HELP! New To Embroidery

[Cyordy]

Hello,
Me and my mother are considering buying a Brother SE400. We'd like to do local embroidery. I often spend too much money on finding customized items for my horse. My mother runs a non profit organization for terminally ill people. She loves to provide beautiful gifts to her features. its a nice reminder to know someone whose never met you takes the time from their busy lives to show they care. Does anyone have any tips to someone new to embroidery? Any sugestions on a machiene? Any help would be appreciated!


Thanks!

[carman]

make sure YOU work and handle the machine before you buy it so you know how it handles and feels. they are not all equal, you should not need a masters degree to use it in the end lol. am a Pfaff user so can't tell you about the Brother, but i know i LOVE mine

carman

[temom]

I have a brother embroidery machine, which I like. It is the PE700ii (which means it has the USB cable) and can handle a 5 X 7 embroidery area. It is a stand alone embroidery machine, meaning that it is not combined with a sewing machine. I have other brother machines, other than the embroidery, and haven't had a lick of trouble with them.

First off, what kind of materials do you want to embroidery on? You mentioned customized items for your horse. What materials would that be?
What size designs do you want to be able to stitch? Would you be content in the 4 X 4 field, or would you be wishing for more?
Would you rather have a stand alone embroidery machine? Do you already have a decent sewing machine? If you don't have a decent sewing machine, then a combination unit makes sense. Also the price of the combination units make them attractive.

You need to understand that you would not be able to make changes to embroidery designs (except what thread colors you use, of course) unless you bought a separate digitizing program. I do not know anything about those, so I can't help you there.
Do you know anyone who has a home embroidery machine? If so, what do they like, and what would they change. For example, I wish I had a larger LCD screen, because I sure can't make sense out of the condensed stuff on mine! Also, my screen is monochrome, and a color screen would be helpful, if not too expensive, of course!

Embroidery is fun, but there is a learning curve. I would suggest checking out beginning embroidery books from the library.
Meanwhile, if you have questions, ask away!

[SmilieFace]

I have had the Brother SE350 for several years now and enjoy it. The SE400 connects directly to the computer, which will be really nice (I have to use the PED Basic, which is a pain). The machine holds up to a variety of fabrics, although I've never tried to embroider on a very heavy fabric. I found it easy to learn to use -- both for sewing and for embroidery.

I'd recommend it.

[sewingmom]

My sewing machine dealer carries a 6 needle embroidery machine and sells diditizing software with it all for around 7000-8000 dollars. That would be one uou might want if you do lots of craft shows or have lots of local customers. A one needle embroidery only machine takes more time to complete a design but may be enough if you are not using it several times a day every day. I have been told by a lady that does crafts for shows, the brother 6 needle does not sew easily through heavier denims and canvasses. I askes several craft show dealers about their machines and the Babylock multineedle machine was preferred for heavier embroidery. My Janome 5700 is a combo sewing/embroidery machine and does not handle thick denim seams well, for sewing Haven't tried to embroider heavier fabric with it. It is probably 12 years or older. It's a great machone and sews and embroiders medium weight fabrics with no problems and it started my love affair with Janome machines.

[MartySews2]

I think you would be happier if you had a large embroidery field as the SE-400 only does small embroidery designs. My Pfaff was a wonderful machine & only did 4x4 embroidery which was 100mx100m design (ie: very small). With an embroidery machine, you need different stabilizers, needles & specific thread so the cost does go up. I wanted to do larger embroidery designs so I traded in my Pfaff for a Babylock Ellisimo (it was over $7000) when I got an insurance settlement. I am very happy with it. I also invested in Embird software for manipulating designs, adjusting the size, adding wording, etc for about $150 which included Iconizer so I could see my designs. I don't digitize designs but purchase ones that I like plus there are many free designs that are on the internet. I embroider quite often & have a stash of stabilizers & embroidery threads as it changes with each project. I order needles by the bulk. Having a machine with a flash-drive is great because all you have to do is load your design from your computer onto the flash drive & then put the flash drive into your machine & save it. I have embroidered on denim, canvas, towels, fleece, cottons, & silks plus polyesters. If you plan to use this in a commercial business embroidering every day, a home machine being used will void any warranties that you may have. If you plan to embroider only a few times a month, then a home machine would be perfect for you. I have sewn on all types of machines. I'm personally not a big fan of Brother products but have many friends who love their Brother machines. A Brother PE-770 might just work better for your needs. It is under $1000.00 & uses a flash drive as well as has a 5x7 field for designs. Allbrands has a deal right now that offers software with it. Hope this helps.
Marty

[bridesmom]

I have a Brother Innovis 4000D that is a combo machine. It has the usb cable to attach to my computer as well as a slot for embroidery cards. It does quite a large field which is nice. It's been replaced by an Innovis 4500 and there could be another one after that. I wanted to be able to make my own designs, so I have purchased Embird with the Studio program and the Font program. Probably around $450-500 in total now for the 3 programs. Digitizing is a huge learning curve, and took hours to figure out with a lot of thrown out projects and designs. I'm still learning and have had the machine since 2008. There are hundreds of free designs to download on the internet, but they may not stitch out correctly, and there are thousands to buy. I like having it, but sometimes I think I could have better spent the money on something else, like a long arm!

[missfleecy]

I think you would be happier if you had a large embroidery field as the SE-400 only does small embroidery designs. My Pfaff was a wonderful machine & only did 4x4 embroidery which was 100mx100m design (ie: very small)

Did you mean 100 mm x 100 mm? 100 mm is pretty small, but 100 m is pretty big (about 330 feet!). I'd love to have THAT embroidery machine, but I don't know where I'd put it....

~ Miss Fleecy

[MartySews2]

Oh Miss Fleecy, you can tell that I'm not familiar with the metric system at all. I meant 100mmx100mm. With only a 900 sq ft home, I would have no place to put a 100mx100m sewing machine even if there were one available. My machine currently now does 8"x12" embroidery designs. I use the 8"x8" hoop often though for most designs. Thanks for catching my faux pas.
Marty