I would like to know if any of you have an embroidery machine. I have three nice sewing machines and a gammill longarm, so I am not really interested in an embroidery machine that can sew (plus I think they may be out of my price range), but am getting confused between the different brands and thought someone may tell me what they like about their embroidery machine....Thanks!

I have a Brother PE750. It only embroiders and the largest hoop it will work with is 5 x 7. I love it to make lables and the center of embroidered blocks. Is a great machine.

I should have said first to see what is your bugdget and go to a local dealer and see which brands they have and what you can get for your budget. Is good to know if they offer classes in case you need a start and that they can fix the machine if something goes wrong.

I bought a Pfaff 7570 (I think) about 10 years ago. I made the mistake of getting it at the Sewing Expo and the dealer who sold it to me was located 50 miles away. With work and a small child, it was impossible to get the lessons to learn to use all it's options. When I called for assistance, the lady who helped with my machine was never there and did not call back. My sister had a Brother machine she purchased at Walmart and I found that to be easier, so I got one of those for about $400. (The Pfaff was over $2000.) Now I understand the Pfaff more and am able to do more on it. The Pfaff has options the Brother dosn't . I needed support services and the dealer was not there for me.

Babylock has some embroidery only machines. My daughter has one and enjoys it.

I have a Brother PR600, it only embroiders and although it looks rather scary, it's actually quite simple to operate.

I have 2 embroidery machines. a 605 Rose Husqvarna viking and a Designer 2 Husqvarna viking. Have not had any trouble
with either machine. I have had the Rose for 10 yrs. and
have had the Designer 2 for 6 yrs. Have done gobs of embroidery on both machines. I love to do machine embroidery. But I also do hand embroidery too.
You can check out some of my stuff at:
http://community.webshots.com/user/dreamboat116
dreamboat

Some of the lower end machines are for both sewing and embroidery. I rarely use mine for sewing, but do embroider quite a bit on it.

One thing to check out is the hoop sizes, and what you have in mind for future projects. Some of the lower priced machines only have smaller hoops available for them.

Maybe go to a few dealers and have them show you what their machines are capable of. Take notes on what your like, really want and what you don't think you would need/use.

Then you can do some comparisons on the internet to narrow it down :wink:

I have two machine embroidery machines. I started years ago with a Brother 8500..it was a great machine.
I now have the brother duetta and this seems to be a top selling machine...all the time. I also have a Pfaff CV 5 and I think the Emb. is nicer on a Brother machine.
Machine Embroidery isn't really that hard to do and accomplish...Let me know if you have more questions.
K

I have a Pfaff 2170 that sews and embroiders, and I also have a Janome 350e for just embroidery.
Having them both lets me embroider on the Janome while quilting on the Pfaff. Best way to spend an early morning!

As with sewing machines, the answer you get to this question from members will vary widely. Most of the machines sold are nice machines and will embroider well. It also depends on what you expect to do as well.

That being said here is my humble opinion.

I have had two - A Babylock Ellagio (which I loved and sold) and a Pfaff 2170. I wanted to be able to send designs from my computer directly to the machines. I also sold Vikings for a time. All three of those machine are excellent choices but so are others such as Janome, Brother and Berninna. The Babylock had incredible stitches, not picky about thread and a fantastic display while the Pfaff has great stitches, is very finicky about thread(only like the expensive stuff), wonderful sewing IDT, better hoop size options and connects directly to my computer (I have 4D software). I also bought this 2170 used off of Craigslist.

My recommendations: First think about these questions -
1. How much do you want to spend?
2. How large of an Embroidery do you want to do? Some machines will only do 4x4 (this is really small and does not give you a lot of area), some can do 5x7 while some do really large and are very flexible.
3. What sewing features might you want on the machine?
4. How do designs get loaded? Some machines can load from a USB stick some connect directly to a computer and some use a machine specific card - which will require expensive software to load and are pricey to purchase preloaded designs.
5. Will you want "classes" and support? It is best to make sure that you have a dealer around to answer questions, have service and cleaning as needed even if you don't want classes.

Next go to every sewing shop that sells any embroidery machines and ask to play (don't get sucked in to purchase until you play with a lot of them). If you have any questions about what I have suggested - fell free to PM me. Best of luck on this - they are expensive but fun

I have a Babylock Ellageo, Brother Innovis 4000D, and a Brother PR600II. Betty has given you great advice. If you don't want to spend a lot on additional software make sure the unit has a USB so you can take from computer directly to machine. There are some free viewer programs out there that will let you see the design and drag or copy to the USB. Allbrands.com has a free embroidery editor right now but I haven't tried it yet. The size frame I use the most is 5 x 7. I occasionally sew something bigger but not that often.

Buzz Explore is the program I bought to unzip, view and categorize my designs. I love it.

I have had 3 in the past few years...

Started off with a Janome 350e - great machine, max hoop 5x7. I wanted a bigger hoop...

Sold that and bought a Janome MB4 - 4 needle, heavy, loud home commercial machine. I hated it and sold it - to someone with a home embroidery business and she loves it.

Bought a Brother 4500d and I love it. love love love it. I don't use my machine as often as I should I'm sure. In fact, it's been a long while since I have used it but I do have a lot that I want to make on it in the upcoming months so I better get started on it lol.

I would not trade my Brother 4500d for nothing.

There was a similiar post just a little while ago. I have a Bernina Deco 650. It is my second stand alone embroidery machine. I paid $1500 for my first one, a Deco 350 almost 20 years ago. I traded it up to up for a used Deco 650. I would suggest you check with various dealers for trade ins they might have at a much lower price than a new one. In my experience those that trade in machines didn't use them much and the prices are much better. Like a car they loose value the minute they leave the lot or shop. I prefer the stand alone machine as I am then able to sew on my other machines while the embroidery is going on. Mine only does a 4 inch motif and that is usually plenty. I have a huge collection of patterns, stabilizers, hoops and thread, of course. My machine uses the pes format which is widely available from various sources. It is a hobby that can run into serious money. I have done a lot of embroidery with my machines in 20 years.

Thanks mpspeedy - I did forget to add that. Make no bones about it please - this hobby can be a money pit. The machine is only the first purchase. Then comes thread, stabilizer and designs (which could be a lengthy thread on its own - lol). But I have done it for years and have a blast with it.

Pfaff 7570 sews great and does beautiful embroidery. Very happy with my Pfaff.

I have a bernina with an embroidery attachment. I like sewing and quilting on it better because I have to have a computer to run the embroidery program (very inconvient). I am looking into an embroidery only machine. I have it narrowed down to three brands: bernina deco, brother, and janome. Still doing alot of research. All three are in my budget, well the bernina is a little more expensive, but I need to research alot more before committing to anything. My husband would like to purchase one for me for our anniversary in August. But I am not sure I will have one picked out by then. Good Luck! The main thing is make sure you know your budget. It is very easy to get overwhelmed and spend more if you are not careful.