Elna eXpressive 860

The eXpressive 860 is a sewing and embroidery combo with a removable embroidery unit: it clips on at the back and can stay there when you switch back to sewing, with nothing to unplug. The hook is a horizontal full rotary type with a transparent bobbin cover, and the colour LCD touch screen runs both stitches and designs.

For sewing it offers 200 stitches including 6 buttonholes and 3 alphabets, stitch width up to 9 mm and a top speed of 1,000 stitches per minute; the free arm reaches 100 mm from the needle. For embroidery it has 171 built-in designs and two standard hoops, 170x200 mm and 140x140 mm: bigger designs need to be finished across more than one hoop placement.

The needle threader is automatic, the bobbin winder declutches on its own, and the sensor flags both a broken top thread and a nearly empty bobbin before it shows up in the fabric. With the embroidery unit attached the machine grows in depth, from 22.3 to 33.6 cm, and in weight, from 10.4 to 13.8 kg: embroidery mode needs more clear table space. It suits someone who wants serious sewing and mid-size embroidery in one body, not someone embroidering large formats or wanting two separate dedicated machines.