Shopping for embroidery machines can be overwhelming but it doesn’t have to be. I’m jumping straight into comparisons for those only here for that, but if you’re not sure how to choose the right machine for you, make your way to the end of the article for a breakdown of features and buying tips.
If you’re holiday shopping, there are loads of gifts for crafters that fit into any budget as well as smaller, more affordable mug heat press machines if they love customizing.
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If you’re on a tight budget, the Brother SE600 is a cheap combination machine that can cover both sewing and embroidery.
It’s a computerized sewing machine with a color touchscreen that helps you select your stitches and set up your embroidery with the user-friendly Brother interface. It has 103 sewing stitches built-in. The machine sews well though it doesn’t have a lot of the bells and whistles you can get if you invest a bit more. However, the simplicity makes it a good choice for beginners since you need to learn to walk before you run.
As far as embroidery, the SE600 comes with 80 pre-loaded designs and a USB port for importing new or self-created images. The LCD touchscreen allows you to edit and position your images making it easy to create stunning monograms on this simple little machine.
Find more Brother SE600 Bundle information and reviews here.
If the idea of a large touchscreen for ease of use sounds good to you, check out the Janome Memory Craft 14000.
It’s a combination sewing and monogram machine and the sewing machine is certainly nice enough to replace an outdated one if you’re looking to upgrade to a combo unit. There are 400 preloaded stitches and 13 buttonhole options to work with. It has an automatic thread trimmer and automatic needle threader to save you more time.
There’s a variety of sewing plates to help you sew straighter when you need to and allow for lots of space when you’re doing wide decorative stitches. You won’t be disappointed with its sewing capabilities.
The color LED touchscreen is huge at over seven inches tall, giving you tons of space to easily see your icons, designs, and options. It takes up a lot of space on the machine, but I love the big screen because I hate squinting and accidentally hitting the wrong button when they’re so close together.
The embroidery arm attaches to the side instead of the front and swings out which can either be a big plus or a major minus depending on your space. You need a sewing area that is deep as well as wide to accommodate this, but not as wide as others front-loading embroidery machines. The Memory Craft comes preloaded with 350 designs and you can add your own through a USB or directly connecting to your computer.
Horizon Link Suite is software that connects to your Memory Craft where you can design, alter, and customize embroidery designs before sending them over to your machine with its 4MB or storage.
This special bundle set includes a wheeled travel case, bobbin spools, hoops, thread, 50 bonus embroidery designs, instructional DVD, along with all the essential parts.
Find more Janome Memory Craft 14000 Bundle information and reviews here.
For those who are serious about their embroidery or those who are looking to sell their work, the Janome MB-7 is the first seven needle monogram machine that is made for home use.
It’s larger than a sewing machine but not so large that it couldn’t fit on your sewing room counter. For the size it is, it is a powerhouse.
With seven needles you can create images that are seven different colors without having to change your thread. The MB-7 has an automatic thread trimmer so it can move from one thread color to the next without any pause or need for you to do anything. Watch the video below to see it transition from one color to the next all on its own.
It also has a thread break sensor and will auto-return to its last position before the thread break to pick up where it left off. This is a great feature and important since the machine can be left on its own to create the embroidered image so you may not be right there when the thread goes to keep track of when it happened.
The machine is controlled by a remote computer with a full-color touchscreen. From there you can adjust the size and placement of a design and assign colors for each part of the image. When you select the hoop size you are using the image with automatically center itself.
There are 50 images preloaded along with 10 fonts for lettering and it’s easy to upload your own images with a USB flash drive. The unit can also be controlled directly by your computer if you wanted to disconnect the touchscreen and plug your PC directly into the machine.
There’s also an independent bobbin winder on the side as the MB-7 has larger bobbins than its predecessors, allowing for fewer changes. I like that it’s compatible with Tajima hoops which can save you some money.
