The "Which Embroidery Machine Should I Buy?" Thread

[Yarn or Fabric]

Arus - money is the biggest difference between the machines to be honest with you - it sounds like you have it narrowed down to at least knowing what you want out of a machine.

I have a Janome 350E.  I am in the process of upgrading - I want a larger hoop size. I want the 6x10 hoop since I do a lot of tshirts and stuff and want to be able to cover more space on the front of the shirt without having to line things up and there are some wicked cool in the hoop projects I would love to be able to do but can't since my 5x7 field won't allow me to do them in....
Soooooo I have been saving my green and am about ready to take the plunge so now I am in the same boat as you - looking!

I will say that I bought Embird to edit and digitize my programs so when you are looking at machines remember that Embird is a possibility.  Mentally add on the price to Embird to the machines that do not come with software automatically to compare them.

My best advice is to see what is local to you.  There is a lot to be said about having dealer support.  I have had to take my machine in on more than one occasion and have it *tweaked* when I first got it.  It wouldn't sew right for this or that reason... the autothreader(a must by the way - trust me!) wasn't aligned right.... it was sewing out lettering REALLY poorly (turned out the computer was a little out of whack) but once those issues got resolved my machine has sewn out beautifully so I can't complain at all - but had it not been for the dealer in my town I would have had to send my machine out, through the mail to get it looked at.

If you have a dealer near you please contact them and see what they have to offer.  Yeah, you can save some money buying a machine on ebay or through an online vendor but if it needs to be serviced... look out.  you will be without your machine for quite some time.

Oh btw - I'm leaning towards an Innovis 1500D at this point - and I have a friend who wants to buy my current embroidery machine instead of me trading it in although my husband feels I should just keep it - but why?  I am not a craft show person or in business - just a gadget glutton!

So - look for a dealer nearby if at all possible.  Money is the biggest difference between the machines.  No matter where you ask you will find people that love their machines and people that hate their machines. I personally love my Janome - but I did have to buy the software separate which is no big bologna.

[Cheesamaburger]

Be sure to ask about them throwing in the software for free if you buy certain machines.  I ended up buying a much more expensive machine than I had planned, but I got the software I wanted for free.  I spent $1000 more than I had planned, but got a way nicer machine for it. 

Like this:
$3000 + $2000 software = $5000 total

or

$6000 machine + free same software = $6000 total, but you have a way nicer machine. 

It's been a few years since I bought my machine, so times have changed, and yes I went incredibly overboard with my purchase, but don't forget to try to wrangle a deal on the software.

[JustCheeky]

Hello all! 

I'm looking for some advice about an embroidery machine.  I sew with my regular sewing machine a few times a week, but I'm looking into purchasing an embroidery machine to do monograms on bags, clothes, etc.  I don't know much about what types of specs I should look for.  I do know that I want it to connect to my computer/laptop in order to create designs - but that is the extent of what I know!  I have checked out a Singer that seems to be pretty good, but I don't know!  Any help would be greatly appreciated. 

The singer I've seen is shown here.... http://www.singerco.com/products/

Thanks!

[useless_tears]

You sound just like me.  I was on the search for an embroidery machine, as well.  I didn't know much about them either.  I knew I wanted one, and like you I knew I wanted to be able to connect to the computer and play around with designs.  Since I am new at this myself -just got my machine today-  I can't be of much help to you but I can tell you to read my post.  There is some really helpful information that I was given by craftydeb and some of it may clear up some things for you.
I've learned that having a USB connection on your machine is the best way to go.  It allows you to get  many more designs and so on without a lot of trouble.  And I just tried one out on my machine and it was too easy!  And I've already found well over 100 free designs over the net -just search for free embroidery designs- some sites require you to sign up via email, but none of the sites required anymore than that and some of the designs were too cute!!!

