Anyone have an embroidery/applique machine they'd recommend?

[Deleted]

I have a good serger and sewing machine already but would like to pick up an embroidery machine. Wanted one for a few years, think it's time to take the plunge. Any recommendations?

[denise15601]

I have a Husqvarna, but it is 12 years old. I have to keep Windows XP on this desktop to support the software.
But the newer models can use the newer Windows.

When you get one, go to Emblibrary.com. They have great designs, and also have sales. I might be able to send you the designs that I have, but not sure if I can. But they are only for my brand of machine.

[Deleted]

I will save the website thanks. I don't have a clue what brand to get. Not even sure if there are any sewing machine shops left around here, think they've all gone out of business so I'll have to buy online probably. Wouldn't mind a used one if it will save money. All my machines have been used and so far so good with them.

Are you happy with your Husqvarna?

[denise15601]

Yes, I really like it. It was sold in Jo-Anns fabric, but ours now sells Brother machines, and Husqvarna is now moved to another shop in town.

Check out what is sold in Jo-Anns. I would Google your area to see what is being sold. They are very popular.

Mine used to have problems now and then but is now out of warranty. I don't embroider much now that I am obsessed with eBay, but still have some embroidered items listed in my store.

We have 3 different shops that I know of, and they all have free classes to show you how to use the machines.

It is great for gifts, and I like to embroider hand towels and dish towels to match the person's decor.
I also embroider and personalize baby blankets for my daughter's friends.
And bibs and shirts for my grandson.

[Deleted]

We don't have Jo anns here just hobby lobby. There use to be a Bernina sewing shop but think it closed a couple of years ago. Pretty sure the shop I bought my used serger out (about an hour away) is closed took look like it last time I was down that way. Not sure what hobby lobby carries. Guess I will pull it up online. I know WM has the brother machines but not sure if they are the better models or not.

[denise15601]

Mine with software cost around $2,000 13 years ago. Worth very little now. You can pay up to $10,000 for them with in-machine computers.

It actually was bought by my friend who has 3 dancing supply stores. She asked if I would embroider items for her store if she bought the machine and I learned how to use it. And she insisted that I use it for myself to try to make extra $$ since I had just been dx'd with BC and couldn't do house cleaning anymore.
Unfortunately, this machine isn't sturdy enough to embroider heavy tote bags, so she certainly didn't get her $$'s worth out of it.
But I am "on call" when someone wants shirts or whatever personalized with names or monograms.

It also isn't sturdy enough to embroider heavy bath towels. So if that is what you want, you should ask if that is a possibility.

[Deleted]

I want it mostly for embroidering flat cotton fabric and knit tees so nothing too heavy. Guess I'll keep my eye out for a good used one on Ebay and see if I can get lucky and snag one for a decent price. Only downside to that is no warranty and I know a lot of them have issues with their displays and tensions. Not quite sure how much I want to spend on one yet.

[mupcycledcouture]

DO NOT get the Singer one. It is a huge paperweight. love my old Brother. Had it 14 years now and it is still trucking along.

[mupcycledcouture]

Denise, what is the problem with embroidering bath towels?

[denise15601]

Mar 21, 2015 2:40:30 GMT mupcycledcouture said:

Denise, what is the problem with embroidering bath towels?

They are just too heavy-weight wise.  I had to do sweatshirts and had problems....so I drilled holes into my dining room ceiling and put in 2 hooks.
I rigged up elastic with pins on each end.  Hook one pin on the ceiling hook and the other pin to the edge of the heavy item to keep the weight from pulling down the item thus making the design go off.

My kids and I laugh at the hooks in the ceiling because ex-hole would have killed me for putting holes in the ceiling.

My machine is the Viking Customizing Plus Iris

[Deleted]

Right now I'm thinking of maybe a brother PE 770 or a Janome 350E (though haven't looked into it much yet), the brother has pretty good reviews.

