8 Best Embroidery Machines for Shirts & Hoodies

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Whether you’re a beginner or a more experienced embroidery enthusiast, picking the right machine is difficult. There are so many embroidery machines on the market, and the right machine can make easy work on shirt embroidery projects. 

Here, I’ll review several of the best embroidery machines for shirts available and help guide your selection based on your desired features.

I’ll also walk you through some of my best t-shirt machine embroidery tips and supplies to help you create beautiful designs without much trial and error.

Best embroidery machine for shirts

Machine Features & Your Personal Goals

The selection of a machine depends on your end goals and project aspirations. Consider these embroidery machine features.

1. Combo vs. Embroidery-Only Machine

switch from sewing to embroidery

I have a sewing and embroidery combination machine. That means not only can I embroider or monogram shirts with my machine, but I can also sew other DIY projects.

In contrast, an embroidery-only machine is for, well, embroidery only. You need to choose not to sew or have a separate sewing machine. 

One big pro of a combination machine is it’s space-efficient to only have one machine, not two. The biggest con, however, is the price increases if you buy a 2-in-1 machine and only plan on embroidering.

2. Maximum Embroidery Area and Hoop Size

hoop sizes

Embroidery hoop size is one of the most significant differences between machines.

Every embroidery machine will have a maximum hoop size and a slightly smaller maximum embroidery area. This hoop size limits the size of a design you can stitch at once.  

For instance, an embroidery machine with a 5″x7″ embroidery area will not stitch larger than a 5″x7″ design in one pass. If you have a bigger design, you will need to use software to split the design into pieces and then rehoop your t-shirt in between stitching each section or use a repositional hoop.

The least expensive embroidery machines have a 4″x4″ embroidery field, and sizes go up from there. If you consider embroidering large areas, having a larger hoop size will greatly benefit you. 

If your budget allows, consider at least a 5″x7″ hoop to save time rehooping, but an 8″x8″ or larger is even better. 

Rehooping isn’t the end of the world, but getting everything perfect can be a little time-consuming. If you only plan to embroider small logos or patches on t-shirts for your company, though, there’s no need to splurge for a huge hoop size!

As a note, even if you choose an embroidery machine with a large hoop size, you may benefit from having a smaller hoop available as well. 

Hooping onesies or small toddler shirts is near impossible using behemoth hoops. I’ve also found that small designs are easier to line up and center using a smaller hoop.

3. Manual Thread Changes vs. Multi-Needle Commercial Embroidery Machine

Multi-Needle Machine

Are you wanting to create shirts for children or grandchildren as a hobby, or are you looking to start a home embroidery business? Hobbyists may not need the snazziest machines, but for commercially-minded embroidery hopefuls, time is money.

Embroidering multi-colored, dense designs on a single-needle embroidery machine can take forever. It’s made even longer by having to stop after each thread color to change threads.

For budget-minded t-shirt machine embroidery enthusiasts, a multi-needle machine is not likely a possibility. However, purchasing a multi-needle embroidery machine might make sense if you want to sell your designs commercially. 

With a multi-needle embroidery machine, you can set up several colors at once to embroider without manually changing threads.

4. Embroidery Free Arm

If you want to embroider shirt cuffs or pockets and can’t get these items hooped in a single layer in the embroidery hoop, look for an embroidery machine with a free arm.

More common on multi-needle embroidery machines, this makes it MUCH easier to access small spaces such as cuffs, pockets, and even small onesies.

There are a couple of single-needle embroidery machines with free arms, although these machines are close to the price of budget multi-needle embroidery machines!

5. Stitching Speed

A slow embroidery machine will take longer to complete your project. A fast embroidery machine gets your projects done quicker but is more expensive.

Completing a basic 4″x4″ single-color monogram or applique on my embroidery machine takes around 5 minutes of active stitching time. 

