Brother Embroidery Machine, PE770, 5” x 7” Embroidery Machine with Built-in Memory, USB Port, 6 Lettering Fonts, 136 Built-in Designs

I am totally brand-new to embroidery - never even watched someone use such a machine - and I am on my third T-shirt now and as happy as I have not been in a long time in my adult life. This is so much fun! The machine works great right out of the box.I was so disappointed at the prices at the stores that I almost passed on embroidery all together. Some folks in the stores seem to think everyone can afford to spend thousands and if you don't, you are just being stubborn. When I found out about the low end Brother machines, I was excited again. The SE400 seems to be great and has great reviews, but I wanted the 5" by 7" embroidery area. Also, I already have a sewing machine, so I did not need the dual function of the SE400 that people like.The PE770 has some nasty one star reviews, though, so I hesitated. One review (not one star) mentioned Vince Arcuri's you tube videos, and that gentleman gave me confidence in the machine again. I watched his intro to the PE770, and he has such a calm and positive manner and shows the machine in operation that I could see it may well work for me. Thank you so much, Vince Arcuri! I am so glad I got a PE770. It is really all I needed and works great so far.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVRl7KhRRJo&list=PLY8PAYIO5y19XAvmOsD9zBqCsUVtzkEYO&index=1I did a few things to give us (the machine and me) the best chance:1) I ordered the two stabilizers and the glue spray Vince Arcuri shows in his video right here on Amazon, (have since ordered cut-away stabilizer also, since the T-shirt designs will probably distort with the wash away over time) and I am using two layers of the wash away on the bottom and the clear stuff on top with the spay to hold the fabric in place,Tear & Wash Away - Machine Embroidery Stabilizer Backing Medium Weight 2.0oz. Roll of 12 in X 50 YdsSulky 12-Inch by 9-Yard Solvy Water Soluble Stabilizer RollSulky 4.23-Ounce Temporary Spray Adhesive2) I researched and ordered the recommended bobbin threads for the machine in pre-wound bobbins since people said they work better than the home-wound bobbins - I think it matters to get the 90 weight bobbin thread and that was a little more expensive than the abundant ones that come in a case of 144, here is a link to the ones that work for me20 Prewound 90 Weight Thread Embroidery Bobbins Size A Class 15 Style 15J For Brother Baby Lock SA1563) I got very good thread - had a special pack of 35 Isacord threads that I picked up on sale when I was shopping for machines in the stores and found an even better deal on eBay (25 spools for 90.- where you can pick your own colors and sometimes people sell used spools that are still pretty full at a good price) - anyway, - Isacord is supposed to be one of the best and the machine runs great with those - it is making a mouse in a pin box, cute sewing design with 31 thread changes as I type this review and everything is working like clockwork – smiling from ear to ear every time I go back to the machine to change threads and see my cute design developing4) I did read the manual on threading the machine and carefully cut all loose threads off, stopping the machine after the first few stitches for each color to cut the top thread ( as Vince Arcuri showed in his you tube video) - one did get sucked in when I did not stop the machine in time - I cut the mess off on the bottom and it was no problem, but I try very hard not to let that happen and catch the loose ends before the machine gets going on each color - you can press a button to start, stop, and re-start - it is very convenient for me (am not mass producing, so no worries about the time it takes at the moment - maybe I can ask the machine to cut the threads but I have not been motivated to find out yet - just excited to see it work!)5) Not sure this helps, but it made me feel better to set the max speed to the lower setting before sewingSince I am so new to embroidery, I cannot say if the machine would meet expectations of someone experienced, but for a beginner like me, I can highly recommend it!With Amazon's return policy, I felt like I could try this machine even if there may be individual lemons out there - I am planning to use it as much as possible right away to test it. So far 5 Stars all the way.Oh, and by the way, that is in spite of the fact that the poor thing has been shipped upside down! I am not sure what brainiac did this, but someone put the PE770 box inside another box upside down, and the outer box was delivered right-side-up, of course, so the machine probably traveled upside down for a few days. Still - it is fine and I am keeping it! =]Beginners should also be aware that a machine like this cannot change your design and the screen for viewing the design is not very useful (does not bother me - I put one design at a time on my memory stick and I know what the machine sees on the stick) - software to manipulate designs is very expensive and somewhat complicated, depending on what computer skills you have and what you want to do (change colors or size all the way to digitize your own designs) – I felt that you really need some basic program, which may be found under 200.