The Bernette 05 Crafter, which may appear to be more on the simple side, makes up for what it lacks in features with durability, making it some of the biggest news in mechanical devices in recent years. If you’re searching for a fantastic simple beginner sewing machine, the Bernette 05 Crafter sewing machine, which is intended for beginners and learners can be the ideal choice. It is a member of the new b05 sewing machine series from the Bernette brand, which also includes the bernette 05 Academy.
Overview of the Bernette 05 Sewing Machine
Although the Bernette crafter 05 only weighs 18 to 20 pounds, it is a heavy-duty, semi-industrial mechanical sewing machine. Its stainless steel sewing bed attests to the machine’s durability, making it a wonderful equipment to carry to work sites or to courses. We tested the Academy model, that has the same engine as the Crafter and that was able to easily stitch through 16 layers of lightweight denim.
This machine has 30 built-in stitches, including a lycra stitch for very elastic materials, a blanket stitch, and an excellent one-step buttonhole for a mechanical device. It is great for huge, bulky tasks or just difficult-to-handle items since you will still get the ideal stitch quality.
Features and Functions
The machine has a few fantastic features, like a built-in bobbin winder, two LED lights for brilliant illumination. The needle position button, stitch width button, stitch length dial, and stitch selection dial are all conveniently situated right on the front. These wheels have thick, rubber-coated handles, making them quite simple to operate. The Crafter has a solid base made out of metal and is very nicely crafted. The machine has a gorgeous orange and white colour. Combined with a very squared layout the machine gets a somewhat industrial look.
It has a 6 millimetre stitch width that can go from zero to six, whereas most machines in this price range only offer a stitch width of five millimetres. The Bernette 05 Crafter includes three pre-programmed needle settings for the needle positions. It also has a really good one-step buttonhole and an automated buttonhole foot. Check out the table on the bottom of the page for a full list of the included features Feature List.
Ease of use
The machine is really simple to use since everything is properly marked and labelled with instructions on how to modify it by turning the knobs. The Bernette 05 Crafter Quick Start Guide also has great instructions that are easy to follow. If you want to perform a triple stitch, triple zigzag, or any of the ornamental stretch stitches simply keep spinning the dial until you land on the correct option. With such a wide variety of stitches and a straightforward, easy to use design, this machine is a fantastic option for beginners.
It has two LED lights, which will provide excellent lighting for the sewing area and prevent any shadows. It does however lack a finger guard, something that is included with the higher model in the series, the Academy version. Additionally, it includes some lovely storage where you can keep all of the machine’s attachments.
Threading
Threading is super easy on the Crafter, there is a clear and easy to follow thread diagram on the machine. The thread is tightly held in place by the spool cap, which is placed on top of the thread spool. Bernette has also published several useful video guides on how to operate the machine, in addition to the company’s official user manual. Additionally, the machine has an integrated needle threader, which is fantastic for such a basic machine to be able to thread the needle for you. There is a built-in thread cutter on the side, however there is no needle up or down stop on button, so you will need to turn the hand wheel.
Bobbin System
The top loading bobbin system on the Bernette 05 Crafter is very practical and it is super simple to change the bobbin. It also has a built in free arm, which you can use by removing the accessory tray. This is great because you can then sew circular items easily around the free arm. It has a thread cutter that automatically cuts the thread at the proper length, so you don’t have to worry about pulling the thread up yourself. It uses class 15 plastic bobbins, so you should use the ones that come with the machine unless you want to purchase additional ones. If you do, however, you can use bernette class 15 plastic bobbins. Any domestic needle will function flawlessly in this machine because it accepts standard domestic needles with a flat back.
Stitches
The Bernette 05 Crafter sewing machine is entirely mechanical and comes with 30 distinct built-in stitches. Additionally, it has a presser foot pressure adjustment, which is something that the majority of machines in this category lack, making it an excellent all-purpose machine for all of your projects. This makes it especially useful when working with multiple layers of fabrics or just a variety of different types of fabrics. This is a great feature to have on a machine at this level because it will help all those different types of fabrics and multiple layers feed through with the feed dog system very evenly.
