Sew What’s Up Presents
The Sew What’s New Archive
This archived content is from Mary Wilkins’ sewing and
quilting message board “Sew What’s New,” which was
retired in August 2007. It is being provided by
“Sew What’s Up,”
which serves as the new home for many members of “Sew What’s New.”
From: BABYCAKE
Date: 04-07-2005, 11:45 AM (1 of 23)
I JUST BROUGHT A NEW EMBROYDERY MACHINE PE180D, I CAN'T WAIT TO GET IT , BUT I'M SCARED, BECAUSE I HAVE NO CLUE  OF WERE TO BEGIN, WHEN I GET IT. I NEVER HAD A MACHINE IN MY LIFE, AND I CHOSE EMBROIDERY , SO THAT I CAN DO EMBROIDERY ON MY GRANDCHILDRENS THINGS ETC. SO I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO RECEIVEING HELP FROM YOU GUYS, SO THAT I CAN GO FORWARD, AND LEARN WHAT I HAVE TO DO AND WHAT I HAVE TO BUY SO THAT I CAN EMBROIDER. HOPE YOU CAN ALL HELP ME SO THAT I CAN ENJOY IT LIKE ALL OF YOU DO.
|
User: BABYCAKE
Member since: 04-06-2005 Total posts: 10 |
From: my2girlies
Date: 04-07-2005, 12:24 PM (2 of 23)
|
Congratulations babycake!! I just got my first machine a few months ago - it is embroidery, too. Here is what I was told to get and it is all I have so far and I use my machine every day: white bobbin thread ( I was told not to use Coats and Clark because there is a possability that the coating they put on it may rub off and damage your machine - I don't know if that is true, but I heard it several places so I personally chose to avoid it) tear-a-way and cut away stabilizer (I started with 2 yds. of each) extra bobbins and needles including ball point if you plan to emb. on knits some type of material to put on top of towels etc - I used toille(sp?). That is what the lady at the fabric store recommended. I only bought 1/2 yd and have not used any yet. You use it on towels and fleece. A small very sharp curved pair of scissors - very valuable!! I also use tweezers to get jump threads. I would also get a new sharp seam ripper Embroidery thread - this was hard for me because I was not sure what colors I wanted to use. My DH surprised me with 120 spools of different colors he bought off the internet. It has worked well for me. Set up a download file on your computer where you can put designs from the internet. I always rename the files so that I will recognize the design easier. I am a serious newbie at everything and this has been so easy - but addictive. I hope this helps. There are so many more people here with wayyyyyy more experience than me. Listen to their advice over mine. This is just what I started with, and it has worked well for me. I started with small projects that would not upset me or cost a fortune if I ruined them. That was the hardest part - restraint!! Most of all - have FUN!!! |
User: my2girlies
Member since: 03-25-2005 Total posts: 154 |
From: mamadus
Date: 04-07-2005, 03:13 PM (3 of 23)
congrats babycake... you will enjoy your 180... my first embroidery machine was the 150...basically the same machine, just different built in designs...feel free to ask any questions... You will want to get yourself a reader/writer box so you can download designs from the internet.. much cheaper than buying design cards..the ULTIMATE BOX is a good choice... its reasonably priced and hte card holds more designs than the other boxes available... also if you get the program EMBIRD you can get the ultimate box for about $130... There have been a couple of other postings about what you need to get started... read on a little further in the machine embroidery section and you will find a number of discussions... again, congrats on your machine... and welcome to our "addiction"  MO life is too short, not to explore
|
User: mamadus
Member since: 12-31-2004 Total posts: 492 
|
From: BABYCAKE
Date: 04-07-2005, 04:18 PM (4 of 23)
