Singer 9960 Quantum Stylist Review: Is It Right For You?

The Singer 9960 Quantum Stylist 600-stitch computerized sewing machine is excellent for beginners and experienced sewists.

It has many cool built-in features that save you time. 

In a rush, click here to check the price of the Singer 9960 from Amazon.

Feel free to click on the subheadings in the quick navigation below to read through this Singer 9960 review.

Is this good for beginners?

This is an excellent machine for beginners.

It’s easy to set up with automatic features including auto thread trimmer, auto needle threader, auto stitch width, length adjustments, and more.

Whatever home sewing project you want to sew, you will have the tools to do it.

Does this machine do embroidery?

Yes, 9960 from Singer can do embroidery. It comes with a darning & embroidery foot and many decorative stitches.

However, it wasn’t designed to make patches or do large logos. And it doesn’t hook up to a computer like many high-end embroidery sewing machines.

But you can do a lot of decorative embroidery on household items like napkins and tablecloths. You can also decorate jeans or a denim jacket. 

Most Singer 9960 Quantum Stylist sewing machine reviews focus on the number of stitches. And I’ll be honest. 600 is massive at this price point. And it is straightforward to set up and use. We will go more into that further down.

What about the feed dogs mechanism?

The Singer 9960 reviews don't tell you that Singer uses a different motion for their feed dogs on the Quantum Stylist 9960. It’s called box feed motion.

They claim it allows for more consistent fabric feeding because the feed dogs are always in equal contact with the project and the presser foot.

Most sewing machines use a typical arc motion. This is why experienced sewists look for “walking feet” so that the top and bottom fabric pieces go through the needle simultaneously.

On most sewing machines, the top of fabric feeds through more slowly than the bottom.

So unless you’re using this to ease in a set-in sleeve to the body, you will want a machine that either has better feed dogs for even feeding or a walking presser foot.

It’s not perfect, by the way. It’s better than many others at this price point. You may still want to use a walking presser foot if you sew a lot with knits.

One quick hint is to ensure you’re using a ballpoint needle and the correct thread for the best results.

What about speed and speed control?

The Singer Quantum Stylist provides fast sewing at 850 stitches per minute. 

There’s also a slider bar for speed control if you want to ensure that your maximum stitch speed is slow for thick projects.

How powerful Singer 9960 is?

It uses a DC motor. That allows you to have a more consistent power source whether you’re sewing on light silks or heavy denim.

A big test for sewing machines is handling humps in the fabric. For example, if you want to hem some jeans, you will have that hump where the seams meet up.

The Singer 9960 Quantum Stylist has a robust and consistent motor. You can lock the hinge on the presser foot, so it won't lose touch with the fabric when sewing over the hump.

Is it good enough for quilting?

This Singer 9960 sewing machine is excellent for quilting as it's designed to go through high loft batting. Many built-in decorative stitches are useful for quilting.

You can elongate the stitch if you want to do varying sizes of scrolls or ivy along with your quilt.

Another great feature of the Singer 9960 is that you can lift the presser foot to an extra-high position to make it easier to get large quilts in and out of the machine’s sewing area.

If you’re interested in sewing clothing, you will create many couture details.

You can create professional seams with two lines of stitching. There are 13 different one-step full automatic buttonhole styles.

And using needle position, fine-tuning stitch length, and the ability to pivot with the needle in the down position easily, you can get crisp and clean lines on anything you’re creating.

What fabrics can you sew with this machine?

You can sew lightweight fabric like silk, georgette, voile, etc. To get the best result, be sure to use the 9/70-11/80 size needles and cotton or silk thread.

It can also sew leather with leather needles.

You can also easily sew medium-weight fabric like linen, satin, velvet, gingham, etc., with the needle size 11/80-14/90.

If you are working with knits, swimwear, jersey, tricot, and sweatshirts, you'll be able to handle those on this machine with the polyester thread and green shank 11/80-14/90 sized needles.

This machine can handle heavyweight fabrics like tweed, corduroy, denim with the 14/90-16/100 needles.

What about other home projects?

We talked about the motor. You can use the Singer Quantum Stylist 9960 to make a wide variety of home decor.

You could make slipcovers for your couch and coordinating throw pillows with corded edging.

You could sew draperies with sheer linings. And you could sew a tablecloth with decorative embroidery and matching napkins.

Plus, if you’d like your own bags for the supermarket, you could sew sturdy shopping bags with oilcloth.

Is it heavy?

It weighs over 20 pounds, so it’s not considered a featherweight machine. But it’s not difficult for most people to lift and move around.

At least it’s not a fifty-pound machine like some of the ancient machines were.

How good is the lighting?

The Singer Quantum 9960 has two LED lights to illuminate the needle area. It allows you to see what’s going on underneath the needle. LED lights will last longer and are bright.

Is it a metal machine?

The frame of 9960 is made of heavy duty metal. It holds all of the mechanical pieces firmly in place, so it will provide skip-free sewing and last longer.

Can this do heavy duty sewing?

The machine is designed for home sewing projects. It can handle home decorations with the proper speed control, presser foot, and needle.

You can hem jeans. But it was not designed to be a heavy duty nor an industrial machine.

You can do some heavy duty sewing carefully, but if you need to do a lot of it, this is not a suitable sewing machine for you.

Is this a high shank or low shank sewing machine?

This is a low shank sewing machine. If you want to purchase a third-party presser foot, make sure it’s for a low shank sewing machine.

Some actually will come out and state that it will work on a Singer sewing machine.

Can this machine serge seams?

No. You would need to purchase a serger for that.

Can I connect this machine to my computer?

No, the Singer Quantum 9660 does not have a port that you can use to hook up to a computer. You are limited to the built-in stitches and cannot create and import designs.

Does it have 600 built-in stitches?

Yes, the Singer sewing machine 9960 has 600 built-in stitches. Here’s the breakdown:

You can elongate stitches up to five times their default size, so it looks as though there are more stitches than just the 600.

That kind of control puts you in the creative driver’s seat. It’s fun to play around with the stitches.

Can you change the size of the built-in stitches?

Yes, You can adjust the stitch length and width of basic stitches. You can also increase the size of some of the decorative stitches.

Some decorative stitches like the alphabet cannot be increased in size.

Does the automatic tension mean I can’t adjust it?

No. You can adjust the tension if you feel the machine is not detecting correctly.

Whether you're a beginner or a professional, you’ll know if your stitches are puckering.

You can go through the main LCD and find the function to adjust the thread tension if you need to.

Is it difficult to use the automatic needle threader?

No. You may want to watch some videos on the Singer website showing how to use it.

Remember to have the needle in the correct position so the hook will pass through the eye properly.

Can it sew with twin needles?

Yes, it can. There’s a separate spool attachment so that you can use two spools of thread.

If you love the look of uniform hemlines, this is for you. You can sew the two hemline stitches the same.

You can mimic the look of ready-to-wear clothing using twin needles.

For example, many jeans have two rows of stitches on their seams. It also reinforces seams.

Now it’s just decoration. You can also use the twin hemstitches on t-shirts and tops.

Conclusion

This is a versatile and flexible machine. You get so much for the price that it’s a great bargain.

Perfect for beginners for the price, it will grow with your skills. You won’t outgrow this machine.

And one more cool feature, before you go. The interface allows you to do mirror imaging.

So if you do a scroll in one direction, you can mirror and embroider a scroll in the opposite direction.

You don’t have to turn the fabric around and guess where to start and end the stitches.

So the bottom line is that this machine is one of the top sellers for a reason.

Here is how this machine compares with the 9980 and 9985.