Who knows the stitch length their machines can do and why is this important to know ? Have you ever found a design that looks gorgeous on other peoples projects, yet when you stitch it, you see gaps in the stitching, almost like the bobbin thread did not catch ? Well , IF a satin stitch is used, longer than 7mm and your machine is not capable of stitching longer stitches, then you will start seeing these gaps in your work, so nothing wrong with the design itself, its your machine that cannot do these longer stitches. When you buy normal sewing machines you will see the same thing, some intro level machines can do a max of 5mm stitch length, your higher end models can do longer stitches and often has more complex decorative stitches. So when choosing a new embroidery machine, ask what the max stitch length is. Embroidery software is becoming more and more advance with more capabilities, BUT sadly many of these features we cant give you as we know your machines cant stitch these, so you will often see designs done and they absolutely look 3D almost like foam was used, yet when you stitch it, it looks awe-full - So I urge you to do a bit of investigation and see what your max is on your machine. Its SOO important to know your stitch area (not hoop size) but the actual stitch size your machine can do and the stitch length. Then I had many machines in my life time, from entry level small Bernina Deco to the high end Brothers and even industrial multi needles .... The other thing you have to keep in mind when choosing a machine .... the downward force on the entry level machines are not as high as the high end machines, You can do far less dense type designs on your smaller machines as in many cases it does not have enough force to push the needle through several layers of thread and fabric, as you go to the bigger models you will notice that they can do a LOT more detail designs on far thicker fabrics and materials - on multi needle machines you can go through real leather with stabilizer with ease, I even at one point stitched 2 layers of real leather together on my multi needle with no problems at all. The another very important thing to look out for, is the foot height - on most of your later / bigger model machines you can adjust the foot height quite a bit, enabling you to stitch through far thicker layers, this is important to know when you want to make in-the-hoop type projects - often you will buy a in-the-hoop (ITH) soft toy, have a small entry level machine and although it fits in your hoop, its a nightmare to stitch as the fabric keeps being dragged around while stitching, this is not a problem with the design but your machine foot height is not high enough to clear the fabric. All this said, when you buy a new machine.
Decide what you want to stitch ...
If its just pictures on burp cloths etc then the entry level machines are perfect choice and price is perfect too.
If you want to do more complex in the hoop projects, stuffies etc, rather go for the bigger models or even multi needle machines.
If you want to go into decor items, handbags, large projects, multineedle machines for sure
To be honest, had I have the knowledge I had today, when I started out, I would have bought a multi-needle machine right from the start
To recap .... things to find out on your machine not only when you purchase a new machine but to know which designs will suit your machine better so you have perfect results always.
*Actual Stitch Size for each hoop
*Stitch Length
*Machine foot height
Hope you find this information useful, its just my experience and opinion, I am not a expert on ALL machine brands out there, I can only speak from my own experience over the years. I just see so many people buying these small entry level machines expecting them to do all these complex designs which they were really not made for and so becomes discouraged and disappointing.
Have a super stitch day my friends, I am off to work on our next free font, as it starts next week and I know you will all simply LOVE this one, its soo cute - Busy making my nephew a little shirt with no 2 on it as he just turned 2.
