The Sewing Place

Pros and cons please ... Embroidery machine in the offing!!

Bodgeitandscarper

Re: Pros and cons please ... Brother 750E
« Reply #15 on: September 06, 2017, 09:14:46 AM »
It looks like that machine will take a 5" x 12" hoop, although the ad says it has a 5 x 7.
As for bobbins, after much reading, I decided to buy ready wound ones - remarkably cheap too!  Embroideredjust4you is a great source of all things embroidery.

Iminei

Re: Pros and cons please ... Brother 750E
« Reply #16 on: September 06, 2017, 09:19:32 AM »
In the first pic you can see two embroidery hoops leaning up against the machine.
Can you see from the scale which size they are B&S?
The Imperfect Perfectionist sews again

Bodgeitandscarper

Re: Pros and cons please ... Brother 750E
« Reply #17 on: September 06, 2017, 10:39:57 AM »
I really wouldn't like to say, but would guess they are a 4 x 4 and a 5 x 7.  There is also another hoop on the floor which looks bigger - could be worth asking the size of that one?  A new 5 x 12 looked (on a quick google) to cost £40 or so.

Acorn

Re: Pros and cons please ... Brother 750E
« Reply #18 on: September 06, 2017, 11:47:42 AM »
I would check the official specs for the machine, because if the maximum embroidery area is only 5 by 7 you are probably going to get very frustrated very quickly - unless you are confident that you are only going to want to do small areas at a time.
I might look as though I'm talking to you, but inside my head I'm sewing.

Bodgeitandscarper

Re: Pros and cons please ... Brother 750E
« Reply #19 on: September 06, 2017, 12:06:31 PM »
My 350 is a 5 x 7 maximum, it's bigger than you think.  And of course, the bigger the hoop, the more expensive the machine is!

Stitches

Re: Pros and cons please ... Brother 750E
« Reply #20 on: September 06, 2017, 13:19:01 PM »
Immine I would phone Russel at sewing machine direct and ask for some advise on the machine

Syrinx

Re: Pros and cons please ... Brother 750E
« Reply #21 on: September 06, 2017, 15:03:15 PM »
5 x 7! How do you all cope!

Definitely ask about the hoop size. Those are pricey new.

Whilst lots of threads, not sure all were embroidery thread, but still - thread!

And ask for stitch count and when last used/serviced.

BrendaP

Re: Pros and cons please ... Brother 750E
« Reply #22 on: September 06, 2017, 16:09:41 PM »


Whilst lots of threads, not sure all were embroidery thread, but still - thread!


Machine embroidery thread is often rayon, but could be cotton or metallic.  They are 2 ply which means that they spread over the surface better than the 3 ply thread you use to sew seams with, but it won't be as strong so don't be tempted to use embroidery thread for seams or regular thread for embroidery.

You might need a magnifying glass to see how many plies a thread has, but if the label includes a number with a slash, ie 30/2 or 50/3 the smaller number indicates the number of plies.
Brenda.  My machines are: Corona, a 1953 Singer 201K-3, Caroline, a 1940 Singer 201K-3, Thirza, 1949 Singer 221K, Azilia, 1957 Singer 201K-MK2 and Vera, a Husqvarna 350 SewEasy about 20 years old. Also Bernina 1150 overlocker and Elna 444 Coverstitcher.
http://paternoster.orpheusweb.co.

toileandtrouble

Re: Pros and cons please ... Brother 750E
« Reply #23 on: September 06, 2017, 20:21:58 PM »
While we have experts on board.... >:) 
Is it possible to embroider with a woollen thread?  I have been asked to disguise moth holes in a beloved cardigan, so no possibility of practising on spare fabric.  Any tips welcome.
Yarn down:  1000g
Fabric down:  29m

Kad

Re: Pros and cons please ... Brother 750E
« Reply #24 on: September 07, 2017, 08:20:59 AM »
Madeira Lana thread is woollen and can be used in your embroidery machine.

Emblibrary has specialised designs on its website and there are specific 'Lana' needles available, ( check Barnyarns website for details )  The designs are digitised at a lower density to take account of the thickness of the woollen thread.

