Brother DreamMaker embroidery only machine
 

My daughter mentioned that she wanted to get into embroidery, and I suggested that she try all the major brands. I have an old Deco 600 from the 90s which is still going strong although I haven't used it too much. I was subtly trying to push her into the dealer equivalent of the brother 770. From what I have read here, it's pretty popular and reasonably priced. Well, instead of that one she has fallen in love with the DreamMaker VE2200! She thought it was very easy to use. Her DH says to get it, but she's feeling guilty about the price. My comment was that if they can afford it, get it and don't look back. Does anyone mind telling me a ballpark price for this model? She was quoted a sale price of 3,900. She would get lessons, a starter pack of stabilizer and thread, and an extra hoop. There were several other brands at this store which she tried, but this is the one she loved.

Thats a good price the MSRP is 5000 and thats what my dealer sells it for so 3900 is good

I agree, if you can afford it get the best you can buy and with emb machines the largest hoop size. Make sure she has good support of the dealer.

Its only a waste of money if she doesn't use it. I hear all the time that people get intimidated by their emb machine so they don't use it; some haven't even tried it. That's the real shame.

I'm on my second Viking now, traded in the Ruby for the Diamond deluxe because it was such a great deal. I made myself a promise not to just let it sit. I'm so true to myself on that promise that recently when getting frustrated because my LQS hadn't set up any classes that I could attend, they need to be at night or Thur thru Sat, I told them that I was selling my system because it did me no good to have the top of the line but no know how to use it other than the basic. If I wanted limitaions I'd spent a few hundreds and got a basic instead of spending thousands. They are listening to me and doing classes on not just software but also how to use hidden features on the sewing machine part and then the emb part. I'm happy and hopefully it'll progress from there. I signed up for a couple of classes on Craftsy.com

I have the TOL Viking Diamond (well TOL when I bought it lol) and have loved it! I use it all the time and do custom order for folks, logos, monograms, bed duvet covers with the Beatles all over it, etc. I stay busy....I have never had any lessons...just started pushing buttons and have to say I don't like to read manuals, so self taught is no lie! I now teach others that have similar machines, and I give general lessons on embroidery to anyone that needs tips, etc. I am no smarter than anyone else, but I do think you have to experience your machine, not wait for a lesson on how to do things...just jump it...don't use a costly item, grab an old t-shirt to get experience on knits..cause it is WAY different than cotton, and put 10 or 12 designs all over it...then throw it away! Or save it, like I do, to learn from my mistakes, and show customers...you can't put 100,000 stitches on a t-shirt in a 4x4 area without distortion! lol....try different stabilizers, try different methods (I very seldom hoop anything anymore, just hoop stabilizer and pin or spray or use blue tape method....towels especially....also, when doing logos all the same, I hoop my 5x7 with stabilizer, move the design down to the bottom of the hoop and do a shirt, then move the design up to the middle and do a 2nd shirt, then again to the top...3 shirts, 1 hooping, just remove the hoop inbetween, smooth the first shirt down and spray place the 2nd, etc. Time savers are my friend!
Enjoy what ever machine you have, get the biggest hoop area you can afford (too many people start out with 4x4 and then want 5x7 so they upgrade and then discover the world of 10x10, 14x14, etc.) Folks that are happy with 4x4 are not taking advantage of what the machines can do...but I understand cost is a factor. I am retired and pray my machine lasts for many more years....but it has paid for itself many times over!

My advise to your daughter is to go for the Brother! That is a very good price. Brothers are easy to use and rugged. Make sure she has access to classes, they will help her a lot. Also having a mother that embroiders is a great help.

Thank you all so much for your comments! I'll keep you posted.

Just found out DD and DSIL will be moving from OH to MN at the end of the month. She will wait on the machine so she can have a local dealer. Does anyone know if there is a Babylock equvalent of the DreamMaker? She thinks there is a Babylock dealer where they are moving.

Have there been NO postings in this forum since 2013??? I'm sure there are others out there who have the VE2200. I got mine last year and even tho I've stitched out quite a few designs, I have no idea how to use the pen and the droplight LED embroidery positioning marker. Does anybody know of any tutorials anywhere that shows how to use them?

Nita in chilly Florida

You can try here:
http://www.brother-usa.com/Homesewin...Tutorials.aspx

I can't give any advice as I can use an art tablet and light. Not on a machine, though. I use a Pfaff 2144, but I used to help out at a Babylock dealer and I can digitize my own embroidery using a Wacom Tablet.

I have a Babylock and a Viking embroidery machines but my neighbor has the Janome 500E embroidery only machine and it comes with some nice size hoops and I was impressed with how the back looks, almost as good as the front. My Babylock and Viking machines can't say that. Also the price of the Janome was around $3,000 in case you're interested in checking it out. Think it comes with a free program to download to transfer your designs from your PC to the thumb stick. It is a nice machine and I almost bought it myself after I saw how well it stitched out.