QUILTsocial Issue 21

5 great features of the NQ900 sewing machine
The Brother NQ900 sewing machine. The NQ900 sewing machine set up at quilt retreat. The extension table legs fold up for travel or storage.
I hope you’ve had time to finish your
hand-embroidered panel, because we’ll
make it into a needle roll for storing all
your hand embroidery needles. To do
this I’ll use my wonderful Brother NQ900
sewing machine.
I first introduced you to the Brother
NQ900 in my QUILTsocial post – 6 features
I love on the Brother NQ900 sewing machine.
During that week I showed you how to
make the adorable baby quilt shown
above, so if you have any baby showers to
go to in the next few months, check out
that fast and fun pattern.
I loved testing the NQ900 sewing
machine so much, that when it came
time to send it back to Brother, I asked
if I could purchase it! We’ve done a lot
of sewing together since then, and I still
find it to be a great machine. Like I said
back in 2017, the NQ900 has lots of great
features and after more than four years
of using this machine, here are the ones I
still find the best!
FEATURE 1
The first thing to mention about this
machine is its portability. At just 23lbs, the
Brother NQ900 is so easy to take along on
vacation, to classes, on a quilt cruise, or as
I’m going next, to quilt retreat!
FEATURE 2
The extension table on the NQ900 is not
only huge, but it also has fold-up legs
so it can be easily stored or slipped into
a bag to take along with the machine.
I can’t tell you how much I love this
feature – especially when I see other
quilters struggling to transport their
extension tables!
20 OUILTsocial | issue 21
FEATURE 3
The needle threader on this machine
blew me away when I first tried the
machine, and it still works just as great
now as it did on day one! It’s so easy
to use, I just had to make a little video
to show you. The needle threader can
be used with machine needles 75/11
through 100/16.
A short video showing how to use the
needle threader on the NQ900. Brother
NQ900 sewing machine:
FEATURE 4
I still love how this machine won’t stitch
if the presser foot is up. If the foot is
up, the stop/start button glows red
and the machine beeps if you put your
foot down on the foot pedal. This is
a wonderful feature, especially when
using the free-motion quilting foot as it
prevents you from getting those huge
bird’s nests of thread on the back of your
quilt. Here’s what each color means:
• Green: The machine is ready to sew
or is sewing.
• Red: The machine can’t sew.
• Orange: The machine is winding the
bobbin thread, or the bobbin winder
shaft is moved to the right side.
FEATURE 5
Another super feature is that you can’t
thread the NQ900 when the presser foot
is down. A little cover, called the upper
thread shutter, slides over the take-up
lever and prevents you from pulling
the thread through. If you thread your
sewing machine when the foot is down,
you may not get the thread between the
two tension discs and when you sew, the
tension between your top and bottom
threads may be completely unbalanced.
I see this happen a lot when I’m teaching
beginner machine quilting classes, so I
wish this feature was available on every
machine!
Red glowing start/stop button
The upper thread shutter is closed, preventing the
machine from being threaded.