The Bernina/Tacsew 950 is classified as a “professional” or “semi-industrial” grade because it’s not quite up to full-industrial specs. But that’s just fine for most self-employed home sewers, costume shops, upholsterers or cottage industries.

Need Speed and Variety? Tacsew / Bernina 950 combines the best of both worlds

First of all, you should know that the Bernina 950 and the Tacsew 950 are identical machines made in the same factory. The Bernina brand is sold to home-based sewers. And the Tacsew brand is targeted to factories and more industrial facilities. Basically a high speed, flat bed home sewing machine, it’s designed to handle production runs of costumes, fashion, or upholstery work. And while it can handle a variety of lightweight and heavy fabrics, it’s not really designed for extra heavy-duty projects like 1/2 inch  thick leather or sewing multiple layers of canvas. You will get lots of stitches, including zigzag in a variety of widths. This machine is used widely in theater costume shops, upholstery shops, as well as by production home sewers.

Features You’ll Love in the Bernina 950 Tacsew 950
 

• 2000 Stitches per Minute–That’s more than double the speed of your typical household machine. Faster projects = more time and better money (if you sell your creations.)
• Large Fabric Passage Space–I hate wrestling fabric through a tiny window between the needle and the right side of the machine. Quilts, tents, large costumes–if you need extra space, this machine has a fair amount.
• High Quality Rotary Hook–This means you get great stitch quality (even at top speed) and no oil pan to mess with.
• 5 Needle Positions–You can move any stitch to five different positions without moving the fabric.
• 20 Decorative & Practical Stitches–I do most of my embroidery and embellishing by hand, but for the rest of you, the 950 lets you select from a wide variety of built-in utility and decorative stitches. And obviously, this one sews forward and backward.
• 5 Step Buttonhole–Get perfect buttonholes on any fabric. The 5-step semiautomatic buttonhole delivers even, adjustable density on both forward and reverse beads.
• Feed Dog Drop–Free motion quilting, needle felting and embroidery is a breeze with the easy-to-access switch. Lowering the feed dogs allows you to move your fabric any which way you like.
• Stitch Pattern Indicator–Speaking of decorative stitches, the stitch pattern indicator lets you know exactly where you are in the stitch sequence by indicating the beginning, middle and end of a pattern. So, if you need to start up a repeat, you’ll get it right every time.
• Rigidly-Guided Needle Bar–This feature is usually reserved for super-high quality industrial machines. The guided needle bar keeps stitches on a perfect course. So, no matter how thick your fabric, you’ll have the truest straight and zigzag stitches.
• One-piece Metal Presser Feet–The 950 comes with seven presser feet, but most of Bernina’s extensive foot collection can be used with this machine as well. The ones you get with the machine include a zipper foot, blind stitch, embroidery, zig-zag, darning and buttonhole.
• Hands-Free Presser Foot Lifter–Sometimes I wish I had three hands when I’m sewing (okay, maybe four). But I don’t think my husband would take kindly to that idea. So, being able to raise the presser foot with my knee is the next best thing. No more holding fabric down with my shoulder or forehead while wrestling pins and trying to get the foot in just the right place. Phew!
• Separate Bobbin Winder–One feature I think is so cool is that you can wind bobbins while you sew. How awesome is that?! I’ll often spend an entire hour just winding bobbins for a project so I don’t have to stop and start every time I have to change an empty. This feature totally eliminates that time-consuming step.

 

Here’s a run-down of all the technical specs:

• Maximum sewing speed up to 2,000 stitches per minute
• 21 utility and satin stitches(36 stitch repeat)
• 5 needle positions
• 5-step built-in bar tack buttonhole
• Full rotary all-metal industrial style hook
• Locked in needle bar for straight stitch
• Rigidly guided needle bar on zigzag
• Built-in bobbin winder when not sewing or during sewing
• Built-in hopper mechanism (darning device)
• Special Darning foot for Free Motion work
• Built-in drop feed-dog control
• Automatic button hole with built in decorative, utility stitches, zigzag and straight stitch
• Universal foot pressure for all fabrics from sheer to thick
• Presser feet included: zipper, blind stitch, embroidery, zigzag, darning and buttonhole
• Hand wheel clutch release for bobbin winder built in
• Mounted presser foot lifter – knee operated lifter for raising and lowering the presser foot. Also has a raised stop position.
• Belt guard on the hand wheel
• Universal tension setting
• Stitch length: forward and reverse up to 6mm
• Uses Organ 16×231 and 16×257 needles
• Base Plate: 373 x 178 mm
• Arm Space: 210 x 104 mm
• Hook: double rotation, transverse
• Compatible with most Bernina feet
• Stitch width: up to 4.5mm
• Presser foot lift: 7.5 mm
• Handwheel belt track: approx. 80 m

The presser feet on the Tacsew 950 are 100% interchangeable with all of the home models of Bernina's, 830, 930, 1030, 1130, 1230, and 1630.

Bernina is a Top Brand in the Industry:

If you’ve never had the pleasure of sewing on a Bernina, don’t deny yourself any longer. Founded in Switzerland more than 100 years ago, they are a premier manufacturer with a reputation for offering state-of-the-art sewing and embroidery systems, sergers and embroidery software.