| Thank You For Your Help , I Sure Will Be Using Asking Alot Of Questions. I Don't Have A Fabric Store Here Where I Live, So I Have To Buy Things On Line. I Go On Line And Look Around To See What I See Is Cheaper. I Brought Some Baby T-shirts And Diapers So I Can Embroider It , Because My Daughter Is Having A Baby In June, So I Would Like To Make Her Some Stuff. The Only Thing I Don't Know What Stableizer To Use With These Baby Stuff. Which I Will Order On Line. Maybe You Can Help Me There. Thank You Again |
User: BABYCAKE
Member since: 04-06-2005 Total posts: 10 |
From: mamadus
Date: 04-07-2005, 08:43 PM (5 of 23)
|
Babycake.. the general rule of thumb is to use cutaway for knit fabrics and tear away for woven fabrics. My suggestion would be to check around and see if you have a similar piece of scrap fabric to test your design on before you embroider your actual item.. that way if there are any problems you'll know before you ruin your good item... MO life is too short, not to explore
|
User: mamadus
Member since: 12-31-2004 Total posts: 492
|
From: Hogmami
Date: 04-07-2005, 09:34 PM (6 of 23)
|
Here is a chart that might give you some help www.insideembroidery.com/Education/stabilizer%20chart.asp
Carolyn
Michigan |
User: Hogmami
Member since: 09-30-2004 Total posts: 800 
|
From: BABYCAKE
Date: 04-08-2005, 08:50 AM (7 of 23)
|
I WANT TO THANK YOU , FOR GIVING ME AN IDEA. I TRYED TO LOOK INTO THE WEBSITE THAT HOGMAMI GAVE ME , BUT IT'S NOT WORKING. SO I'LL KEEP IN MIND ABOUT THE FABRIC. MY2GIRLIES THANKS ABOUT THE THREAD ADVICE. ANOTHER QUESTION. SINCE MY MACHINE. COMES WITH THE DISNEY DESIGNS DO I HAVE TO BUY THE BROTHER DISNEY THREAD?? OR I CAN USE AN OTHER NAME BRAND AND HAVE MORE OR LESS THE SAME EFFECT? THANK YOU GUYS, I SOME WHAT FEEL SILLY ASKING SO MUCH QUESTIONS, BUT SINCE YOU ARE MUCH MORE EXPERIENCE , I FEEL THIS IS THE RIGHT SOURCE TO ASK. THANKS AGAIN 
|
User: BABYCAKE
Member since: 04-06-2005 Total posts: 10 |
From: paroper
Date: 04-08-2005, 10:28 AM (8 of 23)
|
No. You do not have to use a specific brand of thread. The brother thread is a little different weight though, I think...I believe it is 50 weight and a lot of embroidery thread is 40. A lot of people buy a lot of different brands but I like to stick with one. When I do a pattern I want to know what color was used and decide if I want to change the color. There are conversion charts for many colors, but if you have a lot of different mixed brands, it is hard to make the conversions or keep track of the colors you have (just my personal opinion...certainly not law). There are generally two types of popular embroidery thread. There is rayon and there is poly. Rayons are known for the sheen but most will be effected (color and strength) by bleach and have a lower melting point than poly so you may want to keep that in mind if you are putting a design on a pure cotton or linen garment. The Polyester threads are known for their strength. There are many good poly threads out there that are just a shiny as the rayon but this varies greatly by brand and often by price. The thing that I really didn't expect was the number of shades that come into play in good embroidery. My recommendation to you is that IF you plan to purchase your colors individually to find a few designs you like and purchase for those designs. The reason is that colors come in related hues. This will help you to get related colors into your thread stash and you'll end up wasting less money. No matter what though you will definately need black and some (shade) of white. You may want to purchase some type of pre-wound bobbins. I don't use these, I wind my own...and keep some prewound on hand all the time. I buy huge spools of bobbin thread and so far for 12 dollars, I've only run out of one in 18 months of embroidery. I don't think that the pre-wound purchased bobbins can compete with that, but they do contain a lot more yardage. I use sharp needles on most of my embroidery. Use the brand recommended by your Brother dealer and change often (it is amazing how many needles you will use). When the needle makes a dull thump when you are stitching, it will be time to change. You may also see a difference in stitch quality. Another thing, stabilizer is different from interfacing. Be sure that you purchase stabilizer. pam
