quilts4charity

I have 2 Brother embroidery machines...they are very user friendly....

momto5

I have the Singer Futura CE200....I use it exclusively for embroidery and it does a good job. The largest hoop is 5X7 and it also has another, smaller one. You can use it as a regular sewing machine as well, although I don't use it that way. I also have a Janome 350E, embroidery only...and it's (for me) hard to understand how to use it. I have had numerous conversations with several people about it and still feel like I don't understand it. The problems I have with it stem from trying to transfer an embroidery pattern to the file on the machine, using a USB stick. Just doesn't make sense to me. So right now, I give it a shot, if it doesn't work, I go back to my Futie or use a built in design on the Janome. And there are times when I wish I'd saved my money. I have a Janome 6600P so it's not like I;ve never seen one...and money wise, I paid about $600 for my Futie about 9-10 years ago, and just paid $1500 for the Janome last year...don't know how that translates to Sterling, sorry. Good luck!

nangars

I have a baby lock Ellisimo, couldn't be simpler to use, have had her for over 3 years use it all the time, no problems with it at all. There a few at dealers before you buy one. There are some machines are have to be adjusted as you go, no so with the Ellisimo. This isn't a cheap machine, but you get what you pay for.

ann31039

I paid 499 American (new) for my Brother PE770. It was a reconditioned unit back in 2010. I love it and it has served me well. They are more expensive than that usually, I just caught a really good deal.

icul8rg8r

I've owned the Brother LB6800 (which is the Project Runway version of the SE-400). Great little machine but two things to be aware of:
1. For embroidering, the hoop size is only 4x4. Quickly realized I needed something bigger.
2. Even with a walking foot, it did not quilt/sew through several layers with even stitches.

So....since I really wanted to quilt, I traded it in for a Pfaff (Ambition) sewing machine that has the built-in walking foot (IDT ... highly recommend). Then this last Christmas I bought a stand alone Embroidery only machine - the Brother PE-770. Love it. It has a larger 5x7 hoop space, and I can be quilting or sewing on my Pfaff while embroidering on the Brother!

gale

My sister has the Brother SE400 and likes it for sewing but she has never used it for embroidery. I have the PE500 embroidery only machine and if she wants quilt labels, she has me make them. Makes no sense to me.

Capri

Just make sure it stitches 5 x 7 and bigger. 5 x 7 restricts you to a 5" square block. The 8 x 8 hoop is used by many quilters as most quilt blocks are square otherwise you have to split designs and stitch them in 2 -4 sections and sometimes alignment can be a problem. Brother is an excellent choice. If you want to stitch Disney designs, you MUST have a Brother whatever number D. (The D stands for Disney). Janome is also a very popular brand worldwide. I've had Janome, Husqvarna, Pfaff and Brother. Pfaff is the best for quilters as it has IDT - like using a walking foot for everything. Good luck!

MamaHen

I just purchased a Baby Lock Ellisimo Gold II, so far I'm loving it. I did sell my Janome 350, upgraded because I wanted a larger embroidery area than the 350 offered. The 350 was a very easy machine to use, learning all about the Ellisimo is taking time but i'll eventually get there.

MamaHen

Momto5, on the 350 you do not transfer a design from the flash drive to your machine. The machine works from the design ON the flash drive. Don't use anything larger than a 2gb flash drive when loading a design on it, it will take the machine too long to find it.

Rose Marie

My Brother is the cheapest you can buy, $300.
It only has a 4 in area of embroidery but that's enough for a 6 in block.
I love this little machine and only wanted it for quilt blocks. Easy to use and has some built in designs.
Did have to buy Ped Basic to transfer patterns to a card.
Would be nice to have a machine that uses disks but I don't use it that much to spend the extra money.
Have several red work designs that I have used and love how the quilt I made turned out.
It is perfect for me and don't want a bigger machine.