Embroidery Machine for Quilt Labels, Appliques, Etc.?
 

My latest (several years old) machine is a Janome 7700, which I love. Problem is, I keep finding myself wanting to embroider names onto quilts . . . and the Janome's font is relatively tiny (and not especially pretty). Needless to say, some pretty pictures would also be nice to do! To get to the point, I'm wondering if there's a decent embroidery machine which doesn't cost an arm and a leg. So many of the machines get 'mostly' good reviews but then there always seems to be that handful of horror stories.

Any advice, from my fellow QB members? Is there such a thing as a decent embroidery machine, for less than $500? I really don't need a top-of-the-line machine but don't want to waste my money, either.

Thanks!

Check with your local dealer for used machines. That would probably be the best way to find one in your price range.

You are asking to do lettering, applique (which is called "in the hoop" projects) and "pretty" pictures. Yep, pretty much what you use embroidery machines for, also "quilting" if you so desire. Keep reading this forum, "search " for info. Read mfgr. Websites. Visit machine dealers. There is a learning curve to accomplish these tasks. Questions about types of stabilizers, threads, software, etc abound. You will want USB sticks. Not compact flash cards. (My Janome 9700 uses the compact flash....) look at the screens . The newer ones are really nice.

IMHO...you should aim to spend more $$$ than $500. In that range you will be limited to the smallest hoops. 4" X 4" as an example. That is very limiting in size esp. for quilt labels . You will soon be frustrated as you gain experience. Perhaps $1,000 range will get you the small and next size hoop. I have janome 9900. (Replaces my 9700....which I still have but "retired) I love this machine and it is not the top of the line. It is mid range.

Check the Brother machines for lower pricing options. Talk to the dealers. Don't rush into a decision. You have some homework to do first. Be patient. Read read read.

sandy

You sound like I felt a few years ago - when I bought my Janome, there was no way I was going to every need the embroidery so didn't get it then and bought the 6600P. Then I the more I quilted the more I wanted to do some minor embroidery. So off to dealer down the street and he showed me the Husqvarna Topaz 20. He had the floor model on sale in my price range. I love it. Sometimes I am sorry I didn't go with Brother so I could have the Disney line - but that isn't really necessary, there are so many designs out there. I have the large hoop of 200 x 260 and it has been fine - I need to look into the hoop for doing the continuous embroidery, but not sure I will really use it.

So take some time -decide what type of quilts do you make and what you want to make. Look around the embroidery design websites and decide what you really want. The small 4 x 4 hoops can be very restrictive.

If you want an embroidery only machine, for that money look at the Janome MC200e. The hoop is a little bigger than the standard 4x4, it's about 5.5x5.5. It's a great machine. I love mine and don't find it as limiting as I thought I would. I still use it a lot. If you can manage to spend a little more, look at a Brother PE770 or the Designio 820. I was looking at these when I lucked into a used Janome MC350e for a great price. I love it too.

Cari

Thanks for the advice, everyone! I'll take a look at those suggested, as well as trying to find a shop, which carries used machines. Very little is 'local' where I live but I'm willing to do a bit of driving, if it seems worthwhile. :thumbup:

My old Kenmore did monograms, so I do know about stabilizers, at least. :)

I have the Brother Disney machine and if you are looking for a good machine for embroidery as well as sewing or you can use it for embroidery only, my advice is but the Singer Futura you see I had my brother for a less than 6 months and was machine embroidering designs and names on fleece blankets and the Brother broke and of course with it being December there was no way that I was getting the machine back in time to complete the project so I went back to the Singer and finished 11 blankets and had them for the children on Christmas eve and the Singer is a real work horse. I love it! The price is right in your budget. The hoop size is 5X 7 so you can do quite a few designs with it.

I bought a Brother PE770 on Amazon for around $550 a couple years ago. I just checked and right now it's listed for just under $600. So it's a little over your budget, but it's a nice machine. I was hesitant to buy a machine online but it arrived in perfect condition, with perfect tension. I haven't had to adjust a single thing. I haven't used it a LOT and am still learning all the ins & outs of stabilizer, etc. but so far all the problems have been due to me and/or the products I was using and not the machine itself. The reviews on Amazon are mostly positive as well.

It's not super fancy but I didn't need super fancy. It comes with a 5x7 hoop and can also do continuous designs in a larger 12x5 hoop (which I bought but haven't tried yet). You can also buy extra hoops for smaller projects and there's a hoop specifically for embroidering baseball caps too. It comes with a few designs; I buy mine online and keep them on a little USB thumb drive that plugs right into the machine. Works great, very easy to use. I do wish the screen was a little bigger and better, but it's useable and I wasn't willing to pay the extra it'd take to get a better screen.

I don't really have a strict budget but because I honestly don't think I'll use the machine much, just can't justify (to myself) spending much on it. I mostly want it, to add names to quilts. The smaller pictures would be nice for embellishment but for larger designs, I much prefer the look/feel of hand embroidery.

Thanks so much for taking the time to offer suggestions, everyone . . . but after reading what seems like thousands of reviews, I may just have to shove the idea to the back burner, for now. :rolleyes: Maybe there'll be a fantastic sale on one of the nicer ones, before Christmas. :thumbup:

I started out with a beginner embroidery machine and soon learned it wasn't what I wanted. So I bit the bullet and upgraded to the tune of around 3,000 dollars which was a hard pill to take, but I have not looked back.