Neesie,

I bought 2 LARGE spools of bobbin thread from Amazon a couple years
ago and they worked just fine.

However when I make FSL (free standing lace) items I use the SAME thread
in the bobbin that I use on top.

Good to know. Thanks! I've been drooling over the FSL patterns, I've been seeing . . . especially the bookmarks! Do you use the #90 for top and bottom or a heavier thread for both?

I just pulled the machine out of the box, this morning. Read through the manual and tried out a simple design, using a spool of C&C thread (for top thread), I'd used for an applique. Seems to work just fine . . . BUT am definitely gonna have to order a smaller hoop. Amazon.com must love me! :D

Neesie, I have 2 Brother embroidery machines, and have never used their thread that came with it. I've always used less expensive threads of many brands and never had any problems. So try whatever you have. Have also seen FSL designs done with poly or rayon threads, also bobbin or serger thread (cotton) - and as quiltylouise says, use the same thread top and bottom. Hope we see some of your stitchouts here.

Cheers

Neesie,

When it comes to my hoops I SELDOM use my smaller hoops.
I use the 4x4 more than the smallest hoop which is like about
2x3.

In fact when I bought my Brother Innov-Is 1500d machine it
didn't come with a 2x3 hoop and I did not buy it either.

As for thread, my all time FAVORITE is the Floriani brand, but
there are others who prefer different brands.

I also buy my needles by the 100 from All-Stitch.

The website is ALL STITCH

Thanks, Gay! I was seriously hoping it'd be as thread-friendly as my Janome (which seems happy with anything), so will just play around with it and see what works and what doesn't. That #90 thread really threw me for a loop!

One of my first projects will be to personalize a little quilt, for my great-niece. Being the natural chicken I am, I'll embroider her name onto a piece of fabric, then applique it onto the quilt. :p Naturally, I want a prettier font than the built-ins . . . but saw some lovely ones online, not long ago. Now I just have to find that link, I saved 'in a safe place' and order the download. :)

Louise, the 'smaller' hoop I want is the 4x4. The machine came with only the 5x7, which requires a much larger piece of fabric, than I'll usually be using. Needless to say, the larger piece of fabric also requires a larger piece of stabilizer . . . and I tend to feel a bit stingy, when cutting stabilizer. :D

I've never used anything other than 60 wt for my bobbin thread - either in my ULT or the 780D and have never had any problems with it.

Nita in sunny Florida

Seriously, the #90 (that came with the machine) doesn't 'look' that much thinner than my #50. I'm definitely gonna give the #60 a try! Thanks, everyone!

My BFF uses the same 60wt bobbin thread from All Stitch in her Designio 820(same machine as the PE770) that I use in my Janome 200e and 350e and she has never had a problem. We combine our supply orders to get the free shipping.

Cari

Nessie, I have the Brother 770 - got it early this year. LOVE IT! I use the #15 prewound bobbins that I bought from the same place I bought my machine on-line - no problems. The only thread I have a problem with when embroidering on it is Sulky. I normally use ARC thread. ENJOY IT.

Neesie,
I owned an embroidery machine before that had the 4x4. For me it was a great learning tool however think of this too...on the 5 x 7 you can do a small amount of embroidery patterns on the same hoop such as quilt labels and applique embroidery. Just a thought. I mostly use my 5x7 or my 6x6. I use the 60 wt. bobbin thread and for FSL I use the same color in the bobbin. Like Quilty Louise I too am a deep Floriani thread fan and at first I used Sulky since they always had great sales on them at Joann's, 50%! Everything will be a "trial by fire" and once you get the hang of it there is not stopping you LOL!

http://www.quiltingboard.com/images/misc/quote_icon.png Originally Posted by VivianW http://www.quiltingboard.com/images/...post-right.png
I have a Viking designer SE Purchased new when they came out many years ago. Has less than 5 hours on it! I'm afraid of it and never learned to use it. Have never loaded the things I purchased on it. Have the 3D professional, endless embroidery hoop, quilters kit III, mega hoop, never opened any of the boxes. I think they are up to like the 5th version now???? Would this be for someone like me that has an EM but doesn't know anything?





Hi VivianW: You have a fine machine! Did it come with a manual, if so, dig it out and start at the beginning and just follow each sentence and picture. It's real easy to do. I have a Designer I and a Ruby Deluxe. They are very user friendly. See if there is a dealer in your area or not to far away and go see them to see what classes they can offer to help you learn to use your machine. It's to good of a machine not to use it and they embroider and sew beautifully....
I love both of mine...
Good luck...

Also I have the metal hoop for the Husqvarna Viking Ruby Deluxe and it works like a charm!!

I just bought the brother pe770 and have just played around some. Yesterday I was embroidering on a pot holder and used, used dryer sheet for my stablizer and it worked great. Cut it away. Just had to try it.

