Singer 7256 and 7258 are the two excellent beginners sewing machines from Singer. Be it the features or the quality of stitches, these two models compete fiercely. Singer 7258 recently won the Womens Choice Award for the best home sewing machine in America. Both machines are very similar in specs. 7256 comes with FASHION MATE branding and 7258 comes with STYLIST branding. What we need to worry about is the quality of the sewing machines. 7256 and 7258 are in high demand in U.S sewing machine market, so we thought it would be helpful to do a side by side comparison of both the machines, just to give you an idea about which one offers more in value and performance. As we have said earlier, both machines look identical except for the color and branding. You can make that out from the model numbers as well. At first we will be talking about the areas where both the machines differ from each other. Singer 7258 comes with 100 built-in stitches which include 9 Basic, 8 Stretch, 76 Decorative and 7 Fully Automatic Buttonholes. Whereas 7256 comes with only 70 built-in stitches which include 8 Basic, 8 Stretch, 48 Decorative and 6 Fully Automatic Buttonholes. So it is pretty clear who the winner is. Being an electronic machine, Singer 7256 lacks the startstop button and the speed control slider. The speed control slider lets you sew without the foot pedal while being in control of sewing speed. You can go in fast, medium and slow sewing speeds. The startstop button and the speed control slider makes 7258 a fully-computerized sewing machine. This is an essential feature for quilters. 7258 has this feature and 7256 doesnt. Here also, 7258 is the winner. Singer 7258 comes with 5 extra accessories than 7256. The extra feet you get are Overcasting Foot, Darning Embroidery Foot, Gathering Foot, Rolled Hem Foot and Quarter Inch Foot.