The "Which Embroidery Machine Should I Buy?" Thread

[sugarpaper]

i've never seen an embroidery machine sell for that cheap. and if you manage to find one, be careful, sewing/embroidery machines are definitely a product that you get what you pay for. it's definitely an investment. i own two different embroidery machines and the difference between the quality of the two is incredible.

also, you're going to want to factor in your extra costs ahead of time. it's not cheap, and i kind of wish i knew that before i jumped in. less expensive machines take special cards (usually) specific to the machine to get the design or letters onto the machine. for my lower end machine, the cards cost $150 each. sometimes you need special hardware to read cards on your computer, or to make your own (mine was $385) and the thread is much more expensive than regular sewing thread ($3.49 for each small spool of sulky). you also need stabilizer, which can be pricey (the tear-away one i use costs $20 a roll). have i already said that this is not a cheap hobby?

if you do end up finding one, please get it from someplace reputable. you will usually run into strange glitches occasionally, and it helps to have someone trained specifically to help you.


i'm sorry if i am being discouraging, i just want to make you aware of how involved it is!

have you looked into machines with decorative stitches instead of actual embroidery? these are much more affordable, and a lot of them have cute little letters and patterns. they are just smaller and usually not satin stitched.

hand embroidery could be another option. i know it's time consuming. but even with both of my machines i do hand embroidery and find it quite relaxing. and to me, it has more sentiment in it than machine embroidery.

or, last but not least... there are plenty of places that do custom embroidery. i have done side jobs for people and as far as pricing goes, it's not too too bad. for example, i just embroidered a baby blanket for someone with three initials and charged $8. i've done single letters for $6. it all depends on the complexity and stitch count. so if there is something specific you wanted done, you could probably find someone in the phone book willing to help you out.

(i hope that's not considered advertising. i'm just giving you examples.)

whew! longest. post. ever. yikes.

i hope i was more of a help than a dream-crushing jerk.

good luck!!

[MissDisney]

okay, well i didnt read all of the above, but i will share my personal embroidery machine experience

i bought the Brother SE-2700 Disney Embroidery and Sewing machine at the beginning of May for 400 at wal-mart.

the water soluble interfacing i use is about 1.70 a yard, and works fantastically. i also use different kinds of polyester threads, depending on the cost, i have some sulky, that i got on mad sale from a store that was closing, but mostly i just use the 1.84 a roll stuff they have at Wal-Mart. Joann's is currently having a sale, and had it not been closing time, i would have bought MUCH more thread today, but alas, i have nearly 40 bolts to get cut, i couldnt lollygag.

i sew everyday, every single day, for many hours, i also embroider 3-5 times a week, on various surfaces, some very intricate images. i have only had thread problems when i am in a hurry, and i dont install the thread properly (although, it is a drop in cassette, automatic threader, so you can imagine how not paying attention i would have to be to mess it up!)

it comes with 5 fonts, in various sizes, and one monogram font. plus about 70 other images (disney for about half, the rest, kinda a sampler) and you can see all the images available on the side of the box.

it comes with every foot you could need really (except a quilters 1/4 seam allowance foot, but i will find one, i vow it)

its the most user friendly, easy to use piece of any equipment i have ever owned (trust me, thats saying something) and it stands up to my abuses pretty darn well.

while it is an expensive hobby (not because of what you HAVE to buy, but what you will want to buy) it is definitely worth while.....my husband had to talk me into buying it, but now i cant imagine living without it. just last night i bought more fabric than i could use in a year, because im obsessed with sewing and such.

any machine that can cut through 3 layers of denim (thick) like butter is worth its weight in gold...lol

good luck, and have fun with whatever machine you find

[skizzlemonsterrawr]

okay, well i didnt read all of the above, but i will share my personal embroidery machine experience

i bought the Brother SE-2700 Disney Embroidery and Sewing machine at the beginning of May for 400 at wal-mart.

the water soluble interfacing i use is about 1.70 a yard, and works fantastically. i also use different kinds of polyester threads, depending on the cost, i have some sulky, that i got on mad sale from a store that was closing, but mostly i just use the 1.84 a roll stuff they have at Wal-Mart. Joann's is currently having a sale, and had it not been closing time, i would have bought MUCH more thread today, but alas, i have nearly 40 bolts to get cut, i couldnt lollygag.

i sew everyday, every single day, for many hours, i also embroider 3-5 times a week, on various surfaces, some very intricate images. i have only had thread problems when i am in a hurry, and i dont install the thread properly (although, it is a drop in cassette, automatic threader, so you can imagine how not paying attention i would have to be to mess it up!)

it comes with 5 fonts, in various sizes, and one monogram font. plus about 70 other images (disney for about half, the rest, kinda a sampler) and you can see all the images available on the side of the box.

it comes with every foot you could need really (except a quilters 1/4 seam allowance foot, but i will find one, i vow it)

its the most user friendly, easy to use piece of any equipment i have ever owned (trust me, thats saying something) and it stands up to my abuses pretty darn well.

while it is an expensive hobby (not because of what you HAVE to buy, but what you will want to buy) it is definitely worth while.....my husband had to talk me into buying it, but now i cant imagine living without it. just last night i bought more fabric than i could use in a year, because im obsessed with sewing and such.

any machine that can cut through 3 layers of denim (thick) like butter is worth its weight in gold...lol

good luck, and have fun with whatever machine you find

haha trust me i know
i have one of those heavy duty nearly industrial singers thats i use insanely because the ones in my costume class were getting me no where.  i was looking into the disney machine, but can you also create your own images in lets say photoshop or ms paint or something and then upload them with a cable or usb or something?

