Ann The Gran Community

have had my PE700 since last august and like  my D270, it does not like rayon thread of any brand-  loves poly and cotton of any brand, though sometimes lint is an issue.  what amazes me is that I've had awfully good results with really cheap brands of thread on the same exact designs that were a disaster with my good expensive threads.  love my baby though, and I'll use whatever thread works best

 I have a PE700 that I got about a month ago and 3-270D's that I have bought over the past 3 years.  I love them all!  Brother makes it so easy to learn to use their machines.  I tried a Singer Quantum a couple of months ago and sent it back VERY quickly!   It was VERY confusing to use.

Anyway, I use both Rayon and Poly threads and do have better luck with the Poly.  A lot of times it depends on the complexity of the design or perhaps how well it was digitized.   I learned my lesson on inexpensive threads, too.  I have had some really bad messes from them.  I use a variety of brands, but only use quality threads.

Brother is a dependable name that I trust and appreciate. 

I don't know how long they have been in business, but no one stays in business if they do not listen to the clients and respond accordingly.

I am sure that the other manufacturers are great as well.  But, when I say "Brother" no one asks me "who??"  That goes a long way to my appreciation of a long standing corporation.

When you think about ME (machine embroidery), the manufacturing community gave us something that allows us to be creative and gives us so much joy.  Thank you to all ME Corporations, but especially Brother, because I am a fan.

NOTE TO RNH:  What a beautiful avatar!!!!  I will be doing a blog on needles at a future time.  In the meanwhile, needles depend on what you are working on.  It is necessary to buy 'embroidery' needles, and you do need to buy one that is sensitive to your material.  For instance, if you are working on a knit, you need to use a ball point needle.  I will go into detail in my blog.  For now, I use a 11 needle.  Ann has a great 'variety' pack http://www.annthegran.com/Product.aspx?t=1&i=7305  which has 80 needles for approximately $20.  That covers a lot of sewing!

 Pat

If you still have the PE-700, purchase some of pre-wound polyester bobbin thread from a sewing center or on the Internet. You may find that all your tension problems are solved.

I just purchased a new Brother PE-750 after using a used PE-150 that seemed to develop tension problems. Through various sources, I learned that the bobbin thread is really important. After I purchased some Fil-Tec Clear-Glide plastic sided prewound polyester embroidery bobbins from a sewing center and used them in the used PE-150, I was amazed to see that it worked fine. Obviously it hated the Sulky Extra Fine bobbin thread I had picked up at a Joann's, thinking I would save money by winding my own bobbins. Also, I had assumed that thread would work well since the PE-150 manual said to use #60-90 bobbin thread and "extra fine" was closer to the #90, and might work well with denser embroidery patterns. I should not have made that assumption!

I now use the Fil-Tec pre-wound bobbins with both machines with no problem. It can be purchased in bulk on the Internet. You need to determine if your machine takes the Style A (a.k.a Class 15 which is 7/16" wide) OR the Style L Bobbin (5/16" wide). My PE-750 takes the Style A which is wider, but the PE-150 takes the narrower Style L. (However, I bought an adapter at the sewing center which allows me to use the narrower bobbin in my PE-750 also.)

Good Luck. Bonnie

So true, thanks Bonnie!

Pat, The Avid Embroiderer

Hi mary Anne--   I* have a PE700 also  I learned a long time ago  these things just dont blow up if you change the directions you got back in 1802..---- try using the same thread in the bobbin you top sew with  And it works with any kind of thread ---After I learned this machine will not bite  you will be surprised   how easy it is to use..  My problem with has been  a repair man  who knew it all and knew nothing--even let his wife and daughter --play-- with it.  now im looking for a dependable repair man   who knows about embroidery machines..  Know any??  I live in Melbourne Fla    Hope this helps you        pherfoxx  Wanetah

pherfoxx Wanetah - I know what you mean, a good repair person is worth their weight in gold.  My repair man has a total of 30 years in sewing and more recently 15 in embroidery.  There is not too much that can get by him!

This is a great place to ask about a repair person, there are lots of great people who may have just the answer you need.