Is this too much machine for some folks? Yeah, seven needles is a lot if you don’t have a lot of sewing and embroidering experience. This is not an entry machine. But if you live for embroidering and are fed up with how long it takes with a single needle, or you’re looking to expand your business potential, this is the best home machine for you.
This model is also available with a bundle of accessories like stabilizers and thread to get you started.
Find more Janome MB-7 Embroidery Only Machine information and reviews here.
If you’re looking for an embroidery unit for your personal use that doesn’t need to replace your sewing machine go with the Brother PE535.
It’s especially perfect for folks on a budget looking for a machine that can add small embroidered details without going overboard and paying for more machine than you need.
The PE535 is simple to operate with a color touchscreen interface where you can resize, reposition, and edit the colors on your image preview before embroidering. It comes with 80 preloaded designs and eight different fonts for lettering. There’s a USB port for uploading new images as well.
Brother has an entire other website called iBroidery that sells thousands and thousands of different patterns that you can easily upload to your new machine.
If you’re nervous about learning a new machine, the PE535 has built-in tutorials to get you started and customer technical support (by phone or emails) is covered by the 25-year limited warranty.
This is not the machine for you if you want to do elaborate designs that cover a large area but if you want to dabble in monogramming without shelling out four-figures for a bigger machine, this is a great choice.
For a larger working area, check out the very popular PE800.
Find more Brother PE535 Embroidery Only Machine information and reviews here.
For those looking for a machine for their embroidery business, you have to go commercial to turn a profit and BAI Vision 1201 Single-Head Machine is where you want to be.
It’s a workhorse that is highly automated, with auto color changing and auto thread trimming, so it needs as little from you as possible once you get it going. It’s set up to embroider anything flat and include a hat attachment for round objects.
A 10-inch full-color touchscreen makes it easy to resize, adjust, and input text. You can upload your own creations via a UPS drive. You can embroider with 12 different colors before needing to change thread which is truly a lot of colors to work with.
It comes with 11 t-shirt hoops in six different sizes, a cap attachment, an 11-piece tool set, a winding machine, two cap hoops, and a cap hoop station. It really covers everything you need to get started except for the fabric and threatd.
If you’re looking to upgrade your home business, the capacity of this machine will eventually pay for itself. And if this isn’t quite enough, BAI makes a two-headed commercial machine to embroider two pieces at once.
Find more BAI Vision 1201 12-Needle Professional Embroidery information and reviews here.
Brother’s Persona PR100 Machine is like no other machine on the list. It’s a dedicated embroidering unit with a boxy, two-footed design that allows for lots of extra space around the working arm. It’s perfect for working with large pieces of fabric, like curtains, dresses, and quilts, without having to deal with large fabric tangles.
This unique shape also allows you to embroider things that aren’t flat like hats.
The compact square design of the machine makes it much more compact compared to long-armed sewing machine-style machines. Sure, it looks a little bit like a robot to me, with those two little feet, but really Brother took the style of commercial embroidery machines and shrunk them down to home crafter size. It’s only 18 inches wide and much easier to fit on a crafting table compared to longer machines.
It’s fully loaded with images as it comes with 405 embroidery designs, 20 fonts, decorative frames, and six decorative alphabets (though I’m not sure how that’s different from a font.)
I love that it has a built-in stand for four bobbins and a vertical bobbin set up so it’s easier to change out colors.
It includes six hoops in sizes going from a 7.8-inch by 7.8-inch frame down to a mini 1.5-inch by 1.75-inch frame.
Find more Brother Persona Single-Needle Embroiderer information and reviews here.
Bernette’s B70 Deco Embroidering Unit matches a user-friendly, simple full-color LED interface with a dedicated easy-to-use embroidering arm for a machine that is good for beginners and experienced users alike.
It has hoop detection so you don’t have to worry about entering which hoop you’re using each and every time and both upper and lower thread sensors help prevent problems before they start.