[MissDisney]

they have a program, i think...but if i remember its like 600 dollars or something like that...WAY more than i want to pay to make my own images....though my x-mas list is crowded with cards this yr...lol

and sorry it took me so long to respond, i didnt know i could hit a button and see where people responded to me...yay

[paroper]

Ok, so here is the thing.  The machine is just a machine for doing things.  It doesn't do a whole lot by itself.  The machine should come loaded with a few built in designs.  If the machine is a Brother D machine (Disney) that particular machine is licensed by Disney to have some built in Disney designs and it will read Disney cards, something that no other brand of machine will do.  On the other hand, it is possible that if you have a D machine you may be trading children's designs for a few adult designs.  No machine has a whole lot to begin with, so that is a consideration.  At the same time, there are places on the web to get free designs, so that may not be that big of a deal.  Some machines will come with some fonts available to used and typed out.  Not all machines have these and the ones that come in the machine are usually basic.

The next thing you need to know is that each company has a machine format.  That is the "language" the machine understands.  The most common format is the PES format because it is made by Brother who also is a joint company with BabyLock.  Together they have a large part of the marketplace.  There are other compainies like Bernina who uses ART that are not as common.  If the format of a design is different from your machine it needs to be converted.  If the format is something like JPEG or Bitmap, it must be digitized into stitches and put into the proper format for your machine to accept.

Now, how do you get the design to your machine.  It depends on the machine.  Some machines will connect directly to the computer with a cable, I have a machine that will do that but also has a personal CD player which is not real common.  Some machines will accept flash cards or flash drives.  Others may take a specially formatted card for that particular machine.

Many of the less expensive machines, and some of the older machines use the cards.  To use send a design to the card you would also need a box.  The box converts the designs and or put them on a card which is then inserted into the machine.  The machine reads the card and you are on your way.  The cards are can be erased and they are reusable.  The boxes can also convert cards of other machine companies so that they can be put on your card and played on your machine.  Card boxes can be quite expensive, depending upon the type you need.  Low end boxes can be about $125 and they can easily run upwards toward $350 or perhaps a little more.  The card is primarily for transfer of designs.

You will almost certainly need editiing software.  Editing software will not allow you to digitize although there is software that will do both.  Editing will allow you to move things within your design, spin it, flip it, enlarge (20%), shrink (15%), add lettering, merge designs to make larger pictures, merge letters to make a word, etc.  It may or may not come with fonts or font capacity.  Some digitizing software will also "adopt" any fonts in your computer from Windows or whatever software you may have on your computer...very nice.  The most popular low-end digitizing software is Embird which can be downloaded online.  It will allow you to add parts as you go, up through and including digitizing portions.  It is also not a bad software, especially for the price.  Home machine software can run up to and over $2000.  Commercial software can run up to and over 16,000. 

Format size?  Well, most of the low end machines like the Brother 270D or the Singer 100 or 200 have a 4X4 stitch field.  That is the absolute most they can make, regardless of the size of the hoop.  Most people realize quickly that this just isn't enough.  The machines that I would recommend, if you can get Mom and Dad to go that high are the Brother embroidery only machine, 750D or its predessor which might be a little less expensive..I think it is a model 700.  Those machines not only very sound mechanical machines, they take a popular machine format, are reasonably priced (slightly above what you are looking for) AND they will offer you a larger stitch field 5X7 which can make a world of difference in what you can do with them.  The other machine I might recommend you review would be the Janome 300 series (300 and 350 or 330?).  These are also embroidery only machines but will run about 300 more than the Brother. 

Don't forget there are other expenses that NEVER quit...thread...bes t price for Maderia Poly is BrotherMall2, check Allstitch.net for colors.  Embroidery is like painting...there are a lot of colors hidden that you don't always see...it takes a lot of colors for just one design.  The other constant expense (besides designs) will be stabilizer...this has to be STABILIZER.  It is not the same as interfacing.  It is not cheap.

[craftypixie]

I really really want an embriodery macine as well, and I have been doing A LOT of reseach on them. The first thing is $600 is not going to get you anything except the brother that Wal-mart has. I don't mean to be a dream squisher but it's true.

