The following is my review on the Pfaff Performance 5.0
Although Pfaff is known for their machines that are specialized for quilting, this machine was the best one on the market for me, I use my machine for all kinds of sewing. I can sew lightweight to heavyweight fabrics from chiffon to 8 layers of thick denim with no problem.
- Hard cover- nice to have for travel but it takes up room in my machine
- Knee lift- this was one of the things I wanted when I was looking for a machine but I don't need it with the automatic presser foot lift function
- Stylus- good for using the touch screen although sometimes I just use my finger. There's a spot on the right side of the machine to hold the stylus so you don't lose it
- Thread net-supposed to come with 2, I only got one but I don't use it anyways
- Edge guide- attaches securely and comes in handy
- Felt pads- again supposed to come with 2, I only got one. Use for upright spools
- Screwdriver- used when attaching certain accessories and opening needle plate to clean
- Seam ripper- I have tons of these already, basic type.
- Brush- good for cleaning out lint, perfect size to get into small spots
- Spool cap large(2), medium(1), small(1)- I usually just keep the large one out and use it on all size spools
- Multi-purpose tool- never used one before, I love it when I'm hemming jeans to keep even stitches over thick seams. Great tool to have!
- Bobbins (5)- I bought 20 more right away. Pfaff has "smart bobbins", they only fit in the machine one way to help with threading problems.
- Straight stitch needle plate- good when sewing thin fabric that tends to get pushed down into the machine and gets stuck. Smart machine knows when it's on and won't let you do any other type of stitch (ie. Zigzag) so you don't break your needle
- Foot control- large and easy to find under the desk
- Power cord- long enough cord
Exterior of the machine- the exterior of the machine is made of hard white plastic. It includes 3 LED lights to eliminate shadows, one on each side of the needle and one long one under the throat. The accessories tray is removable which opens up the bed of the machine so it's easier to sew around things. One of the main reasons I picked this machine was because of the long throat, it has a larger then normal space between the needle and the side of the machine which allows more space to work in. There is a full colour touch screen located on the top of the machine that is about the size of an iPhone 5.
IDT System- IDT is Pfaffs Integrated dual feed walking foot feature. I had never used a walking foot before but now I hardly sew without it. This is a big feature that makes this machine stand out from other name brand machines. It is very slim and out of the way compared to other machines I looked at that had a walking foot, it's attached to the machine and easy to engage. Other machines have a big clunky extra piece you have to take on and off all the time. I don't even realize it's there and it does the job it's supposed to do beautifully.
Presser Feet- a wide variety come with the machine but plenty more can be purchased separately. When changing stitches the machine will tell you the recommended foot to use. Feet for IDT can be used with or without IDT engaged.
- Standard pressers foot for IDT - Most used foot, love the clear foot and guide lines
- Fancy stitch foot for IDT- for decorative stitches, clear front
- Fancy stitch foot- lots of guide lines, clear front,used for letters
- Blind hem foot for IDT- moveable guide, wire keeps stitches from pulling tight
- Zipper foot for IDT- double sided, you can move the needle left and right by the millimetre to position just right
- Sensormatic buttonhole foot- makes hands free buttonholes, used with the 11 button holes the machine offers its never been so easy to get a perfect buttonhole every time. Set your buttonhole size and get the same size over and over again
- Manual buttonhole foot- good for buttonholes longer then 40mm
- Embroidery/ Sensormatic free-motion foot- used once to test it out, worked good, not something I do a lot of
- 1/4 quilting foot for IDT- true 1/4 inch, handy markings, single needle hole
- Maxi-stitch foot- larger foot to hold the fabric down when doing the maxi stitches and moving the fabric side to side
Stitches -With over 300 stitches this machine offers a wide variety to choose from. Although I don't need all the different stitches asides from the basics, when buying the performance 5.0 for the features it has, all the stitches come with it.
- Utility stitches- includes the basic stitches that I use most often
- Quilt stitches- great for appliqué and boarders
- Needle art stitches- decorative hand embroidery looking stitches, I like the thicker looking stitches.
- Decorative stitches- fun shapes and designs, I don't use them too often but they're fun to add to some projects.
- Maxi stitches- larger then what you would expect a sewing machine to do. The fabric moves side to side as well as back and forth. The stippling stitches are great because it looks like free motion quilt stitches but they turn out perfect and the machine does it all for you. The monogram letters are great to personalize projects.
- Sewing techniques stitches- I'm not sure what's special about these stitches, most of them are duplicates from other categories.
Set up and maintenance- very easy and straight forward if you ever used a sewing machine before
- Threading- very simple and basic. There's different positions the spools can sit in as well as a second spool holder for a double needle or bobbin winding. The needle threader lines up every time as long as your needles in properly. The tension is automatically adjusted depending on the stitch you are using but can be manually adjusted as well. I don't like the thread cutter on the side of the machine, I find it doesn't work for me, but I don't use it anyways.