[denise15601]

I would probably get a Brother if I had the $$ to get one. But looking at prices of mine on eBay, Husq sure aren't cheap. I would look into getting a traded-in one at a dealer.

[Deleted]

I checked the only 2 local (well within 40 miles or so) dealers we have and they are out of used embroidery machines according to their online stores, just sergers and sewing machines in. They have lots of new ones but ouch LOL

Looks like the Brother is running around $800 depending on what site you look on. Always buying used I never spent a lot of my machines and they've been awesome. Not sure I can bring myself to pay a grand or two for a machine.

[Deleted]

Denise did you ever try using one of the table extension platforms for your heavier items? maybe having them on the platform would keep the weight off without the ceiling hooks.

[denise15601]

The hooks do work well.

My machine base is about 3 inches high and I have put books behind it and on the left side so that the item would not be hanging.
But it still hangs on the front where I am sitting and that is enough to throw off the design.

You have to be careful not to touch that hoop as it is sewing, so any uneven weight or touching will mess things up.

You will need lessons on stabilizers to buy for various fabrics. You need iron-on ones for jersey shirts so that they don't stretch, etc.

My friend, who bought the machine, and also my BC pal who passed away loved their towels so much. And they have/had tons of them. No one was allowed to use them as they were only for display. Funny, as they do wash very well.

[Deleted]

No lessons around here unless I buy Bernina the dealer there gives lessons and they give specific babyloc lessons at the other one (think that was the brand they mentioned). I've used stabilizers for machine appliquing by hand so have the ones I need for my tees in my stash. Guess Hobby Lobby doesn't sell machines, at least it doesn't show any on their site. I'm sure they'd be expensive there anyway and not included in their weekly coupon. Going by to pick up knit so I'll check. I have a bid in on one on Ebay but doubt I get it, it's supposedly new and never used but no warranty so not sure how high I'm comfortable going.

Any suggestions on the max you'd pay for a non warrantied machine?

[denise15601]

Oh that's right Jo-Anns here sells Babylocs.

No idea on prices....which one are you bidding on? Did you check the prices if new? Repairs can be very expensive.

[Deleted]

Went by the sewing shop today that was on my way and looked at their machines. They sell Viking, Brother and Janome, the Vicking is what she was pushing. Funny the first one wouldn't even work, the touch screen wasn't responding, didn't instill confidence in the brand. They did have one used machine that wasn't in inventory yet but it was a Babylock, she said it was a couple years old and retailed for $10,000 new, they were going to ask $5999 for it, a bit out of my range LOL

Cheapest machine she had was the first one she showed me, it was on sale for $1800, she didn't have any strictly embroidery machines all were combo sewing and embroidery. They do provide on site service and classes for all the machines they sell that they are certified on (the 3 brands). I asked her what it generally cost to repair the touch screen like was out on the first one if it was out of warranty and she that ran right at $200. She said the only other thing they ever see go out is rarely the main display board and I asked what that cost for repair and she said that comes in between $300 and $400 based on if it's a total replacement or just a partial.

For those repair prices I'm wondering if I wouldn't be better off just buying a non working one off Ebay and taking it in for repairs? I know it would be risky but it might pay off. I've seen some in the $150 range where the display didn't work. If I could pay another $400 for a board replacement that would be a good total price. Also she said a most of the time they get them in for display repair and it's actually just come unplugged inside the case, which is what they figured happened to the first one today. She said when they get moved around that display plug in can loosen up just enough it won't respond or it will go blank.

[denise15601]

Wow to the prices! Mine is a sewing-emb combo which is fine since I gave my sewing machine to my daughter and she broke it.

By display screen, do you mean that the machine has a computer? With mine, I download the design on a card from my computer, insert into machine and sew.

I haven't had mine break at all. The most it needed was to be oiled, since it was making screechy noises. My friend paid for the repair and cleaning and I think it cost $75.

Sure hope mine holds up.

