Well I think have a supportative dealer is important both for learning your machine in addition to repairs. I am in the Viking camp, Designer 1 and SE.............like them both very much .............a Pfaff offers the IDT foot on the upper models and I would consider them. My friend has a Brother and I am impressed with the machine is quiet and does emb. well............Bernina; well I have a quilters edition and like it.........but..............for embroidery well the ART format is fussy or at least with my software ............my friend who has a SE and a 440 says Bernina wants to play alone...........just my opinion..........calla

My daughter has both Viking and Bernina. They both do a good job but she really likes the Bernina software over the Viking software. Software is a very important part of an embroidery machine. She also uses Embird with both machines. I have a Bernina 180 Artista and have never had a problem with it.

I have a Janome 11000 and love it. It sews and embroidery. It cost alot but I use it alot with out any trouble.

Maybe I can help. I work for a Pfaff dealer and teach the machine classes plus the embroidery software classes. What machine did you buy?

I have a Brother 4000D uprgrade to a 4500D and I love it. User friendly. Before this one I had a Brother Ult 2003 and loved that too. The 4000D I embroider on plus do my quilting on too. The hoop sizes are 2x2-4x4-5x7-7x12.

Verna2197

I have a Brother PR 620 and have really enjoyed it. The stitching is great and it is very user friendly. I had a sewing/embroidery machine before this one but found I did not use the sewing feature at all. I use a Bernina for sewing. There are so many machines, it's difficult to decide. Good luck finding your dream machine.

Have the small Brothers SE 350, couldn't afford a larger one, I love it may never buy another Singer, I carry this one with me in the RV when we travel. sews and embroiderys beautiul. Never have used another brand. Good luck on your choice.

Well, your head must be spinning with all these opinions. Several others mentioned that having a dealer available is important and I do agree. I have two brother machines and love them. I have a dealer close by who can answer all my questions and service when necessary.

You do need to know that several machines are made by the same manufacturer. Brother ownes Babyloc and some of the machines are idenical. I recently purchased a BL Quilters choice Professioanl. Before I purchased it I talked with my Brother dealer and he told me how that machine was exactly the same (and showed it to me) as the Brother. I am also happy to have him available because He also informed me that my machine uses special needles. To me, dealer and the amount of money you want to spend for features are important. Good luck

Just fyi since you have a viking and love it (i have 3 vikings and their 2 long arms :)) i have Viking SE that has only about 75 hours on it for sale. I have had it for months now and only used it for quilting. Pm if interested.

I have a Husq Designer Diamond and love it. I wanted the biggest hoops I could get. I love Jenny Haskins designs, and my Janome did not like them. The Diamond stitches them out great.

I was in a class where there were three Pfaff Creative Visions and all three of them had problems.

I think the main consideration, especially if you've never had an embroidery machine before, is to make sure you have a really good dealer close by who has embroidery classes. You will learn so much more with classes than on your own.

LeAnne

Ohhh the quilt in your avatar is stunning

When I traded up, I always kept my old machine as my sewing machine. If I had to switch out my embroidery module all the time, I'd never get anything done. Probably should have bought a stand-alone, but I wasn't that smart. :)

I love my Babylock! If you have a QS near you that sells machines I would go over and try them out. Also check online as to what features each Brand has in the price range you are looking for.

If I had my dream choice it would either be the Brother Quatro 6000D or the Babylock Ellisimo. The only difference is the brother has disney designs, and babylock has nancy ziemen designs, So I would have to look at which design I would use most and choose from there. I haven't seen anybody disappointed with their brother or babylock embroidery machines, don't know how the accessories are cost wise versus other brands, but I would take this into consideration as well because it is an expensive hobby, while a lot of people love bernina I find them too high priced for my blood including their accessories

I have the Janome 11000 and love it!

I have the Janome 11000 and love it!

It was recommended to me to stick with the same product line so that I don't have to buy new feet, I can use the ones I have. I have the Bernina Artista 635 (special edition) and I love it, this machine sews like a dream. I am in the process of purchasing another Bernina to take with me to classes so that I don't have to take my Artista ( it is on the heavy side, plus every time you move it you run the risk of damage).
I can say that I am heavily invested in sewing feet, each one performs a specific task beautifully... the proper tools can make all the difference in the world.
imho!

I love Brother machines, but I have a 1250D, and I don't know if I use it to much or there is a defect in the machine, but I am having so much trouble with it, and it's less than 4 months old. I would buy another Brother machine, but not necessarily this model. I need to start looking for another one that can do the 6-8 hours of embroidery I do for the items I sell.

The best thing to do is to try all the different machines yourself, find one you like and get a dealer that you trust and like. Everyone has their own opinion on what is best!!

Plan on spending lots of time in a sewing machine shop, have the salesperson go through all the different machines, and you will find the machine you will be happy with. I

I've always had Brother embroidery machines from my first 4x4 hoop until I recently got a Baby Lock Esante. I loved my Brothers, but I really love my Baby Lock. It's a sewing/quilting/embroidery machine. It takes up to a 6x10 hoop. So far I've been able to do everything I wanted to with it. My favorite part about it though is it's so much quieter. It retails for around $3000 but I got mine used with not a lot of use for half that on e-bay (from a dealer).

