The 6 Best Embroidery Machines of 2024

When store-bought outfits don’t satisfy your creative mind, you can always come up with a better design using your embroidery machine. Embroidery sewing machines are fast becoming popular because of their performance and amazing features that make multitasking a breeze. Available in different sizes, you can easily find a machine that suits your specific needs. If you are a beginner, you can opt for an entry-level model with a modest embroidery speed and a smaller embroidery space. For professionals, larger machines are also available that would satisfy any avid quilter. As there are many different options available, it can be confusing to select one of the best embroidery machines of 2021. Here are some of the best options to consider.

Brher LB5000S Embroidery Machine

View on Amazon(US)

The Brother brand has got everything needed to create one perfect embroidery machine, and the LB5000S is one fine example of their craftsmanship. Using this machine is a breeze, thanks to its color LCD screen. The Stars Wars-themed body is sturdy but the control panel is just spot-on, making it easy to use. For Star Wars fans, it’s a treat to use, as it works on simple aesthetics by using a logo faceplate.

The working area is about 4 x 4 inches, but it is still large enough to help you sew whatever you want with utmost ease. It lets you work on longer fabrics as well. Some machines may offer a working area slightly larger than this, but it’s the standard and won’t put you in any hassle whatsoever. Your embroidery work will touch new heights with you getting a chance to use 80 built-in designs with 103 stitches and 9 fonts. Be ready to get more creative with so many options available in one machine.

As it offers a great deal of diversity in designs, you can trust this machine for professional use as well. This user-friendly embroidery machine is just as perfect for boutique shop owners and fashion designers. Overall, LB5000S is known for a well-rounded performance, but keep in mind that some people think the price could’ve been lower.

Brother SE1900 Embroidery Machine

View on Amazon(US)

If you’ve been looking for an impressive upgrade of the SE400, you should consider putting your money on this embroidery machine from Brother. The SE1900 is designed to provide you with the ultimate embroidery and sewing experience. It comes with several built-in designs with large memory for more design storage. It simplifies designing your own sewing stitches.

Precisely, it comes with 240 sewing stitches and as many as 138 embroidery designs. It also comes loaded with 11 lettering fonts and 10 buttonhole styles. Nothing holds you back in terms of designs because it also features a built-in USB drive port that lets you utilize purchased embroidery designs.

The size of the embroidery field is an important consideration, and the SE1900 won’t disappoint you with its 5×7 inches area. It is just enough to handle larger designs as well. With the availability of an LCD touchscreen, you can easily navigate through its functions and designs. The automatic thread is an added benefit of using this machine.

Overall, it is a great embroidery machine to consider, but keep in mind that you need to buy your own thread. Also, the designs installed on it may be a bit outdated.

Brother PE800 Embroidery Machine

View on Amazon(US)

The PE800 is among the most popular embroidery machines from the Brother brand. This durable and highly versatile machine comes loaded with several embroidery designs and is efficient enough to use for professional purposes.

The embroidery field is 5×7 inches, which is a big improvement from what comes as standard. Professionals can use it to handle larger designs, and beginners can play with it to explore beyond their abilities. There are enough built-in designs to get you started, but you can also import your own purchased designs through the USB cables. The embroidery area features an LED light to provide enough brightness for all the work.

The lettering frame design is available in 10 different varieties. You can also find 11 built-in fonts, including English, Cyrillic, and Japanese. The options are quite extensive and allow you to use those fonts for your scrollwork, floral décor, and other quilt patterns. The process gets even easier with its 14 border-style stitching.

With so many features embedded into one machine, the navigation matters a lot, and the PE800 impresses you again with its 3.2-inch LCD touch panel. It simplifies viewing and editing your design to prevent any mistakes. Overall, it’s a great machine for beginners, but it may be a bit on the expensive side.

Brother SE600 Embroidery Machine

View on Amazon(US)

For someone just looking to buy their first embroidery machine, the SE600 is the right bet. This treadle-powered machine comes with up to 80 built-in designs. It may not look many as compared to some other entry-level machines, but it’s still good to get you started and explore your creative side.