Bernina 200e, Artista V5 Designer Plus, Explorations, Magic Box, Bernina 2000DE & 335 Bernette Serger, Bernina 1530 Sewing Machine, Bernina 1300 DC Overlock (with coverstitch) |
User: paroper
Member since: 02-03-2004 Total posts: 3775 |
From: BABYCAKE
Date: 04-08-2005, 02:14 PM (9 of 23)
| Paroper, thank you for the suggestion, I was looking into Madeira Thread, what do you think? In Polyester. I want to buy it in a kit, (various colors) and i think it will be cheaper for me intil , i see what is the most colors that will be used. What do you think of this type of thread. I just want to use one type only, i don't want to be getting all these name brands, and drive myself crazy. Thanks Again!! |
User: BABYCAKE
Member since: 04-06-2005 Total posts: 10 |
From: paroper
Date: 04-08-2005, 03:37 PM (10 of 23)
|
I think that it is a great plan! Most people that I know who use this thread are VERY pleased. I honestly have never heard anything but good about it. I have a few of their special color (varigated threads) but haven't had a chance to use it yet. I do prefer the polyester but plenty of people like the rayon..that is sheer choice. I don't think that you can go wrong with staying with one brand from the outset. It is just so nice to change a thread chart and have a standard conversion for everything instead of hopping around trying to figure it out. I know that you'll just love this hobby! Most of the Maderia I've heard about has been in rayon. However, everytime I see the thread chest (although I like the other large pack too) my heart skips a beat because I think it looks like a very good buy and a chance to get a lot of different colors all at once. My thread runs (discounted) around $5 a spool and I have roughly 320 1000 meter spools which is a sizable investment. The chest, although expensive, gives a good chance to purchase a variety of colors, some of which you'll only use a small portion over several years, along with popular colors too. There are also some smaller packs available. I've never actually seen the chest in person but it looks very nice. You might want to look at this link just to get an idea of once place that has this thread, but there are many places to buy thread. http://www.joann.com/catalog.jhtml?CATID=82290 pam
Bernina 200e, Artista V5 Designer Plus, Explorations, Magic Box, Bernina 2000DE & 335 Bernette Serger, Bernina 1530 Sewing Machine, Bernina 1300 DC Overlock (with coverstitch) |
User: paroper
Member since: 02-03-2004 Total posts: 3775 |
From: go blue
Date: 04-08-2005, 03:37 PM (11 of 23)
| Babycake, if you are going to embroider on towels use water soluble stabilizer, not tulle. Once you are done embroidering the stabilizer will disappear if you go around the edges of the ebroidery with a moist Q tip next to the design and then give a small tug to the rest...and it will easily come out. Or else you can spray gently with some water - or wet gently. |
User: go blue
Member since: 04-08-2005 Total posts: 2 |
From: Hogmami
Date: 04-08-2005, 04:02 PM (12 of 23)
|
Here is another chart. I checked and it does work. http://www.diamondthreadworks.com/stabilizer_chart.htm
Carolyn
Michigan |
User: Hogmami
Member since: 09-30-2004 Total posts: 800
|
From: Mother in Law
Date: 04-09-2005, 02:37 AM (13 of 23)
|
Hi Babycake, You are going to love embroidery and this site. The site is as addictive as the embroidery. You will soon learn everyone here is very helpful as well as friendly. If you are looking for a few designs to download until your machine gets to you try theses. www.annthegran.com www.search4designs.com www.embroidery.com www.daintystitches.com If you need more I have plenty. Just bookmark them and you'll have them for later. Hugs susie |
User: Mother in Law
Member since: Total posts: |
From: mamadus