The Brother machines I think are the best value for the money, and know they work very well. http://www.brother-usa.com/HomeSewing/ProductList.aspx?cat=combos

Janome machineshttp://janome.com/index.cfm/Machines/Embroidery were the first to come out with embroidery machines and have excellent stitch quality. The also have really nice software for digitizing that is compatible with every machine brand on the market, nice.

Pfaff http://www.pfaffusa.com/21.html has a very nice product as well and they have the dual feed dogs which can be very nice if you alos plan to do a lot of quilt related stuff.

Vikings http://www.husqvarnaviking.com/us/445.htm are very nice as well and are very easy to use.

I don't know much about Bernina's http://www.berninausa.com/browse.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302132740&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=1408474395181831&bmUID=1185323761287 they are next on my list to check out

Now what it seems like from your post is that you would like to be able to take your own designs and turn them into embroidery. That's is what I want to be able to do as well. For that you need digitizing software it runs right around $2000 dollars! I know it's alot. Most machines will come with some kind of software that will alow you to do some editing and whatnot.

These machines run from $1,500-$8,000 yikes. They are a huge investment but very very cool. And the cost of thread is another thing to think about and stabilizers like other's have said. It is really expensive. I've seen machines sell on e0bay for a lot cheaper but these machines are very complex and can do so many things buying from a licesend dealer is your best option you will get support and most dealers have free classes to learn how to use your machine, and then optional classes to learn the software side for a fee. Another thing to think about is if you want to take those classes they usual require a laptop as well. At my local shop they do always accept your machines for a trade in and in the first year if you want to trade up they will give 100% of the machine you buy from them. Look around and at they shops ask lots of questions, ask to see demos, sew for yourself and get all the answers you need. The people that work at the sewing shops are usually more that happy to share their knowledge with you as the love sewing as well

Oh my gosh was that long or what?!

Quickly I will share with you my current dream setup

Brother 4000D embroidery sewing combo  around $5,0000
Pfaff Quilting Expression 2048 around $2,000
Janome Digitizer Pro around $2,000

and a felting machine for fun $300

Wow only about the cost of my car

I hope if you are  interested you are able to find something for your budget, and let us know what you end up with

[paroper]

You will be able to find the Brother embroidery only machine for something in the neighborhood of $750-800.  The Janome embroidery only machine can usually be found for about $1000.  They may be listed as more but you often can purchase them with a little talking down to these general prices.  Both of these machines are 5X7 machines which is pretty good.  However, if you have to purchase a box to transfer to the Brother (don't know that you do), it would probably be pretty close to the Janome price.  The newer Janome I think takes a flash drive, the old one a flash card and a cheap adapter.  I'm just not sure about the transfer process of the Brother.  If the Brother uses anything but cards, it is well worth the money because it not only has a decent stitch field but is mechanically a very good machine.  Also, the Brother design common format is extremely common. 

Bernina machines vary according to who your dealer might be.  I think that you could probably purchase a 430 for around 3500-4000 with the embroidery module and no BSR.  This machine will come with some very basic software because it doesn't have an onboard computer so it has to embroider from your PC.  This is a wonderful sewing machine and if that is the type of invesment you want, go for it.  The price of the Bernina machines go up to about $7000 but usually I think you can get the TOL for $6500.  I paid $7000 for my 200 which is the same basic machine as the current 730 machine BUT I didn't know at the time that you could get the price down.  It is probably the last full price machine I'll ever buy. 

[mimiw]

I have a Singer Quantum Futura CE-200 that I got since it is a combo sewing and embroidery machine.  I do not do a whole lot of embroidery but thought it would be fun to play around with.  The machine was about $700 and came with software to scan in your own designs and make them embroiderable.  It also came with about 200 designs on a CD.  The only catch is you have to hook it up to a  computer for it to embroider anything which is sometimes a pain if you don't have a laptop.  All in all, I think it is a great machine for someone who doesn't want to invest in a super expensive machine but wants to play around with embroidery.

[katalina]

I looked through a few topics on this already to try and get a feel for recomendations, however most people seem to ask for advice on machines that are less expensive, which isn't really an issue for me.  Sorry in advance if you've seen my topic 3498304 times

I already have a regular sewing machine, but now I would like to get one that embroiders (I know I spell that wrong every time).

I want to be able to sew thicker fabrics like canvas and vinyl, but probably wont be going thicker than that.  I would like one with its own card and the capability to do designs that I have designed.

While Im not going to go cheap on this, I would like to find a machine for under a grand, to give you an idea of what Im looking for.

[DRivero]

I have the Futura CE-200, and I love it.  I have embroidered on canvas with it, but not vinyl.  It doesn't have a card; it actually hooks up to a computer (I use my husband's old laptop) that has the software installed on it, and all the designs are stored on the computer.  I bought it from here:

www.sewinginusa.com

These guys are very knowledgeable, and super helpful.  They also have free shipping most of the time.  They carry several embroidery machines, among many other things, so they should be able to help you decide.