- Bobbin winding- the bobbin winder runs on a separate motor which makes it fast and doesn't wear down the main motor. You also don't have to use the foot pedal, you can just use the start stop button, that also allows you to control the speed. At full speed the bobbin fully winds in less then 30 seconds. One of my favourite features on the machine is the bobbin thread sensor, this senses when the bobbin is almost low and alerts you with a sound and pop up on the screen. You can still keep sewing to the end of your seam when this pops up, but it lets you know that you should probably put a new bobbin in before you start your next seam so you don't run out of bobbin thread half way through!
- Cleaning- no oiling is required. Just take off the needle plate and bobbin case and use the lint brush to collect lint, then reassemble. That's all the maintenance needed.
Features- These features are the main reason why I bought this machine. Not too many machines on the market have these features or if they do not all of them combined.
- Touch screen- the large colour touch screen display allows you to easily see and change settings and stitches. If you ever don't know what a button dose, simply touch the "?" and then the button and it will let you know what it's function is. Screen can be touched with stylus or finger.
- Presser foot up and down button- at first I wasn't sure if I would like that there was no presser foot leaver and only buttons but you get used to it fast. If the presser foot is up and you hit the up button again it will lift the foot a bit higher and lower the feed dogs to give you the maximum amount of room under the foot to get your fabric under. If the presser foot is down and you hit the down button again it will lift the presser foot slightly so that you can pivot your sewing or line it up to start sewing. When you are ready to start sewing you don't need to hit the presser foot down button at all, it will automatically lower when you hit the foot control, so you can keep you hands on the fabric.
- Start/stop button- This allows you to use your machine without the foot control. For example: one time I had a large tarp to sew and needed to have my sewing machine on the ground, thus I couldn't use my foot control so I just used this button. I also use this when winding my bobbin so I don't have to use the foot control and can go at max speed.
- Stitch restart- Used to start from the beginning of a stitch again like a button hole or design stitch or lettering.
- Immediate tie-off- when pressed the machine will automatically tie off and secure the thread like a back stitch, and if selected in the settings it will cut the thread as well.
- Thread snips- I love this button! When you're done sewing your seam press the thread snips button and the machine will pull the threads to the back of the fabric and snip the thread leaving a 1 inch tail. It also then automatically lifts the presser foot. When cleaning out the lint from the bobbin area of the machine make sure you keep the thread snips blade clean of lint.
- Speed control- When pressed a menu will pop up on the screen and you can adjust the speed of the machine if you are using the start/stop button or if you are a beginner and you want to lower the max speed of the machine when using the foot control.
- Needle up/down- When this button is activated there is a light below it that lights up to let you know it's on. When it is on the needle will always stop in the down position, as well (this is the part I really like) it will slightly lift the presser foot so you can easily pivot or line up your fabric and then when you start sewing again the presser foot drops automatically. If you don't need the presser foot to automatically lift you can turn that function off.
- Reverse/ action button- This took me a bit of getting use to because it's a multi function button, but once I figured it out I have no problems now. There are 2 lights above it that let you know what it's doing. It's your standard reverse button as well as if you have the automatic tie off and cut feature on you can hit it with one click at the end of your seam and it will do that action. If you press the reverse button while the machine is not running reverse will stay on when you start sewing again.
Stitching features- these are fun to play around with and come in handy when you want to customize a stitch
- Sewing options- in this menu you will find the single stitch program which lets you program an exact number of stitches to sew repeatedly. There is also the patchwork program that allows you to input your seam length that you want to repeatedly sew. The last function in this menu is a stitch tapering program that allows you to set your stitch to taper off in a desired angle, this is nice for doing decorative boarders.
- Sequence- In the sequence menus you can combine different stitches in a row to create your own combination of stitches. This works great when sewing words because you can line up all your letters instead of doing them individually or combine a floral stitch and some leaves to make a decorative border. Any sequences you create can be saved for later use.
- Stitch creator- this is something I never seen on a sewing machine before, only on specialty embroidery machines. Stitch creator allows you to create your own stitch! From your hand written signature to any design or image you can create. A grid layout is shown on the screen where you then draw out each stitch to create your custom design. You can also open any stitch on the machine and alter it. One of the things I like is the triple stitch function that allows you to thicken up the stitches, I've done this to some pre designed stitches. This is a fun function that I need to play around with more. It's not something that you will use all the time but it's awesome to have!
Sewing- The overall sewing quality on this machine is great! If I ever have any tension problems (which is rare) I just pull out my thread and re thread the machine and it usually fixes the problem. The speed on the machine is great and does not effect the look of the stitch. It sews through the thick and thin fabrics with no problems.
Overall I think the Pfaff Performance 5.0 is a fantastic machine for experienced sewers. I would not recommend it to beginners just because of the price point $$$$ and extra functions that are not necessary for learning how to sew but are a great bonus to an experienced seamstress. I don't think I have one bad thing to say about this machine, it was definitely worth every penny!
If you have any questions about this machine please leave them in the comment section below and I'd be happy to answer them! I wrote out this long detailed review because it was something I was looking for when I was trying to decide what machine to get.