SINGER Heavy Duty 4423 Meltwater Blue High Speed Sewing Machine with Accessory Kit | Strong Motor With Enhanced Piercing Power, 97 Stitch Applications, Full Metal frame, 1-step Buttonhole & LED Light

Wow!! This machine is a workhorse. I bought it kinda as a last ditch effort to sew my own lawn chair replacement fabrics. The outdoor rated fabric was super thick. This machine wasted no time at getting the job done. It was well priced and worked perfectly. My older machine just could not get through tge thick fabric like this machine did. Even though it is heavy duty, it still worked very smoothly. I really liked this purchase. I think the lawn chairs look great too. Now everyone wants me to do theirs. And guess what? Im a man and was able to figure this machine out!!!!

What a great machine! I'm a total sewing noob. There was a learning curve but not too steep. After watching a few YT videos it was pretty straight forward to figure out. So glad I bought the Singer HD. Love the variable speed pedal. The standard needle gets through a whole stack of fabric and Velcro with no problems. I feel like I just unlocked a superpower for fixing all my clothes and gear that are falling apart from working and playing outdoors. This thing is definitely going to pay for itself in a matter of weeks.

There are a lot of reviews here of people frustrated with the Singer 4423. I was going to purchase this machine back in November, as I needed a machine to handle automotive upholstery and other heavy fabrics. I hesitated on buying because of less then stellar reviews. An Amazon lightening deal changed my mind, as the price was under $100.I received my item well packaged and expediently (thanks Amazon). The directions that come with it are not great, but get the basics covered. I utilized the internet for more detailed instruction, and well as for video guidance. After using the sewing machine for several hours, I too became frustrated. So much so, that I initiated a return. It seems I could not get the thread tension correct, and I would end up with tons of bobbin jams. Nobody wants their bobbin in a jam.After sleeping on it (not literally), I researched more on the internet. I found a few tips that not only helped, my project turned out great and I was able to use the 4423 effectively.My Tips:1. Use the felt bobbin spacer if the bobbin is racking in the bobbin case.2. Important. Use only the plastic - not metal - bobbins.3. Make sure you thread correctly. Thread tension is critical and is managed at loops #3, #4, and #5. When threading, be sure to give a slight tug to ensure the thread has seated into the blind tensioner. Also don't forget to run the thread behind the guide #6.4. This might seem obvious, but be sure to drop the presser foot. It's easy to forget especially when setting up thicker fabrics/upholstery. If you forget, you'll know soon enough, by having a mess under the fabric on the bobbin side.5. Practice with the foot control. It launches from 0 to 60 in a split second. I'd like to find a way of better control here, as fine control is challenging.6. Use the correct needle size. Mine shipped with a 90/14 which is good for many things, but I recommend a 100 for thicker stuff, like chihuahuas and small pets. Just kidding about that small pet crack.I gave this machine 5 stars solely because for the money (<$100), it was a no-brainer. I'd give it 4 stars if priced in the usual $125- $150 range. It's not perfect, as the foot control is too sensitive (like my wife). But it is a well made piece of equipment that CAN handle heavy fabrics. It went through 6 layers of vinyl upholstery as well as plastic piping, without struggle. I did find that best results were obtained when the needle is started manually in the thicker, multi-layered fabrics.Stitch patterns seemed to work okay, but I only did some messing around with them, just to see if they worked. I really only used the straight, and zig-zag with frequency.One other thing, the machine is light, which is good and bad. Good, as it's easy to transport, but bad as it will move when pushing heavy stock through it. Use a rubber mat, or better yet an appropriate table.

I bought this machine because I had an older Singer Sonata (looks like it may have come out in the 80's) that was acting up. It seemed like it was time to replace or repair it. Sadly, repairs would've cost $100 or up, and after looking around at new sewing machines, it seemed prudent to just get a new one. So, after looking around, I settled on trying out the Singer 4411 despite it having a less than stellar review average. I like the fact that the 4411 is a manual machine (call me a control freak!) and that it's heavy duty. I don't use my sewing machine for a whole lot except hemming blue jeans and the occasional pillowcase repair, so I really just needed a solid dependable basic machine.When I first got my sewing machine in the mail and took it out of the box, I noticed that the needle didn't seem to be properly centered. This freaked me out quite a bit. Was my new machine already flawed?! Well, no. I discovered that you need to set the stitch width dial to zero for straight stitches. This moved the needle to it's normal center position. This is mentioned NOWHERE in the manual. Speaking of the manual...it's not too good. It's very "basic" (read: lacking), and frankly, if I didn't already know a fair bit about sewing machines, I'd be very confused. First off, you need Class 15 bobbins for this machine (which it seems to come with) but this isn't mentioned anywhere in the manual that I could see (it is on the side of the box though). Also, the needle clamp screw was tightened insanely (I had to use pliers to get it to loosen up), and the manual appears to tell you to move it the wrong direction to loosen it. Turn it TOWARDS you to loosen. Also, in case it isn't clear in the needle threading section, you need to loop the thread through that last little spot right next to the needle (I have an older machine that has a very similar threading procedure, so I recognized this pretty quickly, but others might not notice it since it's very subtle).Once you actually get the machine figured out, it seems to work quite well. I wound a bobbin perfectly, with no problems. I threaded the needle with no problems as well. All the wheels and knobs seem to work with no problems. I will mention that the light bulb is very dim, so you'll want to work under your own lamp. That's not really a big deal though. The very first thing I tested the machine on was some thick cotton, about 3 layers thick. Not a particularly difficult thing, but it had some seams in areas that made it quite a bit thicker (more like 6 layers thick in those areas). The machine ran right over them with no problems. I didn't notice the machine being particularly noisy or anything (but maybe I'm used to sewing machines making noise). Next, I put it to a more challenging task, sewing two layers of ½ inch thick batting onto comforter fabric. It did well enough, but you may need to loosen the tension a bit if you are having problems.I haven't really tested the button hole maker (don't need to use it) but I did try out some of the fancy stitches that came with it. Honestly, out of the few provided, only one looked decent. So, this truly isn't a machine for anyone who needs more than the basic straight and zigzag stitches. As for the accessories that came with it, they seem fine enough. The bobbins appear to be Class 15 (as needed but not specified). Also, you should be aware that even though it appears to come with different needles, all the needles that came with mine were medium size, so if you need another size, you're going to need to buy some separately. Not much to say about the rest, other than that the seem ripper seems a little dull...Overall, this is a good machine, and seems solid. As for it's label of "heavy duty" I'd say it might be a bit of a stretch. I haven't actually put it to the test, but judging from other reviewers, it isn't truly "heavy duty". If you just need to hem some jeans, it should work fine though. Really, I'd recommend this machine to anyone who just needs a cheaper basic level machine of decent quality (just ignore the "heavy duty" part and you'll be fine). If you're like me and just need a machine to hem a few pants and make a few pillowcases, this'll take care of your needs just fine!*Note: The first machine I bought was defective - the tension would not tighten no matter how much I turned the knob and the bobbin would wind all unevenly. I returned it to Amazon and had it replaced with a new unit (the one I have now) and this one seems to work just fine. This review is actually for the second machine I received, so if you get one that doesn't perform properly, be aware that it could be defective, and don't give up on it just yet!