How to Choose an Embroidery Machine

Are you looking for an Embroidery Machine? Wondering how to choose an embroidery machine that fits your needs? Here is what 25 fellow crafters recommended when:

Tiara asked: “Brother PE770, Husqvarna Viking 300 or Singer Futura XL400?? (First-Time Embroidery Machine Purchase/User). Help!”

Melody asked: “I know this has been asked over and over, but i can’t find it on the page… I need an embroidery machine for a home based business, mostly doing shirts and scrubs for businesses. I want something sturdy but don’t have thousands to spend. Also need to learn it fairly quickly (already an experienced sewer). Any suggestions for an appropriate machine?” 

This post is compiled from two facebook threads here and here.

How to Choose an Embroidery Machine

how to choose an embroidery machine

1. “I love my Pfaff embroidery machine. My dealer in mid-Missouri has several preowned machines for sale and when you buy a machine from her, you get free lessons. Maybe your local dealer offers a similar program.” – Vicki W.
2. “Honestly, I had a Singer once that started out well, but died quickly and was too temperamental and I ruined a lot of items when it did not function correctly. Either pay up for a higher quality one (thousands) or find someone local you can bargain with to do it professionally for you. Just my 2 cents.” Janet B.
3. “Had a Babylock that didn’t last long and had a very poor local service experience!!!” – Eydie G.
4. “I have a Pfaff Creative Vision. I’ve been really happy with it!” – Danielle B.
5. “I have a Viking. Excellent customer service and excellent results for shirts.” – Kristina G.
6. “You will hear that a lot of machines are great. But you need to decide how big of a sewing field you want. If you’re only doing lettering on jackets a 4×4 might be enough but if you plan on doing larger designs you would want a larger sewing field. You can do larger on the smaller size machines but you must do another hooping and lining up the designs on the item you are embroidering. Some 4×4 machines will let you use a 5×7 or larger hoop but you still need to split the design to be able to do it. I also was given very good advice from a dealer. He stated home embroidery machines are just that for home use and they are not made to stitch all day like commercial machines. (I got told this after my complaints of the machine goofing up after sewing for a few hours) At the time I was only stitching for family and friends. You also want to make sure you have a person who can work on your machine. To have a machine and no one to fix it close and you trust would mean you could have to ship the machine to a repair shop.” – Michele M.
7. “I have a Singer Quantum XL 6000. Had it for a long time and no trouble with it, I love it!” – Frances W.
8. “I would have said Husqvarna.” – Coleen M.
9. “Husqvarna! Or Babylock or really high end Brother (so user friendly!)” – Jessica B.
10. “Look on Just Keep Sewing blog. She does a lot of business using her embroidery machine. I am sure she would have a lot of advice!” – Beth B.
11. “I have a Brother that I bought at HSN I believe (or maybe QVC) for under $600. It came with everything I needed to start right out of the box embroidering designs and different fonts. It is also a really good sewing machine. I can only load one color thread at a time, but for what I do it’s great.” – Cathy M.
12. “Brother PE-770 embroidery only machine or a Baby Lock Ellure Plus combo.” – Jordan N.
13.”I have a Futura Singer I bought in December off HSN with full software package like Hyperfont and such if you would like to buy it it is very user friendly and has 2 size hoops.” – Sarah T.
14. “I don’t have an embroidery machine, but I have 3 Husqvarna machines (a regular E20, a serger, and the sapphire quilter). I love the brand and wouldn’t hesitate to grab up the Husqvarna embroidery machine. Good Luck!” – Angie O.
15. “I have the Brother PE-780D and had a major repair in the first year. Still gives me some trouble but it is easy to use and I love having a 5×7 hoop. Wish I had a bigger hoop though.” – Sandra S.
16. “The Brother! Great machine for the money. I have a Janome and I prefer the Brother. Try them out before you buy.” – Joan L.
17. “I’d get the Husqvarna before the brother and wouldn’t touch the singer with a stick.” – Celesa J.
18. “I have the Viking and love it because you can merge designs easily on the program they give you, it has a 5×7 hoop (don’t buy a machine that only has a smaller size), and the salespeople give me lots of support, help, and advice.” – Kristina G.
19. “I am looking into the same thing right now! I have read terrible things about the XL400 and talked to a few people who all ended up sending them back to Singer. My local sewing machine store said they have quit selling all Singers because the quality of the brand has gone downhill and they have had to refund many customers because the machines could not be fixed. I don’t know anything about Husqvarna, but I have heard they are good. The Brother machines are amazing! I have 2 and LOVE them! I really want the Innovis 1500 but it is so expensive! I think I will end up getting the PE770 on Amazon since you can buy the larger multi-positional hoop to do designs up to 5×12 without rehooping (just moving the placement of the hoop on the hooks. I do this with my SE-350 (4×4 field) and I have embroidered large 5×7 applique designs. You just have to split your design into pieces in a software like Sew What Pro.” – Jennifer C.
20. “I just got the Brother 780-D. It seems like a nice machine for what things I have done so far and I think it’s similar to the 770.” – Melody C.
21. “As a sewing machine mechanic I have to say that the best machine is the Singer, then the Brother.” – Indigo Guidance and Healing
22. “I have the Singer Futura and love it. I am a beginner embroiderer and I can easily figure it out. Doesn’t come with many designs but im not concerned with that yet. It does have 2 hoops sizes!” – Danielle D.
23. “I just got the Brother 770 online through Walmart in case I have issues I can return it to a store. But so far, although I’ve only done three simple projects, all is good!” – Despina B.
24. “I love love love my Viking. The only issue is the price of the software. I’ve had mine for over 7 years and have never had a problem.” – Jeanette R.
25. “Love my Brother PE770. I have had it for 3 years and not one problem with it!” – Ashley H.

Do you have any tips or suggestions on how to choose an embroidery machine? We’d love to hear!

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Happy crafting!

Linda