Brother SC9500 Review: A Sewing Machine For The Masses?

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The majority of Brother SC9500 reviews from customers and professionals alike are positive. And what’s not to like? It’s an inexpensive sewing machine with a lot of fun options to experiment with. But no machine is perfect for every user. Is the Brother SC9500 the right machine for your needs? Let’s find out.

The Brother SC9500 Sewing Machine: Reviews, Features, and Target Market

Brother SC9500 sewing machine

Brother Industries makes a variety of machinery for industry, office, and home use. Though they do produce industrial sewing machines for factories, most people are probably more familiar with their domestic sewing machines.

Brother’s home sewing machines run the gamut from very basic computerized models to high-end semi-pro and professional embroidery and longarm machines. Where they seem to put a lot of focus, however, is on economically priced multi-purpose home sewing machines.

You may already be familiar with the Brother CS6000I and the Brother HC1850 (if you’re not, you can check out their respective reviews here and here). Both of these models get a lot of press, while Brother SC9500 reviews are a bit thin on the ground. Nonetheless, many of the qualities of the CS6000I and the HC1850 that people like are present in the SC9500.

These include:

  • Value for money
  • A decent selection of decorative and functional stitches
  • A user-friendly interface
  • Craft-specific extras

Who is the target market for the Brother SC9500?

Home sewing machines fall into a few definite categories, including:

  • Mechanical sewing machines
  • Lower-level computerized sewing machines
  • High-end multi-purpose computerized machines
  • Semi-pro and professional crafting-specific sewing machines

The Brother SC 9500 is an entry-level computerized sewing machine. This means that you control functions and parameters like stitch size and design with the press of a button. 

These types of machines have a few advantages over more basic mechanical machines. Often, there’s a greater number of available stitches. Lower-level computerized sewing machines also generally have speed control and a start/stop button for pedal-free operations. Many mechanical sewing machines lack these. 

Brother sc9500 speed control

They’re not as sophisticated as high-end computerized machines, which often allow you to combine, upload, edit and save stitches and embroidery designs. At the same time, they have a lot more features and options than a basic mechanical machine. And frankly, I think these options make them a bit more fun.

An entry-level computerized sewing machine like the Brother SC9500 is a user-friendly, cost-effective choice for beginning and intermediate sewists interested in expanding their abilities. It could also be a solid option for all-purpose home sewing.

SC9500 Brother

What’s in the box? 

Accessories that come with the Brother SC9500, include:

  • Overcasting foot
  • Monogramming foot
  • Zigzag foot
  • Zipper foot
  • Blind stitch foot
  • Buttonhole foot
  • Button sewing foot
  • Spring action quilting foot
  • Accessory bag
  • Seam ripper
  • Ballpoint needle
  • Twin needle
  • Cleaning brush
  • Screwdriver
  • Extra spool pin
  • 4 bobbins
  • Bobbin clip
  • Eyelet punch
  • Small, medium and large spool caps
  • Wide extensions table
  • Foot controller, Power cord
  • Instructional DVD,
  • Brother SC9500 manual in English and Spanish
  • 25-year limited warranty 

Technical Specifications

Pros & cons

What’s good and bad about the Brother SC9500, in a nutshell:

LIKES
  • Excellent selection of functional and decorative stitches
  • 8 automatic one-step buttonholes
  • Start/stop button
  • Speed control slider
  • Wide extension table included
  • Terrific accessory pack with many useful presser feet
  • Great value for money
DISLIKES
  • Numerous customer complaints about durability 
  • Subpar performance with heavy and fuzzy fabrics
  • Customers report issues with thread tension

Should You Buy an Entry-Level Computerized Sewing Machine?

If you’re crafting on a budget, or looking to expand your repertoire beyond basic straight-stitch sewing, an entry-level computerized sewing machine could be just the ticket. These types of sewing machines tend to be economical, user-friendly, and replete with fun features that simple sewing machines lack.

An entry-level computerized sewing machine is an intermediate machine. It’s a way to try out different functions and techniques without laying down a huge amount of money for something you might not, ultimately, use much. 

On one hand, if you find a craft like quilting or embroidery that you want to take pro, you’ll need to invest in a higher-level tool. But if you don’t, at the end of the day you’ll still have a fun, versatile all-purpose sewing machine.

