DW wants to monogram, any advice?

[Ratpack]

My DW has mentioned several times in the last month about wanting a monogram machine, does anyone have any advice on what machines to look at and what else is involved? I am sure she will want some Disney stuff as well but I have no idea how to even start looking or what to look for.

 

[purse lady]

Hi.

I could offer some info. There are many companies that make embroidery machines and many different types of machines from home use to professional. Some machines are embroidery only others are sewing and embroidery combined. The size of the area that they can embroider also varies. The smallest area is 4x4. When I started embroidering I thought that was plenty big enough-I upgraded 3 months later. Most home machines -probably professional ones too-have 'built in designs' meaning they are pre-loaded into the machine but there are tons of options for designs available on the internet to add to those choices. Depending on the machine you have, you can either transfer designs bought online to a small card (kinda like a digital camera card) and then insert the card into the machine. My machine is about 9 years old and I can use the card or a floppy disk (I feel so dated). Newer machines have usb ports to hook up your computer directly or use a cd. Regardless how you transfer the designs to the machine you will need specific software to perform the transfer. Depending on what software you get, you will have design editing options as well. There are types of software that will allow you to covert an image into an embroiery file but when I attempted that it was more complicated then I believed it would be and I don't do that. Someone else would have to assist you in that area-it's been years since I tried so I may just be uneducated.
As there are many brands to choose from there are many places to purchase. I believe Sears and some Walmart's still sellsome machines but if your looking for something to sew Disney designs, the only company that sells those are Brother. You use to be able to find the smaller ones at Walmart. So ALL Disney machines are made by Brother but not all Brother machines are Disney. In order to use any Disney Designs released by Brother you need to have a Disney machine. You probably want to visit a Brother dealer or a dealer of the brands you are interested in. These are usually quilt shops but my experience has been that each quilt shop only carries one or two brands. I would check your area for a quilt shop, contact them to see what brands they carry and pop in for a visit even if it's not yoyr first choice brand. You need to see these machines and what they do to get a grasp for this. If you have the opportunity to visit a large quilt show (Quiltfest) there are usually reps from every company with many sample machines on hand. It's kinda one stop shopping. One thing I would recommend is that if you purchase a machine either do so where they offer a class on how to use the machine or find a class somewhere. I don't know what type of sewing background your wife has but unless she's embroidered before a class can really help her get started.
The larger Joann's fabric stores have mini embroidery shops located inside them but I believe they only carry Viking brand machines. However if that's your most convient option I would pay a visit. There is a person designated just to that area (times may vary from store hours) who is very knowlegdable about the machines and embroidery in general.
I would also check out the magazines 'Creative Machine Embroidery' and 'Designs in Machine Embroidery'. These can be found at Joanns and Barnes and Noble but not so much the grocery store. They often have great articles on machines and software. They can help you figure out what questions to ask.
Hope this ws helpful. Good Luck!

 

[Miz Diz]

What does she want to monogram? If she wants to mostly do baby items and towels, I think she will be fine with a home machine. If she wants to do a lot of purses, she might want to look at a Brother PR-620 or PR 650. There is also a Brother PR 1000.

I recommend going to Jeff's Sewing & Vac, in Augusta. I have no ties to them and have never been myself, but my sil bought her machine there and I know they have both the home and the semi-commercial Brothers. I would have them demonstrate hooping and embroidering on both type machines. Have them do something that is not flat, like a burpcloth, but rather a purse, tshirt, or baby onesie.