In this article, we will discuss the best machine for starting a home embroidery business, how to start a profitable embroidery business at home, and some frequently asked questions related to it. Let’s dive in then!
The ravages of the pandemic around the world have radically changed how people work. People have woken up to the possibilities of working from home. Embroidery is a craft that, thankfully, is not restricted to a place of work. With the right machine, it can be done at home with comfort and safety.
1. Best Overall: Brother SE600 Sewing and Embroidery Machines
This large 3.2″ LCD screen helps to see details more clearly and allows you to preview designs, edit and change them prior to stitching. Its 80 built-in designs plus 6 embroidery lettering fonts is ideal for making your projects more unique.
103 built-in sewing stitches: The number and variety of built-in stitches that also include 10 different styles of auto-size buttonholes will optimize your designs.
4″ x 4″ embroidery field: This feature comes with an included hoop, embroidery arm and 7 sewing feet. The seven sewing feet include spring action zigzag, buttonhole, overcasting, monogramming, zipper, blind stitch and button sewing feet.
Automatic needle threader and drop-in top bobbin: The automatic needle threader effortlessly threads the needle and comes with an easy to use jam-resistant drop-in top bobbin.
Automatic needle up/down position– this enables you to pivot the fabric without losing the stitch.
Automatic speed controller– this allows you to sew at different speeds for different kinds of work.
Built-in Tutorial: The machine comes with a built-in tutorial, so beginners don’t have to do any guesswork when setting up the machine or beginning simple projects.
Jam- resistant drop-in bobbin: Jamming bobbins cause a lot of inconveniences. This feature comes in a transparent case, so you can actually tell when the thread is running out in the middle of sewing.
USB Port: The USB port enables the user to download or purchase additional designs from the internet, which will enhance the uniqueness of their work.
Adjustable stitch length and width: This can easily be done on the touch screen so as to control the tightness of the seams. This is useful if you’re working on many layers of fabric or even thick fabrics.
Adjustable speed control: In addition to being able to control the speed using the foot pedal, the machine comes with a slider that gives the user the ability to better control the speed for optimal results.
LED light: lights up the work area well and is useful in a poorly lit work area.
Most functions of this machine can be accomplished at the touch of a button, making it easy to use for beginners, and saving a lot of time and effort in the process. The presence of a start and stop button eliminates the need for the foot pedal for users who may not be familiar with it. If you’re not sure what to do, never fear. Simple step by step instructions on the smart screen will guide you.
Key Features (Specifications)
- Stitches: 103 Built-in Stitches
- Built-in Designs: 80
- Speed: 710 Stitches per Minute
- Needle Threading System: Automatic
- Embroidery Area: 4″ x 4″
- Display: 3.2″ LCD Touchscreen
- USB: Yes
- Warranty: 1/2/25 Years
Why We Like it?
- Built-in embroidery designs make work easier for beginners.
- Good value for money
- Free arm option
- Quiet enough to be used in a residential area.
- Lightweight and portable.
- Easy to learn and Use
Our Verdict
One of the most popular machines, with 9 out of 10 customers recommending it to others. It also received the 2018 Women’s Choice Award. Clearly a favourite, this machine comes with amazing features.
2. Premium Choice: Brother SE1900
This full-colour 3.2 inch LCD display is ideal for when you need to preview your designs. You can also browse editing options.
Threading the needle has never been made easier with the simple press of a lever. A jam-resistant drop-in top bobbin completes the picture.
With an additional hoop and 8 sewing feet, this generous feature will make larger designs possible and reduce work time by half or even more. In addition to these, this incredible machine also features 10 styles of auto-size buttonholes
Key Features Checklist (Specifications)
- Built-in Designs: 138 with 11 Fonts
- Stitches: 240 Built-in Stitches
- Speed: 850 Stitches per Minute
- Needle Threading System: Automatic
- Embroidery Area: 5″ x 7″
- Display: 3.2″ LCD Touchscreen
- USB: Yes
- Warranty: 1/2/25 Years
Why We Like it?
