Sergers & Sewing7 min
Best Air Threading Sergers: Brother, Juki and Baby Lock Compared (2026)
Four sergers that thread their loopers with air, how each maker's system works, and when air threading is worth paying for.
Topic
Small Business
22 guides.
Guides
Print Shop Tools7 min
Best Button Makers for Pins, Badges and Craft Fair Sales (2026)
Six button makers from a lifetime-warranty steel press to a budget three-size kit, plus the cut-size chart every button maker needs.
Sergers & Sewing8 min
Best Coverstitch Machines for Hemming Knits (2026)
Four coverstitch machines for the stretchy, ready-to-wear hem on T-shirts and leggings, with what chain, cover and triple cover stitches each sew.
Printers8 min
Best DTF Printers for a Small Shirt Business (2026)
Four DTF setups from a 13 inch desktop kit to an automated print-to-bake line, compared on print width, printheads, curing and warranty.
Heat Presses8 min
Best Hat Presses for Caps and Trucker Hats (2026)
Six ways to press a cap, from an auto press with 176 lb of pressure to a pro press with a heated lower platen, compared on platens, heat and pressure.
Heat Presses11 min
Best Heat Presses for T-Shirts and Small Shops (2026)
Six presses for shirt makers, from a handheld 12 x 10 to a shop-grade auto-open clam, compared on platen size, press style, pressure and power.
Sergers & Sewing8 min
Best Heavy-Duty Sewing Machines for Bags, Denim and Canvas (2026)
Five heavy-duty sewing machines for totes, aprons, denim and canvas, and what actually makes a home machine heavy duty.
Knitting & Weaving7 min
Best Knitting Machines for Hats, Scarves and Market Stock (2026)
Five hand-crank and electric circular knitting machines for beanies, scarves and socks, with needle counts, yarn sizes and what each makes.
Sergers & Sewing8 min
Best Leather Sewing Machines for Wallets, Bags and Belts (2026)
Five machines for leather goods makers, sorted by how thick a leather each one sews, from 16 oz tabletop machines to a 3/4 inch hand stitcher.
Quilting Machines8 min
Best Longarm Quilting Machines for a Quilting Business (2026)
Five frame longarms from a 13-inch hybrid to a 19-inch Elite, with the throat size, stitch speed and frame each needs, from the makers' own specs.
Knitting & Weaving6 min
Best Rigid Heddle Looms for Scarves, Towels and Table Runners (2026)
Four rigid heddle looms from a 10-inch Cricket to Ashford's 48-inch loom, with weaving widths, reeds and what each suits for woven goods to sell.
Knitting & Weaving7 min
Best Rug Tufting Guns for Making Rugs to Sell (2026)
Five tufting guns from a 7 mm low-pile Duo to a 60 mm pneumatic shag gun, plus the cloth, backing and tools a rug needs.
Print Shop Tools7 min
Best Screen Printing Presses for a Home Shirt Shop (2026)
Four presses and a starter kit for screen printing shirts at home, what colors and stations mean, and how to cure plastisol properly.
Sergers & Sewing9 min
Best Sergers for Sewing Knits and Garments to Sell (2026)
Five sergers from a $319.99 list-price Brother to Juki's air-threading MO-1000, with what differential feed and air threading actually do.
Quilting Machines7 min
Best Sewing Machines for Quilting: Piecing and Free-Motion (2026)
Five domestic machines for piecing and quilting, from a 70-stitch budget Brother to Janome's AcuFeed Flex Skyline, with what each brings to a quilt.
Quilting Machines7 min
Best Sit-Down Longarm Quilting Machines (2026)
Five stationary quilting machines for small studios: throat size, stitch regulation, table size and the makers' prices.
Printers7 min
Best Sublimation Printers for Shirts, Mugs and Tumblers (2026)
Five purpose-built sublimation printers compared on print size, ink system, software and warranty, and why a converted EcoTank is a risk.
Heat Presses9 min
Best Tumbler Heat Presses for Sublimation (2026)
Five ways to sublimate tumblers, from an auto press that sets its own pressure to an oven that does four cups at once, matched by cup size and diameter.
Printers8 min
Best UV DTF Printers for Cup Wraps and Stickers (2026)
How UV DTF differs from regular DTF, and five machines for sticker transfers and direct printing on hard goods.
Sergers & Sewing7 min
Best Walking Foot Sewing Machines for Quilts, Canvas and Layers (2026)
Walking foot attachments, built-in top feed and industrial triple feed compared, with the machine that fits each kind of layered sewing.
Heat Presses5 min
Clamshell vs Swing-Away vs Draw Heat Press: Which Style to Buy
How the four heat press styles differ, what each is best at, and which one fits your space and the products you make.
Printers5 min
What It Costs to Start DTF Printing: The Full Equipment List
The complete DTF start-up list, what each item is for, the running costs that surprise new printers, and the per-square-inch price of buying transfers instead.