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Embroidery machine inquiry

Embroidery machine inquiry

Old 12-10-2010, 04:10 PM
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Hi all,

I know - I just go a long arm---- but............. lol

This is not for me.

My daughter-in-law is thinking of getting an embroidery machine and wants to know the pros and cons of the different machines.
She would like to do work and sell her products and even take special orders. (o.k. so she didn't say a thing about the special orders, but I know if she gets into it she will have them).

Any feedback and advise will be helpful and greatly appreciated.

She'll be visiting this board later tonight and may be joining us!

Phyllis
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Old 12-10-2010, 04:20 PM
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I started with the Babylock Ellageo and recently upgraded to the Ellissimo. I love this machine. These are the only machines I have used, but I love them Also, I live far from a dealer and was able to "self-teach" myself.
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Old 12-10-2010, 04:29 PM
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I have a Bernina and they are fabulous machines. If she has the bucks, have her look into the new 830 - it has a huge jumbo hoop for doing BIG embroideries. I swear by the quality of my Bernina, even tho' I don't have an 830. I lust after it every time I go in the store!
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Old 12-10-2010, 05:21 PM
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If she's looking to go commercial, she should look at commercial machines. Did you know that using a home embroidery machine in a commercial capacity will and can void the warranty? I didn't know this, but my dealer told me they can look up the stitch count on the machines and can tell if it's used commercially-then the warranty is voided. I imagine folks here mainly have home systems, as I do... I would seriously check into a commercial machine if she's going to make a business of this.
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Old 12-10-2010, 05:26 PM
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I love my Bernina 180e, BUT...they will not support their own software for the versions 1,2,& 3 - guess what I have? I bought mine in '98 and I think they are up to v6 or 7 by now. If you have a problem-sorry Charlie! I do and I do not plan on spending $$$ to upgrade - for that money, I would buy a Babylock instead.
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Old 12-10-2010, 05:36 PM
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Just re read my original post..... she is my step daughter (DH's daughter) not my daughter- in- law. Opps.

More of a daughter anyway!

All your tips and suggestions are appreciated. She is like us and does a lot of research before she buys.
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Old 12-10-2010, 05:43 PM
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Originally Posted by plainjane
I love my Bernina 180e, BUT...they will not support their own software for the versions 1,2,& 3 - guess what I have? I bought mine in '98 and I think they are up to v6 or 7 by now. If you have a problem-sorry Charlie! I do and I do not plan on spending $$$ to upgrade - for that money, I would buy a Babylock instead.

I'm curious. Babylock supports 12 year old software? I don't know of any sewing machine or computer software that is 12 years old and has free technical support available.
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Old 12-10-2010, 05:48 PM
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Originally Posted by Candace
Originally Posted by plainjane
I love my Bernina 180e, BUT...they will not support their own software for the versions 1,2,& 3 - guess what I have? I bought mine in '98 and I think they are up to v6 or 7 by now. If you have a problem-sorry Charlie! I do and I do not plan on spending $$$ to upgrade - for that money, I would buy a Babylock instead.

I'm curious. Babylock supports 12 year old software? I don't know of any sewing machine or computer software that is 12 years old and has free technical support available.
Back when I bought V3, a wrong code was sent. I was not able to get to it until several months had passed - and at that time, all I asked for the correct code - that was probably in 2002 only 4 years from original and I still won't pay $$$ for an upgrade - just say'in.
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Old 12-10-2010, 05:49 PM
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OK, you can get a used commercial machine from SWF east for the same cost almost as the Ellisimo and they are wonderful about training and info. I was on the verge of buying one but hubby said in order to have it, I would have to give up my other machines - a Janome 10001 and 6500! So in order to have the best of both worlds, I went with the Ellisimo and have not regretted it (well sorta miss my 6500).

I did extensive research into the commercial machines and talked with two of the best know embroidery sites - Stitchitize and Floriani. Both suggested staying away from Japanese machines.

I also thought about the Bernina 830 but have a friend who bought one. She is highly intelligent and although she has had the machine a year, still has problems with it! In fact, she might be selling it soon! I was allowed to play with the machine at my local dealer and spent the day reading the manual and playing with it and my experience was enough to convince me they COULD NOT pay me to take this monstrosity home! It is very finicky and the thread sensor is so touchy, my friend has had it in the shop five times already to have infinitesimal pieces of lint removed that only a dealer can do! OK, enough bashing. I am sure there are many who will swear by this machine.

The Babylock Ellisimo and the Brother Quattro are basically the same machine with a few differences, mostly the designs that come preloaded - Disney for Brother and Nancy Zeiman for Babylock.

Don't know about the warranty thing but it sounds logical. Home machines are not intended to be used in commercial settings. I recently was asked to embroider a logo on 4 larger size Carhart jackets and although I managed to do it, I have sworn never to tackle anything along that line again! I supported the weight of the jackets while doing the embroidery because I was afraid the weight would cause problems with the alignment of my machine.

As to hoop size, larger hoops do make an impact if you are doing borders or very large designs but I find I am still using my 5 x 7 more than any others - and the 5 x 7 did not come with my machine so I had to order it separately. This tells me the manufacturers realized that this hoop would be another potential sale item!

Janome makes wonderful quality machines, however, the 11000 was not created to keep up with the current trends. I have heard that they may be releasing a new embroidery machine with the next year. Depends on how long you want to wait!

Also think about whether she wants to get into digitizing her own designs which you almost have to do if you are going to do custom embroidery. Again I have tried most of them, including Embird, Viking 4D, Digitizer Pro (Loved it), and now own Floriani Embroidery Suite. Out of all the programs, Floriani has the shortest learning curve and all - and I do mean ALL - the upgrades since they released it have been free! Not so with the other programs! They also have webinars from time to time teaching techniques and have a wonderful support forum where you get help from experienced users and moderators.

Well, there you have my two cents worth! Good luck to your daughter. Hope you are able to benefit from some of this. Let us know what she decides to do.
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Old 12-10-2010, 05:55 PM
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I have the new 830 and absolutely love it. And yes, there's a learning curve because it's more of a computer than a sewing machine. I would buy it again in a heartbeat. That being said, I would never buy it for a commercial machine-it's not. And I'd be crazy to void my warranty. My dealer has some commercial embroidery machines set up and they look really slick all those needles in the head can and do whip out a design in minutes that would take an hour to do on a home machine.
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