The long-armed design of the machine leaves plenty of room for working on large projects like blankets, quilts, and curtains. Its full-color touchscreen makes the machine very user-friendly and makes it easier to access all the preloaded goodies. It’s simple to add your own custom images using a USB drive. There are 208 preloaded stitches and seven alphabets. The sewing and embroidery combo version includes 500 preprogrammed stitches as well.
Find more Bernette B70 Deco Embroidering Machine information and reviews here.
Not satisfied with your entry-level machine but don’t want to jump up to the big-ticket models? This might be for you.
The Brother PE800 is an embroidery only machine with a larger working field than the Brother PE353 and has a nicer, more user-friendly color touchscreen interface. It’s perfect for those who want the freedom to create larger images but don’t need too many bells and whistles.
The touchscreen makes it easy to select, resize, rotate, and flip images and you can upload new images with its USB port. Some neat features they did include in this upgrade are an automatic needle threader and LED light to illuminate your work.
Find more Brother PE800 Embroidery Only information and reviews here.
If you’re looking to embroider the old-school way and have complete freedom in your designs, this is for you.
There are no computers, no touch screens, no pre-loaded images, and no hoops. This is freehand embroidery using a traditional chainstitch machine. Chainstitch machines are single needle models that create a looped stitch that forms a chain.
With no hoop, your designs can be as big as you want with no interruption. Since there are no computers, the embroidery designs are entirely up to you. If you’re an artist who loves to freehand this is for you. For those of us who don’t feel excited about that, should stick to machines who can do it for us.
This unit does not come with a sewing table or with a motor. It operates on a wheel for complete control over speed. It can be adapted to use a motor but that’s personally beyond my skill.
I’ve used a completely manual antique Singer before, and there’s something really satisfying about it. There’s a lot of pride in a garment that you made completely yourself. That said, this is definitely not for everyone.
Find more Worlden Manual Chainstitch Machine information and reviews here.
Eversewn takes a different approach to connectivity with their wifi capable Sparrow X that you can control through the free Eversewn app on your smart device.
No wires or USB drives needed to upload your custom designs. You just download Eversewn’s free app on your smart device and connect to your Sparrow X. From there you can upload designs, choose from the preloaded bank, as well as resize and edit designs. Once your machine has started working on the design you can monitor its progress on your device when you step out of the room.
It is a bit slower when it comes to other brand names for monogram machines but for the price and no need to fiddle with tiny touchscreen or jump drives, that’s not so bad.
It’s a combination machine so you can also use it for your general sewing. The Sparrow X has 120 different stitches and is also a little on the slow side when it comes to stitches per minute.
If you’ve got brand loyalty to SINGER, check out their Legacy SE300, their embroidery and sewing combo machine.
You’ll love the extra big embroidery field and the user-friendly accessories like snap on and off feet. There are 200 preloaded images as well as six alphabets and 250 stitches. To upload your own custom designs, you can use the included USB drive to move them from your computer to your machine.
This machine is a little bit more low-tech with a smaller, black and white monitor but it still embroiders and doubles as a SINGER sewing machine to boot.
I like that it does have features like automatic threading and a bobbin winder.
Find more SINGER Legacy SE300 Embroidering Machine information and reviews here.
The Brother SE1900 Embroidery and Sewing Machine is a good choice for you if you need reliability, ease of use, and the ability to quickly alter your designs.
Brother is the most trusted brand in embroidery to create machines that run with fewer hiccups. Anyone who sews knows that you’re bound to break needles and create bird’s nests of thread out of nowhere, but for the process that sewing is, Brother makes solid machines. Plus they’re backed by a 25-year limited warranty.
The sewing action is smooth and swift. It’s preloaded with 240 stitches and has a “create your own” custom stitch feature using the color touchscreen. Automatic threading and drop and sew bobbins make the whole process smoother and faster.
