The Singer 7258 is a popular computerized sewing machine model from one of the world’s largest sewing machine brands. This machine is not only great for beginners to learn how to sew – it has enough features for intermediate to advanced sewers too.
Check out our in-depth review for more about this model’s features and benefits.
Product Overview: Singer 7258
The Singer 7258 is a computerized sewing machine designed for beginner sewers but also great for anyone looking for an affordable, reliable sewing machine.
It delivers a lot of bang for your buck, with a range of user-friendly features, a large number of accessories, and 100 built-in stitches.
It also has a full metal frame making it suitable for heavy duty sewing, which also sets it apart from its main competitor, the Brother CS6000i.
Singer is one of the world’s best-known and most respected brands of sewing machines. The company has been producing high-quality sewing machines for over 100 years and continues to make reliable machines with a large number of features at various price points.
What we like:
- 100 built-in stitches including basic, stretch, buttonhole, and decorative stitches
- Large number of included accessories including 10 presser feet
- Very easy to use, with an automatic threader, see-through bobbin case, and programmable needle stop up/down
- Automatic stitch selector
- Variable sewing speed
What we don’t like:
- A little noisy
Features & Benefits
Included accessories
One of the main benefits of the Singer 7258 is that it comes with a large number of accessories.
It comes with 10 different presser feet (which is more than the average machine), including:
- all-purpose foot
- buttonhole foot
- blind hem foot
- darning/freehand embroidery foot
- zipper foot
This range of presser feet will give you the versatility to tackle several different sewing techniques, fabrics, and projects.
Plus, some (such as the ruffle foot) are not often seen on other machines and may be a pleasant surprise even to the most advanced of sewers. Another included accessory is a darning plate, allowing you to darn holes and tears on the machine, without worrying about the fabric being tugged by the fabric feeder. The included auxiliary spool pin will assist with easy bobbin winding, and to use with specialist parts such as a twin needle.
There are also other essential odds that and ends, such as:
- seam ripper
- lint brush
- needles
- bobbins
- thread spool caps.
These are particularly handy for beginners who are still building up their sewing kit.
Ease of use
The self-threading needle is one of the features that makes this machine incredibly user-friendly.
You simply lower the automatic needle threader, hook the thread on, and the needle will be automatically threaded for you. This saves a great deal of time, frustration, and eye-strain trying to thread the needle manually.
Another great feature of this machine is its see-through bobbin case, allowing you to look in and see your bobbin thread. This means you can check to see whether the bobbin thread has run out or is about to run out without having to take out the bobbin and rethread the machine. Or worse still, after having been sewing for a while without noticing you’ve run out of bobbin thread!
You can also program the machine to stop with the needle in either the up or down position. Having the needle stop in the up position is critical for regularly sewing, to make sure you can pull out your fabric and cut the thread tails with plenty of thread to spare.
When quilting or sewing appliqué, you often need to stop in the needle down position to be able to pivot your fabric and continue sewing in another direction. This can be useful in certain circumstances when you want to pivot your fabric in regular sewing too. On this machine it is very easy to select with the needle up or needle down position.
Being fully computerized, settings can be updated using its large LCD screen. To select the right stitch; all you need to do is push one button, making switching between different stitches fast and easy.
Finally, this model’s thread cutter makes sewers’ lives much easier by allowing you to easily cut your threads by simply running them through this perfectly-positioned cutter.
Versatility
With an impressive 100 different stitches, the Singer 7258 is a very versatile machine, with stitches suitable for sewing fashion, home décor heirloom and decorative projects, as well as quality and crafting. The built-in stitches include nine basic stitches, eight stretch, seven buttonholes, and 76 decorative stitches.
Unlike some previous Singer models, where it seemed like some stitches were included just to make up the numbers, every single one of these stitches serves a practical or decorative purpose.
The custom stretch stitches make it easy to sew on stretch fabrics without the wavy seams or puckering that can occur if using standard stitches on stretch.
Along with thin and stretch fabrics, this machine can also handle thick materials, even multiple layers of denim.
