Embroidery Machine

[sheryl_1975]

Im looking at purchasing a small machine just for adding names onto towels/ face clothes this would be names or initials or a standard image like butterfly etc im not looking at being able to do logo etc can anyone recommend a small machine that is capable of doing this and one that you would recommend.

:smile:

[WePrintForYou]

If your looking for a decent machine we have a 6 month old brother PR1000e for sale for £8500 and would include some training in our factory as well.

[Chunk]

For what you are needing it for you could quite easily use any of the Disney Singer type machines from Argos, if you think you might need an industrial single head then drop me a PM as we have a few we could sell on.

[snookles]

I have the brother innovis 750e, it's a fantastic machine, especially as a starter machine

[viccar]

I too have a brother 750e,

dont forget you will need software with whatever embroidery machine you use.

I use embird with mine, or you can use brothers pe design

[spongerobinson]

I too have a brother 750e,

dont forget you will need software with whatever embroidery machine you use.

I use embird with mine, or you can use brothers pe design

can you do much with it, other then standard text/included designs? Can logos etc be digitized for it?

[viccar]

Yes you can do everything you could do with the pe design and more, but better imo,

you buy the standard embird, then buy the add ons you want, i find it much better than the pe design, a lot to learn but worth it.

I think you can get free trials of the basic embird.

[spongerobinson]

interesting...looked into this machine a while back, but sort of assumed it wouldn't be able to do complex logos etc. may have to look at it again!

[Paul]

is this machine more then one colour?

[spongerobinson]

is this machine more then one colour?
I don't think so Paul, but from the limited research I did at the time, you can embroider stuff with more then one colour, but have to change the thread as required obviously. Perhaps someone who uses one can clarify for definite.

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[viccar]

it is single colour, you have to change thread each stop, you can set it to tell you next colour,

The only thing i would say is check the size of the hoops meet your requirements, i use 7 X 5 inch hoop

Its slower that the bigger machines, single thread, and only one head, but you can do the same on it as you can the bigger machines, i picked mine up for £500.

Software is another £150 +

It all depends what you want it for really, the OP just wanted to do simple logo, names ect. thats easy peasy and even the cheapest old machines will do that with the right software

[viccar]

http://www.dyesubforum.co.uk/vbforum/attachment.php?attachmentid=3070&stc=1http://www.dyesubforum.co.uk/vbforum/attachment.php?attachmentid=3071&stc=1http://www.dyesubforum.co.uk/vbforum/attachment.php?attachmentid=3072&stc=1http://www.dyesubforum.co.uk/vbforum/attachment.php?attachmentid=3073&stc=1 Just a few things i did on the 750e

[viccar]

http://www.dyesubforum.co.uk/vbforum/attachment.php?attachmentid=3074&stc=1

[viccar]

and brother do the disney embroidery cards, "although you cannot use these for commercial use" great for xmas presents though

[spongerobinson]

thanks for the great info viccar, the pics aren't loading for me for some reason, but the info you provided is great!

[James990]

Pics arn't loading for me either

James

[viccar]

http://www.dyesubforum.co.uk/vbforum/attachment.php?attachmentid=3075&stc=1

Can you see this one?

[spongerobinson]

yep, that ones spot on! :smile:

[Paul]

i can see them all! amazing! how long took you doing Winnie the pooh and the hang?

[Neilb78]

My wife has the brother innovis 750e, we dont use it anymore, was going to get it serviced and then put it on ebay, when it's ready I'll put it on here first

[spongerobinson]

i can see them all! amazing! how long took you doing Winnie the pooh and the hang?
Have you special privileges Paul?? [emoji1] still can't see the others!

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[Paul]

:) not sure :)

http://www.dyesubforum.co.uk/vbforum/attachment.php?attachmentid=3076&stc=1http://www.dyesubforum.co.uk/vbforum/attachment.php?attachmentid=3077&stc=1 http://www.dyesubforum.co.uk/vbforum/attachment.php?attachmentid=3078&stc=1 http://www.dyesubforum.co.uk/vbforum/attachment.php?attachmentid=3079&stc=1

[spongerobinson]

Thanks Paul... Much appreciated! Viccar, that's some great work there! Very impressive.

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[viccar]

Thank Paul, not sure why they didnt show up.

I'll try to do a quick summary.

Think of an embroidery machine as your heat press, it just sews what you tell it.

and the embroidery software is your corel draw/photoshop

without the software you cant do that much, they all have inbuilt designs and some font, but they are limited.

Also how you hoop your items is very important, you need different stabilizers for different materials and sometimes washable topping (for toweling)

The software can be a bit of a learning curve.

The 750e is an entry level machine and i think stitches around 600 stitches per minute, whereas the pr655 does about 1000 a minute.

The 750e is only one colour at a time, the pr655 is 6 colours.

the hoops are smaller than the pr 655 and the bigger pr655 is much easier to hoop things like t shirts.

750e new around £900 pr655 new around £6000

If you just want to embroider, bibs, towels, comforters, babygrows ect the 750e is fine

If you want to set up an embroidery business, doing caps, tshirts, sweatshirts, workwear ect then you obviously would want the bigger machine.

Paul the poo design i think took about half hour, but apart from changing the thread you can do other things while its embroidering, it will stop once its finished that colour.