This model comes with 138 preloaded images and it’s simple to upload your original designs. The large touchscreen is great for the embroidery feature as you can simply drag and drop to position your images and use the screen to rotate and resize the design. You can even edit the color of your designs right on the touchscreen so you can see an accurate preview of your image before you finalize it. Suddenly don’t like the color of your image? No need to reupload it, you can simply switch it out on the touchscreen.
Find more Brother SE1900 Embroidery & Sewing Combo information and reviews here.
The Averma E3 is a computerized embroidering machine that is nice and compact to the point of having a built-in handle for transport. It’s a good choice for people who don’t have dedicated counter space for a machine like this and need it to be something that you can pull in and out of storage as needed.
The E3 uses a large, seven-inch color LED touchscreen that allows you to access the 96 preloaded embroidery patterns. The images are nice and they are easy to customize with rotation, resizing up and down, and drag and drop placement on the working field. You can upload new designs with a USB drive (not included).
This package includes the machine, two hoops, 12 spools of thread, and a six-piece tool kit.
If you’re looking for a sewing and embroidering combination, Averma makes the ES3 which can do both.
Find more Averma E3 Computerized Embroidering Package information and reviews here.
It depends so much on your space, what you need it for, and your budget.
This may be your biggest question. Some machines are completely specialized for embroidery and others are multifunction so it works as a sewing machine with one attachment and embroiders with another.
Let's break down the pros and cons.
Embroidery sewing machine combination.
Pro: you save space by replacing your sewing machine with a device that does both jobs. It also is great if you want to be switching back and forth between functions without going to a different machine or if you are a quilter.
Con: anytime something is a multi-tasker it is going to be compromising on certain aspects that a dedicated embroidery unit doesn't. You may be limited in field space, throat width, number of needles, or ability to create your own designs.
Specialized embroidery unit.
Pro: the device is exactly that--it's dedicated to this one task so you know it's going to do it well. With a specialized machine for embroidery, you won't have to relearn a whole new sewing machine if you're in love with your current model.
Con: you have to have space for a whole other rig in your crafting area and be willing to switch stations when you need to sew.
If this is a personal hobby, you have some more leeway in terms of how much lower on the budget scale you can get away with. But if you're going to be embroidering product to sell en masse than you need something with speed and multiple needles.
Pay attention to the field size when choosing the right machine for you. This refers to the maximum amount of space that the machine can embroider. A fairly standard number is around four inches by four inches.
You'll see larger hoops and frames on these units, but it's the field size specification to look out for.
A far cry from sitting by the fire doing needlepoint for hours on end, today's machines are computerized and able to complete designs in a fraction of the time.
All quality machines have a variety of designs preloaded onto them. There should be plenty of images as well as fonts to choose from for lettering.
Where it can get tricky is if and how you are able to upload new images that didn't come with your machine. These days many can be connected via USB to upload new designs which is the most convenient and easiest way, but some older or cheaper models use image card or physical connections to your computer.
If you're not super tech-savvy take note of the upload method as they could be a deal-breaker.
Depending on your type of project, throat width can be a huge deal or not an issue at all. If you tend to work on quilts are large, preassembled clothing items, you want a long throat width so you have room to work.
We can't pretend that your budget doesn't play into this decision. These machines aren't cheap and you can easily drop $600 on what's considered an entry-level model. The sticker shock is real.
If you're buying a machine for a business, be prepared to be pushing into the $6,000 and up range for a machine that can perform the tasks needed in a business setting.
Hobbyists can generally stay below the $6,000 mark for a model suited to your projects.
If the price has you wide-eyed, keep in mind that these machines are small computers that can sew for you. And keep in mind, whether this is a business venture or not, there is money to be made at fairs and events for embroidered items.
Many historians believe we've been embroidering fabric for about as long as we've had fabric. It's a style of decoration that goes back thousands of years and spans the globe from B.C.E China according to Jstor to Vikings according to a Vassar paper.
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