What machine do you use?

[Daneisha]

I will be investing in a new sewing/embroidery machine, and I have no idea where to start.  So I need to know what machines you guys use so I can begin my research.  So far I have been looking at the Brother se270d.  And price is sort of a factor, I'm trying not to spend more than let's say $500.  Any recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks!

[paroper]

THe 270D is about to be replaced by the 370D and it may be less expensive.  At this time the suggestion will be that it sell for 399.  I don't know if you want a hot off the press "new" machine but if it were me, I would not be excited if I didn't make the choice myself.  At the same time, when the 370D comes off the line, the 270 may go on sale.  Just an option you may want to consider?

[SewBrazilian]

I recently bought an embroidery machine - Innov-is 900D.
I once considered the possibility for the 350 - sold at Wal-Mart but you need to also buy the Ped Basic in order to be able to download the designs from internet.
That would add up around US$ 200.
Also I was interested in updating my machine for one with alphabets and more decorative stitches.

I ended up buying the 900D. I paid US$600 for it. This machine has the USB port so I can download directly from my computer... I don't need to have the ped basic... just transfer the designs from the pc to the machine.

Also I love the decorative stitches on this one plus the Custom Stitch - you can create your own stitch or "copy" another sewing machine stitch.

This machine also allows me to perform updates whenever Brother releases something new...so I don't need to change machines!

It is (in my opinion) a wonderful combo - sewing and embroidery for this price.

I read a lot of complaints about the thread cassete on the 270D. It is tough to use cones too.

Think about what kind of features you want in your machine.
That can be a guideline to help you choose what you need.

Good luck!

Sew Brazilian

[Yarn or Fabric]

My next embroidery machine I want one that has the 6x10 hoop. I have a Janome 350e that I do love don't get me wrong but I do have hoop envy.

I would steer clear of the machines that take the cartridges - I just looked at the Innovis and that looks like a way better way to go... the Walmart one does not have the bigger hoop - it has some sort of weird hoop thing that I can't really explain but I have heard people complaining about it big time.

Also before you buy go to a dealer and see if they have had any trade ins on other machines - they usually will back them with some kind of warranty even if it is just through the dealership and you will get more bang for your buck... People usually will end up trading up if they really get in to it and you can benefit from someone else's exchange...

For the money that innovis looks great - If that had been around when I was getting my machine I would have gone that way I am sure!    I went to a Brother dealer and I was just mortified with the idea of having to use the memory box to get stuff from the net.
But I do like my Janome - it is all about the dealer though.  I do love my dealer and everyone that works there.

[FiberDogs]

I use a Baby Lock BMP8.
Its more money than you said you want to spend, but I bought it used - long story - for less than half the price my dealer was offering. Of course, you supposedly get a lot of stuff with it (classes, support, etc) ...

my advice is to buy a used one from someone in your area. check places like craigslist.

[stitchesbyteresa]

I have purchased through www.allbrands.com before, a refurbished embroidery machine and it was a great machine.  I've also purchased embroidery software there and was pleased.  ALSO, you might want to check ebay before you purchase.  You might could find a higher end machine at the price of the one you're looking at.  I know I sold my first embroidery machine on ebay when I wanted to upgrade to a higher end machine and I ended up selling it to a lady who had lost the exact same machine in Hurricane Katrina.  She got a good deal on the auction and I was pleased that it was at least one item she was able to replace.  I'm sure there are folks like me out there who may be ready to buy something more expensive, so sell their previous one even though there is nothing wrong with it.  If you have too many embroidery machines sitting around your sewing room, hubby might notice (at least that's how it is at my house!  LOL).  One way you could compare would be to look at each brand's website at all the stats of each machine they offer.  That would be a good way to compare.  I have always purchased Brother brands, but now I wouldnt mind having a Bernina instead.  There are just SO MANY to choose from!  Baby Lock is the same as Brother, so if you see a Baby Lock, keep that in mind...

Let us know what you end up buying...we look forward to seeing what you create w/it!

Teresa

[sweetsallyb]

I also ended up buying the 900D and I couldn't be happier honestly.  It does everything I need- like SewBrazilian  said.

[Yarn or Fabric]

I just called a local sewing machine dealer (not the one I normally go to - this one that I called today has cats walking around the store and I am soooo allergic to them!) Anyhoooo... I was calling to see how much their cheapest machine is that has a 6x10 hoop and the Brother ult 2003d apparently comes with one - and it is about $1200 from them...!  I am seriously considering trading in my Janome and buying the Brother - we will see... I asked her to find out how it transfers designs from the computer to the machine and sadly she didn't call me back this afternoon...  I am hopeful now! Who knows.. I might sell a ton of stuff on Ebay this fall and just spring for it if I can make enough on ebay. That would be amazing.  I really really want that 6c10 hoop!!
The hoop envy is just killing me!!