Date: 04-09-2005, 12:39 PM (14 of 23)
|
have fun babycake.. machine embroidery is definitely an addiction... there are lots of good threads out there... I heartily concur that if you're going to be embroidering mostly for children or for kitchen and bath polyester is probably your best choice...I have a mixture of madeira, marathon and ARC threads... with a couple coats and clark, Isacord, and Robison-anton thrown in for good measure!! recently I got the entire ARC poly thread collection from Melco-Mart.. I got 288 spools for $297 including shipping..that worked out to about $1.4 per 1000 yard spool.. There are lots of good sites out there for designs etc.. for more general info on machine embroidery you might check out www.threadstop.com and/or www.sewforum.com both sites have lots of great info on machine embroidery... just my 2 cents... MO life is too short, not to explore
|
User: mamadus
Member since: 12-31-2004 Total posts: 492
|
From: BABYCAKE
Date: 04-20-2005, 03:24 PM (15 of 23)
|
HELLO EVERYONE ! WELL I FINALLY GOT MY MACHINE YESTERDAY AND I CAN'T WAIT TO START. MY MACHINE IS A PE180D AND MY QUESTION IS WHAT NEEDLES I NEED TO BUY FOR THAT MACHINE. ALL THEY SEND ME WAS 1 NEEDLE THAT SAYS 11 AND THE OTHER 14 , AND IT SAYS NOTHING ELES. BUT I NEED TO KNOW WHAT DOES THAT MEAN. AND ALSO . FOR WHICH ONE DO I EMBROYDER WITH ? AND I SEE THAT THERE ARE DIFFERENT KINDS SHARP AND BALL. SO COULD ANYONE TELL ME WHAT DO I NEED TO BUY THE MOST. I'LL BE DOING TOWELS AND BABYSTUFF AT LEAST FOR NOW, INTIL I GET THE HANG OF IT. AND DO WHAT DOES THE DIFFENT SIZES MEAN.WHEN IT SAYS 11 AND 14. WELL THANKS FOR YOUR HELP, BUT I'M REALLY LOST AND I EVEN FEEL SILLY ASKING THESE SIMPLE QUESTIONS. 
|
User: BABYCAKE
Member since: 04-06-2005 Total posts: 10 |
From: natred2
Date: 04-21-2005, 08:41 PM (16 of 23)
|
Hi Babycake I found this needle chart (http://www.threadartist.com/embroidery_machines_needles_guide.htm) for you, I hope it helps you out. Most things you should be fine with an 11. A good rule of thumb is to remember sharp points for woven fabrics and ballpoints for knit fabrics. For terry cloth I also use a water soluble stabilzer on the top to make sure the design does not get lost in pile of the fabric. I have the same machine as you do and I love it!! Although it did take us a little while to become aquainted. 
Don't be so open minded your brains fall out.
|
User: natred2
Member since: 04-09-2005 Total posts: 81 
|
From: BABYCAKE
Date: 04-22-2005, 09:21 AM (17 of 23)
|
Hello Natred2, How are you. Thank you very much for that website, it has been a great help. I saw the difference and so i was able to order. I also printed there chart so that i can have it handy when ever i'm confuse. I'm happy to know that you have the same machine as me, I can't wait to get started. If you don't mind , when ever i have a question about that machine, if i can ask you. I just ordered the Ultimate Box, so i'm waiting for it to come in. Little by Little I have been ordering my stuff. I am pretty sure that i will be enjoying myself. Since this is all new to me. Even having a machine is new to me. So I have a long road ahead of me I feel kind of nervous by excited at the same time. Thanks again for that info.
|
User: BABYCAKE
Member since: 04-06-2005 Total posts: 10 |
From: natred2
Date: 04-22-2005, 11:42 AM (18 of 23)
Babycake feel free to pm me any time  Just remember, I may have been sewing since I was 10 but the embroidery machine is pretty new to me too.Now that I have got the hang of the whole stabilizer thing, I have been cruising right along. I also have PE Design 4, so now I am trying to get the hang of the whole digitizing thing ...lol I have made a couple of designs so far, but I spend a lot of time looking at my tutorial disk and reading tips from other people. I practiced alot on scrap material before I felt confident enough to do it on the real thing. Don't be so open minded your brains fall out.
