be able to start sewing right away. Of course, it is better to read the manual first and watch some educational videos.
Mechanical machines are usually easier to master because there are no extra features. You will not need to think about how to control the machine with the buttons like you would do with the computerized sewing machines and will be able to understand the basics of working with the dials and knobs.
Yes, computerized sewing machines seem to be more comfortable but it is better to learn how all the mechanisms work to move on with more expensive machines. Besides, the Brother XR3774 is also easy-to-thread, so you will not need to struggle with thinking about how to put the thread to the eye of the needle.
Instructional DVD
Moreover, learning how to use the Brother XR3774 sewing machine is easy thanks to the instructional DVD. Do no more but place the disc into the player and watch every process of using the sewing machine in the process.
You can also read the instruction manual if you don’t like watching videos. Both guides are equally valuable and will teach all the intricacies of using the Brother sewing machine.
Brother Sewing Machine for Quilters
The sewing and quilting machine should be equipped with quilting feet, a quilting table, and quilting stitches. Brother XR3774 can be rightfully called a sewing and quilting machine because it does have all the features we counted before, including both ordinary presser foot and quilting foot that should be used for quilting projects.
The detachable quilting table will allow you to work with larger projects and practice free-motion sewing with the embroidery machine.
Although Brother XR3774 has a quilting foot and other features it can not replace the dedicated quilting machine. It will be suitable for people who will use the quilting foot from time to time, and for basic quilting projects.
The sewing machine doesn’t allow dropping the feed dogs so you may not feel the full quilting freedom. Yes, you can use the darning plate instead of dropping the feed dogs. That is why you should buy the quilting machine if your primal goal is quilting.
Mechanical Sewing Machine for Professionals
The advanced sewists probably know what exactly they are looking for when they choose Brother XR3774. The machine is equipped with everything necessary for working on various types of projects. besides it also has a few automatic features like an automatic needle threader.
The Brother sewing machine also has eight presser feet, which include quilting feet. the professionals know what functions they may use in the future and they will not likely feel that they miss something with the Brother XR3774.
Price of The Sewing Machine
The first factor that people consider when reading the sewing machine review is the number of helpful functions, and the second is the price.
Brother sewing machines are not the cheapest ones, however, the Brother XR3774 sewing machine is a good value for money. It can be categorized as the middle-range model. So this Brother machine will be a good deal for both professionals and beginners.
Number of builtin stitches: 37.
Threading type: Automatic.
Bobbin type: Top loading.
Number of button hole steps: 1.
Voltage 110V.
By buying the Brother XR3774 sewing machine you will not overpay for any unnecessary features you may not even ever use.
You can consider other brother sewing machines if you need more advanced features but, of course, they will come at a higher price, while the Brother XR3774 sewing machine is balanced with the price and functions.
Types of Fabric the Sewing Machine can Sew
Sewists often work with different types of fabric and respectively, and they need to choose the sewing machines that can cope with many types of fabric, or at least the type of fabric they predominately work with.
Brother XR3774 is a versatile machine that can cope with a wide range of fabrics. Firstly, it will smoothly sew the regular fabrics. The machine can also sew through stretchy fabrics like nylon and spandex. But it is not its limit.
The sewing machine can sew canvas, denim, and other thick fabrics. You can fold the thick fabrics into more than 5 layers and the machine will not lose its precision.
It means that you can use the machine for lots of basic sewing projects and get great results.
Features of the Brother XR3774
Now it is time to consider all the best functions in our Brother xr3774 review. The mechanical sewing machine is equipped with all the basic features to sew different types of fabric. Let’s look at all the functions of the machine one by one.
Automatic Needle Threader
Although it seems that the needle threader is not essential because you can thread the machine manually, in fact, it is a dealbreaker. Most modern sewing machines are equipped with a needle threader because it makes needle threading much easier.
You will not need to rethread the needle hundreds of times manually, because the needle threader will do it for you. The cheapest machines may not have an automatic threader, which is why it is better to pay attention to the middle-range sewing machine with the automatic needle threading function.
Automatic Bobbin Winding System
The machine offers sewists the automatic bobbin winding system which makes bobbin winding much easier. You will struggle with the winding no more. Besides, the sewing machine comes with a drop-in bobbin.
Thanks to the drop-in bobbin you can easily replace the bobbin thread and don’t struggle with jamming. Moreover, the drop-in bobbin comes with a transparent bobbin cover, which allows you to see the condition of the thread. This way you will calculate the perfect timing to replace the bobbin.