Pat, The Avid Embroiderer

I have the PE700 brother machine and was having some of the same issues you talked about with the bobbin thread showing through.   I got onto the internet and checked several sewing sites and what I learned was I was using the wrong bobbin.  PE700's use size 15 bobbins and the Nebs  I had ordered and was using were not the Size 15- Changed to the size 15 bobbins and no more problems. Sews beautifully and no more bobbin thread showing through. 

Hope this helps. 

Nanasue62

Thank you.  I wish that would solvie my problem.  I found out early on that I  needed the Class 15 bobbins, and I got them.  I didn't have the problem right away, but after about a month I noticed it occasionally and thought maybe it was a quirk or maybe the digitizing.  But, almost every design I do that requires the satin stitch around the outside shows the white bobbin thread and sometimes when there's a fill area of satin stitch on the design itself.   People say to use the same bobbin color as the sewing color, but gosh, that's a lot of changing the bobbin, not to mention, my bobbin winder on the machine is unreliable at best.  I wind bobbins when I need to using my 180D. Now, that's a workhorse.  Only thing is, I can't do a lot of in-the-hoop projects because most of those are for the 5x7 hoop.  And, the in-the-hoop projects almost always have the satin stitch outside border!!!

I was wondering if something like timing could affect that.  But, I just got the machine back from being serviced, and it's still doing it. They always leave a piece of heavy fabric like denim, in the machine with a stitchout on it.  And of course, there was nothing wrong with their sample.  You can never replicate the problem with the repairman, whether its a car, refrigerator, or embroidery machine. 

I do appreciate your input. Thank you.

Mary Anne

Mary Anne - Sometimes, even after being checked by the best repairperson in the universe, we still have problems.

The design shown, with the outline out of alignment is actually a stabilizer problem.  That may sound odd to you, but do try your design with an extra sheet of stabilizer.  For the denim, I might recommend a tear-away stabilizer.  Tear-away is less stabile than cut-away stabilizer, so if the tear-away does not help, try the cut-away. 

You will not see the movement because it is so slight.  A shift of 1/32" or even 1/64" will cause the issue.  Change or use a stronger stabilizer, try your item again, and I think you will find success.  FSL or standard designs are the same on this issue.  What is most frustrating is that the satin stitch is the last to be placed.  So, you have stitched 30,000 stitches and then the stabilizer fails to hold that design where it should be for the satin outline . . . .

Pat, The Avid Embroiderer

Well, I never thought of that...that the design might be out of alignment.  I think I will try floating another layer of stabilizer and see if that helps.  Thanks for the tip. 

Mary Anne

I have a Baby Lock Ellegante2 . I use poly thread and it sews designs great till I get to one where I have to us black thread then my headach begins. The white bobbin thread will show through only when I use the black thread. Please can someone help!  Bettie

Frustration is apparent here! 

I am reading this to say that the black is only on the top thread and the white is on the bobbin.  You may want to check your tension by using this test.  It is near the bottom of the blog.

Then review your manual for instructions for what to do next.  I have had this issue as well.  It is strange that it happens to show sometimes, but the next time, it does not. 

If you are using polyester on top and a rayon on the bottom, that can affect the outcome as well. 

One thing that I have a habit of doing is to pull the top thread (before it goes into the needle) to get the feel for the 'normal' tension.  After doing that for a while, you will know if your tension needs to be adjusted.  Do the same for the bobbin thread.  But I do use my machine daily and if you don't, this may not be doable for you.

Pat, The Avid Embroiderer 

The 700 uses memory card only and you will need to purchase a reader/writer unit such as PED Basic.  You will need Windows to run the reader/writer software.

The 770 used an USB stick/flash drive or memory card.

The 700ii uses a memory card or USB cable, which means the machine and pc have to be within a couple feet of each other for the transfer of designs.

You can find more information and specifics at the Brother website.  Just select embroidery machines from the left side bar and then put the model in the search box at the upper right corner of the screen.  http://www.brother-usa.com/HomeSewing/

There is very little available for MAC unless you can install Windows on your computer.  Embrilliance has some software that is MAC compatible.  http://embrilliance.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=3