Is there such a thing as a "complete" kit, machine, software, frames, etc?

Posted by Autumn on November 18, 2007, 8:46 pm

I am not interested in embroidering huge pictures. I would like something
that would put little things on shirt collars, cuffs, pockets, baby and
children's clothes. I am thinking absolutely nothing bigger than about 4-5".
Most things I would like to do would be little, 1"-2".

I have a good friend who machine embroiders and I cannot believe the money
she has to spend on accessories, software, frames, etc. for her hobby. I
have seen her spend thousands of dollars on these things and she still does
not have the capability to scan something and make her own patterns. I would
like to be able to scan a picture and simplify it to embroider it. Her
machine was as much as a good used car.

Is there anything out there that would include everything I need to have an
embroidery machine to do small things? I think it is probably wishful
thinking on my part. I just can't believe that it is still necessary to
purchase all these things and horribly overpriced software to have an
embroidery machine.

Suggestions??

Posted by Pogonip on November 18, 2007, 10:43 pm

Autumn wrote:
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Go to eBay and find someone selling a Singer EU (or P.O.E.M.) which has
a 4x4 stitching field, and comes with CSII software which can be used to
digitize as well as run the machine. You will need a computer with
Windows 98 or 95 to run it, often they are listed with a laptop already
loaded.

There are new machines you can buy for under $1,000, that do embroidery
only. But you have to buy software for digitizing in addition. Many
people like Embird for that. You could also look at the Singer Futura
machines which do embroidery and have a fairly good software package
included, I think.
--
Joanne
stitches @ singerlady.reno.nv.us.earth.milky-way.com
http://members.tripod.com/~bernardschopen/

Posted by Steven Michael on November 20, 2007, 1:32 pm

Hi,
As far as your question, is there such a thing as a "complete...etc", yes,
sort of.
If you want to do small embroidery on garments, then an embroidery-only
machine would do that for you, and you can get them for $200-$400, and they
include everything you need to embroider, except the thread. Provided you
are happy with the designs that come with the machine and are willing to
spend more $$ on additional design cards. These machines usually embroider
up to a 4 X 4 inch area, one of the most popular is the Brother/Disney
machines. These machines are complete in the fact that you can open the box,
insert your garment in the included hoops, and embroider a pre-made design
within an hour. Some of them come with software to create your own designs,
but then you need a box to transfer them to the machine, or the machine must
be able to interface with your computer. Fortunately a lot more of the mfgrs
are including this interface (USB or serial port, some have floppy disks) on
the machine, saving you hundreds in additional expenses for transfer boxes.
And to make even more money, the transfer box makers usually only include
1-3 formats per box, so if you buy a newer machine with a different format,
you must buy a new box with that format. The format is the emb machine
makers file extension, such as .sew, .xxx, .hus. For example, the .hus
format is for Husqvarna machines only, they will only recognize that file as
an embroidery design. Embird is a program that will allow you to change from
one format to another. So if you have a .HUS design, you can change the
format for your machine that might only take the .XXX format.
As far as taking a scan of a photo and embroidering it? GOOD LUCK! It must
first be digitized by someone (meaning a real person). The scanned picture
must be made into a vector drawing, similar to a coloring book page, then
each section of the picture is filled in by the software you are using to
digitize it, meaning to make it possible for the embroidery machine to
complete the design within the limits of the machine. It can be very tedious
and frustrating, I know because I tried to do it myself, and had very
little, if any, success with the high end applications. PE-DESIGN by Brother
claims you can scan and embroider, but be prepared for some extensive
learning. Even simple pictures can take hours to turn into a suitable design
that the machine can embroider.
While there are many software companies that advertise this is possible,
none that I have tried are that simple. They take many hours of learning and
practice, even a simple business card can take some time to digitize
properly and create an embroidery.
Pre-Design is a small application that allows you to create your own designs
by drawing them in the program, then the program will digitize it for you to
use in the embroidery machine. I have had good success with this program and
it is very easy to learn. You can see some screenshots of this app and get a
free trial to see if this might be what you're looking for here:
http://www.pre-design.eu/
There are also other programs to do monograms, such as Monogram Wizard, but
again, you either need a transfer box or the embroidery machine must
interface with the computer. This is where the real expense comes in, the
transfer boxes are indeed expensive, as well as the design software, some of
them can cost thousands of dollars.
You can buy a "complete" machine at places like Wal-Mart, try it and if you
don't like it, or it doesn't suit your needs, you can always return it or
resell it and upgrade to a more fully featured machine.
Hope this helps you.

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Posted by Autumn on November 20, 2007, 6:52 pm

Thank you both for the informative replies. I will look into these things. I
just looked at the Disney machine at Wal-Mart the other day, which prompted
my question in the first place. :-)

My other reason is I have a new (first) grandchild and would like to make
some cute things for her.

Autumn

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