Good morning all. I had a great weekend last week. I attended the Floriani event and my lqs in Naples and I learned quite a lot. We all got to work with the new Destiny machine in groups and did some exciting projects. I will say that the machine has a lot of features to include its IQ scanner. I have the Babylock Spirit and I'm not interested in forking over $10,000 for the Destiny. Like with any machine it will take time to learn its features and its temperament, i.e. threads. All of our projects were done in-the-hoop and though we came home with the designs we worked on they were only meant for the Ellisimo or the Destiny. I can minimize the design on my machine so I"ll give that a try. I also received a free cd from a friend of mine about threads and that was one is very interesting. The one thing I learned is when using metallic threads to put the spool in backwards. If you have a standing thread spool this works very well. All of our embroidering was done with the stand and never once did the thread break. The cost of the workshop vs. what I learned is worth it.

I have the PE770 too, and I bought a box of pre-wound bobbins on Amazon that have worked great. I bought these: http://www.amazon.com/ThreadsRus-Pre...rother+bobbins

They come out to about 21 cents per bobbin. I would have had to buy empty bobbins and wind them so for me this was a good deal. They're wound very full and my machine loves them.

So far, I've only used the #90 thread that came with my machine. Luckily, it uses the same bobbin as my Janome and other Brother. Winding the bobbins doesn't bother me. For my regular machines, I usually wind two or three at a time. Good to know the pre-wounds work well, though! I may break down and try them, in the future.

You will love pre wound bobbins when you start using them. You have to wind 2.5 to 3 reg. bobbins to 1 pre-wound bobbins. I also use them for my quilting, works great.

Agreed, JuanitaBean - I keep checking my prewound bobbins while embroidering because I can't believe they last as long as they do!

I've spent most of today on the computer, searching for a way to make a decent quilt label with a smaller font (less than 1/2"), without spending a fortune. Been reading all of the suggestions and tried out a couple free demos. Unfortunately, it seems most of the programs concentrate more on graphics and lettering is more of an afterthought. Now I'm looking at SewArt Digitizing Embroidery Software. The way I'm reading it, is it'll convert graphic file extensions into the embroidery software extensions. If that's the case, I'm thinking I can do my lettering in PhotoShop and then after saving, will be able to import it into the SewArt, for conversion into PES. Has anyone ever done this? If so, did it work?

I did find a couple of 1/4" fonts and bought one . . . but the stitching width isn't proportional to the size of the letter, so the overall effect is of a larger letter that's been compacted. I don't want printed labels, as they aren't practical for kids' quilts, which need to withstand many washings.

Any advice, before I pull out the rest of my hair? I've already resorted to chocolate, twice! :p

The best advice I can give you is when working with lettering this small(1/4"), since lettering is kind of dense, use thinner 60wt thread and a size 9 needle. This works well for any small dense design.

I made name labels on 1/2" ribbon for clothing not too long ago. I used the small size script font on my machine(Janome MC200e) and reduced it further in the machine. I was able to use my regular 40wt thread with no problems, but if the lettering had been any smaller I would have used 60wt thread.

Cari

Thanks, Cari. I absolutely agree with you, regarding the thinner thread. Problem is the (satin-type) stitches are too wide, for the overall width of the letters.

After posting my previous post, I remembered there was a free demo :p, so I'll try that and see just what I can do with it. :)

Towel I made for a friend
 

I made this for a girlfriend . The saying is hers I thought it was cute and gave it to her today she loved it!

How cute!!! :thumbup:

That's really cute! That saying would go over well at my kids' house, lol.

Cari

Neesie, before you go bald, I wanted to say there is another way to make quilt labels for kids quilts. Bubble Jet is the cheapest in the long run. Purchase some good quality muslin or Kona Bay cotton. Treat the fabric with Bubble Jet. You just pour a little in a dish....I use a 9 x 13 pan or a little larger, 10 x 15. Cut the fabric the size of paper your printer will take. Place the fabric in the dish and get it wet with the Bubble Jet (BJ). Next hang it to dry and let it drip back into the pan....This solution can be used again and again. Over a towel rack or thick plastic coat hanger work great. (If I am doing a quilt with pictures I cut my fabric into 11" strips then when they have been treated with BJ I sub cut. After your fabric has been treated iron it onto freezer paper. Pull up a font on your computer and type what you want on the quilt. EG This quilt belongs to Mary Jane, made by etc.....Now send this to the printer and use the freezer backed fabric to print it on. There is also another way. I'll PM you.

I see the Floriani Suite Pro digitizing software, it had some bugs and other things. They have made a super new one
and it is free to anyone who bought the first one. Call your dealer or on computer and look up Floriani, FTU.
The new cd is free, manual and how to, club, support on line, how to projects, howto viedos, etc.
My All brands Sew and Va in Richmond, va has free classes by meg for anyone who bought their software from them.
We had other buyers of the software come too but they have to pay.

