I bought it in October 2023 and left it in the box for four days. Here is what happened after I finally opened it, including the two things that still annoy me.
Three years of monograms, hemmed trousers and one very carried-around bath towel. What the 5 by 7 field really means, and the two things that still bother me.
I have used the Brother SE1900 since October 2023 and have never owned the PE800. This is the honest split between a combo machine and an embroidery-only machine with the same 5 by 7 inch field.
A retired school office manager in Spokane on why one sewing and embroidery combo machine, a folding table and a rolling cart are enough for a spare bedroom.
I bought it in October 2023 and left it in the box for four days. Here is what happened after I finally opened it, including the two things that still annoy me.
Five steps from cardboard box to a finished monogrammed towel, written by someone who learned on scrap terry in a spare bedroom.
Three years, a few hundred towels and one clear-eyed look at the two things that still bother me about the Brother SE1900.
Three years, one machine, one folding table by a window. What forty spools of 40 weight polyester actually did for a home embroiderer in Spokane, and the one small annoyance I still deal with.
A home embroiderer's honest comparison of the kit on her cart and the brand her friend uses, including the two things Simthread does better.
A retired school office manager in Spokane explains why one 40 spool kit has carried every towel, blanket and tote she has stitched since November 2023.
I went to the craft store for a sewing machine and came home with a thread kit I did not plan on. Three years later it is still sitting on the cart by the window.
A home embroiderer's working order for choosing thread on a baby blanket, from the fleece in your hand to the card in the drawer.
Three years, one box of thread, and one genuine complaint. A home embroiderer's plain account of the 40 spool kit she bought with her own money in November 2023.
Three packs of precut tear away, one spare bedroom upstairs, and the thick bath towel that taught me to double up.
One is precut and tears out clean. One stays in the fabric for good. Which belongs under your hoop depends on what you stitch, and for most home work there is a clear answer.
Three packs in, the precut sheet is the one embroidery supply I never think about. Here are ten reasons it earned that spot on my shelf.
A retired office manager in Spokane bought stabilizer before she ever stitched a stitch. Three years and three packs later, here is what she actually does with it.
Terry cloth puckers for one reason: not enough is holding the fabric still underneath. Here is the five-step order I use on every towel, and the two-sheet habit that ended the halos around my letters.
Three packs, three years, one real complaint. A home embroiderer's plain account of the precut tear away sheets under most of the gifts that leave her house.
Four plastic hoops, one sewing machine, and about two years of towels, blankets and totes. Two of the four do almost all the work, and that turns out to be fine.
A home embroiderer who has hooped every towel in the house weighs four screw hoops against the magnetic kind, and says plainly which one she would buy first.
One hoop came in the box. Six months later I bought four more, and only two of them do the heavy lifting. Here is what each size actually changed at my table.
A home embroiderer's plain account of the four hoops on her hook, which two earn their keep, and which one has never left the buckle.
A plain-spoken method for hooping fleece baby blankets so the hoop holds the fabric without leaving a pressed ring behind.
A hoop set is not glamorous. It is the thing you reach for every single time you stitch. Here is what four sizes actually do in a home sewing room, and which one mostly hangs on the hook.
Nearly three years, one ribbon tied to the machine, and the kitchen scissors finally back in the kitchen. A home embroiderer's plain account of what these snips do and what they do not.
A home embroiderer who owns both explains the one job each tool does better, and why the thread snips ended up tied to her machine.
A home embroiderer's plain-spoken list, from someone who spent a month borrowing the kitchen scissors and finally stopped.
A retired school office manager in Spokane on the small tool that stopped the walk to the kitchen, and the one week it took to get used to it.
Your machine finishes a monogram and hands you a spiderweb. Here is the order of operations that gets the back clean without nicking the design, learned the slow way on a Brother SE1900 in a spare bedroom in Spokane.
A plain-spoken home embroiderer's read on the SINGER ProSeries thread snips, including the first-week stiffness, the jobs they do well, and the ones they do not.
Three years of monograms, hemmed trousers and one very carried-around bath towel. What the 5 by 7 field really means, and the two things that still bother me.
Three years, a few hundred towels and one clear-eyed look at the two things that still bother me about the Brother SE1900.
Three years, one machine, one folding table by a window. What forty spools of 40 weight polyester actually did for a home embroiderer in Spokane, and the one small annoyance I still deal with.
Three years, one box of thread, and one genuine complaint. A home embroiderer's plain account of the 40 spool kit she bought with her own money in November 2023.
Three packs of precut tear away, one spare bedroom upstairs, and the thick bath towel that taught me to double up.
Three packs, three years, one real complaint. A home embroiderer's plain account of the precut tear away sheets under most of the gifts that leave her house.
Four plastic hoops, one sewing machine, and about two years of towels, blankets and totes. Two of the four do almost all the work, and that turns out to be fine.
A hoop set is not glamorous. It is the thing you reach for every single time you stitch. Here is what four sizes actually do in a home sewing room, and which one mostly hangs on the hook.
Nearly three years, one ribbon tied to the machine, and the kitchen scissors finally back in the kitchen. A home embroiderer's plain account of what these snips do and what they do not.
A plain-spoken home embroiderer's read on the SINGER ProSeries thread snips, including the first-week stiffness, the jobs they do well, and the ones they do not.
