Guides
15 posts in Guides.
- Guides
Where to Get Embroidery Designs: Sources and What to Look For
Etsy, Embroidery Library, Urban Threads, and Brother's built-in designs: what each offers, what good digitizing looks like, and the formats you need.
- Guides
Embroidery Machine Maintenance: What to Do and When
Lint removal every session, needle changes every 8-10 hours, oiling only if your manual says to, and service every 1-3 years. The full schedule and costs.
- Guides
Embroidery Thread Guide: Weight, Fiber, and What to Buy
40-weight polyester is the default for machine embroidery. How weight affects coverage, what differs between brands, and when to use rayon, cotton, or metallic.
- Guides
First Embroidery Machine Buying Guide: Four Decisions
Field size, budget, embroidery-only vs combo, and the file-format ecosystem: the four decisions that cover the market, each with specific model picks.
- Guides
Machine Needles Guide: Type, Size, and When to Change
Universal, ballpoint, stretch, and quilting needles each behave differently. The wrong one causes skipped stitches and breaks. Type, size, and change schedule.
- Guides
Serger Tension Problems: Every Fix, Stated Plainly
Loops on top mean the needle tension is loose; loops underneath mean the loopers are. Read the stitch, then fix one dial at a time. The full diagnostic order.
- Guides
Serger vs Coverstitch Machine: What Each One Actually Does
A serger trims and wraps the cut edge; a coverstitch makes the twin-needle hem inside athletic wear. They do different jobs. Here is when you need which.
- Guides
Brother PE900 vs SE700: Which One to Buy
PE900 or SE700? We compare the 5x7 embroidery-only PE900 against the 4x4 combo SE700 on field size, price, design count, and who each machine actually fits.
- Guides
Embroidery on a Regular Sewing Machine: What's Possible
Free-motion embroidery works on a regular sewing machine with a darning foot and dropped feed dogs. Computerized designs need a dedicated embroidery machine.
- Guides
Embroidery Digitizing Software: Hatch vs Embrilliance
Which embroidery digitizing software is right for you? We compare Hatch, Embrilliance StitchArtist, and Brother PE-Design 11 on price, features, and learning curve.
- Guides
Embroidery File Formats Explained: PES, DST, JEF, and More
PES, DST, JEF, VP3, and HUS explained: what machine each format belongs to, what data it stores, and why converting between formats can damage a design.
- Guides
Embroidery Hoop Sizes Explained: 4x4, 5x7, and Beyond
Every standard hoop size from 4x4 to 14x14 inches, what design categories fit each field, and which home embroidery machines are compatible with which frames.
- Guides
Embroidery Machine for Hats: Flat Bed vs Cap Frame
Which embroidery machine actually does hats? The flat-bed vs cap-frame answer, what the PE900 can and can't do, and when you need the PR680W commercial tier.
- Guides
Embroidery Pricing Calculator: Rates, Costs, and Tables
How to price embroidery work: per-stitch rates, consumable costs per design, machine time, digitizing fees, and market-rate bands for common job types.
- Guides
Embroidery Stabilizer Guide: Cutaway vs Tearaway, Picked
Embroidery stabilizer guide: cutaway vs tearaway vs wash-away, which one for each fabric, weight charts, cost-per-project math, and how to stop puckering.