I bought  a collection with 10 or so reels of Lana thread,  a packet of 5 specialised needles and a CD of 30 designs digitised especially for the thread off e**y several years ago now. The multi-format CD is entitled ' Furry Friends Machine Embroidery Kit - Madeira 30 designs' and it's copywrite to Dakota Collectables.

Must say that after the initial experiments I've not used it much at all.
« Last Edit: September 07, 2017, 09:48:59 AM by Kad »
'Jill' of many aspects of sewing, "Mistress" of few.

toileandtrouble

Re: Pros and cons please ... Brother 750E
« Reply #25 on: September 07, 2017, 22:52:18 PM »
thanks for the info!
Yarn down:  1000g
Fabric down:  29m

Iminei

Re: Pros and cons please ... Brother 750E
« Reply #26 on: September 10, 2017, 08:53:00 AM »
Well the 750E sold ... surprisingly for exactly the reserve price of £615 !!!  :o
It was a private listing and the bidders ids were private so we cannot see if it was between the seller bidder 1 and bidder 2 or if more were involved ... I don't know but seemed just a wee bit suspicious to me.

The Janome 350E is still available at £500 ...
The Imperfect Perfectionist sews again

Iminei

Re: Pros and cons please ... Embroidery machine in the offing !!
« Reply #27 on: September 12, 2017, 15:09:50 PM »
I have just come back from a demonstration of the new Janome 500E at my local Emporia...

... and to give Wendy due credit, she did exactly as I requested, which was to get hands on with the machine itself
To explain; I had previously, aeons ago, been given a demo of a Janome by a younger member of staff and sat there while she ran through a very scripted dialogue, demonstrating all the features ... all of which culminated in nada learned, no excitement generated and half an hour wasted!

This demo was very different;

Wendy talked me through the various functions, options and so on but I was in the driving seat ... my fat fingers  were on the touch screen.
I loaded the hoop, choose designs, enlarged and reduced the size, flipped orientation etc.
I chose the embroidery colours, threaded the machine (the needle threader is some sort of Genie!)  stop, started and cut the tail ends.
And after the embroidery was complete we looked at the Janomes' settings options.

The only thing we didn't cover was downloading outside sourced designs etc and only because Wendy herself doesn't know this step.... but she encouraged me to come back and talk to another member of staff who was getting to grips with these features and practices on another day ... and who knows I may well do that!

The hoop size was enormous ... almost too big, certainly for the piece we were working on, but smaller hoops that fitted the machine were available ( tho' I was slightly taken aback by the £69 cost !£!£!£!)

All in all I was extremely impressed ... the machine is beautiful, sewed like a dream and rectifying a shredded thread (which I'm sure was caused by my incorrect threading of the second colour) was surprisingly easy with stitch by stitch reversal to a point where the thread had started to shred....

The only con I could find from this experience is that it is one BIG Boy! and would not be a take out and play on the dining room table machine.
I think it would have to have its own permanent position and there is a large desk available upstairs in the sewing/embroidery/art/wardrobe/spare room upstairs ( if I can clear the area)?!

I came away with the design I had stitched and a big warm glow.... this (the design, not the glow) will be left casually around the Sweat shop where it just might catch Imself's eye!

Now when looking at machines or chatting on this thread i will at least have a basic understanding of the machine, what it does and what questions to ask

« Last Edit: September 12, 2017, 15:14:11 PM by Iminei »
The Imperfect Perfectionist sews again

Ploshkin

Re: Pros and cons please ... Embroidery machine in the offing!!
« Reply #28 on: September 12, 2017, 15:28:20 PM »
...... and where is the picture of the design you embroidered?
Life's too short for ironing.

Iminei

Re: Pros and cons please ... Embroidery machine in the offing!!
« Reply #29 on: September 12, 2017, 16:17:13 PM »
Eerrm I misspelt it  ... so am too embarrassed to show (oops blushing smilie)

PS Fran can we have an oops blushing smilie and a stern telling off smilie please?
The Imperfect Perfectionist sews again