Originally Posted by sandybutterfly
When I got my machine, I purchased 360 spools to start with, my children got them for me for christmas.
I did the same thing (I had to buy it myself, no gifts here)
Anyway, when you get a large set you have all the colors that add highlights to your embroideries. purchasing individual spools is that you are never going to buy that weird taupe or off off white that your design needs. While the sets with hundreds of colors are wonderful, I've seen sets with 60 to 80 colors that would work well. Most on line embroidery sites, like
http://www.emblibrary.com will let you look at the Color change sheets that list the colors needed for the design. This will give you an idea of what is needed.
If you start with 10 colors, you will be limited to simple designs and monograms, which will be good to practice with.