Top 10 reasons why I love the Husqvarna Viking Sapphire 930

Here we are – the last day of review with the Husqvarna Viking Sapphire 930. This is such a great sewing machine. I’ve stitched miles on it, experimented with almost every feature and now it’s time to give you the top 10 ten reasons why I love the Sapphire 930. It was very difficult to choose. Let’s have a look at the top 10 reasons why I love the Husqvarna Viking Sapphire 930.

There are five different speed levels on the Sapphire 930. Some of the stitches come with a pre-selected speed, but you’re able to manually control the speed on most stitches. There are two areas where this number of settings comes in very handy; free motion quilting and decorative stitching.

The control for the speed levels is readily available on the Function Button panel, right above the needle. If you can’t remember what speed you’ve got the machine set to – a quick glace at the lower left corner at the Graphic Display will tell you. In the photo below,  there are five bars to indicate the speed is set at maximum.

Why is five better than three? Let’s say you’re doing some free motion quilting. The top speed is too fast, but this is a design you have done for a while and so you’re comfortable with it – medium is too slow. Yep – there’s one setting in between and that speed is perfect. By setting the speed, I’ve removed one variable from the free motion process – allowing me to focus on my work.

The other type of stitching where this speed control is invaluable is decorative stitching. If I have lines of decorative stitching to do, I set the speed control to whatever speed works for that particular stitch without me feeling out of control. I use the START/STOP button and then all I have to do is control the fabric.

It doesn’t get any easier than that.

Being able to switch the stitches end to end and side to side is fabulous! Rather than twisting the project around to get the stitch in the correct position, I simply mirror the stitch on the Sapphire 930.

This was particularly useful when I was stitching the bindings on the quilts. Mirroring the stitch side to side allowed me to easily stitch the binding in place with the bulk of the quilt to the left of the needle.

This feature is also extremely useful for applique and a must to have for any kind of decorative stitching. Instead of starting your line of decorative stitching at the top of one side and the bottom of the other in order to make a matched pair, I stitch one side normal, then mirror the stitch and starting at the top – stitch the other side. The stitches are mirror images of each other.

Now that was easy!

In the photo above there’s a symbol in the lower right hand corner. This indicates that the stitch shown on the screen is mirrored side to side from the default setting. A glance in the lower left corner indicates that this stitch has also been mirrored end to end. Although this doesn’t really affect the look of the blanket stitch, it does change the beginning of the two stitch sequences. Check them out – they’re different.

It’s so nice to be able to glance at the screen and see what the actual stitches are going to look like and to visually see the settings.

Did you notice that I sneaked in another feature? The Graphic Display is a feature that I love about the Sapphire 930.

There are 215 utility and decorative stitches on the Sapphire 930. Take into account the fact that I can vary the width and the length of them all, including the mirror options, there are countless ways to use the stitches. Imagine what happens when you start combining stitches. Oh boy – better get another cup of tea. It’s going to be a long night.

The stitches are readily available in four easy to maneouvre menus and all the stitches are displayed in the flip up lid of the sewing machine.

I’ve heard from many people that they tend to use the same stitches over and over again. And why is that? We get into a rut. Make yourself stitch-out one or two every day. Experiment with the various setting for that stitch. Is the design open enough that you use it for quilting? Can it be used for applique? Can you use it as a decorative stitch for a pillow. Instead of piecing fabric, make your own with decorative stitches. Plus it’s a chance to use up some of those threads you’ve been buying and haven’t touched!

Oh yes – there are loads of uses for these decorative stitches.

Now this is a feature which you can’t really appreciate until you sew something. By choosing the type of fabric and sewing technique (in the Exclusive Sewing Advisor – another great feature by the way!), the Sapphire 930 will come up with the best tension for that scenario.

Obviously, the more crazy you get with your thread choices, you’ll have to play with the tension, but with every thread combination I threw at the Sapphire 930, there wasn’t one time when I couldn’t get the tension to perform exactly how I wanted. And sometimes, I wanted bad tension so I could show you what would happen. Then a few tweaks and the tension was back to normal.

There is nothing more satisfying than turning on the sewing machine, starting to sew and knowing that the tension is going to be bang on every time. Also knowing that if I wanted to mess with the tension, that it was easy to manually adjust and then to get back to normal as well. This flexibility is invaluable.

