Embroidery machines, which one??
 

Okay, well I posted a thread about the Brother SE 400, and while I think I might love that machine my one hold up is that it only had a 4"x4" hoop. But thinking about it and looking around has lead me to ask the experts (the people who use and know about embroidery machines, all of you!) about machines.

Once upon a time I thought I needed a machine with ALL the bells and whistles. 18 yrs ago I was sure the only machine I'd be happy with was the top of the line $5000 one. But I didn't have the $ so I just drooled every time I walked past them in the store. But I am realizing that I may not actually use an embroidery machine enough to make it worth the cost. So, I'm thinking it may be worth it for me to get a "lesser" machine and if I use it a ton and find that I'm wishing it had some of the bells and whistles I could maybe upgrade later. I'm just thinking that my "top of the line or nothing" thinking is flawed, and will leave me with nothing for a long time!

So, I'm just wondering which machines I should be looking at? My budget I'm hoping to stay in is under $1000. I've seen the Brother PE770 online and it looks like a good one, but my one hold up with that one is that it appears to be an embroidery only machine and I'm not sure that I want a machine that I couldn't also do regular sewing on. But I keep thinking about it, so I don't know. Maybe it would be a good one.

What other machines should I look at?
What things should I look for?
Are there things to look out for?

Thanks. I just can't make up my mind!

I started out on a Brother PE150 and after a year I wanted a bigger embroidery area. I bought a used Brother 1500D that goes up to 6x10 and added a 2500D (also 6x10)about 4 years ago. I rarely use the 6x10 but do 5x7 designs very often, so I'd go with that size if you can afford it. They also do regular sewing, but I rarely use them for that as I sew on my other machines and leave them set up for embroidery. I just gave my little PE 150 to a girl to get her started, it still worked fine after all these years and all the work I'd done on it...love the Brother machines!!!!

Brother is my choice, too. If you have dealers in your area check for machines they have taken in trade. The tech usually goes over them and they work great. You can get more machine for the buck. Sometimes you can find some that have been used for classes and they are marked down too. I say get the biggest hoop you can afford.

I have a Janome 350e, and I love it. It cost more ($1,400), but I love the automatic thread cutter, needle threader, 5x7 hoop, and the fact that I can copy designs from the computer onto a flash drive, then put it into the embroidery machine. Very easy.

I have Brother Innovis and Brother Disney.. Brother also makes Baby lock.. What's nice about this brand is that you can take it out of the box and embroidery. Very user friendly. Whatever model you decide on it will be okay. Buy what you can afford and enjoy it. There are multiple free designs on line that you only need a 4x4 hoop for. Walmart sells the stabilizer tear away on the bolt. Also joann's and if you have a coupon you can save. Tear away is really good for almost anything you do. Press and seal saran wrap works great for putting on top of towels to push nap down. then just peel off. Have fun and don't be afraid of it...

my advice minimum size 5x7---also not a disadvantage to have an embroidery only machine you can sew on your sewing machine +supervise[change threads] on your embroidery-auto cutting threads would be a joy---i have 4 D pfaff computer program which allows me great flexability can combine patterns make them 25% bigger or smaller--write in lots of fonts--there are many other programs that will do the same

Thanks for the input. I'm going to see what my local dealers have. DH said I could get one after I do my research and make DS's quilt. :-)

I have the Brother PE 770, I have the 4x4, 5x7 and the 12x 5 hoops.
My husband and I had the rational thinking that if I already had a sewing machine (s). Why not get one just dedicated to embroidery. Besides less wear and tear on it, if it only has one purpose. And another plus is I can work on a quilt and do an embroidery project at the same time. :)

I have the Pfaff that uses the Grand hoop, and can go 12x12. But I bought a 130x130 hoop (5x5) and wind up using that mostly. I digitized a lot of old quilting patterns and did those with the 5x5 hoop. It's good enough for the center of a large block, and you can always add strips and use the fancy stitches. Made a raggy using 9" blocks.

Go look at Embroidery Library. They have a huge collection of stuff and tutorials. See what you would mostly like to do - they sell in 4x4, 5x7, 6x10 sizes. Then you can judge which size would be best for you.

They have a lot of in the hoop and tutorials. There's a site online just for quilting in the hoop.
http://www.queenofstitching.com/component/virtuemart/?category_id=&page=shop.browse&manufacturer_id=1&l imit=5&limitstart=0


The dealer will want to sell the "best" so find out your needs first.

It all depends on what you use the embroidery for.
I bought the cheap $300 Brother embroidery only machine with a 4 in design.
I love this machine. I only want to do red work for quilt blocks with it and it is perfect for a 6 in block.
You do need the Ped Basic software to go with it. The cards are expensive if you want more than one.
I have downloaded red work teddy bears, fairy tales, and just square designs for adult quilts.
Emboidery machines have to work harder than a regular machine so dont like the idea of using it for regular sewing.
Brother makes cheap sewing machines and I have several. All good machines.

I bought a Brother Innovis 1250D, it embroiders and sews. It does a 4x4 and 5x7, with an optional hoop you can do a larger design by moving the hoop. I have the PR620 6 needle machine and I think the 1250D embroiders just as well as the big guy. I got the 1250D to take to classes and for traveling in our RV. I figured I want to embroider sometimes and other times I want to work on quilt blocks. Another considerion for me was if my PR620 is in the shop or my regular sewing machine is in the shop I still have an alternate machine to embroider and sew with.

I have the SE400 and a Singer CE250. Both will sew and embroider. The singer will do 5x7 and the Brother does only 4x4. Most of the designs I use, have been good in 4x4. They look nice on quilt blocks up to 12 x12. I have been doing baby bibs and the 4x4 is the perfect size. Look and think what your end products will be and do you really need the larger hoop for an entry level machine. As for me, it looks like I might stay at this level as there are so many cute designs this size.

Totally depends on if you "love" embroidery. I've loved embroidery since I was 12 and started doing some on preprinted pieces of fabric. My first machine was a used a Janome 350E and I soon began drooling over a larger hoop size. Just got a larger one as well (kept the 350 which I love!). If you think you won't want/need a larger size, go ahead and go with the one you talked about but most people find they really do like the larger designs. For me,....I love them. I can now take the large designs and go 120% on the machine and get a nice BIG design. I filled up my 300x230 mm hoop day before yesterday. :)

Thanks, I hadn't looked at the Singer CE250. I'll have to check this one out.

The more I think about it the more I think a 5x7 hoop may be the way to go for me.

Selling my Janome 350E
ebay http://www.ebay.com/itm/Janome-Memor...item4ac1feba23
Craigslist http://detroit.craigslist.org/okl/art/3645105040.html

I don't know which Brother has the 5x7 hoop. I have the SE400, and while I love the machine, I don't like being limited to the 4x4 area.

Don't forget to check out the machine reviews on Patternreview.com.

I just got a HV Topaz 20 and it has 3 hoops. One is pretty big. Comes with 75 free embroidery patterns. I haven't even tried to embroider with it yet. Don't have the time right now. It cost $2000 though. I didn't want to spend the $$ for the Diamond or Ruby even though they are beautiful machines. I also don't even know if I will use the embroidery much. The Topaz also has a larger harp area than some. I want to learn how to do FMQ with it. The 5 D embroidery software is expensive ($400-$1000) and the sales people say I really should have one of them to be able to enlarge stuff and whatever. etc.

I just bought the Viking Topaz 30. I'm totally overwhelmed! I haven't done embroidery before but I really hope I can do more with this machine, for longer. It was expensive but I have unlimited one in one classes with it so I think if I ever have problems or need to learn something new, that alone makes the price worth it!