[Michellegio_sew]

I just bought my first embroidery machine and I am mostly happy with it.  I originally wanted a singer futura 350 but couldn't afford it and after reading the futura group on yahoo I realized there seem to be alot of problems with it.

I ended up getting this: Smart 300E by Pfaff: https://www.nashuasewandvac.com/nsav/pfaff/pdf/features_300e.pdf
This shows just a few things the machine can do. 

It is actually an entry level machine, which was all I wanted.  I got it for $500 which included 10 disks of designs ( 10 to 12 each disk) of my choice, value of $30 each!  It also comes with over 200 built in designs, hooks up to my PC via USB cable and the software is amazing.  I can use almost any type of file extension.  I also have built into the software something called "quick fonts" which means I can use any font in my font library on my computer, and of course I can download any font off the internet, giving me so many lettering possibilities.  I can purchase or download any free design online or on a disk, there are no silly cards to mess around with. 
The software also has something called "Thread Manager" into which I can enter my thread colours in my collection.  Once I have the design on screen I really like to choose my own thread colours so I can see a preview of the final result.  I can also colour sort the design incase I am using the same colour in different areas, which eliminates thread changes as much as possible.  Another great feature is the ability to combine different designs in the hoop.

The only downside is the hoop is 4 x 4 and can't go bigger, and the machine doesn't come with digitizing software. 

I am trying the 30 day trial of digitize n' stitch, but for $200 full price I would not buy it.  It seems to basically be an auto punch system with poor results.  Maybe I am missing something. 

I am also trying Win Daisy free shareware, but it is based on an old platform and I just don't like it.  I can't figure it out.  I also don't like that you have to get windaisy to convert it to an embroidery file if it is over 800 stitches.  They should consider increasing that to at least 2000 stitches.  Plus the $800 price tag - Ouch! (but still better than $6000 for Adobe Illustrator's i2 plug-in)

I REALLY want to try Embriodery Magic 2 by Pantograms, it is only $100 or so on Ebay (which may be my only choice living in Canada) and if I can bring in a couple of halloween costumes beyond what I already have booked it will give me the extra cash to buy it!  The product specs and reviews I read seem awesome, and I also watched a video on it and it seems pretty good. I wish they had a 30 day free trial because I would hate to spend money on something I can't use because it is above my capabilities, although I consider myself fairly smart as a beginner self taught graphic art dabbler.  Here is a link to it, I am pretty sure that the owner of the site is a craftster member but am not 100% sure: http://www.craftystitcher.com/products.asp?id=2253
(not advertising, just this is the best link I can find!)

I would recommend this machine for home use, but my "Dream Machine" is this:
Janome MB-4
(video on youtube: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7692611709169707910 )
Product overview: http://www.janomesewing.co.uk/janome-mb4-embroidery-machine-176.html

I definitley cannot afford that!

[Fraugee728]

I purchased a Husqvarna Viking Huskystar EM10 about three weeks ago, which is the sister machine of the previous poster, and could not be more unhappy.

The threads snap all of the time - even with proper hooping the designs end up all scrunched and the thing that moves the hoop doesn't seem to be doing it correctly, since it's sews on top of previous embroidery and it gets like a big nub. 

It's always having these "errors" and I pretty much want to throw it against a wall.


The problem is, I bought it from a going out of business sale in town (www.walcottsewing.c om) which had an "all sales final" policy.  I'm fairly certain, after hours of messing with this machine, that it's defective.   I'm also pretty sure that someone else took it home, realized how messed up it was, and brought it back - as there were random embroidery thread colors saved onto its harddrive already.  It wasn't like there was a whole collection of threads on there - they were random colors from random embroidery thread collections.

So, despite that "all sales final" thing, I'm going back there tonight to let them know they sold me a defective machine and that I bought it with the understanding that it was in good working order.  I really hope they'll give me a refund, but I'm not holding my breath.  My cousin suggested I sell it to someone on ebay, but then I'll just be passing a problem along to someone else, will probably get negative feedback, and a bunch of bad karma.

The other thing was, I purchased the husqvarna/viking 3D cross stitcher software so I could different designs with this thing - design my own, etc.  I was told by the people at the store that this is the software the machine works with (and is the intro software it came with) but my machine is not listed in my new software as one of the ones that is compatible with it - just the more expensive models.  I tried selecting each of the machines and then sending the embroidery that I designed, but to no avail.  It makes me want to scream.

So, hopefully I won't have a $575 paperweight at the end of the day.  If I had it to do over again, I would've just spent the extra hundreds of dollars to get the Designer I, Designer SE, or even have bought a Rose or Iris off of ebay.  Beware the EM10.