Singer Curvy 8763
Synonymous with sewing machines, the Singer brand has been in existence for over a century and half, and has provided long lasting and trustworthy machines to many a seamstress throughout that period. While the company continue to have a lot of hits with their products to this day, my opinion is that the Singer Curvy 8763 is far from being one of their shinier moments.
Firstly, lets take a look at what Singer promise their customers with the Curvy 8763.
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- 30 Stitch Patterns
- 2 Fully Automatic 1-step Buttonholes
- Drop & Sew™ Bobbin System
- Class 15J Bobbin
- SwiftSmart™ Threading System
- Push Button Stitch Selection
- Adjustable Stitch Length & Width
Now there’s no denying that for the price range, the Curvy 8763 provides a nice feature set on paper. In fact, there is a good argument for this machines style being a better ‘fit’ for certain people than some of the sewing machines I may be more likely to recommend. While many computerized machines feature a control panel with a range of dials and buttons, and a little screen to display your options and settings, the interface of the Singer Curvy 8763 takes a far simpler approach with its push button operation and series of indicator lights over easy to follow stitch diagrams. For those of us who have a tendency to feel the ‘technological fear’ from time to time, this approach may be a godsend.
Despite this, the Curvy 8763 is not designed or marketed as a bare bones luddite friendly machine; some of its most touted selling points are the modern drop-in bobbin system and auto threader. You can take a look at these two particular features in the video below.
Unfortunately, this is where reports of problems begin to appear. While auto threading systems can save us all a great deal of frustration with our sewing machines, it is always important that these systems are flexible and dependable, otherwise the mechanism can be as much of a source of frustration as hand threading can be at times. The truth is, many people have found that this auto threading system can be a little less than reliable when used with needles other than those supplied with the sewing machine. For me this is a major drawback, as having to buy specific needles for our machines is frankly a worry we could do without, especially when there’s a little urgency in our requirements.
I don’t like to come across as overly negative in my reviews, as one persons experiences can differ quite greatly from anothers. To be fair, it appears that there have been many happy customers of the Singer Curvy 8763. One of my first ports of call in researching any product, be it a sewing machine or otherwise, is customer reviews on Amazon.com. There you can find a great deal of information on the opinions of the everyday users of a machine. If you take a look at the reviews as they currently stand on Amazon, you will see that the major proportion of reviewers have had very positive experiences with this machine. It should follow that you could expect this machine to serve your requirements well for a very long time – and if it does, that’s absolutely great!
However, I was very surprised to find a more negative take on the product from the manufacturers own website! I must commend Singer for not censoring their customer feedback in any form, as this is something I would expect most companies to do on their own websites. The customer reviews on Singers own website are a little less numerous, but they are far less complimentary than those on Amazon. Issues relating to stitch looping (which I’ve also heard from several other sources) to frequent trips to the service shop soon after purchase seem to prevail.
I’m afraid to say that, due to these issues, this machine is not one which I could wholeheartedly recommend. If you’re dead set on getting a Singer, maybe due to previous good experiences with their products, I would tend to push you in the direction of this little number:
Singer 7470 Confidence (my review) or Amazon product info.
This machine is in a slightly higher price bracket, but I have a greater confidence (pun intended) in this machine than the Curvy 8763.
If the price is a bigger concern to you than the brand name, then the incredibly popular Brother CS6000i (that’s my review, see product info here) should be your top pick – it comes in a few dollars cheaper than the Curvy 8763, and boasts hordes of happy buyers!
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