[Deleted]

Yes they have touch screen displays and it seems like these are where the issues arise. Like the one she showed me today, brand new, they just got it last week and the touch screen wouldn't advance past the second screen.

I've been looking that Brother PE570 a lot since it's recommended on a lot of the sewing boards. Just looked on the Wm website and I can buy it new off there on sale for $586 with free shipping, that's cheaper than they are selling them for on Ebay. May just go with that one, wonder if I can convince Dh to buy it for me so I dont' have to use my paypal money LOL

[Deleted]

I know nuttin' 'bout nuttin' when it comes to this stuff, but I'm really nosy. What are you going to use it for peek?

[denise15601]

WOW to WM price and you can buy an extra warranty, I am sure. Does it have the built-in computer?

[Deleted]

Terri I use to sew a lot of custom outfits and dresses, plus stuff for the girls. Thinking of getting back into it and would like to add embroidery to them this time. I know they don't bring the money they use to but I like doing it and it can still bring in a pretty ROI for cute simple ones.

Yes Denise it has a computer screen on the side. The sewing lady today said if you can swing it get one with a color screen because it's much easier to see but B&W will do for now.

www.walmart.com/ip/Brother-Computerized-Embroidery-Machine-with-5-x-7-Hoop-Size/12542647

[Deleted]

Dh called from work and was asking what I decided. I told him I was leaning towards the one I posted here and he says well you know you get what you pay for. I told him the ones I wanted new are $4-6,000 and even the used babyloc was going to be $6,000 so he can just decide which one he's going to buy me and I'll be ok with it. LOL He said well we'll talk it over when I'm home.

He's crazy, no way do I need a machine that costs that much money.

[Deleted]

The reviews on the Walmart one you posted are very good. If I was wavering between $500 and $800, I might agree with your husband, but for $500 or $5,000 when the lower-priced one has good reviews, I'd give it a whirl.

[mupcycledcouture]

I would jump on the Walmart one! I am telling you, I LOVE my Brother machine. Mine is a PE-150. Like the first one they came out with. And it still runs perfectly.

[Deleted]

I think he's thinking it could be a side income, making and selling embroidered items and you'd want the higher end machine for that since it's faster and has more options. That's my guess, we didn't have any time to talk about it tonight, he only had a couple of minutes to call. Who knows what he's thinking in that guy brain.

I'll show him the WM one tomorrow and the reviews and see what he thinks.

[denise15601]

I did try to make $$ with the one I have, since that was before I started to sell on eBay, but it isn't easy.

I sold the most at my chemo center. While I was sitting there for 4 hours, I would take in new pics and cut the jump threads. All of the nurses would admire the designs and I did get a lot of orders.

I charged about $7 per hand or dish towel.

When the Steelers won the super bowl, a doctor ordered $100 worth of towels from me.

It is really hard now to find the hand towels that I used to pick up for $1 but I am now selling them off since I have way too many of them.

[Deleted]

The outfits I use to sell would sell higher with embroidered tops but not sure it would justify buying a higher end machine ,I can always hand applique cute designs but it's been years since I've done that. I would like to make the hand towels and embroidered items for Christmas and baby shower presents but of course those don't bring in any money since I'd be giving them away. Plus the expensive of buying the patterns for each one.

I think I'll see if I can convince him to order the WM one today when he gets up. Tell him then I can try it out without the huge investment. I even saw on some of the sewing sites where the users liked them so much instead of upgrading to a faster more expensive machine they just bought a second one so they could have 2 running at once to fill orders. To me that says a lot about the machine. Looks like the 3 yr warranty is $64 not sure if it would be worth it or not. I've never used their extra warranty before.

I have enough in paypal to order one, but if DH wants to buy it for me I'd be ok with that

[denise15601]

The embroidery library site that I told you about has sales pretty often..10 designs for $10. Love those. Mine has a 4" x 4" hoop and I have a plus hoop that is 4" x 7".

Can't imagine the designs you can buy for a huge hoop and the time it would take to create those lovely pictures.