If I have multiple thread changes in a densely stitched design and need to rehoop and split designs, I can be embroidering for over an hour for a single large design. This doesn’t bother me as I enjoy the process and embroider for fun, not profit. 

However, if you plan to start commercial embroidering, a slow, single-needle machine will get you started but will not allow you to scale your business if your embroidered t-shirts suddenly become a hot commodity.

6. Jump Stitch Trimming: Manual vs. Automatic

embroidery snips to remove jump stitches

My second least favorite part of embroidering (my first is hooping stretchy fabrics) is having to trim jump stitches manually. Because, well, sometimes I accidentally trim more than just the jump threads. It takes good eyesight and good dexterity to trim those tiny things! 

Many designs you purchase will minimize jump stitches, but you will have more if you auto-digitize rather than manually digitize your design.

If you think you’ll be doing involved, multicolor designs, having a machine with automatic jump stitch trimming is a HUGE time saver. 

However, this isn’t a feature most entry-level t-shirt embroidery machines will have. All at least have automatic thread trimming after the end of each color, which is convenient.

Best Embroidery Machine for Shirts and Hoodies

If your budget is over $5000, I recommend purchasing your shirt embroidery machine from a local sewing machine or embroidery machine retailer.

For example, if you’re looking for a commercial, professional multi-needle or multi-head machine like an SWF, Barudan, ZSK, Melco, or Tajima, purchasing online is trickier than searching locally.

Plus, you can try out the machine in-store before purchasing and discover its nuances. Bring a test t-shirt, some stabilizer, and one of your designs, and take the machine for a spin.  

Now, the machines I’ve included below are more affordable embroidery machines and are less likely to appear in sewing shops for you to try before buying.

I love Brother embroidery machines because they are affordable and offer great quality. Janome and Bernina embroidery machines also offer great quality but will still not quite break the bank. While Singer makes incredible sewing machines (especially heavy-duty sewing machines!), their embroidery machines in the last 10 years haven’t been able to compare to the other brands.

1. Brother PE800 Embroidery Machine

Brother PE800, 5x7 Embroidery Machine, One Size, White

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FeatureSpecs
Embroidery Field5"x7"
Embroidery Designs138 designs
Maximum Embroidery Speed650 stitches per minute
USB ConnectionBuilt-in USB port

The Brother PE800 embroidery machine is a great Brother embroidery-only machine. You won’t be able to sew with it, but it’s a powerhouse embroidery machine at an affordable price.

It has a maximum embroidery size of 5″x7,” which makes most medium-size designs feasible with minimum design splitting and rehooping. You can also purchase a 5″x12″ repositional hoop as an extra.

All you have to do then is split a design into two sections with software and reposition just the hoop instead of the shirt in the smaller hoop. To use a smaller hoop size on smaller designs or children’s shirts, consider purchasing smaller hoops to swap out.

The Brother PE800 embroidery machine features 138 built-in designs, although you’ll likely want to import your own designs to start making shirts. Import via USB on the side of the embroidery machine. 

There are also 11 fonts included, 7 of which are English. These fonts come in small, medium, or large sizes, so again, you may want to have embroidery software to customize more. 

Lastly, there are 10 frame shapes and 14 border designs to use when combining design elements to make your t-shirt designs more unique.

The Brother PE800 has a color LCD touchscreen, which is non-negotiable for me. You can do a bit of pattern editing on screen, too. Basic editing features include:

  • Adjust design size – enlarge or shrink the design both proportionately or disproportionately up to a max size of 5″x7″
  • Make a horizontal mirror image
  • Combine and rotate designs
  • Change thread colors and utilize a colored preview
  • Change thread density
  • Add letters to an arc

In terms of automatic features, it includes automatic thread tension, a thread trimmer (end of each color, not jump stitches), and an advanced needle threading apparatus.