Sorry I forgot to add quote have a great day! hope your store has it.
 

My All brands wirh Erick and Gayla owners, and Meg is the teacher. It is a great place great classes,
Diva day= sew and lunch, sewing machines, sewing machine mainteance, stop in ask questions about your
projects even trips. Hope your near here.

Thanks Sherian, I did get the update for the floriani. I have figured out some of it, finally. This version seems more user friendly, or else it finally clicked! I'm in Michigan so it would be quite a drive for the lessons! The quilt shop where I bought the software does not do classes for it. I was at the sewing expo and they had a booth and the sales person there that day was very helpful. I know it will do a lot more than what I am using it or right now!

Thank you! :) The reason I'd rather have stitched labels, is my current quilts are for a 3-yo girl and a 9-yo boy. They'll most likely need to stand up to quite a few washings. LOL I've used a different iron-on method, in the past. That particular label has withstood a gentle washing but I'm not sure how it'd make out, with kids tugging at it.

Hi, am going to have to read thru all these. Just got on here to give a small tip mainly, as it is late. I just bought a brother pe 770 embroidery machine, has a 5x7 hoop and simple to use and I really love it....but changed bobbin thread..prewound and now it is eating my thread and towel. So read where I need to use the M size. Will look for those tomorrow and see if that takes care of the problem, as I have Christmas gifts to do. Anyway my tip is, I didn't have any cut away, so used...used dryer sheets...and worked perfectly fine.

No, M bobbins are not what you need. Brother SA156, class 15, A style bobbins are what you want. I think M style bobbins are used in commercial machines. My Bff has the 770 and has always used pre wounds she buys on Amazon. I would look for some other cause of your problem.

Cari

I also recently bought the Brother PE 770. I've been mostly 'playing' with my machine but have noticed that the tighter my fabric is in the hoop, the better the stitches are. Make sure the dryer sheet isn't stretching any, as the stitches are made.

I use the plastic, class 15 bobbins. Several came with the machine and they're the same as the type I use for my Janome.

There's a fine line between tight enough and too tight. If you hoop too tight, especially with a dense design, you run the risk of the stitches pulling at the weave and you end up with holes at the edge of your design. Hooping a thick item too tight also runs the risk of warping your hoop. Proper hooping takes practice, I've ruined more than one project and one hoop getting the hang of it. Lots of frustration at times but I knew it was my errors and not the machine. I finally found what works better for me most of the time with the 5x7 hoop is to hoop the stabilizer and float my project using spray adhesive(wovens) or sticky backed adhesive(knits) and a basting stitch.

Cari

Granted there is such a thing as being too tight. . . and in the light of day, I can see how my comment sounds as if I was advising stretching to the limit! :D Seriously, I shouldn't post, when half asleep! :p
What I meant was not to have any sagging of the fabric. Unfortunately, my brain falls asleep before my body does. :shock: :D

Yes, that's a much better way to say it. I think more embroidery instructors should say "taught" instead of "tight". And I sincerely hope that when I write a long post like this I'm not sounding bossy or preachy. It's happened recently on another thread. My intention is only ever to help when I can because believe me, I needed so much help in learning about these machines when I first started and didn't get much.

Cari

Bossy or preachy? Hmmmmm. Hadn't thought of it that way but now that you mention it . . . . :D Nah, I'm just kidding! I re-read what I'd written and am glad you corrected my poor choice of words. :thumbup:

BTW, I don't offend easily, unless it's clear the person is trying to be offensive. You were clearly being helpful! :)

I use lots of different threads on my Viking Diamond Deluxe, it has no problem with any. I even managed to get it to emb FSL using serger threads, I just changed my needle, doubled my WSS and slowed my machine down. Not all FSL designs need to be shinny, like things for my grandkids, etc. It works great once I figured it out. I rarely use my 4x4 hoop and have only started using my 5x7 since Viking came out with the magnetic one, its so easy. I will usually find several things to do at once and then use a large hoop.

I agree with the 'taut' not tight tip. I started in 1998 and the mantra was have that stablizer 'drum tight' in your hoop. Everyone has their own interpretation of drum tight! Then people began to get puckered embroideries. Turns out drum tight may have been too tight! Very interesting to see what has evolved over the years. I still am totally enamored and fascinated with my machine embroidering! What a miracle!! My grandma would be totally blown away by how far things have come since her beloved treadle!!

My Janomes aren't fussy about thread either. Most of my FSL is done with cotton thread on doubled Vilene. I love Vilene and use it a lot.

About the hoops, when I bought my MC200e it only comes with the 5x5 hoop. Right then I ordered the little 2x2 hoop. Dealer was surprised I wanted it, most people want to go larger. I said I'm thrifty(read-cheap) and if I'm doing a tiny design I want to use the least amount of stabilizer. It was a good call because I've never had a tiny design stitch out bad no matter how bad I hooped the fabric & stabilizer.

Cari