What do I need to get started machine embroidering?
 

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.

Take all the classes that your machine dealer offers. Before investing in a thread set, try several brands. Individual machines may be fussy, so try several and see which ones you and your machine like. Choosing the correct stabilizer can almost be an art, it's not a one type fits all. I would read the "Stablizers, Embroidery Backings" articles on this page:
http://www.allstitch.net/department/...info-10242.cfm
After that, it's just a matter of practice. Cut a stack of squares and play a bit. You can then sash them & make a quilt.

I get my stablizers and pre wound bobbins from allstitch. Usually, a white or black bobbin will be fine. If there's a project where you will often see both sides of a design, I wind bobbins to match.

I have the SE400 . I like the Brother thread for my bobbin. All that came with machine , 1 spool bobbin thread, Bobbins hoops etc. I use tear away and cut away stablizers I buy from Jo anns, I bought one the was 18.00 for a roll, To high for me to learn on, and the others do just fine for me. I did buy the PED- Basic . It was 100.00 just to get the card. But I have made a ton of stuff and love it. Would really like to have 5x7 hoops . But this is fine for now. I just did not have the money to go bigger at the time. Ok and I just buy silky thread from Joanns for top thread.

I have the Brother SE425 (aka Gemma is what I named her).I haven't embroidered on it too much but I do like it. User friendly in my most humble opinion. I've just used regular thread when I embroider something. I don't use it that much for embroidery. I do plan to buy thread for embroidering however, I haven't really sat at my machine long enough to explore it thoroughly.

I would get a starter stabilizer set. Threads I would hold off until you find what you machine likes, than you can invest in a small set. I get my prewoundbobbins from my brother from allstitch.net for my brother. The box last forever. You just need the class 15 which is compatible with the SA156. I still have a lot 2 years later. It lasts longer than buying the brother thread and winding your own and is also way cheaper than the brother bobbin thread. For quilt blocks it really depends on the stitch density I have used both cutaway and tearaway for quilt blocks. I only use tearaway if it is light stitch design like redwork. For towels you will need topper and whatever backing you want to usesome use tearaway some use washaway. Most starter sets come with basics like mesh, topper, tearaway and cutaway. I am using floriani but I have also used kensseewingcenter brand.

I received the Brother PE770 for my birthday last December. I bought medium weight tear away, water soluble stabiizer, pre-wound bobbins and some extra empty bobbins from Amazon. I did a lot of thread research. I ended up buying all my polyester thread cones at Threadart.com. I also bought SewWhat Pro 64 (it's a downloaded software program that lets you store and edit your purchased embroidery designs). I also bought a good pair of long tweezers and a pair of double curved machine embroidery scissors.

Have fun.

Whatever you decided you need good service. This is (to me) the most important part of any machine purchase.