I'm fairly new to this website and am trying to find reviews and/or comments on the Pfaff Creative 3.0? Anyone either happy or unhappy with this machine? I've searched the Internet but can't seem to find much info. I'm basically a self taught quilter so haven't had much exposure to the quilting society in my area. I'd appreciate any info,thanks

Looking for some advice on free software to convert embroidery designs. I personally use Embird, but have a friend who is just learning some embroidery and needs to convert emb. formats, so looking for free software before perhaps moving on to a $$'s program.
Thanks.

I think the reason more people do not use this thread is because it is so difficult to use. Really 309 pages! That's larger than most best selling trashy novels! I don't see how anyone can find answers to their questions or response to their comments. Why don't the managers of this website do a better job of managing this?! I would love to see the answers to questions but how do you find them?
Grumpy Cat (embroider)

I use the free version of Wilcom software, I use it mostly for changing formats because I have Janome and Brother machines. It will do more, but I haven't yet had a need to learn it.

Cari

I recently sent (another) PM to PatriceJ about making this thread a "sticky"

In a word I was told "NO"


But here is what she did have to say about the topic.

(This is directly from the reply PM that she sent to me)

[h=2] Re: pinned embroidery thread?
[/h]

Hi, Yahoo has "groups" for sewers, crafters, sewing machines, software..You just need to sign up..

For the scarf I would also use the sticky back stabelizers. But I wouldn't hoop the fabric, just the stabelizers. The hoop line dosent like to come out of some fabrics.

I have a Brother 780 with a 4x4 and 5x7 hoop. Had this for about a year and a half. Really enjoy using it but the stabilizers are the biggest problem. I get the hoops nice and tight but probably 3/4's thru the designs, there will be some puckering. I'm not always satisfied.

You are probably hooping too tight. I know all the tutorials say to hoop tight, but too tight of hooping causes most issues. I hoop my stabilizer just tight enough so it's not loose, if that makes any sense.

Cari

If you are getting puckering you might need to add an extra piece of stabilizers under your hoop if you are using a pattern with a lot of stitches 10,000 or more. Look on your package it should till how many stitches. It better to have to much stabilizer then not enough. I learn that from a class I took NO More Puckering. Hope this helps you to.

I am interested in trying my hand at embroidery but since I don't know if I will enjoy it or not, I do not want to spend over $500 on a machine. I would also like a sewing embroidery combo machine as I am currently using my mom's old Kenmore from the 70s and it needs some work done. I would like something with a little larger hoop area than 4 x 4. I have found the Brother HE-240 that fits this bill. I have also found the Singer Futura 9960 but can't determine if this is a sewing embroidery combination. Does anyone know if it is or not? Any other suggestions?

Thank you for your input.

So glad I found this thread! I just bought a Babylock Destiny and only have a couple spools of embroidery thread. I want to get more so I can play with the embroidery feature. In my package deal for the machine I am getting a subscription to Anita Goodesign which means a lot of thread! Can anyone recommend a good but not so $$$? I have a feeling this is going to be a large investment... sigh.

I believe the HE-240 only has a 4x4 embroidery field and the Singer is not an embroidery combo machine. I don't know that you can get a combo machine that does 5x7 embroidery for your price range. I'm not saying there isn't one, just that I don't know of one. Brother has a new combo Simplicity machine, the SB8000, that does 5x7 embroidery but I don't know how much it costs.
I felt the same as you when I first wanted to try machine embroidery so for my first machine I bought the Janome MC200E. It has a 5.5x5.5 hoop, which is substantially larger than a 4x4. I found I can often stitch designs that are for a 5x7 hoop, you just have to look at what the actual dimensions of the design are. I loved that machine so much I now have 3 embroidery machines and am looking at buying another. Alas, 4 machines are just too many and the MC200E will probably be the one to go when it comes time to sell one.

Cari

Yes machine embroidery is an expensive hobby. I use Madeira thread simply because it was the least expensive thread that my dealer sells when I bought my first machine. I bought 30 small spools to get me started. Then I started looking on line for less expensive options. I found allstitch.net sells Madeira thread on 3 times larger spools(mini cones) for half the price so I started buying a few or 10 spools every couple of months along with almost all of my other embroidery supplies. You can find many thread sets on Ebay or Amazon for good deals, but you need to be sure your machine won't be fussy about the brand of thread before you make a huge investment.

Cari

The Brother E240 only has a 4x4 field, according to the specs. It does have an USB port, so you can import other designs. The Singer Futura 9960 has built in stitches. If you want to embroider you have to chose from the stitches that are there or you have to do it "freestyle" (cannot use embroidery files though). I have 2 Brother PE770's with a 5x7 field. These machines are embroidery only, but reasonably priced at under $600 on the internet. If you buy from a dealer, it might be the PE780, but one is a little more expensive. The Brother's are easy to use and I also have a separate sewing machine from them. The Singer Futura XL400 is a combination machine with a 10x6 field. ($600.oo on the internet). Just remember, that you don't get support when you buy online. You do have the same warranty on the machine as by the dealer. Another thing to consider is, that when you buy a combination one at a lower price point, you have to do a lot of homework. I love that idea that I have different machines for sewing and embroidery. Sometimes I have a very large embroidery file, that might take me an hour or so and this way I can keep on sewing at the same time. Hope I gave you some more fuel for thought and good luck with any machine you buy.

