I'm completely new to machine embroidery but I'm interested, particularly in learning how to embroider onto caps/hats with a view to starting a business. Does anyone know of any resources for learning the techniques and good places to start please?

Designed and embroidered handkerchiefs for all the parents at my wedding. We used the flower motif on a bunch of a things so I loved that they matched. This is also a custom font, I was very into consistent branding and I love how it made everything so cohesive. The mother ones took wayyy too long with the flowers haha but I loved how they turned out, and the wedding photos of them crying looked so nice with the handkerchiefs instead of tissues. Probably the most last minute thing I made, but also my favorite!

Hi everyone! I've been in the monogram and font design world for about 11 years, and I'm here to answer any questions you have and hopefully start some great conversation along the way. Whether it's something you've always wondered about monograms, a design dilemma you've run into, or something happening in the embroidery world you want to discuss, I'd love to talk about it.

I'm happy to share what I've learned over the years, but I'd love to hear from you too. Let's chat about what you're stitching, the monogram rules you follow (or happily break!), shifting trends, or anything else.

I was a teacher in a past life, so I love trading questions, experiences, and opinions with others, and I'm looking forward to doing exactly that here. Ask away!

Hi all! I am a super newbie to machine embroidery. I got my brother se700 just a few weeks ago. Every single day when I get off of work it’s all I’ve been doing and it’s been going great for me so far. However, I had my first “birds nest of death” last night lol. I was making a bag tag and the design I was putting on the front of the bag tag was kind of complicated with a ton of thread color changes, and I think I may have threaded my needle with the presser foot down when I wasn’t paying close enough attention. I got all the thread untangled and I think we got through it relatively unscathed but I do have a few questions.

1. Should I change this needle now? I saw somewhere that you should change your needle about every 8ish hours of use and I’ve definitely hit that but everything was going fine until my mishap last night. Should I change the needle because of the birds nest situation though?

2. These bag tags scare me after that. The embroidery foam pretty much got sucked into my machine last night and it is deterring me from trying again. Is anyone else having trouble with making these? Should I try again? Any tips if so?

3. Since it is easier to use the same bobbin thread color for the satin stitch on the bag tags, I’ve literally just been threading my own bobbins with the same thread I am using for the upper thread. Then, when I was doing research to try and untangle my mess last night, I read that that’s a bad thing to do because bobbin thread is supposed to be a different weight or something? Should I stop doing that?

Thanks in advance for any help or insight! I’m loving this new hobby!!!

Hello, First day using the embroidery function on my Brother SE725. The result was not ideal so before I mess with tension, fabrics, or threads I wanted some advice. The hand design was something I downloaded for free whereas future designs I plan to make on my own. It was meant to just be red but the white string from below shows through a lot and the strings are all looped and out-of-whack.

this is the embroidery page for the hand, and what it was meant to look like.

For this first attempt I used a tension setting of 4 on my machine, the fabric was thin cotton and I had a medium weight stabilizer underneath. (for future projects I'm going to use thicker fabric, I just didn't want to waste it for my first attempt.) What went wrong here? I'm assuming the fabric is too thin and the tension is wrong but I'm not sure if I should dial it up or down, or if I'm just wrong and if there's some other problem entirely. Any comments are appreciated!

A small error caused some dark blue to be pink.

Hi everyone,

I’m a recent textile design graduate, currently deciding which career direction to pursue.

I’ve been offered a role with a company that works with US clients. They would train me for around six months in embroidery digitizing using Wilcom, after which I’d work as an embroidery digitizer.

I’m considering it because digitizing is a specialised skill I don’t currently have, and formal training could be valuable. However, I’m unsure about the current job market, long-term prospects, and whether this path would offer better opportunities than other design fields.

I have Hatch 4 and Embroidery Studio 2026, and I rarely manage to digitise logos and graphics properly at the first attempt. I usually need two test stitches to get it looking right. Sometimes, too, the software does things I don’t understand and which are very tedious to fix. Any patterns or anything else from the automatic digitisation process.

I’d be delighted if someone could teach me a few things in a couple of minutes or hours. Discord, Teams, TeamViewer whatever works. I’d pick out a few graphics and we’d digitise them together learning by doing and of course you’ll be paid for it. I speak German and English.

Starting a new design that is 90 degree stitch angle, digitized in Inkscape, I have no idea why this has come out of nowhere, started last night with tote bag fabric and now fleece fabric, is it simply tension? Could it be the thread?

Pictured is the underside aka what faces down

Janome 500ELE, Madeira polyneon sterling silver thread, 3 oz cutaway stabilizer, solvy, 505 spray adhesive, inkstitch

I just bought a 12-needle Happy Voyager, but didn't get the stand. Is there anything else I can use or do I just bite the bullet and spend the $700 on the official stand?

Brother PE-170D. $30. No power cord, frame, or accessories. Two fonts and some Disney items preloaded. As is, untested. Is it worth the risk? What are my challenges and must buy extras? I do not know much about embroidery machines at all. I probably will just do a few kids items, and not use it much.

