Big Machine Features At A Reasonable Price

A review of Nancy's Notions Discover Machine from Nancy's Notions

Nancy's Notions Discover Machine

You probably know Nancy Zieman from her PBS television show Sewing With Nancy. Her shows cover tailoring and heirloom sewing. But in recent years, she has added lots of quilting techniques to her informative show.

This year, Nancy introduced a sewing machine that she sells through her Nancy's Notions catalog and Web site. Nancy designed her sewing machine to have a small price tag and features that you find only on the more expensive machines.

Like the more expensive machines, the Discover has a screen that tells stitch number and name along with the width and length of the stitch. The screen also shows a picture of the stitch and a picture of the presser foot to use to make that stitch. I found this screen easy to read and used it often to check my settings.

Start/Stop Buttons

Two other features I really liked (and don't have on my Janome Memory Craft 3000 at twice the price) are the two buttons that make the machine sew. The first is a speed selector that slides to set the speed from slow to fast and everywhere in between. The second button is the start/stop button. I've only seen this button on expensive top-of-the-line machines.

A few other nice features from the more expensive machines included on the Discover are automatic buttonholes, needle up/down, the ability to make a single stitch, and a needle threader.

There are six numbered positions for selecting your stitch width. But this machine allows you to select positions between the numbers, giving a total of 24 positions for your needle when doing a straight stitch.

The Discover uses a drop-in bobbin, so there is no fooling around with a bobbin case. On the left side of the Discover a light shows through an opening in the machine, making it easy to see the thread cutter. This machine even supports twin needles.

The 24-stitch Discover machine is feature-rich for the price. But I had to see how it performed for quilters.

Piecing Tests

My first test was straight sewing using the straight stitch foot that comes with the machine. Using this foot I got a perfect 1/4" seam on both short and long seams.

I liked the Discover's straight stitch foot so well that I tried it on my own sewing machine and got the same great results. I wish I could buy this foot separately from the Discover.

In addition to the straight stitch foot, there is an optional patchwork foot that can be purchased separately called the Low Patchwork Foot with Guide. I got a good 1/4" seam using this foot, too. Plus, this foot can also be used for miniatures using a smaller seam allowance.

The patchwork foot has both a 1/4" toe and an 1/8" toe. And it has all the 1/4" and 1/8" markings on the foot to use as a guide to determine when to pivot to maintain the correct size when sewing around a corner.

The removable guide on this foot is large and reaches all the way down to the fabric. This makes it easy to follow the guide as it rides along on previous rows of stitching when making a grid.

While the seams were the correct size, I thought the default presser foot pressure was a little too heavy when I did my straight seems because there was a slight puckering. So I loosened the pressure and that gave me the results I wanted -- flat, smooth seams. The seams were nice, even the 90" seams I made to sew on the borders of my quilt.

Applique Tests

Then I tried the stitches that I would use for machine applique. The first one I tried was the satin stitch. I set the stitch width at #3, the middle of the width selections. The stitch length selector goes from #6 (long) to #1 (short), then below #1 it displays a picture of a buttonhole (to represent the very small stitch length you typically use in buttonholes).

I set the stitch length to less than #1, trying several different positions on "Buttonhole" until I found one I liked. My satin stitch came out tight and even.

The next applique stitch I tried was what I call the blanket stitch. On the Discover it is called the "Heirloom" stitch. The picture (and what I expected) represented the stitch to look like a comb with the teeth 1/4" apart. But that is not exactly what I got.

When the machine did the tooth part of the stitch, it advanced slightly before it returned to the comb part of the stitch. This made a small V-shaped stitch instead of an I-shaped stitch pictured on the screen. Actually this stitch looked more like I expected on the bobbin side of my test block than on the top.

I decided I could draw my design on the wrong side of the fabric. Then I could sew from the back to get the "wide tooth comb" effect for which I was aiming.

I tried several types of thread to see if it would make a difference. I liked the look of a heavy thread best. My favorite was a varigated jeans thread that looked rather nice.

I wondered if I was doing something wrong, so I checked the manual. The manual called this Heirloom stitch a stretch stitch for narrow elastic, swimware, and tee shirts. It would certainly be a good stitch for any stretch sewing I'd want to do.

Then I tried the Join stitch which looks kind of like a feather stitch. I played with this stitch by adjusting the thread tension, which caused the bobbin thread to be pulled up at the ends of the feather. This is a really nice effect when using two different color threads. It looked like buds on the ends of the branches of a tree.

Machine Quilting Tests

Next, I began the machine quilting tests. Both of the feet I used for machine quilting are optional feet. I used the Low Deluxe Walking Foot first. This worked fine and my quilting was real nice. I had nice smooth lines of quilting without any puckering.

I then dropped my feed dogs and put on the optional Low Darning Foot to begin my free-motion quilting test. This worked fine, except when I was trying to go over really heavy areas.

I tried free-motion quilting a wall hanging that I made using Quilt-Fuse. This adds several extra layers, giving the Discover some trouble.

Read my review of Quilt-Fuse.