My babylock likes floriani, sulky, Madeira. It does not do well with the less expensive brands!

I purchased a Baby Lock Ellure for a bit less than $500 on ebay. It worked great. Then I bought an Ellure Plus for a $1,000 and sold the first one. They do a 5 x 7 inch field.

There is 5 1/5 years and 300 plus pages in this one thread. Yowza! Just do a "search" for your inquiries. Or Join a brand specific yahoo group. Which turns into amatuer digitizers wanting to sell their designs. Yawn.
sandy

I have a babylock Ellure Plus and Ellismo Gold. I am thinking of selling my Ellure Plus and buying the babylock Aventura.
Thanks
Kathy

Good luck....it nice to read about your upgrading....LOL...

I'm pretty new to the world of embroidery. Got my "new to me" Viking D 1 a few months ago and I've been having so much fun with it. Just wanted to show you all what my machine just made all by itself. Incredible.

Thanks for sharing...!!

Mommessy, this is gorgeous work! While you write that the machine did it "all by itself," we all know that's not true. What part of this lovely purse was done by machine embroidery? What part by the fabric you chose? What part by your quilting? Please take major credit for having put all the pieces together!

I agree with Sushi....100%

Thanks for the nice comments! The machine basically did everything except pick fabrics and change thread color! This pattern is a "In the hoop design". When I took it out of the hoop, all I had to do was trim seams and turn it right side out! I was so excited that I made number 2!

I would say that you caught on real quick. Have had my Scandinavia 300 for ten years and LOVE it. It is a workhorse; only problem is I can only use a 4"--100mm x 100mm, and a Plus Hoop (less than a 5x7--100mm x 170mm. Even tho, I know I won't ever trade it in for a newer one. ENJOY.

mommessy Like your coin purse. Great Job

These are good ideas but you might want to make sure of the density, some designs aren't made to go on some fabrics. Even towels you have to be careful. The design should have a underlayment of stitching to keep it on top of the towel, even with the topping. It'll look good until you wash it.

Go on....You are on your way for 100.... He he... Its contageous

Mommessy, I love your coin purses. Can you share the name of the design?

Auntevie, Kreative Kiwi Embroidery. Makeup bag.

Have fun!

Momymessy. That sure is a cute couple of cases! I have a Singer XL 5000 and love playing with her . I just keep forgetting to post pictures before I give the stuff away. Facebook has lots of groups for embroidery that have the cutest designs!

This is an embroidery machine question but totally off the thread above.
I'd like to machine embroider/applique stars to a completed quilt top. Should I put them on before or after sandwiching?
It could act as part of the quilting. but having never done this before I wasn't sure how to proceed. Has anyone done this?
Or another approach would be to find a star that is just embroidery. I've been searching for one of those with no success. It needs to be simple and plain.
This is a QOV. the pattern shows the stars randomly placed on the 20 blocks. Will that be hard to accomplish?
As you can tell, I'm really new to using my embroidery machine.
Thanks for the help.

sval ~ I recently made a quilt with applique butterflies. I put the butterflies on each block and then squared the blocks up before piecing all the blocks together. After piecing and bordering the quilt top, I sandwiched the quilt and machine SID between the blocks. I'm now in the process of hand-quilting around each butterfly. I didn't think I could successfully squeeze the whole quilt in my machine and be able to move it around the butterflies.

An idea for the stars would be to do each block individually and add a little extra batting underneath each star to help them stand up a bit more.

Please show us your quilt and have a ball doing it! I'll be showing mine within the month when it's completed.

Greetings ☺️
May I ask ..... What Machines are the Best for the $$ ??
I am shopping now for an Embroiderey Machine.
I want to use it for quilts, plus lots of fun things!
Ive never had one 😢
Thank you!!

mommessy, love your coin purses-you are off to a great start

Trying to upgrade my machine. I am debating on the Janome 15000 or the Viking Designer Diamond Royale. Any thoughts or help please.

Embroidery machines are so much more than simple embroidery
these days.

You can get embroidery only machines, or you can get combo
machines that will do BOTH sewing & embroidery (I have 2 of these).
Both my machines are Brother and for the money I have NOT been
disappointed with them.

My recommendation is to research, research, research, and buy a
machine with the LARGEST hoop size you can afford, but if at all
possible try to get at LEAST a machine with a 5x7 hoop.

The first machine I bought had a max hoop size of 5x7, but it didn't
take me long to realize that I wanted a bigger hoop, next machine
was a 6x10 hoop,,,, but now I want a multi-needle machine....

I love the all in the hoop designs