Best advice it to download free trials of the pe design, embird ect and try them out, then go to a sewing machine shop that sells embroidery madchines and ask for a demo, i went to BSK in bedford they have from the 750e right up to the Pr655 and inbetween.

[windyash]

Some nice designs there , can you embroider beanie hats with text / logo with one of these machines and shirts etc.? I know they are slower then the commercial machines but for one or two items it would be good to be able to do it.

[wayupnorth]

You may also want to consider the Janome 350e which is pitched at the same market as the Brother. Currently £900 including JR software to get things started. The Brother does not come with software. I purchased my 350e and upgraded the JR software to MBX which provides a lot of functionality and includes CorelDraw essentials. This is built into the MBX software and the workspace can switch from stitching to drawing in a single click. Other software such as embird has a more modular approach. Demo versions of NEXT and others are available but MBX is not. I located the 70 tutorial videos on the Janome YT site and watched every one before purchasing.... sad but necessary.

There are literally thousands of designs available in various formats for instant download and stitching. With decent software you can edit these to suit your needs or create from scratch. The advice about seeing machines in action is spot on but I did not have that luxury. Incidently I will be producing items for sale but only in small numbers. Some people use multiple single head machines as a business but still a big outlay.

Both machines are very capable and it was the software that tipped the balance for me. YMMV !.

[Amilne1]

Check if your dealer has any trade in machines available. Buy the best you can afford, minimum hoop 5x7". Test drive several machines and brands if you can. You can always go back to the store and test again until you are 100% happy! also ask about servicing etc! get costs! find out what's included with warranty etc? Also consider consumables, ie thread, stabiliser etc. sometimes cheaper to buy from eBay than a dealer. Don't be tempted to buy Chinese thread, buy quality embroidery thread, ie Madeira, Sulky, Marathon, Robison Anton. Some machines don't like thread so only buy a few spools to test
Embird software works out around £300 which allows you to digitise and do text, but you can buy modules as you need. Digitising takes time to learn. Many designs can be purchased for a few $s, plus there are loads of free designs available from many US designers, If your planning on doing logos it is sometimes cheaper to outsource than create yourself.
Hope this helps, Alison

[viccar]

Some nice designs there , can you embroider beanie hats with text / logo with one of these machines and shirts etc.? I know they are slower then the commercial machines but for one or two items it would be good to be able to do it.

I have done beanie hats on it and babygrows & tshirts, but they are fiddly to get right.

[Limara]

Janome 300E forget the expensive software and get Embird with font engine with that you will be able to easily edit designs and digitize almost any font ( not all digitize well ) with the extra giga hoop you will have a design field for split designs of 230 x 200mm and don't be put off not getting disney cards for it, you can pick up Disney designs from all over the internet and sew them with any machine.
With Embird you can also add digitizing and other plugins to the basic software at a later date if you need to.
Janome do have a extra of a cap hoop I find it easier to use sticky stablizer and the regular hoop.
I have done many stitch outs for my local dealer on both Brother and Janome Machines, The same designs were stitched on both machines on the same fabric with the same threads and stablizer, the stitch quality of the 350 machine compared with the brother 3000d which at the time was comparing a £500 machine to a £3000 machine and the Janome had a better stitch quality.

[windyash]

Well ive taken the plunge and a janome 350e will be here tomorrow!!!

Now to work out all the different backings , threads etc Im going to need

[viccar]

Dont forget bobin thread, thats quite important to each machine, i think the janome takes 60wt bobbin thread. (brother 750e is 90wt)

(you dont use the same thread as the top thread like you do with a sewing machine)

[wayupnorth]

To reduce the number of variables I purchased a Janome thread starter set with my machine.

This book explains a lot if you are using difficult materials:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0896896544?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00

Get one of these to make changing needles easy:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00JF0EQF6?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00

What software did you end up with ?

[windyash]

To reduce the number of variables I purchased a Janome thread starter set with my machine.

This book explains a lot if you are using difficult materials:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0896896544?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00

Get one of these to make changing needles easy:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00JF0EQF6?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00

What software did you end up with ?

Cheers for the advice :-)

Just got the JR software free with it , going to try the Embird trial as it seems pretty popular choice

[Limara]

Backings are really important, personally I prefer stiffy iron on, you can easily distort garments with the slightest stretch, the iron on eliminates that.
You also need a topping for anything with a slight plie, velour, towels etc, I use solvy water soluble.
Regards to threads don't by cheap threads, the large reels on e bay at a bargain price can be really troublesome and some will not stitch at all.
All machines can be a bit "thread pickey" so you may find one brand of thread will preform better than another so don't buy huge bargain packs untill you test out one reel, you may find your machine will prefer a different brand thread. I have Kingstar threads that my Janome refuses to stitch more than 20 stitches before the thread breaks and My brother PR600 stitching at a lot higher speed really loves it.
The 350 machine will also prefer to have a blue tip needle for metallic threads ( some machines are quite happy using a regular needle)
As Viccar said you do need a dedicated bobbin thread, many people try using top threads, you can use any weight though as you can change the tension if you need to, I use a very fine bobbin thread as you get considerably more to a bobbin.
Get to know your machine before you start your embird free trial, you will love it and your machine and you are getting it in plenty of time to knock up some Christmas gifts lol!