The old sewists who have worked with traditional bobbins probably understand the importance of the drop-in bobbin. The old bobbins used to tangle and putting them back took lots of time.
Free Arm
The machine has a built-in free arm. You can find the free arm in almost all the machines. The free arm is needed for sewing cuffs, pants bottoms, and other circular items.
The free arm can be changed to the accessories compartment and vice versa. The compartment is also pretty helpful because you can easily lose small items if there is no place to save them.
Adjustable Stitch Length and Width
You need to turn the dial on the top of the Brother xr3774 heavy-duty sewing machine if you want to adjust the stitch length and stitch width. You can adjust your stitches in the following possible range: 5 mm x 7 mm.
Adjustment of the stitches is important we need stitches of different lengths and widths for the different sewing projects.
Wide Table
The machine is equipped with a sliding wide table so you can slip it on when needed. You will have to use it when you have big projects to work with. The wide table provides te sufficient room for the large pieces of fabric. You can hide it when it’s time to go on with smaller or quilting projects.
37 Built-in Stitches
The Brother xr3774 machine has 37 built-in stitches as you can see from its name. All the stitches are placed on the stitches selection dial, which is why it is not possible to add more stitches.
You may have seen up to 100 switches in the libraries of computerized machines. But their libraries are not limited to one dial and are all saved in the computerized system of such machines.
We need different decorative stitches for the creative projects, ao the more stitches the better. But 37 stitches are enough for most sewists. This number is typical for mechanical models, so you will be definitely satisfied with this diversity.
Speed Control
Different sewing machines provide different speed control. The computerized sewing machines allow controlling the speed with the help of the control slider.
However, Brother xr3774 is a mechanical model and the speed is controlled with the foot pedal. All you need to do is press the foot pedal more intensively if you want to accelerate the machine and less intensively if you want to slow it down.
The foot pedal of the machine is not touchy at all, and you can not be afraid of bad speed control.
Sewing speed
The Brother machine has an average sewing speed of 800 stitches per minute. Most similar machines have a maximum speed of 750-850 stitches per minute. Industrial models can accelerate to 1100 or even 1500 stitches per minute. The fastest machines can even accelerate to 2000 stitches per minute.
One-Step Buttonhole
This flexible machine has a one-step buttonhole system. It means that the buttonhole-making process is super easy with the Brother xr3774.
In general, there are also four-step buttonhole machines, but they make the buttonhole sewing process a little bit slower because it requires four steps.
Lightweight
The machine is pretty portable because of its lightweight of 12.3 lbs. Thanks to its small size you will be able to transport the machine more easily. You can take the Brother xr3774 to the sewing classes, or to the job.
Unfortunately, there is no hard case with a carrying handle so the transportation may be a little bit dangerous unless you buy the other case.
LED Lighting
Good lighting is essential for people who have poor vision and don’t want to overload their eyes all the time. Brother machine doesn’t have super bright but normal lighting that allows seeing all the sewing space.
Many people require very bright lighting to thread the needle. However, the Brother xr3774 machine has an automatic needle threader that can do all the job. Besides, you can always buy an additional lamp if you need special lighting.
How to Control the Brother Machine?
Different sewing machines provide different controllers. Now let’s look at how to control and adjust the settings of the Brother xr3774 machine.
Tension Dial
At the top of the machine, you will find the tension dial. You will be able to make the stitches tighter or looser with the help of the dial.
Stitch Length
There is one more dial at the top of the machine. This dial allows changing the length of the stitches.
Stitch Width
And the last dial is needed to adjust the width of the stitches, the same as the length.
Stitch Selection Dial
You will find the stitch selection dial on the right side of the machine. You will see the number and the picture of each stitch you choose.
Handwheel
The handwheel is needed to control the position of the needle. You can place it up and down with the help of a handwheel.
Reverse Lever
You need to use the reverse lever when you need to secure the stitch line. Press the lever on the left side of the machine to make the stitches stronger.
Manual Thread Cutter
The manual thread cutter is located on the left side. You can use it when you need to cut the thread off.
Final Words
Now let’s recollect everything we spoke about in this Brother xr3774. The Brother xr3774 model will be a good choice if you are looking for the first sewing machine. It has many automatic functions, a decent library of decorative stitches, and good sewing speed.
The machine comes with lots of presser feet that will be irreplaceable if you practice fashion sewing. But what is best, it has a reasonable price, and you do not need to overpay for any other features.
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