Simply put, I adore my Janome 350E. Am thinking about looking for a second hand one so I can run two at a time. The 5 x 7 hoop is its only limitation, but you can stitch lots of cute in a 5x7 hoop. It is a super quality machine and if you're near Auburn, AL PM me and I'll recommend my shop and maintenance guy. I encourage you to buy from a shop to access a Janome qualified repairman and classroom training. My shop give you about $100 in supplies and tools at purchase plus two years (I think) in maintenance and 10% off everything in the store except machines and repair work FOREVER for buying the machine from them. Classes free or cost of supplies only FOREVER. And they're nice!!

I have 2 x 350E s and love them I also have a Janome 11000,which has a 8 x 8 hoop and is a sewing machine as well ,I don't think you will be disappointed if you choose it ,I don't know the brother machine.

I have the 300E and love it. I have the Giga Hoop and also bought a hoop it all frame. Would sometimes like one that would do 8x8 or larger but only sometimes. They are a real work horse and I have never had thread brand issues. Good value for the money

You are right the machines are expensive, but have you thought of the limitations these machines have after owning a Designer 1, you may be disappointed. I assume you live in the USA and on a recent visit I went to Joann's ( only returned to Australia a few days ago) and was really surprised at the deals they had on the Husqvarna machines. My son inlaw wanted a machine with a screen and not the crappy little thing with just numbers, he had the Husqvarna 950E from memory. They had the Designer Ruby Deluxe with a $500 cash back and 48 months interest free. They allowed me to show him the machine and he decided to bite the bullet and take the deal. This allows him to do the larger designs that he has always wanted and I spent the last couple of days showing him the basics to get him started. So think seriously what you want to achieve with your embroidery before going out and buying a machine. One other point I should mention I went out and bought the Ruby as I thought my Designer 1 was on the way out, it too had the floppy drive, but someone asked if I had cleaned the floppy drive as I was having trouble with it reading the disk and when I said no they advised me to buy a floppy disk cleaner from EBay which I duly did for about $12.00 and you would not believe after poking the cleaner disk in several times the machine had no trouble reading the disk - magic! So that may be worth a try as I was informed it was very rare for a floppy drive to fail and it turned out just needing a good clean.

I have the 770, had no problems, with it , it is 5x7 hoop, takes the usb sticks ok. I prefer the embroidery only machines I also have a br.700, this only uses the rewritable cards, so you have to know what you have to stitch each day to get the cards ready, the usb is better cheaper too...wendy

Although I own three Vikings (as I upgraded I kept old ones) since you asked between the Janome and Brother I would recommend the Brother and if I was buying now I would go Brother!

Hi Steph,
Just thinking aloud so this might not interest you, but have you considered that if you purchase a Brother model with the "D", which stands for Disney, this allows you to use Disney designs and has quite a few already built-in, as Brother is the only brand with a Disney Licence..

Of course this is only worth it if you have family and friends who would love articles with Disney characters on them, as it is illegal, for you to sell anything you make with a Disney character on it.

I have a Brother 750D and I love that you can transfer PES designs directly to the machine using only Windows Explorer, which makes it so easy if you don't wish to edit a design as this model is very limited and the screen quite tiny, but for me it is a good standby machine to test pes designs I have digitised. Hugs n roses, Meganne

Welcome to Cute! You already have lots of answers to your question - please come back and tell us how you get on!

Hi and welcome to Cute. I would suggest that you check that there is a dealer (fairly) close as many have quite a journey for servicing etc. Also I suggest that there are often good bargains of preloved machines at dealers. The last machine I bought was the dealers demo machine

I have 2 machine both purchased used. I love my Janome 350E, I purchased the mega hoop and the very small c hoop. I use it almost everyday. I found the secret is it has to be on a very firm stand, not wiggly little thing, or it makes funny noises.

The Janome 350e is a lovely machine and very straight forward to use.

I have had my 350E for about 4years now, Upgraded from the 300E.
Love it. Never had a problem with the machine.

My first machine was the Brother 780D. It is embroidery only and does up to a 5*7. I upgraded to a Quattro a few years back and kept the 780D too.

Well we chose to purchase and run a floppy disk cleaner through my sewing machine and it seems to be working. Yippee. I will say that if I was to choose which new cheaper machine I would have purchased it would have been the Brother machine. But since the old one is now working and does a wonderful job at embroidery I think that I will stay with it for a while I am kind of bummed that I am not getting something new though. Oh well.

Welcome to Cute !! Hugs

I have the PE770 - its great also have the Brother 4000D which I love .

It helps if you have a dealer near by .

Sandra

I have both machines. It depends which software you have. Both are easy to use. Janome 350e has clearer pictures to sew from but you get used to either. Hope you have a dealer close by for back up lessons.

When I went to buy my machine I decided on a embroidery only as I already had a good sewing, I personally like the way the janome sews and I use mine daily so it gets a real work out. A question to ask yourself is what are the hoops available with each machine and how big a design you want to be able to stitch, that could be your answer your looking for. Good luck Marian

I have a Janome 350E upgraded from 300E, which I sold to a friend who also upgraded to the 350E.
Love the idea of an embroidery only machine and love my Janome. 350E.
Hope this helps.

Glad you were able to fix your D1. Actually, you are better off keeping what you have since it's working. The D1 was made in Sweden, made better than the newer machines, & I think is a good, hard working machine. If it meets your needs, stick with it!

I do not have time right now to read what others have told you, but I have the Brother PE 750D and the PE 770. and I love them both. One thing I really like about the 770 is that I can use any Flash drive in it, with designs on it!!! The 750D I have to use and emb card. Which means I had to also buy a card writer. My 770 saved me many $$$ because I went to Ken's Sewing Store (on line) and ordered one reconditioned. When I took it to the local store for its checkup, he said it looked brand new. I do not know what they have now, but when I got mine it was only $649.00. and free shipping. You may or may not want to check into that. Hugs, and Welcome to Cute!!! Judy
PS. They both have 4x4 and 5x7 availability, & lots of extras.

check the availability of back up parts for brother ie replacement bobbin cases friend has found it difficult to get serviced

I have had the Janome 350E and did love it. However, I travel and wanted to also take a small machine that would sew and embroider so I now have the Janome 11000. My big sewing machine is a Brother. Both machines have their positive aspects so I would say to get the machine from your local shop that has a repair department. I find that having repair available is about as important and the type of machine you get.

I have the Janome 300E, and I wouldn't trade it for the world. I think the basic difference between the 300 and 350 is that the 350 uses a usb connection to your computer to transfer designs, and the sewing screen is in color. Neither was critical to me, especially the screen color, so I took the 300 E on closeout and got a heck of a bargain from my dealer. Whatever you do, I just think service is almost more important than the machine. If you have a good dealer, you'll get a good machine, a good price, lessons for free, and like I do, great kindness when the screw loose is in my head, not the machine. Although sometimes my repair guy does giggle a bit, and rightly deserves to, for some of the things I bother him with. That Janome of mine is just a workhorse. Not fussy about thread, no bobbin problems, no thread nests, it just plain works! What a concept these days. I also like the idea of embroidery-only, because I have other sewing machines, then I can do two things at once while I babysit the embroidery. Best of luck to you!! Hugs, Marji

I love my PE 770!