The Discover did fine with the extra layer of fusible, until it got to the seams. The seams add two more layers of fusible to every seam. This brings the total layers to six to quilt through. I had to use extra effort to get the stitching to move smoothly over these areas.

I got it done and it looked fine. But I had to work harder and was more tired than usual when I finished. In all fairness, I don't make many of this type of quilt. So I wouldn't let this discourage me, especially since it worked well on the usual three layers.

On my next free-motion quilting test, I used the speed setting and start/stop button to let the machine do all the "foot" work for me. I had a great time! I just set it to the speed that I felt comfortable moving my fabric and quilted. Boy, was that easy! I could get used to these buttons. I would have liked to have had this feature when I wanted to sew with a broken foot.

Drawbacks

The Discover includes a needle-down feature, which allows the needle to always finish sewing with the needle in the fabric. Unfortunately, the needle-down feature comes unset when you raise the presser foot.

I found this inconvenient when pivoting fabric under the needle. I had to constantly reset it for the way I sew. However, I can see where this could be a safety feature rather than an oversight.

The other drawback I had to work around is the accessory drawer. It slides off to expose the free-arm and to take out the accessories.

But I couldn't open the drawer fully if it was in place on the machine. So I had to take out all the accessories I thought I'd use before I started quilting. Then put them all away when I was done each day.

A Lot Of Machine

The Discover is a lot of machine for the money. Its expensive machine features make it a pleasure to use, and its relatively inexpensive suggested retail price of $599 won't break the bank.

A vinyl cover comes with the machine but you can get a hard cover for carrying your machine to class for $39.95. Watch Nancy's Web site for sale prices on these items. She has some great promotional prices that really make this machine a good buy.

I recommend purchasing three optional feet to make this a good machine for quilters. The feet every quilter should have are:

• the Low Darning Foot for $8.95

• the Low Deluxe Walking Foot for $24.95

• the Low Patchwork Foot with guide for $11.95

Where To Buy: Nancy's Notions Discover Machine

Nancy's Notions

Thank you for your review of the Nancy's Notions Discover sewing machine. Based on your review and the great price of the machine at the Nancy's Notions Web site, I ordered one -- my dear husband gave it to me for Christmas.

I had hoped to replace my 25-year-old machine with a Bernina, but with one son graduating from college this year and another one getting ready to go to college, that hope seemed very far away! So when I read your review of the Discover machine, I decided to give it a try.

What a joy it is to use -- the features you mentioned which are usually available only on the higher-end machines are wonderful. I especially like the start/stop button on the machine, and the needle-down feature is great as well.

The stitches are beautiful and the ease of use is excellent -- and I can finally machine quilt! My old machine would not accomodate a walking foot, but the accessory feet that you recommended for the Discover work beautifully.

I finished my first machine-quilted wallhanging last night, and it turned out really well. I love the basting glue you reviewed, too -- easier to use than basting sprays.

So thanks again for your recommendations. Quilter's Review is a super Web site, and I really trust and appreciate your recommendations.

January 28, 2002
Sharon replies:

You're more than welcome, Kathy! I just can't tell you how good it feels to know that Quilter's Review can make a difference.

Thanks very much for sharing your experience, and especially for all your kind words.

February 5, 2002
Geralyn S. writes:

I wish I'd known before Christmas that this sewing machine had the On/Off button feature. I was in the market for a new sewing machine, and due to arthritis I needed one that I could use without a foot or knee pedal.

After looking high and low and doing multiple Internet searches, three days before Christmas I purchased a Viking Designer II. Today I found out I could have had a sewing machine with this feature for almost $2,000 less! I've already written Nancy's Notions and suggested they promote this feature on their machine.

Me? I guess I'll have to console myself by playing with all the neat features on my new Viking.

March 16, 2002
Victoria G. writes:

After reading this review, and after exhaustive research on buying a new sewing machine to meet all my requirements, I decided to order the Discover machine from Nancy's Notions. Prior to ordering I called their customer sevice to see if they would tell me who manufactured this machine for them. They would not.

I also ordered a White 2999 for $100 less and free shipping. After both machines arrived for my test drives I discovered that, much to my surprise, they are the same machine!

I decided to make an easy quilt to test the two machines. After a day on the White, the needle-down function would not work without resetting the bobbin winder each time. (This tip was given to me by the people at White when I called to complain.)

I then moved to the Discover, and after two days all functions have stayed intact. I am opting to keep the more expensive Discover, as it has remained hassle-free. I may have just got a lemon in the one that bears the White name.

March 18, 2002
Rachel M. writes:

After reading the review on the Discover machine, I ordered one. After a very short time, the stitch selector stuck on the buttonhole stitch. I had to return the machine and they sent a replacement.

I had probably sewn a total of 36 inches on the new machine when the variable speed stuck on super-fast. I am returning the machine. I decided against getting a third one.

Being a born optimist, I did not keep the orginal packing on the first machine and had to pay quite a bit to get it packed so I could return it to the company. I kept the packing the second time around. The company was very nice about the returns and sympathized with my "bad luck."

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