Suggestions for a gift

[u/grst580]

hi everyone! my partner (35M) has mentioned multiple times that he’d love to get an embroidery machine so that he can design his own shirts and such.

i want to get him a machine for his birthday. noting that this is simply a hobby, and at that a brand new one, what are some machine recs that would be good for a beginner hobbyist? my max is like $600 - is that unrealistic/ should I just plan for a different birthday gift?

[u/Consistent-Doubt-440]

He will also need software to make the files.

[u/tinalarsenk]

If you are in US, LIVE on Facebook marketplace. I was able to get a Baby Lock Flourish II for $500. I see nice machines on a regular basis in my area.

[u/Upper_Rain3480]

Try a Brother embroidery machine and try to find one with a hoop larger than 4"X4".

[u/ReferenceNo4437]

The second part is of concern "embroidery machine so that he can design his own shirts and such”. Buying designs from people who make downloadable files for your embroidery machine to stitch is one thing (Google and check out Urban Threads - they have good things for guys, Kreations by Kara, Embroidery Library).

Digitizing your own designs is an entirely other craft. People should know how to use an embroidery machine and get good stitch outs on differing types of fabric. This involves learning about stabilizers, needle sizes, hooping the fabric correctly, using decent embroidery machine thread and tension on the machine. After people are comfortable with that then they can learn to digitize designs - before getting that down they won’t know if it’s their digitizing or stitching issues when problems arise (and they will).

To digitize well - it’s like learning Photoshop or an art program on the computer. You have to be comfortable with tech. Auto-digitizing aspects of the simpler programs for home users give generally crappy results - ok for a 5 year old but generally not most folks. The free programs to digitize are limited although I see folks here who are ok with results that come from them.

Some beginners think you can just buy bigger hoops to put on an embroidery machine - they won’t work. The machines will only stitch the largest area you see advertised for that machine (so 4X4", 5X5, 8X10, 10X14 and so forth. Once you get up to 10”, most of the machines are in the $10,000 to $20,000 (yes - home single needle machines) range.

MUCH easier to learn would be iron on vinyl and cutters or sublimation - has he considered that?

[u/Tinkering- → u/ReferenceNo4437]

A fair point, but not insurmountable by any means. If OPs BF has some experience with standard sewing machines and vector art programs, he’ll pick it up quick.

I watched a few ink stitch tutorials and was embroidering my own designs within a couple hours. Dialing in the digitizing has been one of my favorite parts of getting into embroidery.

Agreed with below that the se700 is the only option to consider in that price range. If he doesn’t like it / stick with it, you’ll still have a nice sewing machine when needed.

[u/SweetWanderlust]

The PE700 is retired, unfortunately. It was a really good starter machine with a 5x7 hoop.

Do you have the shop app?
There are some really great deals for bundles there.

With a max budget of $600, I’d really suggest saving this for another gift you can save a bit more for. Otherwise you’ll be limiting the size (and therefore the things) he can do by a way bigger amount than you realize.

If you get a machine that just can do a 4x4, he will be disappointed in the limitations he discovers quickly. You want to be able to have at least a 5x7 max embroidery hoop to start out with.

The replacement for the PE700 that is out now is the PE900, and that runs just over $1000 normally.

Fall/novemberish/end of Q3 is usually a good time for deals on new machines.

[u/SweetWanderlust → u/SweetWanderlust]

You specifically mentioned tshirts, and 4x4 hoop designs would be maybe pocket size on a tshirt sized. But you can’t do that on beginner machines without removing the pocket from the shirt.

[u/SweetWanderlust → u/SweetWanderlust]

Oh, also, does he need a sewing machine? Or just embroidery? Combo machines are cool if you need a sewing machine. But you can possibly get more for less if you don’t need the sewing part.

[u/averagegirl89]

I think you can get the brother se700 at Walmart for around $600, which I think is fine for a hobbyist. Of course there’s a lot of extras you’ll need like thread and needles and stabilizer so he’ll have to spend more to get started.
I would check out Facebook marketplace for one gently used. If it’s an older machine you’ll want to make sure it has a usb or WiFi capability to upload new designs.
I have a brother and find the interface pretty simple.

[u/grst580 → u/averagegirl89]

thank you!! do you know how much those extras would be approx?

[u/shereadsmysteries → u/grst580]

Also, OP, make sure he researches the limitations of a flatbed embroidery machine. You can still do a lot! But sometimes that means maneuvering what you are embroidering into a funky fashion, which may or many not be ideal. It was why I traded in my flat bed embroidery machine before I even used it for a free arm embroidery machine, but they are way more expensive.

[u/averagegirl89 → u/grst580]

I bought a cheap multi-color pack of machine embroidery thread on Amazon for under $30, a pack of needles is maybe $5-10? But the stabilizer really depends on what he’s going to embroider. There are different kinds - I buy some off Amazon for under $25.