Should you buy the Brother SC9500 in specific?

brother SC9500

The old adage holds true for many appliances, including sewing machines: you get what you pay for. The Brother SC9500 is inexpensive. In fact, you could pay a lot more for an entry-level computerized sewing machine, both from Brother and from other manufacturers. Durability issues should come as no surprise. 

But then again, if you’re looking for a do-it-all sewing machine at this price point, you’re probably not looking for something to outfit your factory, or even to pass on to your grandchildren.

brother sc9500 needle threader

In short, this is an inexpensive sewing machine with a lot of nifty options. It will very likely serve you well for occasional, hobby-level, all-purpose sewing. It could be a lot of fun as a first machine, or for an advanced beginner looking to spread their crafting wings. But it probably won’t stand up to continuous, long-term, heavy-duty use.

One thing that I will say is that I’ve rarely seen a sewing machine at this price point with a monogram font — especially one that contains ligatures, non-English characters, and punctuation. So that’s cool.

In short, the Brother SC9500 could be an excellent choice for:

  • A first sewing machine
  • A second sewing machine
  • Exploring different types of crafts
  • Hobby-level crafting, quilting, garment-making, or creating housewares

The Brother SC9500: Features

The main difference between a basic mechanical sewing machine and a computerized machine is features. We’re talking stitch designs, buttonholes, fonts and the ability to customize them, and more.

Here are a few of our favorite features of the Brother SC9500.

Monogram font

As I said, it’s unusual to find a sewing machine at this price point that has a monogram font. It’s not fancy, and you can’t adjust the size, but it’s still pretty cool. 

You can use a monogram font to personalize clothing, decorate housewares, make labels, and more. 

Automatic one-step buttonhole

A lot of lower-level sewing machines have a four-step buttonhole, and it’s a drag. It’s fiddly, it’s complicated, and it’s easy to get wrong. What’s difficult is to do several of them consistently.

A one-step buttonhole means that you choose your buttonhole design — you get eight of them — then press a button, and you’re done. Not only that, but it’s the same every time. 

And an automatic buttonhole? By using the included automatic buttonhole foot, you can customize the size of your buttonholes to fit the exact button that you’re using. No guesswork, no fiddling around. It’s brilliant.

Generous stitch selection

The Brother SC9500 comes with 90 built-in stitch designs. You can alter the width and lengths of the designs for even more options. Some machines have more designs, but this is enough to have quite a lot of fun with.

brother sc9500 stitch library

And the Competition? Brother SC9500 Alternatives

No review would be complete without a look at the competition. 

Singer 5560

singer fashion mate 5560

At first glance, the Singer 5560 looks very similar to the Brother SC9500. It has a similar number of stitch and buttonhole designs. It also comes with a removable wide extension table. But this model also has a heavy-duty metal frame, so it may offer a bit more durability than the SC9500.

Brother CS6000I

Brother CS6000i

The Brother CS6000I is another similar machine: an all-purpose computerized model that comes with a wide extension table. But this one scores highly with buyers for durability and quality of materials. It’s priced higher than the SC9500, but most similar machines are.

Janome 4120 QDC

janome 4120 qdc

If you don’t mind paying a bit more, you might want to check out the Janome 4120QDC. Like the Brother SC5000, this is a user-friendly computerized sewing machine that comes with an extension table. But it comes with a few other extras, including:

  • 120 built-in stitches
  • American, European, and Cyrillic alphabets
  • Stitch pattern memory
  • Twin needle

Janome sewing machines tend to be pricey. But they also generally pay for themselves through durability and quality manufacture.

Brother SC9500 Review: The Upshot

SC9500 sewing machine

For what it is — an inexpensive entry-level computerized sewing machine — the Brother SC9500 isn’t bad. It has a lot of fun features, and quite a bit more of them than you’d expect at this price point.

Will it last forever? Will it handle your heaviest work with aplomb? Probably not. But a beginning sewist could have a lot of fun with this. And it would probably see you through most general purpose home sewing tasks as well.

brother sc9500 sewing machine reviews

2 thoughts on “Brother SC9500 Review: A Sewing Machine For The Masses?”

  1. I purchased this machine and absolutely love it. It is a little workhorse. The reason I purchased this one was the portability for classes and quilting functions. The only negative is that it did not come with a walking foot.

    Reply

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