Brother Is known for selling high-quality, user-friendly sewing machines for a low price. That's why Brother is the most recommended sewing machine for beginners and intermediate users. What about the Brother 4234D Overlocker, Should you buy this machine?
The Brother 4234D is one of the best sergers on the market. All the nods and buttons give you endless options and range, meaning that you can set up your Brother 4234D for almost any sewing project. It comes with a lot of accessories. It's also very user-friendly and gives you detailed explanations on how to use different settings in the instruction book. It's a great machine for beginners and for intermediate sewers.
About the review:
We have used this sewing machine from 2016 to 2020 and it's featured in a number of our sewing tutorials. We did replace the machine with a Baby Lock serger in late 2020. After 4 years of heavy use, it's safe to say that this is probably the most in-depth review you can find on the Brother 4234D.
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Specs:
Needle threader: Yes Sewing Light: LED
Manual Thread Tention Maximum Speed: 1300Spm
Needles: 2 Stitch length: 2-4mm
Threads: 2-3 or 4 Trim Trap: Yes
Equipment:
Case: Soft plastic cover Wide table: Optional, Installed on our test machine
Trimtrap: Included Free arm: Included
First Impressions:
The Brother 4234D Overlocker arrived at my doorstep in late April 2016. I did my research beforehand and I knew that this was a very popular, strong sewing machine.
When I unpacked it I was glad to see how well the wide table extended my workspace. The thing I didn't like was the plastic cover on the metal frame. Don't take this the wrong way, it's robust, strong, and powerful, But when the plastic casing gets older, it will be noisier against the aluminum frame.
On a positive note, the free arm was very easy to access. Just remove the wide table and a plastic piece and the free arm was ready for use. Taking a step back and just looking at it felt kind of intimidating, all the buttons and switches. I had no idea how to set up this machine.
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User friendly:
Even tho I probably could have searched it up on google or youtube, I wanted to use the tools Brother had given me to understand this machine. There were many instruction books in a different language and a CD. So I studied the instructions, and I was impressed. Not only did they provided the information I needed to get started, but they did it in a simple non-intimidating way. It took me one evening to understand the basics. The more advanced stuff, like a rolled hem, was also in the instruction book, and it was pretty easy to pull off by myself. If you want to see how you do it, you can click here.
Installing the machine was easy as well. You just follow the lines that are clearly marked on the machine. The Needles was pre-installed. Replacing the needles was easy as well. Just make sure to push the new needle all the way up before you start to sew.
Performance:
The Brother 4234D performance is amazing. The power is there, and it's easy to access it.
The question should be if there might be too much power. You see, when you floor the pedal, The sewing machine can start to vibrate. And I understand, You are pushing the machine to its limits. And you can feel that the sewing machine isn't too happy about it. Sewing over multiple layers of fabric can also be challenging. But you will learn some techniques that will simplify it for you.
The problem is that the thread sometimes jumps out of the thread spools when you are sewing over multiple layers of fabric. I've asked other users about this issue, and they have also experienced this problem.
Who is the Brother 4234D made for?
The Brother is made for almost everyone. ts easy to install and understand. It's powerful and will get the job done. The Brother 4234Ds's shortcomings are sewing over multiple layers of fabric.
Maintenance and Cleaning:
Sewing Machines don't require as much maintenance as they used to. The same can be said about Brother 4234D. It does require you to oil two small pieces inside the machine. It was very easy to do and it took about 3 minutes every month. Even tho we are using the machine professionally, it's recommended that everyone uses the one-month interval.
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Using sergers can leave more mess than using a regular sewing machine. The cutter can leave pieces of fabric and fabric dust that move in and around the serger. A lot of sewing machine manufacturers try to close their sergers to avoid it, Brother does the opposite and gives you great access for easy cleaning. You can turn the Brother 4234D upside down and get access to the machine from the bottom for cleaning. I like their solution and I hope that other manufacturer does the same.
Score: The Brother 4234D is an excellent machine. There are some minor issues, but they are exactly that, minor. I love this machine and looking back at my time with it makes me happy. If you are considering buying a serger, The Brother 4234D might be the serger you are looking for. If you are considering buying a second-hand machine, The first editions of the brother 4234D had some bigger difficulties with thread guides facing the wrong way, etc. Brother sorted this out for free so make sure this has been done before buying the machine.
I will give Brother 4234D an 8/10 Score.
PS: Make sure to check out our video tutorials and our sewing pattern.
Feel free to use the comment section if you have any questions.
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