I have a Janome 350e. It is a nice embroider machine. First I have owned. Easy to learn on. Does 5-7in , 51/2 -5/12in and giga hoop. The programs are what I think are expensive for all the machines. Look around and good luck. love joann11

Don't know how much you want to spend but I would buy the Babylock Ellisimo Or the Brother Quattrro 6000D. They are pretty much the same except you get some free Disney patterns with the Brother. I took a class on the Brother & I fell in love, it is a fabulous machine.

I have a Brother Quattro and I love it. It's an embroidery workhorse and has a nice big bed for machine quilting. It also has great runway lighting.

so envious :-)
I upgraded from the B/L quilter's choice to the Esante but am drooling over the Ellisimo. Maybe in another 2-3 years. Yes, easy to learn and use, runs smooth, love my B/L.

I have a Janome 9700 and a BL Esante. Love them both.

Wal Mart has a Brothers embroidery machine SE400 that will do wonderful designs. Computer ready, memory card, custom designs. I am embroidering snowflakes on a quilt this afternoon. I love my machine. Buy one and check it out. If you don't like it just retun it. No questions asked.

I have the Bernina 730 and the 830 and love them both.
My dealer is still teaching me things and he wants us to use
the machines all the time. Go with a dealer that cares about
you and makes certain that you can work everything on it.
I went with the Bernina dealer because after a couple of years he is still providing help and answering my questions. He is only a couple of blocks away so everytime
I need help and advice he is always there. I bet he is sick
of me but he still smiles and gets me through it. LOL

my bernina 640 .. love it..

I agree with everyone about making sure you hook up with a good dealer. I sew on a Bernina and embroider on a Brother and love them both. The best thing though is the dealer- she's great and it makes my machines even easier to use. I'll also agree that the accessories for Bernina are expensive but I love my 380 (strictly sewing). Go for an embroidery machine that reaches out to you and a dealer that will be there for you.

I also have the new Bernina 830. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT. I agree that a good dealer/service technician is very important when deciding which machine to purchase. My first embroidery machine was the Pfaff 7570, then I got the Pfaff 2170. I had intended to get the Pfaff Creative Vision and my dealer (who sells both Pfaff and Berninas) talked me into getting the Bernina because of the way it is built. Make sure you test drive whichever machine that you buy, though. And find out what the working parts are made of. Good luck and let us know what your decision is.
I find that Embroidery Library has some of the nicest and least expensive embroidery designs & they have sales quite regularly. I have never had a design stitch out poorly from them. (I can't say that about some of the other places that I purchased designs from.)

I have a Baby Lock and love it. It is so easy to use. The down side is that I really didn't think I needed or wanted an embroidery machine so I got one with only a 4x4 hoop. It's actually fine as I can use a larger hoop and then split the design with Buzz Edit. From time to time I think that I might get a bigger one some day, but ... why?

I Have a Viking Designer 1, IT IS MY ONLY EMBROIDERY MACHINE. IT IS TEN YEARS OLD NOW AND A REAL WORK HORSE. IT WORKS AS GOOD TODAY AS IT DID THE DAY I BOUGHT IT. IT HAS MANY SIZES OF HOOPS, BUT I FIND FOR WHAT I DO I USE MAINLY THE 4 X 4 OR THE 5 X 7. I MAKE SURE IT GOES INTO THE SHOP ONCE A YEAR FOR A TOTAL WORK UP. THERE ARE MANY NICE MACHINES OUT THERE, HOPE YOU FINE THE ONE YOU REALLY WANT. FOR WHAT IT IS WORTH, IF I WERE GOING TO BUY A NEW MACHINE TOM
MARROW IT WOULD BE A VIKING!!!!
PUGLOVER1

I have the Janome 11000 SE and it does beautiful embroidery and great sewing also have the MB4 strictly embroidery and it's great. The closest dealer is about 5 hours away - but only take it for annual cleaning and maintenance. Both are great machines.

I have a designer 1 & I can get Disney designs for free to embroidery never had any problems embroidering them & selling my items I have been doing it since 1997

Last year, I purchased the Bernina 440 EQ - with the intentions of only using it for emroidery. It does a wonderful job. Then I got curious, this is a quilting sewing machine - so I took the plunge and took my first quilt piecing class last November. Now I am HOOKED!!! So now I incorporate my embroidery with quilting.
NormaBeth

I agree I love mine even if it is old

My Janome 11000 is now 4 years old and has never let me down. I also have the Janome embroidery only MB4 and I'm so pleased with it as well. I have a terrific Janome dealer and repair person, so it's the logical choice for me.

Well, mine is the lesser expensive Husqvarna-Viking Scandinavia 300 that has the 2 smaller hoops-4x4 (100 x 100) and 100 x 170. When I first purchased it 4 or 5 yrs ago, I was only interested in being able to "make my own quilt labels".......little did I know I would get so involved, but stay satisfied with the smaller hoops bc that gives me more time to sew in lieu of getting involved in = larger embroidery projects. It's amazing how you can learn to group designs to be a larger completed one. It's been a real workhorse for sewing AND embroidery and also take it in for an annual check up. I agree about having a good local dealer. Good luck with your decision making.

I have had all the embroidery machines that Viking had put out up till 2 years ago. The last one I bought has the 3 way Megga Hoop and I enjoy it very much. You need to get one from the dealer that you can trust and will give you good service and help. I have the soft ware that is made for the machine. However othes will work fine.