- It has a large LCD colour touchscreen.
- Built-in USB port to enable the importing of designs.
- It is lightweight and portable
- Comes loaded with easy to use features
- Value for money
- Durability
Our Verdict
“An upgrade of the Brother SE1800 model, this machine is the perfect combination for quilting, sewing, and embroidery. It also happens to be one of the most popular machines out there.”
3. Best for a Beginner: Brother LB5000M
The machine comes with 10 Marvel Comics designs available for download from iBroidery.com with the included code along with 10 additional superhero-inspired designs
Marvel superheroes faceplates: in addition to a Marvel Avengers faceplate
This machine comes with 3 interchangeable character faceplates including The Incredible Hulk, Captain America, and Iron Man that you can use to improve the look of the machine and impress your customers.
4″ x 4″ embroidery field: This machine is built with a 4″ x 4″ embroidery field with an included hoop, embroidery arm, embroidery foot and 7 versatile sewing feet and other exciting features including overcasting, monogramming, buttonhole, zipper, spring action zigzag, blind stitch and button sewing feet. The spring action zigzag foot is designed with a longer foot, which together with the longer 7-point feed dogs, helps give feed the fabric in more smoothly.
80 built-in designs and 103 sewing stitches: The LB5000S features 80 built-in embroidery designs including children’s designs, holiday, florals, holiday, border, and decorative alphabet. It also features 103 beautifully designed sewing stitches including 10 styles of auto-size buttonholes.
Large colour touchscreen: A generous 3.2″ inch LCD colour touchscreen display allows you to preview your designs in colour before getting down to embroidering.
Embroidery fonts– This machine comes with 9 embroidery lettering fonts for personalizing your designs.
Expanded embroidery design editing features including the ability to change individual thread colours, place lettering in an arc, and move designs on the touch screen display with a simple finger touch.
USB Port– This will enable you to import designs that may not be included in the machine software
Expanded 6.4″ w x 4.1″ h needle-to-arm workspace– This gives more room for folding quilts and bulkier projects to the right of the needle and makes sewing easier.
Automatic bobbin winding system: This gives an evenly wound bobbin for optimal sewing.
Key Features Checklist (Specifications)
- Built-in Designs: 80 and 10 Download Designs
- Stitches: 103 Built-in Stitches
- Speed: 710 Stitches per Minute
- Needle Threading System: Automatic
- Embroidery Area: 4″x4″
- Display: 3.2″ LCD Touchscreen
- USB: Yes (1 Port)
Why We Like it?
- Wide range of designs and stitches.
- The hardware and software of the machine are user-friendly.
- The Marvel designs are fun to work with.
- Easy to Use
- Perfect for a beginner or experienced user
Our Verdict
If you are a fan of Marvel comics (or cater to them), this is a must-have! The Marvel-inspired features of this beauty will enable you to create customized apparel to cater to your customers wildest Marvel fantasies.
Starting an Embroidery Business
The most important item for your embroidery business is the machine. The average cost of an embroidery machine for a profitable home business is between $400 and $10,000. So you have to have a good budget.
If you are a beginner, avoid the more expensive ones and start with a more affordable model. You can scale up as your skills improve and your business grows. Who knows, your old machine can be used by your very first employee! Moreover, invest in a computerized automated machine as customers often have designs that would be difficult and time-consuming to make manually.
You also need a business plan that incorporates all your expected costs and income. Important costs to consider are labour, rent (if applicable), and utilities like electricity, water and internet; marketing costs, taxes, and mistakes.
Wait, mistakes? Yes. Mistakes made during embroidery lead to loss of thread in stitches, used up electricity, time, and labour. Since mistakes are inevitable, especially for beginners, they should be factored into the cost of the items.
How do you cost your items? There are many different ways of doing this. One way can be simply charging twice your wholesale cost. This is known as the keystone model. This method, however, does not work well with very cheap and very expensive products. Another model is the profit per unit method, where you set a flat profit for every unit you sell.