Be aware that you are better buying specialist presser feet and needles for certain fabrics, such as a denim needle for jeans, or twin needle for stretch fabrics.
Durability
This model has a heavy-duty metal frame, making it highly durable, and meaning that you can expect to have this machine for a long time.
It may seem like a fancy, lightweight model with its digital features and large number of stitches, but don’t be fooled: this machine is a workhorse!
Great for beginners
If you’re just starting out with sewing and are not sure which settings to choose, the Singer 7258 can help you with that. There are optimum length, width, and tension settings depending on the fabric and sewing technique you’re using, making it easy to choose the right stitch for excellent results.
If you want the freedom to refine your own settings, the stitch length and width is also adjustable.
The variable sewing speed means that beginners can set this to a slow speed while they’re learning, and then move up to faster speeds. The speed of the foot pedal can be limited so that there is no risk of beginner sewers (especially children) accidentally applying too much pressure.
This machine comes with a detailed instruction manual, helping beginners to figure out its many features, and to troubleshoot any problems. There is even a Stylist manual which explains how to use many of the stitches.
Disadvantages
It should be noted that this machine is a little noisy, and so may be disruptive to those around you, especially if you like to sew late into the evening. You can reduce this noise, however, by placing the machine on something soft, like a pad.
Alternatives
Not sure if the Singer 7258 is right for you? Check out these comparative models.
Singer 7258 VS Singer 9960 Quantum Stylist
The Singer 9960 sewing machine is a more advanced model from the same, well-recognized brand. It comes with a lot of the same features and benefits, plus more besides. Compared to the Singer 7258’s 100 stitches, the 9960 has a staggering 600.
Like the 7258, the 9960 is computerized, with lots of easy-to-use features like an automatic needle threader and a see-through bobbin cover, as well as18 presser feet (compared to the 7258’s 10 presser feet).
As you may expect from all these extra features, the Singer 9960 is also much more expensive than the Singer 7258. In fact, you can expect to pay almost double for this more advanced model.
Check out our full Singer 9960 Quantum Stylist review.
Singer 7258 VS Brother xr9550prw
Singer and Brother are two of the biggest names in sewing machines, and the Brother XR9550PRW is essentially Brother’s equivalent to the Singer 7258. At a similar price point, the Brother XR9550PRW is also computerized, with slightly more stitches at 110.
It also has a similar range of user-friendly features like a thread cutter and see-through bobbin case, though only eight presser feet compared to the Singer’s 10. The Brother machine also has an automatic threader cutter, but this is fiddly and quite difficult to use.
These are both good machines, though the Singer is even more user-friendly, so unless you have a particular preference for Brother machines we would recommend the Singer model.
Singer 7258 vs Singer 4452
If you’re looking for a mechanical, heavy-duty machine at a reasonable price, the Singer 4452 is an excellent choice. Unlike the Singer 7258, the 4452 model is fully mechanical, meaning that you will need to make all settings and adjustments manually.
The Singer 4452 is also a heavy-duty machine. Although the 7258 model is very durable and able to handle heavy fabrics, the 4452 is even more so, being designed for this purpose.
The Singer 4452 has a faster motor speed, with 1,100 stitches per minute compared to the 7258’s 750 stitches per minute. It has fewer accessories and features however, with only six presser feet and 32 stitches included. Price-wise, you’ll find these machines have a similar price point, with the Singer 4452 being slightly cheaper.
Read our full Singer 4452 review.
Wrapping it up
Beginners looking for a great computerized machine to learn on may find many models overly complicated, expensive, or both. The Singer 7258, however, is extremely easy to use thanks to its automatic stitch selector, needle threader, see-through bobbin, and other great features.
Additionally,the 7258 enough features and accessories to continue to be useful as the novice sewer advances in their technique. With 100 built-in stitches and 10 presser feet, this is a great all-round sewing machine, capable of heavy-duty sewing – and comes at an affordable price.
Take a look for yourself here!
