My machine is the Brother Innovis 780D.
I did sooo much research and this was pretty much my only option because I didn't want a sewing machine/embroidery machine combo (I already have a really good sewing machine) and I wanted to spend as little as possible since it would pretty much be solely for plushie making.
Every shop I went to kept raving about how Brother was the original maker of the home embroidery machine and therefore the best (I'm sure they just wanted my money but still!) which sealed the deal for me!
Some information I came across in my research - buy a machine with as big a hoop as you can afford (the 780 has 3 sizes with 5 x 7 being the largest) and use quality embroidery thread! I use Marathon thread which is cheap and really really amazing. Also keep in mind that while pretty much all machines can be linked to a computer using a usb cable, not all have the ability to take USB sticks - this was really important for me since my machine is in a different room to my computer.
The other option I was looking at was the Janome 350E (and a Bernette which turns out is a rebranded Janome 350E) but it was about $600 more and the only thing it did better was the onscreen editing of patterns.
Programs - I am using the PE 7 (windows only
) which is designed for Brother machines. The program is really really really really super expensive. Almost as much as the machine itself
But it does some incredible things, most of which I haven't even worked out yet!
That is my super long post that I hope makes sense and helps!
*EDIT* one last thing - it is really really really really hard to hoops things that are sewn together. This might just be me but I have tried and given up on hooping singlets and tops. The only other thing I have embroidered is my bathrobe which was a struggle in itself!
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