Juki HZL-G220

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89.8 The Juki HZL-G220 is a full size, computerized sewing machine that’s great for quilting, crafting, and sewing garments. It has many built-in stitch patterns and comes with a host of features, but is still fairly easy to setup and use. Owners like the G220 and highlight the machine’s quality stitches, its ability to tackle thick fabrics, and the built-in thread trimmer (folks can’t say enough good things about this feature). It is, however, a heavy machine - over 20 lbs – so it’s not really designed for portability, and like many Juki machines it doesn’t come cheap.

A Note about Juki
Juki is a Japanese brand and has been around since 1938. They manufacture two product lines: 1) Household & Semi-Professional Sewing Machines, and 2) Industrial Sewing Machines. They make both mechanical and computerized sewing machines and the brand is well known for durability and performance. The company has a long history with industrial sewing machines and as a result even their household units are known for their heavy-duty capabilities. Juki can be a good choice for those who still want a capable household model but don’t want to move up to an industrial machine.

Consumer Ratings
A thorough search for HZL-G220 owner ratings online has yielded 57 ratings. When averaged these provide an overall score of 89.8 out of 100 (or about 4.5 stars out of 5). This is a fairly good score. It is not stellar, but it is good. You can see the scores for all of the sewing machines we’ve investigated in our sewing machine ratings table

Pros & Cons
Owner comments have provided the following insights into what folks like and dislike about their HZL-G220.

PROS
- Easy to use despite the large number of features
- Creates a very nice stitch
- Powerful – sews through thick fabrics easily
- Built-in thread trimmer
- Smooth operation
- Machine feels sturdy
- Bright LED lights

CONS
- Fairly expensive
- Doesn’t include ¼ inch foot
- Main plate measurements in metric

What Are Owners Saying?
The most popular G220 feature seems to be the built-in thread trimmer. Owners love this feature and many say it is the reason they chose this particular machine over another Juki model.

For the most part, people seem very pleased with their purchase. There are plenty of positive comments such as “highly recommend”, “love this awesome machine”, “my new favorite”, “just buy it”, “excellent machine”, “works like a dream”, “it sews beautifully”, etc. The bulk of owner ratings are 5 stars but there are a few lower ratings that seem to be the result of a problem with the machine (not working properly or breaking) – these are in the minority but they have dragged the unit’s score down below 90.

Owners report that the G220 feels sturdy and that it is capable of sewing through very thick fabrics or many layers of fabric. In addition, it sews smoothly and creates a very nice stitch. Despite the wide array of features most owners feel that the machine is fairly intuitive and easy to use.

People like the bright LED lights which do a good job of illuminating the sewing area. However, some lament the lack of a ¼ inch presser foot and find the presser foot lever being on the backside of the machine a little awkward. Also, the most prominent measurements on the plate are in metric (good for some folks but not for others). Imperial measurements are provided on the plate but they can be a little more difficult to see.

You can see more G220 owner reviews on Amazon.

HZL-G220 or HZL-G120?
The HZL-G220 and the HZL-G120 machines are very similar and a review of the Juki brochure seems to indicate only a few minor differences.

Note: There is also a HZL-G110 and an HZL-G210. These are similar machines to the G120/G220’s, but the G120/G220’s are more feature-rich.

Other Great Juki Machines
If you are looking for a different Juki sewing machine here are 4 others that are getting fantastic ratings from consumers:

Key HZL-G220 Specifications
- 180 stitch patterns
- 8 buttonhole patterns
- Max zig-zag width = 7mm
- Max stitch length = 5mm
- Industrial box feed technology
- 7 point steel feed dogs
- Drop feed capable
- Automatic needle threader
- Free arm (when accessory tray removed)
- Thread trimmer button (trims both upper and bottom threads simultaneously)
- Start/stop button
- Needle up/down
- Variable needle positions
- Lock stitch
- Speed control slider
- Max sewing speed = 900 stitches per minute
- Min sewing speed = 90 stitches per minute
- Stitch pattern memory button
- Manual presser foot lift
- Adjustable presser foot pressure
- Horizontal rotary hook (drop-in bobbin)
- LED lights
- Back-lit LCD control panel

Stitches
The G220 has 22 practical patterns, 8 buttonhole patterns, 10 decorative quilt patterns, and 40 decorative patterns. There is also an alphabet that includes upper & lower case, numbers, punctuation and European characters (this alphabet contains 100 patterns). See images below.

Other Features & Characteristics
The G220 has box feed technology. This moves the feed dogs in a rectangular (box) motion as opposed to an elliptical motion. The design should, in theory, provide longer contact with the material and eliminate potential material shrinking or shifting as the material is fed through. Is it really much better? From what we’ve read the system works well but most folks don’t really notice much of a difference between a box feed system and a normal feed system.

As mentioned, this is not a lightweight sewing machine and it weighs in at a hefty 20.9 lbs. As such this is not really the best candidate for sewing classes and the like. On the other hand if you are primarlily using this in one place the weights helps with stability.

Sewists appreciate the large sewing area on the G220 and it has a throat size that is 8 inches from the needle to the column and 4.4 inches high.

Accessories
Four presser feet are included: Standard presser foot, manual buttonhole presser foot, buttonhole presser foot, overcasting presser foot. You will also find four bobbins, a set of needles, a seam ripper, a cleaning brush, large spool caps, small spool caps, and a screwdriver. In addition, there is a foot control, a hard cover, a power cord, an instruction manual, and a warranty card.

Accessories can be stored in the built-in storage compartment.

Warranty
The Juki HZL-G220 carries a manufacturer's warranty that can be broken down as follows:

- 5-years on mechanical defects
- 2-years on electrical defects
- 90-days for adjustments on material or workmanship defects

Sewing Machine Manual
The manual is very detailed and provides lots of well drawn illustrations. It is written in English, Spanish, French and Russian. It covers such things as principle parts of the machine, machine setup, practical sewing, patchwork quilt, decorative stitches, working with the accessories, maintenance and troubleshooting. See the manual here: Juki-HZL-G220-Manual