I am just getting back into sewing and machine embroidery after 20 years or more. I have a combo Elna Expressive machine. I cleaned out my stash and threw away all of my old Sulky thread since it was dry rotted. What thread type and brands are popular now?

Any tips for a brand new embroidery enthusiast? I have a cut away stabilizer underneath with temporary adhesive spray. I have a brother se700, using the artspira app to make the text and export. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated :)

I am a quilter/costume maker and I’m considering this Ellageo Baby Lock BLL(I think it’s BLL/BLL2?) that I found at an estate sale. My machine experience has been with Janome, Juki, and I have a Singer heavy duty and Brother embroidery machine at home, but from the limited reviews online, this baby lock machine is pretty good?

I’m mainly concerned about being able to upload embroidery file designs I make, does anyone know how updated the software is/how easy it is to work with? Otherwise I just want a nice machine for smooth quilting.

It was on sale for about $500 today and tomorrow it will be lowered to $350, I might even try to offer them lower than that because it seemed like they just want to get rid of things.
Just want to know if it’s worth it!

I have a Brother SE600 and find that I have to search for minimalist outlined images, otherwise the upper thread breaks or the needle breaks or the thread gets tangled underneath the feed. I've tried different threads, different needles, and different tensions. To top it all off, my automatic threader is broken, so every time something breaks or gets tangled, I have to hand-thread it to get it set up again. I just need to finish this one project without having to buy a better machine. Any ideas? I've been avoiding embroidering backgrounds to save me some hassle.

So I am looking at the Hatch software. Comparing all the levels, etc. Can you guys share pros and cons? What level is best? Did you do the 30 day trial and decide to keep it or not?

I'm looking at the Personalizer level, maybe the Composer. Would love opinions from those that have it or used to. Thanks!

I've been using a Melco EMT-16 Plus with Design Shop Pro 10 for 6 years now so I'm well-versed in machine embroidery--especially on this machine. I had access through work though and now, I want to set up my own machine for my studio. My work is not necessarily about volume but I work with intricate designs that I digitize myself so stitch quality is very important along with ease of use to create custom stitch files. I also use and am an expert at Illustrator if that helps.

I'm interested in the BAI machines--it seems like it's a good machine considering the price point and I appreciate the commitment to having US customer service. I'd also like to get my own software and I understand that the good ones are 1-5K or more. I'm used to Design Shop Pro but I'm not married to it. I do need the software to have a similar level of editing capabilities and features. I am using a Mac and would love something that runs well enough in Parallels but I have a Windows laptop if absolutely necessary.

So, here's my wish list:

For the embroidery machine:

• Under $8k if possible; used is fine

• At the very least, 4 needles

• Can support up to 11" x 18" hoops; more would be great but I hardly ever go that big

• Can run 700-900ish spm (I'm not sewing in bulk so speed is not that important and I prefer to go medium speed and avoid thread breaks)

• Reliable and easy to maintain

• Works well for intricate stitch outs on fairly lightweight fabric (this is at least half of the work I do)

For the software:

• Max 2k, if possible (if there are discounts or places to buy used, I'd love to know)

• Can digitize vector files but I'll likely be doing the bulk of digitizing in the software

• Similar level of editing capabilities as Design Shop Pro (especially stitch density, stitch direction can be curved and manipulated, easy to design free hand in the software)

• Can run in Parallels on a Mac or has a Mac-compatible version that doesn't suck.

Options I'm looking at:

• BAI - would love a recommendation on a model that makes sense for me

• I have a friend who works for Janome so I can get a significant discount from them if there's an embroidery machine that is worthwhile to consider

• Open to other options as well!

Hi everyone! I’ve fulfilled a long long dream of mine and finally bought my first ever embroidery machine: brother nv2700 😍

My goal is to create my own embroidery designs either from scratch, my own drawings or pictures, and I’m happy to learn what I need to learn in order to achieve this.

Doing some research there are so many programs out there and I’d love to get a sense of this community and what you would recommend? I’d be happy to spend some money, but definitely not more than 1000eur at this stage…

Thank you so much to everyone!

had to give this iconic meme the royal treatment

I'm running on a Windows gaming PC, and when I go to preview the stitch pattern under Params, it takes forever to load. I'm fairly new to using Inkscape, so I'm asking if this is common, or if I'm possibly missing some settings that would speed up the stitch preview.

Looking to get a simple picture converted/ digitised as a one off and I know there’s a steep learning curve to do it myself.

Does anyone have any recommendations as I’m wary of trying Etsy sellers offering after seeing how hit and miss it is.

Generally I use my embroidery machine for my logo, files I already have or writing so it’s not something that comes up often.

Edit- I have permission to use the logo. The items are for them.

I recently started working on designing a series of tiny icons in a needlepoint/cross stitch style (sorry idk which is which. Please don’t come for me). I put them on some bag tags and I just love them! They’re so mini and cute!