Sunbeam SB08K is compact in size and it has a good sewing kit that comes included. Other than that, the machine needs a lot of improvement.
Sunbeam SB08K Main Features
- Double stitch
- Drop-in bobbin
- Low and high speed
- Compact size
- AC and Battery operation
Sunbeam SB08K Review
Sewing Machine Reviews Recommendation Level : LOW
You can’t say that SB08K is feature rich. It is designed for very basic sewing and mending. Sunbeam mainly targets beginner kids with this machine. It will also suit people who travel a lot. It is one of the lightest mini sewing machines around and is really compact. It weighs just under 3 pounds. Actually it is one of the smallest double-stitch machine I have ever seen.
Sunbeam SB08K has an On/Off switch. Low and High speed buttons are provided. So you kind of have a reasonable control over the sewing speed. Foot pedal is also provided, if you want more precise control. The machine can be operated with battery and under AC power. An AC adapter comes included in the box, however the batteries (4AA) are not included.
Sunbeam SB08K comes with drop-in bobbin, which is a good thing. I have seen even $150 machines without a drop-in bobbin. The hand wheel provides flexible stitch control. You can easily adjust the thread tension as well. This machine also comes with a bonus 76 piece sewing kit.
Usability
The machine comes pre-threaded in the box. The included sewing kit is quite good for the price. It is good enough to get started. To be honest, the sewing kit is the only thing I liked about this sewing machine. The machine is small and easy to carry, I like that too. Apart from that, SB08K leaves a lot to be desired. At this price, you normally won’t expect this to work like a regular size sewing machine, I totally accept that. But you would expect the machine to do simple sewing and mending reasonably well. Thread breaking is the most common issue I had to deal with. It is very hard to get the machine to sew, after re-threading. I expected the machine to feature a needle guard, as most of its users will be kids under the age of 10. The plastic quality is not up to the mark (honestly, you can’t expect more for the price).
Is It Worth Buying ?
Apart from its compact size and the sewing kit, Sunbeam SB08K is not really an ideal machine for beginners. I hope Sunbeam fixes all the issues and comes up with an updated version.
An alternative to consider is the Michley Lil’ Sew & Sew LSS-505. It comes with 8 built-in stitches, reverse sewing, automatic thread rewind etc. It is slightly expensive though.