As with all the Brother embroidery machines among these best t-shirt embroidery machines, it features a top-drop, quick-set bobbin. A quick-set bobbin means the machine pulls the bobbin thread up without you having to do anything. The bobbin is dropped in from the top of the workspace and is easily set up using the directions on the base of the machine.

Here’s my in-depth Brother PE800 review for more information!

Update: The Brother PE900, the PE800 upgrade, has debuted. It’s a price increase, but it’s WiFi enabled, automatically cuts jump stitches, and includes more designs and fonts.

2. Janome Memory Craft 400E Embroidery Machine

Janome Memory Craft 400E Embroidery MachineShop on Amazon!

As I mentioned before, our library’s computerized embroidery machine that I use is a Janome Memory Craft. Janome produces incredible embroidery machines that stitch accurately and efficiently.

The Janome MC400E is an embroidery-only machine with a nice-sized max embroidery area of 7.9″x7.9.”  This is a great size for larger shirt designs. 

Compared to more budget embroidery machines, this machine offers more at a higher price. It has a maximum embroidery speed of 860 spm, which means your designs will be completed faster.

It features 160 built-in designs and 6 monogramming fonts. Import additional designs or fonts via USB. Do basic design editing on the color touchscreen as well!

Features that appeal to users looking for efficiency and ease of use include automatic jump stitch trimming, adjustable embroidery speed, adjustable hoop positioning, flexible stitch traveling, and auto return post-thread break. 

Other time-saving features include the advanced needle threader, automatic thread cutter, and a bobbin thread sensor. The bobbin thread sensor is a nice feature that saves you from having to stop in the middle of embroidering a shirt design to replace your bobbin thread!

To upgrade, consider the Janome Memory Craft 500E embroidery machine. It features a larger 7.9″x11″ embroidery area, one of the few differences between these two Janome embroidery machines. 

3. Baby Lock Flourish II or Brother NQ1600E Embroidery Machine

NQ1600E and Baby Lock Flourish II

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The Baby Lock Flourish II and Brother NQ1600E embroidery-only machines are VERY similar in all use and functions. But, they are produced using the Brother or Baby Lock standards, respectively. They’re similarly priced often as well.

Ways this machine is superior to the Brother PE800 include the larger 6″x10″ embroidery area and automatic jump stitch trimming, which can be a big time-saver.

There are also more built-in designs (198 total), 140 pattern-frame combinations, and 11 embroidery fonts. The maximum speed is 850 spm.

This machine is a significant price jump from the Brother PE800 but is a favorite amongst embroiderers looking for a larger hoop size but not quite wanting to splurge on a Dream Machine or multi-needle machine yet!

(This machine has now been updated to the Brother NQ1700E.)

4. Brother Personal PRS100 Single Needle Embroidery Machine

Brother Persona Single Needle Embroidery Machine

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Now, if you’re looking for an embroidery machine with a free arm to embroider tubular items like cuffs and sleeves as well as pockets and even small onesies without having to move the fabric out of the way, consider the Brother Persona PRS100 embroidery machine.

It’s a single-needle embroidery machine, so you will still have to change threads after every color.

However, that beautiful space under the embroidery hoop allows you to embroider on parts of shirts you couldn’t access without this free arm.

Compared to Brother’s multi-needle embroidery machines, this one is MUCH less expensive but still offers most of the other fun functionality of a multi-needle machine.

The max embroidery area is a square 8″x8″, and 405 designs, 20 fonts, and 6 alphabet designs are included.

It also stitches up to 1,000 spm to complete projects faster than many other embroidery machines.

The Baby Lock Alliance is also very similar to this machine and should be a consideration if you’re a Baby Lock loyalist. 

UPDATE: In August 2023, Brother announced the Brother PRX1, which will replace the PRS100. The PRX1 is still a single-needle machine with a free arm, but the max embroidery field is now 8″x12″. Baby Lock’s version of this new PRX1 machine is called the Baby Lock Capella.

