Sailrite Heavy-Duty Ultrafeed® LS-1 BASIC Walking Foot Sewing Machine

I love this machine!!! Currently I'm using it for my upholstery business. Mostly all metal, heavy, sturdy, and it really sews multiple layers of thick fabric with no troubles. The machine comes with a guide book, how to set up, thread, etc. Plus it also comes with a DVD that goes through setup and operation, maintenance, and sewing tips. The only bad thing I would have to say is it was difficult to sew piping with the foot that comes with the machine. I've since ordered a piping and zipper foot from their website and waiting for those to arrive. I'm sure I won't have any problems once I have those attatchments. Another thing to note on this LS1, it doesn't have a stich length adjustment. But I'm fine with that. The stiches are even and beautiful with seams that are stable and sturdy. Also to note I did have some questions about tension adjustment, they cover a segment in their DVD, but you will need different needles and thread weights depending upon the weight of fabric you are using. I emailed them, about this subject and got an answer the same day. In my opinion this machine is more than worth the money if you are looking for a heavy duty machine that can sew through heavy and lightweight fabrics. My new best friend!

I do leather work and needed a sewing machine to sew holsters and belts. I called the seller and explained to them what I needed a machine for and what I wanted it to do. I was told this machine would do what I needed. when I got the machine I called the seller after I could not get to use the thread in was using. The service person directed me through a modification that he said would get it to work for me. It did not work so I ended up shipping the machine back at my expense over $100.00 . when I got it back they then said it just was not going to sew with the thread I needed to use , I had bought a machine that did just fine and found I could use the lighter machine for other things. When I got the machine back it worked for about 15 min and then stopped sewing. I called the seller and they said all they would do is to check it out if I played to ship it to them. after that they would not even answer my calls.

What an AMAZING machine! We bought this so that we could learn to do our own upholstery. We have made several of our own pillows and also a whole couch! We made the cushions for the back and the seat. The set up and how to videos taught so much, and they also have some YouTube videos available that are very helpful. Once you watch some videos, especially the ones on the disc that comes with the machine, you will be ready to get it set up, and make some wonderful things! It really was easy to use and so smooth! We have been able to sew through thick upholstery fabric, cow hides, and also upholstery fabric with fringe when we added that to the pillows. It did amazing on all of those!

This is a piece of goods! Very well built and packaged. It was just too heavy for me to lift as a "portable " sewing machine so I had to send it back. I never would have if I was ten years younger though!

As an overall...I think it needs to be made VERY CLEAR what this machine is really for and that is not Home Decorating Upholstery unless one is using it exclusively to tear into big thick fabrics, multi-layered with seams that require more power. Sorry. Perhaps the upgrade to the LSZ-1 with the second, LARGER piping foot would be better? I'll never know as I refuse to heft that thing back into the boxes, disassemble, etc. My main complaint is that the walking foot with the cording channel completely mashes fiber flex piping. Then, after you've spent FAR too long pushing it back into a semblance of order to attach the top plate to the boxing you have essentially no guide to get a tight fit against the piping. For the sake of argument, I used a sturdier cording (although pillows and seat cushions are RARELY if ever going to require such firm piping because obviously, these are COMFORT items) to see if it traveled under the channel more easily without so much guiding...nope. The seam used to create the piping is still there, sometimes waving along like a drunk sailor until you hit the occasional spot that you lost control and half the piping is hidden. Frustrating. Also. TENSION! I couldn't sit there one more second adjusting that tension from the 45 layers of Naugahyde the factory had tested it on. For such a large purchase, money and time, how about a little more investigation into the buyers intended USE of the machine to ensure that the "out of the box" experience isn't so frustrating? I'm keeping it although I know I'll spend much more time than I'm willing to fiddling with the tension and changing out the settings.