Well i' m back from the big smoke, my machines have been serviced. Sadly my poor Janome 9700 is on the way out, the screen had made a pop noise and has started to go dark the colours are now a shade of grey. Also it will no longer align the designs so will end up with a small gap on the left side. I have decided to use it as a normal sewing machine and not use the embroidery till the screen goes black then off to embroidery heaven it shall go. My designer SE is ok so hopefully I get a few more years out of it. I looked at Brother and Pfaff machines, I was very impressed ,but the price tag is rather high. Can I please get some input from cuties that own these embroidery machines and are they worth the big $s ? Also if you have another brand of machine that you love , I would like to know about the good and bad points. thankyou for all posts, hugs Heather.

My Brother display has always been a shade of grey.. I can never see what the designs are. ha ha I think I should get rid but it is a 7x 5 hoop. the biggerst I have.
Hugs Pam.

I love my Bernina 630 and the V6 software is superb. I have been learning to digitize with it, and love that aspect.

I am a bit disappointed with the Bernina company because they seem so focused on marketing their top of the line machine and have discountinued the 600 series, and offer very little for machines that have been around a bit.

I have an excellent Bernina dealer that takes good care of anything I need.

May 11, 2013 -- I bought my Pfaff Creative Performance (about $5000) in February and I am in love. Three hoop sizes and 5D software. It does everything I want to do (and more). Also good service through the dealer where I purchased it. Good luck searching for just the right machine for you -- it's a LOT of money (but I tell my hubby it's not more expensive than golf) .

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by toet 12 May 2013

Hi thankyou so much for your reply. the Pfaff that I was looking at had larger hoops than the Brother. Was wondering how often do you use the larger hoops. Is that US or Australian dollars. sorry to ask so many questions. big hugs.

I bought a Designer1 in 1998 and aprat from yearly service, it only needed a new screen, which I got free when I bought a Ruby two years ago. My daughter now has the D1 and it's still doing great.
The Ruby has some extras compared to the D1, like being able to rotate 1 degree at a time, super placement and a larger hoop (200x360).
Apart from that I have a Rose that I use for sewing. Never any problems with that one.
And I have a Brother 190D, bought mainly for the Disney designs (which can be used for personal use only). It is a nice workhorse with a 100 x 100 mm sewing field. Never any problems with that one either.

My maintenance man, who does house calls (ideal!) says his favourite set-up is Brother for embroidery, Pfaff for sewing, Bernina for serger/overlocker (mine is 22 years old) and if I remember rightly Yuki for flatlock.

I'm quite happy with what I got and cleaning combined with yearly service has worked well for me.

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by toet 11 May 2013

Thankyou Mops for your post, I cannot express how grateful I am for your time and helpful information. Heather

Well, I have a Husqvarna Viking Designer II sewing/quilting/embroidery machine bought secondhand seven years for my 70th birthday. It embroiders beautifully with precision and ease and I like it for the same reasons that Chris mentions. Many, many times I've had to backtrack on a design and I can do that to the exact stitch with the stitchcount for each colour, and the quick stopping to trim the thread keeps the design very tidy. Change it from an embroidery machine to normal sewing and it stitches like a dream with some wonderful facilities, like the cut-off at the end of stitching. Had I been more informed at the time of purchase I wouldn't have bought it because of the need to buy d-cards, costing an average of $100 each, for special stitches and personal d-cards for transferring ME designs from the computer via a reader/writer unit to the machine and these d-cards are very hard to come by now... and I suspect that the decision to discontinue this machine was a well-known fact among the dealers at the time of my purchase. I have a feeling of being cheated and we really stretched our budget to buy this machine which has now become something of an ME dinosaur. Of course, that machine is now discontinued but the Husqvarna name lives on and the latest machines have even more great options - but it is pricey. My Pfaff/Husqvarna trained mechanic told me that the Pfaff is made by the same people in the same factory and are identical machines, the computers being the only difference. The Pfaff is also pricey but I've seen them working and they deliver the same beautiful embroidery. Accessories for both machines are expensive. The top of the range in both machines would be around $10,000, I believe.
I now own a new Pfaff Ambition 1.5 for normal sewing and quilting and the precision in its stitching surpasses any other machine I've ever used. As well, it has a built-in walking foot. It's one of the middle range Pfaff machines and has a tie-off at the beginning and ending option but the automatic cut-off I'm used to in the Husqvarna isn't available on this model, but that's fine for me.
My HVDII is now almost exclusively used for ME and the Pfaff does all my normal sewing. I was playing with the idea of buying an embroidery-only machine but what I could afford wouldn't do what the HVDII can do so I bought another sewing/quilting machine instead. If the HVDII dies I will need to get another embroidery machine but I will not be able to buy one of the expensive ones. That will cut my options for design size but I will need to consider carefully which ME road I want to take.
Here is where you must do some careful thinking..... mainly, will you be wanting to stitch large designs and what size hoops do you think you'll be wanting to use. This will give you a way to narrow down your field of possible machines. There seem to be brilliant buys and awful lemons in every brand. One thing to remember is, buy a machine that can be serviced easily, like in your area, so that you can get what you buy to the exact point of perfection that you desire - good money deserves a good machine - and if you have to ship or travel long distances for servicing that only adds to the cost. There are too many stories of poor servicing that has a machine worse off than the original problem.
I'm always interested in what ME machines people are using.
Keep us updated if you make a decision.
AlmaG.