5. EverSewn Sparrow X2 – Next-Generation Sewing and Embroidery Machine

EverSewn Sparrow X2 Sewing & Embroidery Machine, White

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FeatureSpecs
Embroidery Field4.75"x7"
Embroidery Designs100 designs
Stitch Options120 stitches
Maximum Sewing Speed850 stitches per minute
USB ConnectionNo, but add designs with EverSewn Pro App.

The Sparrow X2 sewing and embroidery machine is produced by EverSewn, which prides itself on technologically-advanced sewing and embroidery machines. Hence, the “next-generation” in the name.

As an advanced machine (for its price point), the Sparrow X2 does away with USB import of designs and instead uses their free EverSewn Pro app. 

The app lets you edit and transfer designs using any wireless device. Instead of making minor edits on a small embroidery machine screen, you edit on a larger computer or tablet screen. 

Furthermore, there’s no need to sit next to your machine while waiting for thread color changes. You can monitor progress from your phone, for instance, from another room. 

Since this is a technologically-advanced machine, just remember you need a WiFi connection and need to be a bit tech-savvy.

You’ll find 100 embroidery patterns and 120 stitch options regarding built-in features. The maximum embroidery area is 4.75″ x 7″, comparable to the Brother PE800’s size.

As with comparably-priced embroidery machines, the Sparrow X2 features automatic needle threading.

6. Brother SE1900 Sewing and Embroidery Machine

(Best combination t-shirt embroidery machine for home business)

brother se1900 review

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FeatureSpecs
Embroidery Field5"x7"
Embroidery Designs138 designs, 11 fonts, 10 frames with 14 borders
Stitch Options240 stitches, 10 buttonhole options
Maximum Sewing Speed850 stitches per minute
USB ConnectionBuilt-in USB port

The Brother SE1900 combination machine is both a sewing and embroidery machine. 

In terms of embroidery features and specs, it is identical to the Brother PE800. However, what differentiates the two machines is that the SE1900 can also sew, which is handy if you want to save space with just one machine.

In terms of sewing, it includes 7 sewing feet and 240 built-in stitches. You can import designed stitches or save stitch patterns you create by combining stitches on the machine. 

It also features a knee lifter, a fancy addition allowing you to raise or lower the presser foot using your knee rather than having to remove your hands from your sewing project.

The sewing machine is more feature-rich than regular Brother sewing machines, as it offers things like automatic thread trimming and automatic reverse/reinforcement stitching. 

The advanced needle threader is much simpler and less likely to break than the one on basic Brother sewing machines. 

Read my full Brother SE1900 review to learn more information.

Note: The new Brother SE2000 entered the market in late 2022 as an upgrade to the SE1900–it is WiFi-enabled, has more built-in designs, and can automatically trim jump stitches. 

7. Janome MB-4S Four-Needle Embroidery Machine

(Best affordable multi-needle shirt embroidery machine for home use)

Janome MB-4S Four-Needle Embroidery Machine with included Hat Hoop, Lettering Hoops

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While the Janome MB-4S is not as involved as many available commercial-use shirt embroidery machines, its price is in the 4 digits rather than the typical 5 digits.

What makes this single-head, multi-needle embroidery machine awesome is you do not have to rethread between thread colors. For any design, you can thread up to 4 colors at a time for the machine to embroider with. No user interaction is needed between those thread changes.

As with most other embroidery machines for shirts and hats, the Janome MB-4S offers design transfer via USB. Edit designs on screen as well.

There are 50 built-in designs and 10 monogramming fonts to use with the 9.4″ x 7.9″ maximum embroidery area.

The maximum embroidery speed is 800 spm. While this isn’t lightning fast, the time saved from manually changing threads is enormous!

As with most Janome embroidery machines, the MB-4S includes helpful and time-saving features such as adjustable hoop positioning, automatic jump thread trimming, auto-return post-thread break, flexible stitch traveling, and presser foot and upper thread sensors.

