Pfaff Performance 2058 Review

Nia and I spent some quality time together last weekend as I worked on my skirt.  (I chose Nia because the name means purpose.  I am on a mission for clothes that fit.) I figured it was time for a review. Before I get started, let me qualify this.  You know where I'm coming from and my skill level, so forgive me if I gush a bit. Virginia was no frills, but Nia is computerized and fancy :-)

The Pfaff Performance 2058 has been discontinued.  However, my dealer thinks this was the last of the great Pfaff sewing machines.  You won't find all those features for that price again.  I was told to never trade it in. If you find one, snap it up.

I love this machine! I strongly considered Bernina and Viking models.  I wanted a sewing machine that I could grow into.  (I knew I would want a second machine for embroidery one day.)  This fits the bill!  I ended up going with Pfaff because of the IDT.  The built-in walking foot won hands down. You mean I could have a walking foot and another specialty foot working together?! I think I'm going to be a Pfaff girl for life.

Here's a quick summary of her features:

• Adjustable needle position
• Adjustable stitch length and width
• Computerized
• Free arm
• Needle up/down
• Needle threading
• One-step buttonhole
• 241 stitches, 4 alphabets; 9 mm stitches too!
• Stitch memory
• Stitch creator
• Sew slow function
• Bobbin winding through the needle
• Low bobbin indicator
• Touch screen

What I think is missing is the ability to adjust the bobbin tension and presser foot pressure. There is an icon for adjusting the stitch balance.  I'm not sure if that's related to bobbin tension or not.

My dealer likes to do a demonstration where you feed various types of fabrics continuously under the presser foot while sewing. For instance, a swatch of denim, followed by a sheer, then felt and maybe quilting cotton. You end up making what they call a kite tail. It demonstrates how well the IDT works. Perhaps IDT has something to do with presser foot pressure too?

Nia performed wonderfully on my skirt.  Overcasting, topstitching and twin needle work were no problem. There's a twin needle safety program that allows you to tell the machine what size needle you are using!  The machine sews so smoothly.  The IDT ensures the fabric feeds evenly.  This denim experience was very different from my previous one.

The on-screen menus are pretty easy to use (except for the stitch creator). The machine comes with eight presser feet, including the famous Sensormatic buttonhole foot.  There are about 40 additional feet you can purchase!  I used the adjustable guide foot for my toptstiching and seam guide foot.  They make things so much fun.

Threading is easy.  It's taking me a while to get bobbin winding down, but I'm working on it.  What has me stumped is the stitch creator.  I can't figure it out; it's not intuitive.  You don't have the ability to download or load additional stitches into the memory, so you have to create what you want.  I want some candlewicking stitches.

My true complaint is the needle threader.  It works for some needles and not for others.  A color screen would be nice, but I guess it doesn't matter if you're not doing embroidery.

All in all, I'm very pleased with my purchase.