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Bernina 560 Review: Pros, Cons & Comparison With Other Brands (2024)

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reviewsbernina 560Get ready to take your sewing to the next level with the Bernina 560. This powerful machine is packed with features that will elevate your stitching, quilting, and embroidering game.

In this review, we will delve into the pros and cons of the Bernina 560 and compare its performance to that of other brands. We will also explore the stitch options, sewing speed, and ease of use that this machine has to offer. So, whether you are a beginner or a seasoned sewist, read on to discover if the Bernina 560 is the perfect new addition to your craft room.

Key Takeaways

  • Unleash your creativity with the Bernina 560’s impressive array of 676 stitches, including 160 dedicated embroidery stitches, and 5 sewing alphabets. It’s like having a magic wand that transforms your sewing projects into works of art!
  • The Bernina 560 sews at an incredible speed of up to 1,000 stitches per minute, helping you complete projects faster than ever before. It’s like having a turbocharged race car for your sewing!
  • Even if you’re new to sewing, the Bernina 560’s user-friendly interface and intuitive controls make it incredibly easy to use. Don’t be intimidated by its power – it’s perfect for rookies and experts alike!
  • With 70 built-in embroidery patterns and an embroidery module, you can easily add beautiful and intricate embellishments to your creations. It’s like having your own personal embroidery artist right at your fingertips!

Bernina 560 Overview

Bernina 560 Overview
The Bernina 560 is a versatile sewing machine, offering a range of features to cater to your embroidery, buttonhole, and quilting needs. With 676 stitches, including five alphabets, this machine provides ample options for creative projects.

The machine is in excellent condition and comes with a slide-on table, knee lever, power cord, foot control, and an instruction book. Additionally, the accessory box includes a variety of feet to enhance your sewing experience.

Related products include Bernina Bobbins 4, 5, and 7 Series, as well as a range of fabrics and an eGift Card.

The shop, located in San Jose, CA, has been serving the Bay Area since 1974. With a focus on user-friendly features, the Bernina 560 boasts a simple interface and a large, bright color touchscreen. It also includes a built-in Sewing and Embroidery Consultant to guide you through your projects.


Features Comparison With Other Brands

Features Comparison With Other Brands
When comparing the Bernina 560 to other sewing machines, you’ll find it offers an impressive range of stitch options and sewing speed. Additionally, the machine’s user-friendly interface and intuitive controls make it a breeze to operate, even for beginners.

Stitch Options

The Bernina 560 offers an impressive variety of stitch options to fuel your creativity and customization.

With 676 stitches, including 160 embroidery stitches, and 5 sewing alphabets, you can create unique and precise designs.

The machine also provides you with more control over your stitch patterns, with a 9mm max stitch width and adjustable needle positions of up to 11.

Whether you are a beginner or an experienced sewer, the Bernina 560 empowers you to explore new stitch possibilities and elevate your sewing projects.

Sewing Speed

Regarding sewing speed, the Bernina 560 offers a maximum sewing speed of 1,000 stitches per minute. This impressive feature enables you to swiftly complete projects with efficiency. Here are some additional speed-related features:

  1. The machine has a maximum stitch length of 5 mm, allowing for longer stitches when necessary.
  2. The free hand system (FHS) provides convenience and control during free motion quilting.
  3. The intelligent memory function remembers your stitch settings, so you can easily return to your preferred sewing speed and stitch length combinations.

Ease of Use

The Bernina 560 is designed with a focus on ease of use, offering a range of convenient features that make it a beginner-friendly option. Its simple interface and large, bright touchscreen provide an intuitive control panel for sewers of all skill levels.

Feature Description
On-Screen Guidance The machine offers built-in sewing and embroidery consulting, providing guidance directly on the touchscreen.
Ease of Threading Features like the semi-automatic needle threader and intuitive thread path make threading a breeze.
Start/Stop Button Allows you to sew without the foot control, giving you more control over your project.
Thread Cutter The automatic thread cutter saves time and effort, cutting the jump stitch with the touch of a button.

The Bernina 560’s user-friendly design ensures that you can focus on your creativity without being overwhelmed by complex machinery.

Embroidery Capabilities

Embroidery Capabilities
The Bernina 560 stands out with 70 built-in embroidery patterns and includes an optional embroidery module. You can effortlessly adjust design sizes, move, rotate, and mirror them using the on-screen editing features.

Built-in Embroidery Patterns

The Bernina 560 offers a generous selection of built-in embroidery patterns, with 70 designs included. This provides a solid foundation for your embroidery projects, allowing you to create a range of decorative stitches and patterns without the need for additional purchases. The machine also supports embroidery pattern editing and creation, giving you the freedom to customize and personalize your designs.

Embroidery Module Functionality

The Bernina 560 offers robust embroidery module functionality to enhance your embroidery projects. Here’s what you need to know:

  1. Embroidery Field Size: You can create designs up to 400×150 mm, giving you ample space for your embroidery projects.
  2. Hoop Functionality: The machine supports a mega hoop, allowing you to embroider large designs with ease.
  3. USB Interface: Transferring designs to your machine is a breeze thanks to the USB interface. Simply plug in your USB drive and access your desired designs.

Design Editing Features

The Bernina 560 offers a range of design editing features that enhance your embroidery capabilities.

You can access a design library, import designs, and utilize color sequencing and rotation to customize your creations.

The machine includes mirror imaging, a needle stop up/down setting, and memory functions for short-term, long-term, and altered stitches.

The color touchscreen and multi-function knobs make it easy to navigate and adjust these settings.

You can also take advantage of the 11-position adjustable needle position to fine-tune your embroidery designs.

