I sew on a BERNINA machine and most current BERNINA machines have a little-used feature called the eco Mode. This shows up on the front of the machine to the right of the screen, near the bottom. To activate this function, simply touch the eco icon.
Eco Mode Function
So what happens when you activate the eco Mode? Immediately the screen turns black, showing the eco Mode icon. The machine goes to sleep, saving power and retaining any settings you have made. The stitch you selected and any settings you have adjusted are still there when you are ready to sew again. Another reason to use the eco Mode is to keep children and/or pets safe if they “play” with the machine.
My #1 Reason for Using eco Mode
Both of these reasons are useful and but are not why I use the eco Mode daily on my machine. The real reason I started using the eco Mode has to do with the time it takes for the machine to turn on. Because the machine is actually a computer (which I love), it has to boot up. I timed it and my machine takes 38 seconds to be ready for me to sew. Of course, 38 seconds is not a huge amount of time but during that time, I can’t lift or change the presser foot, select a stitch, or make any settings, and I’m just waiting until I can start. It occurred to me that when I am finished for the day, I can activate the eco Mode. That means, when I return to my sewing space the next day, I just touch the eco Mode icon and start to sew. I know this is a tiny little timesaving step but it seem so much more efficient to me. Try it and see what you think!
As editor of "The Big Book of Feet: A Guide to BERNINA Presser Feet and Accessories," Susan created Sewfeet to provide Educational Courses, Content, and Resources to help you with all your sewing projects.
I use it regularly for the same reason . I’ve forgotten to shut it down a few times at night and wondered if that was a bad thing. Yet I rarely shut my laptop off for the exact same reasons. I’m glad you shared this! I won’t worry anymore.
Hi Candice –
I treat it like I do my computer and have not run into any issues with either.
Take care,
Susan
And if you hold that button in, it plays a little movie during eco mode 🙂
Hi Pamela –
It does play a little movie. Most people don’t know this but if you hold the eco Mode button for about 3 seconds, it will play. Wonder if we’ll ever get to watch Netflix on our sewing machine? LOL
Susan