PeggyFinney

I recently purchased a janome 9900. I have no problem with the machine persa. But now that I am looking at different designs I am worried that I may be very limited. It only has two sizes of hoops the smallest will take a design 5 x 5 and the larger I think is 6 x 8. So if I want to do a long/border type design I may be limited in my opinion. I don't know much about embroidery yet but if this is cause for concern then maybe I should be looking at something more? Can anyone shed some advice? Or experience on this.

ShirlinAZ

I haven't tried it yet, but it is possible to "stack" your designs to create a design longer than your hoops. I've seen them doing this in one of the LQS. I recommend taking classes. You can also get some help from the tutorials at emblibrary.com.

PaperPrincess

The hoop size is one of the first things you need to consider when purchasing an embroidery machine. You can do border designs by stitching and carefully rehooping, advancing the design. Some border designs have registration stitches that aid in the rehooping. You can also look and see if there is a border hoop or a magnetic hoop available for your machine which makes rehooping easier.

mpspeedy2

A lot depends on what you intend to use the embroidery on. I have used both of my embroidery machines to embroider designs on T shirts and or sweat shirts to make them special for little money. As a full chested woman I have dribbled a lot of stains on my chest. Being able to embroider a design over the stain has saved many a perfectly good blouse or shirt. I have made a queen size quilt for my own bed made of squares each with a different embroidered design in the middle. A plain denim shirt turns into something special with a little embroidery. Over the years I have decorated many a clothing item for myself, my children and grandchildren. Start small and see if you really want to do this embroidery thing. If you find your present machine is not enough for you, a trade up may be possible. Over the years I have invested a small fortune in embroidery designs that I rarely if ever use or used. The ones that came preloaded in the machines got the most use. I also indulged in a small fortune's worth of embroidery thread. In the last few years I discovered that multi colored or multi shaded thread makes great designs without having to constantly change threads. The older I get the quicker and easier I like everything. Play with your machine and see if you are really interested in using it a lot before you worry about upgrading.

sushi

For anyone interested in machine embroidery, there's a page on the QB devoted to it. You can find it here: http://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1...ml#post6673163

romanojg

First of all I think your hoop sizes are 4x4 and 5x7, you take the inside measurments and these are the normal ones in this area. I myself could not limit myself to this small, I rarely use either one of these. If I have smaller designs I normally use a larger hoop and do multiple ones in one hooping. Some designs can be split if you have the correct software and some come with a split option. I went for the largest that I could afford when I got my first one and that was really big and a yr later when I had the opportunity to get the largest hoop at a great deal I traded my Viking Ruby in for the Viking Diamond Deluxe. I agree the hoop size is the first thing you should have looked at. Hopefully if you got it from a dealer you got good customer service, another thing that's worth its weight in gold. There are some on here that do fine with these two sizes and others like my self who would feel limited. You have to decide for yourself what you would be comfortable. You can check on trade-in values and specials to see if that would be an option without costing you an arm and a leg. Make sure first that you are going to like emb first before you worry about the size. I had never emb myself when I got mine but know myself well enough to know I'd have felt cheated if I had too many limitations on it. Good luck.

quiltingcandy

There is a new hoop on the market for continuous patterns - can't remember the name and not sure how many brands use it but it doesn't hurt to call your dealer and ask about it. Or go on line for Janome and see if they have such an item. Sometimes to broaden your options you need to invest in a computer program. I have the Viking Topaz 20 - it has its limits and at times I think I should have done more research but then I did not want to spend that much money on a machine. The one I have does good work and there is a learning curve to the embroidery - I am still learning and having a great time doing it.

romanojg

Its called the continous hoop, I'm not sure what all machines use it. Viking has two sizes and I know both my Ruby and my diamond deluxe can use it. I have it hanging on my wall, one day there will be enough time to use it.

Weezy Rider

http://www.kennykreations.com/produc...nome-gigahoop/

http://blog.jennys-sewing-studio.com/?p=2025

http://www.ehow.com/how_7172039_spli...y-designs.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFVHuu_ECzw

If you use a template and mark the end stitches, you can split. I remember seeing full jacket backs done with the first embroidery machines - only had 4x4 hoops. I had the info but sold the books. I have digitizing software so I can set position stitches and split there.

This is older than the hills, but the this is the way it used to be done. It's for a Pfaff, but the splits were manual. I'm surprised the site is still around.
http://www.cyberport.net/users/milne...#anchor1297892

If you want software, there are now less expensive solutions to splitting. Embrilliance, Buzzedit, Embird, and the Amazing designs app that Jenny is using.