A Review of the Pfaff Smarter 260c Sewing Machine

A Review of the Pfaff Smarter 260c Sewing Machine

I want to start off by saying that we are an agent for Pfaff Sewing Machines but also that this will not be a promotional piece but a proper review..

The Pfaff Smarter 260c is the leading sewing machine in the Smarter range. It is the lowest price computerised sewing machine made by Pfaff. It is set between the rest of the Smarter machines and the next machine up in Pfaff’s range, the Passport 2.0 (read our review of this machine here). If you sit the Smarter 260c between the Smarter 160s and the Passport 2.0 you can see what Pfaff is doing – the Smarter 260c has the styling of the 160s and the buttons and (almost all) the facilities of the Passport 2.0.

The key features of this machine are::

• 27  direct select stitches (more of this later)
• Needle threader
• Presser foot pressure adjustment
• Start/Stop button – you don’t have to use your foot pedal
• Needle Up/Down – you can set your machine to stop with the needle down
• Thread tie off function – set the machine to stitch in the same place three times instead of having to reverse stitch to catch your threads, this gives you a really neat tie-off
• Speed control – you can set your top sewing speed (we find new sewers like to start slow and build the speed up over a few weeks)

Really, apart from the reduced stitch selection and the lack of IDT (really, read the Passport review to understand what this is!) the Smarter 260c is very similar to the Passport sewing machine.

I mentioned the direct stitch facility earlier. It’s a great feature and helps to make this one of the easiest to use sewing machines around at the moment, Each stitch has an icon on the front of  the machine, to choose the stitch just press the icon! The look of these icons is part of the styling of this machine. The machine is white and turquoise with very modern styling. We can see that this might not be to everyone’s taste but it really does not look like any other machine and we happen to love it!

A great thing about a computerised machine is that if you do adjust the length and/or width of a stitch then, if you make a make a note of the new numbers (easy with the display on the Smarter machine) then you can easily replicate the stitch again and again.

The thing about he Pfaff Smarter 260c is that it has some really useful functions and is a great machine if you are looking to upgrade from a mechanical one. There are three functions in particular that someone upgrading will really appreciate:

Tie off facility – instead of having to reverse back over your stitches to catch them and make them secure; activating this function will make the machine stitch three stitches on the spot. This means you have a very neat catch to your threads – a very professional look.

Needle up/down – You can choose the set the needle to stop down when you stop sewing. If you are sewing around a curve or needing to turn on the sport, this function means you will never lift the foot with the needle up and cause your line of sewing to ‘jump’

1 step buttonhole – what do I mean by 1 step? Well, the machine will sew a buttonhole with a 1 click of the start/stop button, finishing with a tie off. Honestly, we think that it is the 1 step buttonhole facility which is the biggest driver to make people upgrade from simpler, 4 step buttonhole, sewing machines. You could almost set the buttonhole off and get on with something else! The Smarter 260c has only one choice of buttonhole (more expensive machines can have multiple buttonhole styles) but it is the most common buttonhole and looks great.

Anyway, what is the machine like to sew? Overall it does give great results. You can adjust the length and width of stitches very precisely and the top and bottom tension on this machine is very stable. This means you do get a great quality stitch over and over. We have used this machine to sew cotton, jerseys, denims and heavier fabrics and not had a problem.

What about any issues? Well, like any top loading machine, he Pfaff Smarter 260c has a bobbin case that can jump out of alignment if the threads get snarled up. This is easy to sort out though and is not a major concern.  Some people might say that the location of the drop feed control lever (at the back of the machine and underneath the accessories storage) can be a nuisance but, again, iwe don’t think this is a major problem. Lastly, you have to like the colour turquoise!

With the addition of a bright LED light and a hard case for storage and movement, we really recommend this great, intermediate, sewing machine. It is easy to use and produces great results.