Most stitches vary in width from 0.5 to a maximum of 7.0 mm. That’s a huge range and so depending on the size of piece you’re working on, you’ll never have to settle for second best. There will be a width to suit your project on the Sapphire 930.

And let’s not forget adjusting the length as well. So much of what we do on a sewing machine is personal choice and personal preference. This flexibility in adjusting the stitches means everyone who uses the Sapphire 930 should find something to suit their needs.

Having this kind of flexibility just extends the number of stitches on the machine. All that remains is your imagination and your desire to see what the sewing machine will do.

Along with that is the quality of stitches. There is no comparison – the stitches are beautifully formed! Always!

Now don’t cry foul on this one. I did cheat and did a manual taper on those applique points the other day. But – I did play with this feature, but just briefly. I need more practice in order to really appreciate the function. It’s like the blanket stitch – you MUST understand the stitch sequence in order to become proficient at it. If you’re big time into applique, I think this is a must feature to understand.

When I first started to do applique, features like the taper didn’t exist so we had to learn other ways and that’s why I learned to do those tapers manually. Now like all the other features I’ve mentioned, this one will save me time, once I become proficient at it. Remember those 10,000 hours!

Both of these features are fun to play with if you’re doing a lot of embellishing or decorative stitching.

I start by setting the speed control to an appropriate speed. You can adjust the speed while the Sapphire 930 is stitching. So if you forgot to change the speed and the machine is going crazy, it’s easy to touch the speed – or + on the Function Button panel to lower the speed until you’re comfortable with it. Choose the stitch, hit the START/STOP button and the Sapphire 930 takes care of all the details. I just guide the project with my hands. I love that. 

When I need the stitch to start at the beginning of the stitch sequence, there’s no need to exit the stitch and come back in – nope – I just hit Stitch Restart and the sewing machine returns to the beginning of the stitch sequence.

This feature ensures that all lines of decorative stitching will start at the same spot. That is brilliant!

In the photo above, see the group of 9 blue circles on the right hand side. The left button in the bottom row is the Stitch Restart button.

You can see other features there as well that I didn’t touch on – the built-in alphabets, the ability to program your own stitch sequences. Need more time to review everything!

Sorry – I had to get this feature in again. This table is just so beautifully designed that I still stop and admire it. But the comfort level of that curved front just can’t be beat.

I don’t think I really need to say any more – beautifully designed, comfortable to work on, plenty of space, easy for projects to advance (no hard edge for them to cross). Fabulous product!

Yes – there are 29 different needle positions on the Sapphire 930. That means that once you choose your stitch and your presser foot, if the needle isn’t going to go exactly where you need it – just jog the needle to the left or the right in order to line up the needle where you want it.

Depending on the width of the chosen stitch, you can shift the entire stitch left or right. So if you’re working with a stitch that is less than 7.0 mm wide, you can shift the stitch to suit your needs.

This is very useful for decorative stitching and very hard to reach places. If your foot is hampered by a seam, then you position the presser foot along the seam and move the stitching left or right to get the desired placement.

The needle stop up/down feature in conjunction with the Exclusive Sensor System is just the best combination ever! It means hands free sewing – this means that I’ve better control over my project, I’ve eliminated many variables and I can now focus on what’s important.

While the videos show you how it works, there’s nothing like taking the Sapphire 930 for a test drive and see what I mean. The freedom for applique and piecing is like nothing else. I have been sewing with this technology for a number of years and whenever I sew on a machine without it – well – it’s like going from riding in a fancy car to walking. YES – it’s that drastic of change!

Check out this post from the first week of review to see more about this feature.

There you have it – the Husqvarna Viking Sapphire 930 is a wonderful sewing machine. I’m sad to see this review come to an end. I really, really love this sewing machine for all that it provides.

If you’re getting serious about sewing, but still budget conscious – the Sapphire 930 will give you a lot of bells and whistles, yet still comes with a reasonable price.

I hope you enjoyed my review of the top 10 reasons why I love the Husqvarna Viking Sapphire 930 as much as I enjoyed writing it. Don’t forget to send us pictures of your samples, your projects, your AHA moments. We’d love to hear from you. Have a great day! Ciao!