Therefore, if you choose to have a profit of $7 for every item sold, you would charge $14 for a shirt that costs $7. Another method is to calculate the total costs of the business, add a profit margin, and divide that up by the number of expected sales to find a markup per item, or for every stitch.
Buying Guides of Best Embroidery Machine for Home Business
- Hoop size
This is one of the most important factors. Some cheap machines come with a very limited hoop size, which would work for you if you’re only monogramming. For example, the Brother SE600 Sewing and Embroidery Machines, for all their good qualities, have a small hoop size. If you’re going to be embroidering large pieces of work, you would need a machine with a bigger hoop size. Try and get as big a hoop size as you can afford, because you can still make small designs with them. - Items You Plan to Embroider
All machines can embroider flat garments, but for garments that can’t be spread out flat, you would need a more specialized machine. For example, baby jumpers are difficult to embroider as they can’t be opened out flat. - Internet Connectivity
Many machines now come with some form of connectivity to the internet, at the very least, a USB port. A machine that comes with a direct link to a PC would allow you to make real-time alterations as you work. This would also help if customers come in with a unique design that you would be unable to design on your own. Some machines also come with the ability to read different file formats, which saves the time taken in moving back and forth between a PC and the machine. All the machines mentioned above come with adequate connectivity features. - Size of LCD Screen
Lowly priced machines come with smaller LCD screen sizes which make designing and customizing difficult and tedious. A larger screen helps to place a design precisely where it is supposed to be, and helps take note of details. The three machines we’ve talked about all have a suitably large display screen of 3.2 inches. - The Number of Needles and Stitches per Minute
Since the point of your home embroidery is to make money, consider the time and energy spent in embroidery in relation to the money you want to make. The stitching time of a machine will determine how much time you spend and how much money you will make. A multi-needle machine that changes colour by itself would be ideal for your home business. It’s better to invest in a fast machine as you can slow it down, whereas you can’t speed up a slow machine. The Brother SE600 Sewing and Embroidery Machines come with many automated features that make sewing easier and faster and take less time. - Servicing Options
No matter how good a machine is, there is always a chance that it may break down. Buy a machine from a manufacturer who would be readily available should your machine need urgent servicing so as not to jeopardize time-conscious assignments. Since these machines are computerized, you can’t just repair them yourself, and you can’t just take them to the local repair shop. This would disqualify you for a replacement should anything happen to the machine while it is being repaired.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. In 2015, the embroidery industry generated $732 million in revenue. With consistently good quality products, high-quality equipment, and strategic marketing, it is possible to run a profitable embroidery business.
Embroidery may look intimidating due to the numerous threads, needles, techniques, and equipment used, but in reality, it is a simple and enjoyable skill that can easily be learned by hand.
The two words are definitely related, but they don’t mean the same thing. A monogram is a motif made by artistically overlapping or combining two or more initials, numbers, or any other symbol in order to decorate an object or to indicate possession. It can be made in different ways. It can be painted onto a wall or even a rock, cut into a material, written in ink on paper, or embroidered into a fabric. Embroidery is the art of stitching thread into fabric using a needle and a thread to create different figures, shapes, and initials.
Yes, you can! Hoops can be very challenging. You can embroider without a hoop as long as you maintain enough tension on the fabric to prevent it from puckering and clumping.
Fabrics with a thread count (the number of threads per square inch) of less than 150 such as muslin, Aida, cotton, linen, Osnaburg and flour sack are the best for embroidery.
No, you can’t. It will lower the quality of your work.
Yes, you can. Regular thread is slightly thicker than embroidery thread, so it may pile up as you embroider, but it won’t spoil the machine.
In conclusion, embroidery is not as hard or complicated as it looks. With the right attitude and determination, you can begin learning embroidery by hand and advance to different machines as your skill set grows.
Learning by hand is good because then you understand better how the machines work and you are able to come up with your own unique designs due to constant practice.
Running a home embroidery business can be quite labor-intensive and tiring but once you get the right niche and the right customers, the rewards will start coming in. Try it and see!