3 comments

by almag 10 May 2013

Oh My Goodness - I didn't realise that message was so long. And it doesn't even help you very much, either.
Think it must be time for breakfast!!!!!

by asterixsew 11 May 2013

Alma what a brilliant reply. There was a time when I had access to the HVD1 but I did not get far at all in finding out how it worked as time was so limited...such is life.

by toet 11 May 2013

Oh my you have filled in so many gaps, I shall print out all the posts and reread them. Thankyou AlmaG you have put a lot of thought in your post. Asterixsew is so right in saying you have given a brilliant reply. Hugs Heather

I have the Brother Quattro (twin to the Elissimo) that I got 2.5 years ago. I love it and do not regret spending the big dollars. I understand it is big dollars and a very difficult decision for most. I had a 780D which did 5x7 and it is a very nice machine but I have issues with my eyes and with my hands and the features in the Quattro are very helpful to me. Having the larger hoops has also opened up my creativity - and the snowman feature makes placement and hooping so much easier.

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by toet 11 May 2013

I have been leaning towards the Brother Quattro as I do like the larger hoops, thankyou for your input, Heather

I have the Baby Lock Ellisimo Gold which is the 'sister' to the Brother Quattro 6500d...it is fantastic! It has a camera that scans the hoop and you have perfect design placement even on a continuous border or split design...it places down to the millimeter in any direction...how cool is that! Also has these "snowmen" stickers that scan for exact placement. I would definitely buy it again. I would suggest you go and have a demo on the Baby Lock Ellisimo or the Brother Quattro...

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by toet 11 May 2013

I can see that I will be testing a lot of machines in the next couple of months. I must admit I do like the snowman stickers for placement. cheers Heather

So sorry to hear that your baby is dying. I recommend the Brother brand. I have heard few complaints about them and they have Disney designs that people seem to like. Try to get a used machine someone has turned in as a trade in or a demonstrator machine the dealer has used. They are gently used and both would be refurbished to like-new condition. Best wishes for your search.

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by toet 11 May 2013

The 9700 was my first embroidery machine, a simple machine to learn the basic skills. My SE is a preloved machine that I am most happy with. A demonstrator machine sounds like the way for me,thankyou I will look into this. hugs Heather

I love my Jamone 350E, which I purchased used , it's great since it's an embrodery only machine, which I think is the way to go. Find a brand you like and see if there is an embroidery only machine. It's so nice to be able to embroidery something and sew at the same time.
If you decide to go used, a friend left her name at a store for a used machine, and yes someone wanted to trade up and she got a great machine . It work both ways ,the store got a sale , which they may not have gotten since there was someone interested in the used machine, she purchased it direct from the seller. Everyone was HaPpY hApPy

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by toet 11 May 2013

Thankyou Baydreamer I can see your point of having an embroidery only machine, I need a machine that I can take to retreats, taking two machines could be a problem. Good idea leaving my name at a dealer. cheers Heather

Glad to hear you are back home but sorry to hear the news about the 9700. Both my machines were bought from my dealer as used. One was a trade in and the other was his demo. The result is that I have twice had super machines for which I paid less that I would have had if they were brand new. Dealers usually have such machines. I have been using the same dealer for 8 plus years and he is very reliable. Brother also often have offers when you can pay in instalments which can make it easier to buy

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by dennis999 10 May 2013

Asterixsew makes some very valid points in her post. I can confirm that Brother have done some demon deals in the past which I suspect, given the growing competition, will continue. When I purchased my machine it was part of a package which included virtually all their hoop sizes, baseball cap frame and long cylinder frame for legs/sleeves, etc.

by toet 11 May 2013

I have heard that you can put brother on layby for 12 months, I shall look into this as well. The package deal sounds great. thankyou Heather

Hi Heather,

I've had Husqvarnas for over 30 years and bought my first embroidery machine over 11 years ago, I then bought the Husqvarna Designer 1 and absolutely love it. I've had it over 5 and a half years now and have had to have a new motor put in just these past few months. It's a real work horse!!!! The new machine I bought for my 60th birthday last year is the Brother Quattro Innovis Eye and is absolutely amazing!

There are a couple of little features that it doesn't have that the Husqvarna does. The main thing about the Husqvarna is that the machine stops after about 10 stitches so you can cut the threads - the Brother doesn't have that option. The Brother doesn't allow me to see how many stitches a particular colour has but the Husqvarna does - I love that option. There are still a few things I don't know about the Quattro, but will be learning as I go to classes. It also has a tablet that you can draw on and then convert to designs! how cool is that?

Love and blessings Chris

2 comments

by cfidl 10 May 2013

Wow I feel the same way about Husqvarna and Brother, I have and innovis instead of quattro.

by toet 11 May 2013

Hi Chris,I love my Husqvarna and like what I have been hearing about the Quattro. We do not have a Brother dealer in Mackay There is one in Townsville and Rocky 400k in each direction from here. hugs Heather