Sewing Speed
When it comes to sewing speed the two models, Crafter and Academy differs slightly. They have the same standard speed of 1100 stitches per minute. However, the Academy has a speed selector that sets the speed to half of the maximum, which is a feature that is not available on the Crafter. This means if you have a some fabrics or materials where you want a little more control the Bernette Crafter could be slightly harder to control.
Accessories
When it comes to accessories this is where the main differences between the bernette 05 Crafter and 05 Academy is the most noticeable and here the 05 Crafter is slightly lacking. There are really no additional accessories included expect for the 6 included presser feet compared to the Academy’s 12. The included feet are:
- Invisible Zipper Foot – For sewing in zippers, this foot is just ideal. The final result has a very exquisite appearance since the zipper is concealed.
- Blindstitch Foot – The best uses for this foot are to topstitch edges or to make blindhems. Only the hem is penetrated by the stitches, making the thread holes hardly noticeable from the right side of the cloth.
- Zipper Foot – The thin design makes it simple to sew in zippers of different types. While you may stitch extremely precisely along the coils, the cloth is fed uniformly.
- Overlock Foot – The Overlock Foot makes professional edge finishing and overlock-style seam stitching easier. The most popular knitwear materials are also excellent for using to make ornamental seams and cuffs.
- Buttonhole Foot with Slide – The buttonholes are simple to make in a variety of forms and with or without cord. Buttonholes may be sewed in any number and at the same length.
- Zigzag Foot – A genuine all-rounder, the zigzag presser foot is appropriate for all basic sewing tasks. Additionally, it works well for unique sewing jobs.
Conclusion
The Bernette 05 Crafter is a fantastic machine of great build quality. It would serve any beginner or novice well and work fantastic as a workhorse if you are looking to do lots of basic sewing. For the price and features included from stitches, sewing width and free arm the Crafter is one of the best basic sewing machines on the market. If you are looking to do some more advanced sewing and want any of the options that are not included by standard, we would instead recommend the 05 Academy.
Table of Features of the Bernette 05 Crafter
Below is the full list of the features that are included with the 05 Crafter and what is available as an option extra.
A comparison between the b05 and the b37 from bernette can be read here: Bernette 05 Academy vs Bernette 37.
| Model | b05 Crafter |
|---|---|
| Machine type | Sewing machine |
| Hook system | Drop-in |
| Space to the right of the needle | 165 mm |
| Presser foot pressure manually adjustable | ✓ |
| Upper thread tension manually adjustable | ✓ |
| Manual thread cutter | ✓ |
| Semi-automatic needle threader | ✓ |
| Sewing light | 2 LEDs |
| Sewing | |
| Maximum sewing speed (stitches per minute) | 1100 spm |
| Adjustable maximum sewing speed | – |
| Maximum stitch width | 6 mm |
| Maximum stitch length | 4 mm |
| Stitch width manually adjustable | ✓ |
| Stitch length manually adjustable | ✓ |
| Total number of sewing stitches | 30 |
| Super-stretch stitch/Lycra stitch | ✓ |
| Blanket stitch | ✓ |
| 1-step buttonhole | ✓ |
| Needle position manually adjustable | ✓ |
| Retractable feed dog | ✓ |
| Standard accessories | |
| Total presser foot soles | 6 |
| Zigzag foot | ✓ |
| Zigzag foot with non-stick sole | optional |
| Buttonhole foot with slide | ✓ |
| Zipper foot | ✓ |
| Invisible-zipper foot | ✓ |
| Overlock foot | ✓ |
| Blindstitch foot | ✓ |
| Darning-/Embroidery foot | optional |
| Button sew-on foot | optional |
| Hemmer foot | optional |
| Open embroidery foot | optional |
| Edgestitch foot | optional |
| Height compensation tool | ✓ |
| Extension table | optional |
| Finger guard | optional |
| BERNINA needle set | ✓ |