Sewing Performance and Stitch Options

Sewing Performance and Stitch Options
The Bernina 560 excels in sewing performance with its 676 stitches, including five sewing alphabets, allowing for versatile and creative projects. You’ll appreciate its adjustable needle positions and an automatic buttonhole system that ensures precision and ease in your sewing tasks.

Sewing Stitches and Alphabets

The Bernina 560 offers an impressive array of sewing stitches and alphabets, elevating your crafting experience to new heights.

With an astonishing 676 stitches, including 5 alphabets, the possibilities for creative exploration are endless. Imagine the custom embroidery designs you could bring to life with such a diverse selection at your fingertips.

Furthermore, the Bernina stitch regulator and foot control, with its back-kick function, empower you with enhanced precision and control over your sewing projects.

Whether you are a novice or an experienced sewist, the Bernina 560 enables you to tackle advanced stitch techniques with confidence, unleashing your full creative potential.

Maximum Stitch Width and Length

The Bernina 560 offers a maximum stitch width of 9 mm and a maximum stitch length of 5 mm. This provides a good range of options for various sewing projects.

Stitch width and length can be easily adjusted to suit your specific needs, allowing for precise and customized stitching.

The machine also includes 11 adjustable needle positions, giving you even more control over your sewing projects.

Unfortunately, I don’t have enough information to make a stitch options comparison with other brands.

Needle Positions and Buttonhole System

The Bernina 560 offers 11 adjustable needle positions, giving you control over needle placement for precise stitching.

This feature, along with adjustable presser foot pressure, ensures consistent stitch quality on various fabric thicknesses.

Additionally, the needle stop up/down function allows you to program the needle to stop in the up or down position, which is convenient for pivoting or removing fabric.

You can also adjust the stitch length and width to further customize your sewing projects.

User-Friendly Interface and Additional Accessories

User-Friendly Interface and Additional Accessories
The Bernina 560’s user-friendly interface makes it a breeze to navigate. With its touchscreen, memory functionality, and extensive accessory options, this sewing machine offers convenience and versatility for sewers of all skill levels.

Touchscreen Operation

The Bernina 560 boasts a large, bright color touchscreen with an intuitive interface. This makes it easy to navigate the various stitch and embroidery options.

The touchscreen operation is simple and user-friendly. With just a tap or two, you can easily select your desired settings.

The screen also offers customization possibilities, such as color options and ergonomic design choices. This ensures your sewing experience is tailored to your preferences.

Memory Functionality

The Bernina 560 offers a robust memory functionality that enhances your sewing experience. Here are some key features:

  1. Memory Capacity: With 8 MB of memory space, you can store a vast array of stitch combinations, ensuring your favorite settings are always at your fingertips.
  2. Stitch and Design Storage: The machine provides intelligent memory functions for both stitches and embroidery designs, allowing you to quickly recall your go-to settings and get sewing without delay.
  3. Expandable Embroidery: While the Bernina 560 has a generous built-in embroidery pattern library, its expandable embroidery capabilities mean you can take your creations to the next level.

Included Accessories and Add-on Options

The Bernina 560 comes with a range of accessories to enhance your sewing experience. Included are a reverse pattern foot, overlock foot, buttonhole foot with slide, zipper foot, and blindstitch foot.

Additionally, the machine is compatible with add-on options that offer upgrades and expanded capabilities, such as the Bernina Special Event, eGift Card, and CD1068. Blue Painted Peacock Feathers. These attachments cater to specific project needs like armhole fitting and 2-piece sleeve development.

The Bernina 560 also features an eco mode that reduces power consumption when the machine is not in use.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Is Janome better than Bernina?

It depends on your needs. Janome machines are sturdier, more affordable, and have better customer service. Bernina machines are user-friendly, sew intricate stitches, and are more versatile.

Are Bernina machines made in China?

Bernina sewing machines are made in Switzerland and Thailand, not China.

When did the Bernina 580 come out?

The Bernina 580 was released in the summer of 2011, alongside the 530 and It features a large 7-inch colour touchscreen and can stitch up to 900 times per minute.

Which Bernina machines are still made in Switzerland?

The highest-end Bernina machines are still manufactured in Switzerland, including the B880, Q20, and Q The 770 with embroidery and the new 5 series with embroidery are also made in Switzerland.

How much does the Bernina 560 cost?

Sorry, I couldn’t find any information about the cost of the Bernina

Is it easy to use for beginners?

The Bernina 560’s user-friendly features, simple interface, and built-in Sewing and Embroidery Consultant make it a breeze for beginners to use. Its intuitive touchscreen operation and memory function further enhance its ease of use.

What is the maximum embroidery size?

The maximum embroidery size depends on the machine being used. For caps, the typical embroidery area is 2" high by 4" to 6" wide. For retail-style hats, 56mm is typical.

How many colours can be used in a design?

You can use a rainbow’s spectrum of colours with the Bernina Although there’s no specific number of colours mentioned, the machine can stitch designs with a variety of colours. There are 100s of colours available in other thread brands.

Does it come with a case?

Yes, the Bernina 560 comes with a soft-sided carrying case for the machine and embroidery module.

Conclusion

Whether you’re a novice or a pro, the Bernina 560 is a versatile machine that can elevate your sewing, quilting, and embroidering skills.

This review highlights the pros and cons, stitch options, sewing speed, and ease of use.

The 560 offers a wide range of features, including embroidery capabilities, a user-friendly interface, and impressive sewing performance.

With its powerful performance and convenient features, the Bernina 560 is a strong contender in the sewing machine market and is definitely worth considering for your craft room.

References
  • sewingfromhome.com
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Mutasim Sweileh

Mutasim is the founder and editor-in-chief of sewingtrip.com, a site dedicated to those passionate about crafting. With years of experience and research under his belt, he sought to create a platform where he could share his knowledge and skills with others who shared his interests.