Beginner embroidery machine?

[Kim T]

Hubby recently bought me a Janome with an 11 inch throat for quilting but not one that embroiders due to cost. Someone suggested to him cheaper to maybe buy a stand alone machine because I want it for quilt labels and monogramming etc. Anyone have a Brother or inexpensive suggestion?

[BobW]

I went to the dealer I have bought my machines from and told him what I wanted. He has used machines that he has traded in. He had a Bernina and it was much less expensive than a new one. You can get a better machine for less money if you look at the "New-To-You" machines. JMHO!

[icul8rg8r]

I went the same route -separate sewing and embroidery machines. I've been very pleased with my Brother 770 Embroidery only Machine. It can go up to 5x7 which is perfect for me! They make a smaller 4" which is also less expensive.

[Equilady]

I started with the Babylock with a 4 inch hoop. But then the bug bit and I thought I wanted a machine that offered bigger hoops. If you don't think you'll want to do more than monogramming and quilt labels then the brother mentioned above is probably great. I am on my third embroidery machine and it is a baby lock Spirit. It only does embroidery and has an extra large hoop. I actually find I don't do as much with the bigger hoops now that I have a machine that has one.

[TRLSRL72]

I bought one for my daughter on Black Friday. It's a Brother 500 or 550. The reviews I read were good. The only down side was the hoop size. I think there is one more size you can purchase from brother for it. I think think the regular price is around $350.00. Another one you may want to look at is a Brother PE770. It comes with one hoop but you can purchase a set of 4 on amazon for around $70.00. After purchasing the first one I lucked up and found the second one at a discount store not far from me for $320.00. Not sure if you have a store like that near you, it's one for example if the box get damaged the stores can't sell it at full price and send it to this store. So now I will be returning the first one. The only thing I hate is I got it for $199 and it will go back on the self at full price.

[Granny Fran]

DH got me the brother PE500 on black friday for 199$ and free shipping. I LOVE it. Yes, you can get another hoop or 2, but I've found that I can do just about anything with it. You have to rehoop if you want larger than 4 inches, but it comes with a template that will allow for larger lettering if needed. You can also download designs from the internet and transfer them to the machine. It takes a cartridge as well, but I don't think its needed. The needle threader is awsome so is the thread cutter. Can't beat the price for what it does.

[Bubby]

There are a lot of nice embroidery machines on the market. I have a combo sew/emb machine and LOVE it. I thought I would only use my emb feature for making labels and smallish items. Then I fell in love with machine embroidery and find that I use my machine 100 times more than I ever thought.

Make sure you get the machine with the largest hoop size you can afford. My machine came with two hoops, one is about 5 inches square and the other is about 5x8. Don't buy one that has the small hoop only is what I'm saying. You will likely want to branch out and make larger items after you know what you're doing. We have a great Embroidery Group here ... just click on Groups above and scroll down and take a look.


Here is the very best place to buy your embroidery thread: MetroEMB.com / Embroidery Thread. I buy the Metro thread and it's great and less than $1 a spool!!

Happy Sewing!

[Claire Hallman]

I have to agree about the Brother and about buying used. I have a Brother pe700 or 770, not sure of the number.
I would recommend getting one that will sew a design that is at least 5x7. The hoop is not the only thing that determines how much can be sewn in one hooping. The smaller ones can be quite limiting.
I also recommend one that can transfer designs via a usb port.
I have friends with Janomes that are very pleased with their machines.

[Kim T]

Thanks everyone for the feedback! I will look for one that does at least the 5 x 7 and has the USB port. I would rather wait and save buy up to the next level.