Embroidery Machine?? Please Help This Confused Wannabe!

[chelsea]

Hey, I've got a question for all you craftsy ladies...I am wanting to make up some t-shirts with slogans for my son and family and friends. I am wondering, is it a "professional embroidery machine" that does that type of thing? Regular sewing machines don't do that, do they? And just how "crafty" do you have to be to work one of these mighty machines? Is it too difficult for someone with minimal sewing experience? I really want to make shirts! :hissyfit Or is this one of those dreams I should just "lay to rest"? :shrug

[lumpofclay]

Yes, embroidery machines, not regular sewing machines, will do what you want to do. Someone with only basic sewing knowledge can definitely run an embroidery machine, but you might need classes. If you buy a machine from a local sewing store, classes usually come with your purchase. The thing that will probably hold you back more than information/skills is price. Embroidery machines can be expensive. I know there is a basic Brother model sold at Wal-Mart, but I don't know much about it. It obviously wouldn't come with classes. ;)

[Mother of Sons]

They are easy to use, but can be expensive. If you want a logo of your own design, it gets even more expensive because you would need to have the logo digitized and you would need an embroidery card reader to download it so that you could sew it on the shirts.

[chelsea]

Thanks for the feedback, ladies!
If you want a logo of your own design, it gets even more expensive because you would need to have the logo digitized and you would need an embroidery card reader to download it so that you could sew it on the shirts.
Yikes! Making my own designs is exactly what I had in mind! :sick Is it a one-time expense (like you buy the equipment and can create as many as you want), or is it something where you have to buy new equipment everytime you create a separate design?

[Teribear]

You buy the software, a scanner if you don't have one, and you can do as many designs as you want, however you're looking at several thousand dollars in equipment even for a home machine. My first one was over $2000 and my current one (six needles) was right at $10K. I don't know how the little Brother machines at Walmart stack up. My first one was a Bernina Deco and my current one is a Brother PR600. The PEDesign (Brother's digitizing software) is close to $1000 by itself. Then you have the cost of stabilizers (the thick fabric type stuff that you back things with so that they'll stitch properly) and thread (which is not cheap, around $5/spool) and bobbins (I use prewounds at 10 cents apiece). I will say that I recouped the cost of my first machine within a year and if I were working the business like I should be I could have recouped the csot of the second one by now. But as a hobby machine its an expensive toy.

[chelsea]

But as a hobby machine its an expensive toy.
No kidding! :eek ...there should be an emoticon with googly eyes that are boinging away from the head! That's a lot of moolah! I think I will keep my hobby cheap and stick to iron-on sheets like Rebecca suggested in the other post! Thanks for the in-depth information! It's less time wasted barking up the wrong tree! :tu