This is by far one of the best machines we have tried yet. This makes switching threads easier than ever! It has a lot of different settings for all types of stitch patterns, and goes through materials usually hard to sew. This has made my wife's crafts go from crafts, to having professional results.

I have been sewingfor over 55 years now. I never had much of a longing for a serger. I learned to sew on a Singer machine older than I am and it could go only straight or in reverse. This left a real longing for a machine that had lots of fun decorative and utility stitches. So when it comes to sergers, I am a newbie as I always spent my money on top of the line sewing machines.. I got it last week and told myself that I wouldn't unpack it until I had the taxes done, doctoer appointments gone done, and some other prioirty things. As it will be taking me a bit on how to work this machine, I will be adding to this review as I learn. I did discover that I had several books that had information on using sergers and an entire book on sergers. If that wasn't enough, Threads issue 222 Summer 2023 came with a well written article on using a differential feed on the serger. Brother also wrote up a good manual and I believe it also includes, the manual in Fench and Spanish.

I got my Brother Air1800 unpacked last night, but couldn't get it plugged in as the outlet was in a place I couldn't access and hubby was asleep. I got him to plug it in this morning and have been working on learning how to use it. One point I would like to make is that almost everytime I have seen a serger advertisment, they have all the spools of thread the same color. When I realized that this machine has 4 threading paths that are color coordinated I figured that I could do that as well. I had a nice selection of 5000 meter spools of thread and I pulled out a yellow, green, pink/red/ as well as blue.. I figure this way that I could easily figure out which thread is misbehaving by why color isn't showing up, or having other problems. As I am trying to learn how to thread this machine, it is really helping to have the actual thread colors match the thread paths. I thought I had it threaded correctly and tried it out. Sadness, something was wrong. Decided to go take a nap and try to figure it out when my head isn't as groggy. I am sure that the threading problem is the person that looks at me in the mirror. I have trouble with all my sewing machines and threading them. I just got to review a Brother SE700 and was stunned at how well the machine worked. I am sure that this serger will be every bit as good.

Edited 4-29-23 to add: I had some trouble at the very end of the threading process as to threading the needles correctly. So I found a video of the Brother 3000 showing the threading process (couldn't find one on the Air1800). It is almost identical to the Air 1800. Got up from watching it, went and got everything but the one thread done and went back to see that part again and voila! See the photos to see my sewing with the serger fresh out of the gate so to speak. Now I will have to learn how to adjust the machine for different stitches depending on what I want to do. I am so happy to have this machine. If I can just make one knit garment correctly, I will be happy! I have always had problems with sewing knits and so have avoided them most of the time.

I appreciate the chance to learn about sergers and try this one out. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

This is my third Brother sewing machine. I also have a cS-6000i and an SE2000. This is my first serger.
I opened the giant box, read the manual over about 30 minutes and was able to quickly set up the machine and get started on some scrap fabric. That went well enough that I used the serger to do the edges of a baby blanket as my next project. The machine is easy to use, easy to thread (I had always been warned that this is what made sergers a nightmare).
At nearly $1,000 is the machine worth the price? I don't have another serger to compare it to but it's hard to say. For this price I would have expected all the accessories to be included but the manual references several other feet you can buy to use all the features of the machine (Feet I don't already own) as well as an optional thread catcher and foot storage bin. I also found the length of the cord for the foot to be a bit short for me to use. Getting my posture, seat height and machine placement just right is important for sewing comfortably.

This is a dream machine. It is sooooo easy to thread! And it is quiet. The cutter blade is easy to manipulate and it has an automatic needle threader. This is my dream serger/overlock.

I'll be honest, it took me a while to get the threading part figured out. I was following the instructions but it was still challenging. After trying it a few times I figured it out, and the air threading future is pretty nice to have.
The serger itself works great. It is fast and works smooth. There's tons of stitch options such as regular overlocking stitch, rolled hem, flat lock etc . This machine also has a differential feed option.
I wish it had a free arm option.
It is on a pricey side.