Consider the Janome MB-7, a 7-thread embroidery machine, if you want more thread pre-set options.

8. Brother SE600 Sewing and Embroidery Combination Machine

(Best budget embroidery machine for putting logos on shirts)

Brother Machine, SE600, 80 Designs, 103 Built Stitches, Computerized 4" x 4Shop on Amazon!

Key FeaturesSpecs
Embroidery Field4"x4"
Embroidery Designs80 included
Stitch Options103 stitches, 10 buttonhole options
Maximum Sewing Speed710 stitches per minute
USB ConnectionBuilt-in USB port

If you want to only monogram shirts or add small logos that are 4″x4″ or less, consider the Brother SE600 or Brother SE625 sewing and embroidery combination machines. 

I started with the SE625 before upgrading to the SE1900 and loved it! It’s not as quick or as automated as the other machines above, but it is the least expensive by far. (If you don’t want the sewing aspect, its embroidery machine companion is the Brother PE535.)

The Brother SE600 features 80 built-in designs and 103 stitch options. It has a reasonably slow sewing and embroidery speed compared to higher-priced machines, so it isn’t well suited to the mass production of t-shirts. However, it is GREAT for the hobbyist who doesn’t have thousands of dollars to spare.

(As an aside, the Brother SE625 is almost the identical twin of the SE600. Instead of a silver faceplate, it is gold and includes an additional CD with 200 more designs.)

Read more in my Brother SE600 review and Brother SE625 review!

Digitizing Software Considerations and Expectations

digitizing software example

While many embroidery machines have built-in designs, you must venture out to find or make more designs in most cases. My machine has almost 300 built-in designs, but I rarely use them. The fonts are less than gorgeous, and making a monogram using them doesn’t give the wow factor I’m looking for.

Luckily, there are lots of websites that offer a selection of free embroidery designs. (Here’s my list of best places to find free embroidery patterns for your machine!)  You can also purchase designs online.

If you want to create any novel projects, though, you have to use embroidery software or pay a digitizer. Embroidery software allows you to create and edit designs and also split designs larger than your max hoop size.   Most embroidery machines do not include their own software with purchase.

I have an engineering undergrad degree and am a doctor, and some of the embroidery software on the market is NOT intuitive to even me. If you’re not motivated to learn the basics of digitizing software or aren’t tech-savvy, plan how to get designs before purchasing a t-shirt embroidery machine.

Regarding software recommendations for non-commercial-minded digitizers, I recommend Embrilliance or Hatch 3 to beginners looking for an affordable way to start creating designs. 

Because they come with a free demo period, you know what you’ll get before purchasing the software. Embrilliance also has a tiered system, so you can start cheap and only buy what you need as you grow.

I also like to create SVG files in Inkscape and convert them to embroidery files using Ink/Stitch. This is an open-source, FREE embroidery software, but it doesn’t offer the support other paid brands of programs do if you’re unfamiliar with graphic design. 

Even if you purchase designs rather than create, you will at least want to download a thumbnail program to help you view your embroidery files on your computer. Computers without embroidery software cannot view embroidery files such as .pes, .jef, and more.

Tips for Machine Embroidery on Shirts

mark your t-shirt to be embroidered on

My bread and butter embroidery projects are embroidering on t-shirts and onesies. 

With two young daughters, I LOVE embroidering cute, personalized clothes for them. (Read my full tutorial for how to machine embroider a t-shirt for all the details!)

If your embroidery machine isn’t embroidering on t-shirts like you would like it to, it might be user error rather than the machine. 

I speak from experience here as someone who jumped into embroidery with very little research into the proper way to embroider! Like with sewing, there is so much more behind a successful project than just putting your foot on the pedal to sew a stitch.

There’s more than one way to skin a cat and more than one embroidery combination, but here’s my go-to onesie and t-shirt embroidery method that works great with my home Brother embroidery machine. I hope it helps you with troubleshooting!