I personally went with the Brother 750.. it was 799.00.  I'm not sure how much you were wanting to spend.  To me brother just seems like a more reliable brand and the .pes files seem to be popular over the internet.  I know I wanted to go with a smaller brother machine -that did the 4x4 hoop but after reading many reviews and the help posted on my post I knew it was best to get the 5x7.  Plus if you draw out a 4x4 it looks a lot smaller than when you think about it.. haha.

As far as making and editing designs yourself you usually have to have a separate program to do that with.  A simple program cost about 70-100.   But I've read post on here that people have found free sites online that have the 'digitizing' program.  I have yet to try these out, but I'm sure they work just as good.

This reply may be weird and I may not make a lot of sense but if you read my post, craftydeb was very informative. 

I wish you luck, I know it all can get very confusing!!!

[JustCheeky]

Thanks for the support!  I actually read your posts after I posted this.  I tend to linger on this site too much once I start reading posts, so I posted first and then began reading.  The information that was given to you by some of the others was very helpful as well.  PLEASE let me know how you like yours - I would love to hear about it.  I feel very lost in this decision making process right now!!

[useless_tears]

I actually love mine..  I've just done little designs on scraps pieces of felt because I don't have any stabilizer yet.. but it is so easy.  The machine really does everything for you.  Drop the thread it.. and change the colors when needed, that's about all you do.
I totally understand about lingering on this site... you can get lost in it, very easily.
But I haven't even jumped into the digitizing stuff yet... so I'm not sure how that works.  I know I looked up videos on how to do it, and it kinda seems confusing but I'm easily confused.  So I'm just sticking with the basics right now.

[SewnForU]

JustCheeky please do not purchase the singer. I had one and it really is junk. I fought with it every time I used it. I thought for a long time that it was just me. I went on to search out the product to find that many many people have problems with it.
Singer USED to be an excellent machine. Not so anymore. It was sold to a Chinese company who bought the cheapest parts possible to make the machines. Therefore, they break easily.

Bother is an excellent company. I have never had a problem with mine. Although I have heard of problems with the model that they sell at walmart. I think 250 is the model number but I could be wrong.

You really do get what you pay for when buy embroidery machines. So buy the best one that you can afford.

[JustCheeky]

Thanks for the advise!  I've decided to wait a little longer to save a bit more.  I also feel that I should research a little longer to make sure I purchase exactly what I need out of a machine.

[lylmousy]

I am going to buy my first embroidery machine, and I have no clue what to get. I want something relatively inexpensive, but I want to be able to either hook it up to my computer and download patterns, or be able to stick a flash drive in it. Any suggestions as to what I should get? I trust you guys more than I would some one at a store. Thanks!

[Yarn or Fabric]

This question has been hit several times since we got the  board here in machine embroidery.

I'll give you the reader's digest version here since I have typed it out already a few times...
Pick out the machine you think you like then find out how much for the next one up.  There might not be that big of a difference in price and the extra features might really be great.

As about trade in models - dealers will give  you an in store warranty on used ones if they are a good store.

Buy from a dealer if you can.  Look in your phone book or even on yahoo yellow pages (you can search by distance from your house that way) to find a dealer.  Having to mail in an embroidery machine for service is expensive and if there is nothing wrong with it you will have to pay for the whole servicing - and it takes a long time to get your machine back.

Get a minimum of a 5x7 hoop.  4x4 is TINY and you will outgrow it in no time flat - and trust me if you think you will be happy with a 4x4 because you will only do monograms think again. The urge to do up your own tshirt will hit... then you will really really regret only having that 4x4.

Brother and Janome are probably the two most commonly used ones. Berninas are really nice but uber expensive.  Avoid Singer as if it has the black plague. They are not reliable and they are poorly made. Shame on Singer.

Try to get an embroidery only machine and a sewing machine separate.  It is boring to have to just sit there and watch an embroidery machine do its thing.  Having two separate machines will allow you to set the machine to do a color.. go work on a project... after it beeps go and change the color.  Babysitting is not fun.


Read the other messages in this thread for people looking for advice.  Most people end up with a Brother 700ii or a Janome 350e.