Originally Posted by
Golfergal
I'm wanting to purchase a Brother SE 400 or LB 6800 machine to embroidery small projects on towels, labels & quilt blocks. Not sure what I need to start out with for thread, bobbins and stabilizer. Do I get a set of threads (550 or 1000), how many bobbins do I need? do you use white or clear in bobbin or same color as top. Which stabilizer works best for these. Are there other things I need to get to besides the above? Any suggestions would be appreciated!
The dealer you purchased the machine from should have prewound bobbins to sell you. Along with the stabilizers etc. you will need. There are also 6000yd spools of Bobbin thread available to refill the bobbins. As for stabilizers, there are various kinds. One brand is Floriani . They make one that is made to be wet and stick. It is torn away after you are done your embroidery. Another is called Cut Away by Oesd and made to be trimmed away after you are done the embroidery. I use both. Neither is cheap but they will last a long time unless you do a lot of embroidery everyday. You can even use parchment paper or several layers of tissue paper in a pinch. I believe that you will fall in love with your embroidery machine and buy it lots of presents. There are scores of colors of embroidery thread also available through your dealer. I think they will probably have smaller packs of basic colors ready to get you started. I have seen dealers package software with the colors of thread needed to sew it out. That is one way to build your stash. I believe that you will discover that machine embroidery is an expensive hobby but addictive.