Hooping the Shirt

hooping a shirt

I always pick the smallest hoop size that I can get away with. This means less stabilizer used, and the shirt is easier to line up. 

how to hoop a onesie

For small items like onesies, a small hoop stretches them out less. Most machines will allow you to purchase smaller hoop sizes, so check to see what you can find.

And if your hoop is not square, it’s okay to hoop the shirt or onesie at a 90-degree angle to accommodate a rectangular hoop with a larger height-than-width measurement. Just make sure to rotate your design 90 degrees as well.

Thicker shirts will be a pain to hoop, and the hoop may leave creases. I have no reservations about stitching my project outside the hoop if I have to. If this is the case, I always use a temporary adhesive spray to stick things well, possibly consider a basting box, and I’ll either pin or use painter’s tape to secure the shirt’s sides out of the hoop’s way.

I usually try to hoop the fabric for thin shirts and onesies first. 

When hooping, you must ensure that only one shirt layer is hooped. You must move the shirt’s back out from under the hoop. If you don’t, you’ll stitch both sides of your shirt together. Been there, seen that, done that, and never did it again! With a shirt, at least.

Choosing the Best Stabilizer

trim stabilizer on back of onesie

You must pick the correct stabilizer to match your fabric and use a size bigger than your hoop size. 

A stretchy t-shirt fabric needs a stabilizer, which, for lack of a better word, stabilizes it during embroidery. As such, pick either a cut-away stabilizer or no-show mesh stabilizer

The beauty of no-show mesh (also called PolyMesh) is that it’s light and soft and will be less visible through the front of white shirts. You can use more than one layer for a dense design if you notice puckering.

While no-show stabilizer comes in fusible or non-fusible, I prefer to use adhesive spray to attach a non-fusible stabilizer to the back of the fabric. That way, I can reposition if needed before embroidering. I also like to minimize iron usage because it’s a pain to set up my ironing board, and I don’t like having a hot object near my girls. 

One perk of fusible, though, is less movement and better adherence without needing a basting box. I use fusible PolyMesh for onesies because those are much more difficult to hoop and stabilize.

I strongly recommend against only tearaway stabilizer for t-shirts. It’s convenient, I know! 

However, when you go to tear it away, you risk stretching your fabric or tearing your delicate stitches. It also doesn’t support the shirt as well during the embroidery process.

And, while on stitch-heavy designs on squishier fabrics, I will add a layer of water-soluble topping to the top of the fabric inside the hoop. This helps to keep stitches from sinking into the fabric. 

For instance, when embroidering towels or fleece blankets, you’ll find yourself lost without water-soluble topping! Once you’re done machine embroidering your shirt, just dip the shirt in water to remove the topping.

Thread and Needle Choices

You also cannot embroider with the same cotton thread you may use to sew with. Polyester and rayon threads are your best choices, although there are cotton machine embroidery threads. 

  • I’ve had great luck with BroThread on Amazon. It’s affordable and works great with my Brother embroidery machines and the Janome I work on at the library. 
  • also use prewound bobbins to save some time when the bobbin thread color doesn’t matter too much. 

For most projects where the back isn’t visible, using white thread for everything is okay. Save yourself some time and not rethread the bobbin as well as the upper thread every thread change!

Also, pick an appropriate embroidery machine needle to match your fabric type. Using a one-size-fits-all universal needle may not give you the best stitches on some fabrics. 

While in many cases, you’ll benefit more from a ball-point embroidery needle for knit fabrics, you might have better luck with a universal embroidery needle if using topping. Just when troubleshooting shirt embroidery problems, don’t rule out the needle as a possible culprit!

After Embroidering

iron on tender touch backing on onesie

For onesies, I like to attach a soft backing layer to the back of the embroidered area. This backing keeps the hard stitches from rubbing delicate baby bellies and leaving marks. 

My go-to is Sulky Tender Touch Iron-On Backing.