To personalize your projects, you can also take advantage of 6 embroidery lettering fonts. It’s a user-friendly machine with a 3.2-inch touchscreen. The LCD screen provides you with a preview of your design and helps you edit before you finalize it. The embroidery field comes equipped with a hoop, 7 sewing feet, and an embroidery arm.

It also features drop-in top bobbing along with an automatically functioning needle threader that pushes the thread perfectly through the needle for a flawless sewing experience.

For beginners, there’s enough help available in the instruction manual. The sewing speed is around 710 stitches per minute, which may not be very impressive, but is still quite reasonable. Overall, it works just fine for most people, but it has its limitations when you are an avid quilter.

Brother Embroidery Machine PE770

View on Amazon(US)

With an overall weight of 26.95lbs, this treadle-powered machine may look a bit on the heavier side. However, it does its job flawlessly and has various features to be one of the best embroidery machines out there. For starters, you will be impressed with its 5×7-inch embroidery field, which makes it easier to handle larger lettering projects.

You can play around with designs, as there are up to 136 built-in styles to choose from. You can also use 10 frame shapes as well as 12 border styles. You get to use only 6 lettering fonts, which is disappointing considering many entry-level machines now offer more. Thankfully, it’s not a deal-breaker, as it comes with built-in memory and a USB port to import new designs whenever you like.

Something most buyers love about the PE770 is its extensive editing features. Some of the most common editing features, including rotate, mirror-image, and size edits. You can view those designs and edit conveniently, as it comes equipped with a 1.4×2.7 inch color LCD. The touchscreen is quite responsive and helps you navigate with ease.

The PE770 is iBroidery compatible and is very easy to use. Keep in mind that some users have complained about the issues they face when attaching the hoop. It gets easier with time, though, so it’s nothing you can’t handle.

Janome Horizon Memory Craft 9850

View on Amazon(US)

This electric embroidery machine is quite compact and is very durable. Its metal construction helps it withstand extensive use. There’s nothing complicated about using it for the first time, and even a beginner can learn embroidery in no time. You can get a lot more information using online instructional videos.

The machine looks quite resourceful with its 175 built-in embroidery designs. Most of those designs are just outstanding and enough to keep you interested. If you ever feel short of design options, you can use the USB port to import new designs. It also comes with 200 built-in stitches as well as 2 fonts with basic European characters. The availability of as many as 6 one-step buttonholes will keep the embroidery work as simple as you like.

Many users also find its built-in needle threader to be one of its plus-points, as it works flawlessly. Other features like 7-piece feed dog, one-step needle plate conversion, and drop feed add to its overall appeal. The embroidery speed is quite impressive, and for its speed, the machine is not noisy at all. Overall, it delivers a solid punch in terms of performance, but the price may be a bit on the higher side. Also, some people complain about not getting any accessory case with it.

Buying Guide

What are Different Types of Embroidery Machines?

Learning about the types of embroidery machines will help you make a better buying decision. With a change in type, there is an equal change in what those machines are capable of achieving. For instance:

• Free-Motion Sewing Machine: These machines give you full control over the designs you want to create. You will have versatility with the needle size as well as its direction of work. It also allows you to set your stitching patterns manually.
• Computerized Embroidery Machine: As implied by the name, everything works automatically here, allowing you to do multitasking with utmost ease. These machines are used commercially, but you can get one for your home if you can spare that much money. They are usually very fast, maintain a blueprint of designs, and help you edit designs in various ways.

What are the Basic Features of an Ideal Embroidery Machine?

In order to get the most out of your embroidery experience, you need to pay attention to how many built-in patterns are available, along with the number of stitches and fonts. The higher the number of these patterns, stitches, and fonts, the more versatile your machine would become.

This enables you to become more creative with your monograms, designs, and logos.