-, to view the design and the colors and stich order, so you can pick colors from the threads you have and know where in the design they show up – I did this with two free trial versions of software I downloaded for testing so far but they expire after 30 days - you also need some software to do multiple lines of text, like a quilt label and have the spacing perfect, I think - I did one line of text on the machine without software: my name - could reposition the needle to write the next line but would have to guess the spacing, from what I see so farI am fairly computer savvy and want to digitize photos of animals - downloaded a free trial version of PE Design 10 and Embird and decided to buy the Embird, but there is other software also - I heard about SewEasy, for example, but have not looked at it. Be prepared to pay as much for some software packages as you paid for the machine, or more. Embird comes in modules, to allow us to start with what we can afford and build on it. Nice for beginners, I think. The basic module does a lot and is 164.- to download from online. That’s the one I decided on.Just to be clear, the software I am talking about runs on a computer, which you need to have if you want to go this route, it does not run on the embroidery machine. Designs can be transferred from your computer on a memory stick to the PE770. That is a pretty cool feature, and I understand, not available on all embroidery machines. Even if you don't buy the software, the stick transfer can be used for designs bought on the internet with your computer. Free designs are also available on the internet. Pretty cool!

Just quick first impression review.The machine was waiting when we got home from work this evening. I wasn't completely happy with the packaging but the issues were minor. Opening it and setting it up was quick and easy. The instruction are clear and easy to read/understand. I honestly can't see why a few people gave this machine low reviews. We had it up and running within minutes. I did about 8 patterns on some really crummy material using the white thread that came with it. I did break the thread 2 times but afterwards I realized the breaks were my fault. I failed to use the correct sized thread retainer. I used the medium sized retainer when I should have been using the large retainer. The reason for the breaks, the thread was catching in the groove on the edge of the thread spool because the retainer diameter was smaller than the spool diameter. Dumb mistake...So far, this thing is killer. It will be working a lot in the near future with custom patterns. I will probably update this review with more information and details as time goes on, as we learn the in and outs but my first impression of the unit was so high I felt compelled to post a quick review.Edit: 5-9-2014, I looked around at all the digitizing software and found so many options I couldn't make a choice. The prices range from free to several thousand dollars. So, after a day of reading reviews I thought I would try the SewArt and SewWhat Pro programs because they both have a 30 day free trial and the purchase price if I like them was well under $100 each. I tried the SewArt program and found it extremely easy to use. I digitized a fairly low res POW-MIA logo. It was two colors (black and white) and I sized it to about 5.5 inches tall. Put the file on a USB memory stick, set up the PE770 and started stitching. The layout of the pattern was pretty cool, it stitched (for the lack of a better term) a vertical weave of thread under the area to be covered by the logo. Then it proceeded to stitch the logo. I was instantly amazed at the abilities of this machine. I can't remember the thread count of the pattern but it was well over 22,000 stitches. Now to be fair, the thread did break on me 3 times and at random times/places, but this time the breaks were not because the thread caught in the groove on the spool (I used the larger diameter thread retainer). I think the cause this time was me not using a backing material on the fabric. The fabric was stretched as tight as I could make it in the hoop (I was cheating). I also had one small area where the thread frayed on the material. Later inspection showed that the material was starting to tear and the large size of the logo was causing the material to bunch up under the stitching. The bunching material also made the logo warp on one edge. When the thread broke it would break then continue sewing for a few stitches before stopping. After threading it again I would start sewing but there was a small gap where the thread had broke. I know there is a way to back up the stitching to cover these areas but I couldn't remember how to do it. I'll look it up for future use. All in all, the digitizing software did a fantastic job along with the machine doing a great job considering I had it set up the wrong way to cut corners to do a "quick test". I wish I could upload a sample picture here but I don't think I can.