 

I hope these shirt embroidery machine reviews have given you a starting point for picking your next embroidery corner addition. And, if you’re trying to figure out what else you need to get started embroidering shirts, I’ve written an entire post on what you need to get started embroidering to check out!

12 Comments

  1. If I want to just embroider a 3” to 4” design on a shirt and more than likely it’ll only be using one color for each design, what’s the best least expensive machine to get?

    1. If your design will be less than 4″, you could look at the Brother PE535. It’s a single-needle, embroidery-only machine with a 4″x4″ max embroidery field. Pre-COVID, it was one of the least expensive (but still good quality) machines available. With prices and availability fluctuating so wildly these days, though, it’s hard to say if you’ll even be able to find it let alone find it for a good price! If you can’t, the Brother SE600 and Brother SE625 are basically the Brother PE535 but with the ability to sew. They are usually the next least expensive (assuming you’re looking for a new machine rather than used.) Hope that helps!

  2. Do you have to have a laptop to embroider? I was understanding everything for the most part until you got to digitizing software.

    1. If you want to purchase any new designs online, edit designs beyond what you can do on the machine screen, or create new designs, then yes, you will need some sort of computer.

  3. What is the best embroidery machine to do logos on shirts and hats for a small company. We want to purchase and do ourselves

  4. Should there be considerations for embroidering shirts vs hoodies vs sweaters? Just thinking about the thickness of the materials…..

    1. You may need a different needle for a sweatshirt vs. a t-shirt, and the sweatshirt will likely be able to support a denser design with a higher stitch count better if it’s thicker and more stable. However, setting up and embroidering hoodies and t-shirts is similar, although sweatshirts are probably a little easier to hoop/float and generally work with.

      As for sweaters, if they are thin and unstable, they will be very difficult to embroider on when compared to a shirt or hoodie. And, there aren’t nearly as many embroidery designs that will work well on sweaters. I steer clear of embroidering more than small logo-type designs on sweaters as a general rule because of this difficulty!

    1. Are you embroidering the occasional hoodie, or do you have a small business? If the latter, I recommend going for more of a commercial embroidery machine with a free arm to make embroidering the hoodies simpler and more efficient.

  5. QUESTION: CAN ANY OF THESE EMBROIDERY MACHINES BE USED FOR ALL EMBROIDERY ON ALREASY MADE GARMENTS? FOR EX, I WANT TO EMBROIDER AN ALL OVER TOSSED DESIGN ON A PR OF KHAKIS – CAN THIS BE DONE? OR I NEED TO EMBROIDER FABRIC BEFORE HAVING GARMENT CONSTRUCTED? THNKS

    1. Yes, all of these can be used for embroidery on many premade garments, but there are more restrictions for single needle flatbed machines when compared to multineedle machines with free arms.

      With flatbed machines, you have to isolate the area you want to embroider in a single layer when hooping. If you’re embroidering a large hoodie or shirt, it’s not hard to remove the second layer from underneath the hoop to embroider. However, if you’re embroidering something smaller like a onesie, pocket, shirt sleeve, or pants leg, it can be difficult, if not impossible, to isolate a single layer. So, a machine with a free arm (multi-needle or single-needle with free arm like Brother Persona) will make that easier and more possible.

      However, depending on how small the khaki pants are, you still might have difficulty getting the legs hooped properly even with a free arm. When looking at multi-needle machines (I’ve not listed many of those here), ask the companies about free arm sizes and what the minimum size a tubular garment can be to be successfully embroidered.

  6. I am looking to take pieces of clothing (shirts) and embroider them onto sweatshirts in name form for my small business. The embroidering part, I assume will only be the border of the name I embroider the shirts with, so which machine would you recommend? i.e. taking my nieces shirt and making/cutting out the pieces to write “Aunt” on a sweatshirt with my nieces shirt- the sweatshirt being for myself. Thanks in advance.

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