• The important consideration is that the machines with higher numbers of stitches or patterns are going to cost you more. Now, you need to ensure that you are really going to use all of those features for your project. You can easily do with fewer patterns and fonts when you need a machine for home crafts only. You’d need more intricate compositions in case you want to produce something commercially. Nevertheless, you should still go with a machine offering more lettering fonts, as they will come in handy when decorating the handkerchief, cap, and other easy-going projects.

What are Some Specific Features to Check in an Embroidery Machine?

It’s natural to go for a machine that comes with more built-in designs, patterns, stitches, and fonts, but you need to consider other special features to continue using the machine in the future. For instance:

• Check for USB connectivity. For commercial use, you never know when you might run out of design options. With a USB port on your machine, you can import new designs and create new patterns and compositions with ease.
• Check for the LCD panel. It is necessary not just to navigate through different features and options, but also to edit your designs and patterns with ease. You can easily view the colors of the threads along with the stitch patterns before the machine starts working. With touchscreen displays, you can also edit those designs and customize outcomes.
• Check for the number of needles as well. It becomes crucial when you want a machine for commercial purposes. Most machines designed for domestic use would have a single needle only. The commercial line-up may offer more, ranging from metallic to universal and topstitch needles. Different needles work better on different fabrics, as a needle used for cotton fabric may not work well on leather fabrics.
• Check the types of hoops available. Different machines may come with large to extra-large hoops, and you need to consider the size to ensure they are suitable for the type of shapes or patterns you are going to create. A hoop suitable for embroidering on a hat would never work for a bag or bib for creating certain designs.

FAQs

How important is the embroidering speed of a machine?
A: It matters a lot if you need it to create something on a large scale. The slower the speed, the longer it will take to finish your projects. Depending on the nature of your business or how you intend to use the machine, you should carefully pick a machine with the right embroidering speed. For domestic use, you may face no issues whatsoever using a machine that can touch 800 stitches per minute. It may not be ideal for industrial purposes, as those machines can exceed 1200 stitches per minute.
What is the role of the embroidery field area?
A: The smaller the field area, the difficult it becomes to handle a larger design. A machine with a larger embroidery field area can create stunning designs with less effort. Do not ignore this point if you are looking for commercial embroidery machines. Even if you currently think you can work well with a standard-sized field area of 4×4 inches, going for something 5×7 or even larger is a much better option. This way, your machine would still be useful if you ever need to deal with larger compositions.
Our computerized embroidery machines any better than free-motion sewing machines?
A: While they may be a bit expensive, computerized embroidery machines work amazingly well and make embroidery work nothing more than a piece of cake. They come equipped with single shaft cams powered by the motor. The cam controls how the needles work. There are other electronic circuits as well to control the timing and the framing of the needles. Being able to use the memory of these computerized machines puts them in a league of their own. The machine memory is capable of holding the buttonholes, patterns, stitches, and everything else that needs a repetitive process.
Can you use your embroidery machine for regular sewing?
A: Yes, you can, but ultimately, it depends on the type of machine you buy. Some machines are dedicated to embroidery, while others can handle embroidery and sewing. If you want to do both, you may consider putting your money on a machine with a removable panel. Remove it and it will be all set to sew.
Is it possible to find free embroidery designs?
A: The availability of a USB port on your computerized embroidery machine means you can import designs of your choice. You can download some free of cost, while there are websites selling new design patterns for your embroidery machine. It is also possible to customize your own design from scratch. It is easy to connect your machine with your computer, which further simplifies the editing task.

Conclusion

The fact of the matter is that modern-day embroidery machines are capable of creating magic on all sorts of fabrics. They can help you improve your store-bought, readymade items, or they can help you start a new embroidery business. You can customize everything using the right machine, but be sure to pick the best product with the right numbers of patterns, stitches, fonts, etc. Take it as a one-time investment, so go with something that may cost you a little more but offers some high-tech features in return.

4.9 / 5 ( 12 votes )