|
User: natred2
Member since: 04-09-2005 Total posts: 81
|
From: BABYCAKE
Date: 04-22-2005, 12:59 PM (19 of 23)
|
THANK YOU, THAT'S VERY KIND OF YOU. WELL AT LEAST YOU KNOW HOW TO SEW. I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO DO THAT. I TAKE EVERYTHING TO THE CLEANERS OR MY MOTHER USTO DO IT FOR ME. I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO THREAD A BOBBIN. SO I'M GONNA BE IN BAD SHAPE AT THE BEGINNING. ABOUT STABLIZING THAT'S GONNA ME MY NEXT CHALLANGE. I'M GONNA HAVE TO BUY ALOT OF LOSE MATERIAL AND PRACTICE INTIL I FEEL CONFIDENT ENOUGH TO DO IT ON CLOTHES, PILLOW CASES AND TOWELS ETC. AT LEAST NOW TALKING TO YOU , I DON'T FEEL SO BAD AND IGNORANT. WELL I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING YET. I'LL JUST WAIT FOR THE ULTIMATE BOX TO COME IN, AND SEE HOW I FIGURE IT OUT. SO I'LL BE DOING ALOT OF READING AND PULLING OF THE HAIR  I WENT ON E-BAY YESTERDAY AND GOT SOME CARTOON DISK, SO I'M WAITING FOR THAT TO COME TO SEE HOW I GET IT IN MY COMPUTER AND THEN INTO THE EMBROIDERY DISK. THAT'S GONNA BE ANOTHER CHALLANGE.
|
User: BABYCAKE
Member since: 04-06-2005 Total posts: 10 |
From: natred2
Date: 04-22-2005, 06:18 PM (20 of 23)
|
If you take a trip to your local fabric store, most can help you out with stabilizer, bobbin thread and embroidery thread. You have quite a few designs that are built into your machine so really you can start practicing right away. Then by the time your Ultimate Box comes you it will all be easy for you. You will need that for putting the designs on the memory card for the machine. There are a lot of free designs out there too. Don't be so open minded your brains fall out.
|
User: natred2
Member since: 04-09-2005 Total posts: 81
|
From: SewYaya
Date: 05-17-2005, 04:27 PM (21 of 23)
|
Hi! I'm new here too, but have been lurking for a while. I must ask, Mother-in-Law, I checked out that site Search 4designs, and am wondering: are the designs usable in .art format? I downloaded one of them, but it doesn't say what format it's in. At least I couldn't tell. I have a Bernina 165e. Thank you Sewyaya |
User: SewYaya
Member since: 05-17-2005 Total posts: 1 |
From: Mother in Law
Date: 05-18-2005, 12:33 AM (22 of 23)
|
SewYaYa, the file extension will tell you what the format for that design is. If it's in the art format it will be (example) rose.art if it's in the Brother format it will be rose.pes and so on. If it's not in the art format there is a few programs on the internet that you can download and change the format to your format. I don't have any at the moment but someone on the boards might be able to tell you of one for free, or you can do a search on Google.com and see if it has a conversion program for free you can download. Anyone know of a free program that will do this? If not Embird converts them to just about any format but you have to buy that program and it's a great program that does other things as well. Let me know if you have luck with this or I'll try and find one in the meantime. |
User: Mother in Law
Member since: Total posts: |
From: susies1955
Date: 05-18-2005, 04:55 AM (23 of 23)
|
Anyone know of a free program that will do this? If not Embird converts them ......... Here is a free program that will convert files: http://www.pulsemicro.com/Product%20Pages/tdgmlbp/tdgmlbp_ambassador.htm Susie in northern NY northern NY
http://community.webshots.com/user/susies1955 |
User: susies1955
Member since: 11-07-2003 Total posts: 124 
|
Visit Sew What’s Up for the latest sewing and quilting tips and discussions.
This page was originally located on Sew What’s New (www.sew-whats-new.com) at http://www.sew-whats-new.com/vb/archive/index.php/t-15584.html
Sew What’s Up is hosted by ZenSoft