Honestly there are only 2 sewing and embroidery machines from Brother that can be considered for home use. All others are too expensive.
Brother has a good variety of sewing and embroidery machines. They have one of the most advanced sewing and embroidery machine you can get in US, namely XV8500D the dream machine. It has a mouthwatering 9.5″ x 14″ hoop and even has a built-in camera. You can scan designs and use it on your projects. You can even hand draw designs on the built-in screen and use it. The room for creativity on such machines are limitless. But for such machines you will have to spend a fortune, only top business owners can afford it. If you are a home sewer or a small business owner, Brother still has couple of models up their sleeves. In fact Brother has the most affordable sewing and embroidery machines under $500.
If you are searching in the under $500 category for a brother sewing and embroidery machine, you are left with only 2 options. Without boring you, I am going straight into the details.
1. Brother SE400
A nobrainer for all good reasons. This is the most affordable and feature rich sewing and embroidery combo machine you can ever find. For home use, there is no better machine than this one. It oozes quality. Ever since its release, SE400 has been living without a competitor. I wonder why Singer and Janome didn’t introduce a similar machine to compete SE400. The best thing about SE400 is, you have the features, you have the quality and you have the right price.
SE400 is a great starter machine. It has 67 sewing stitches and 70 embroidery designs on board. USB connectivity means you can download unlimited number of designs from the internet. Even though the machine has only 70 embroidery designs built-in, you can pretty much find any design from the internet. It has an embroidery area of 4″ x 4″. In addition to that, it has computerized features like automatic needle threader, automatic thread cutter, programmable needle up/down, start/stop button and speed control slider.
Pros : As I have already pointed out, SE400 is a people’s choice machine. No other brother sewing embroidery machine sold like this one in US. It has been the best seller for a long long time. Moreover, the machine is very user friendly. Even an out and out beginner will find it very easy to use it. There is nothing complicated about this machine. The stitch quality is excellent and embroidery designs are even better. For the price, you can’t get a better machine for sure. That is the reason why it features in our list of ‘Machines You Can Buy With Your Eyes Shut’.
Cons : I admit that the embroidery area is small for professionals. But for starters, it is enough. And at this price, it can’t get any better either.
2. Brother LB6800PRW
This is the second best sewing and embroidery machine from Brother. This machine is reasonably popular among sewers but it has a downside. It is the same machine that we saw at first. Yes, it is the same SE400 machine but with a different model name and Project Runway branding. It is priced higher than SE400. Many people bought LB6800PRW thinking that it had better features than SE400 and they were disappointed. The only difference between these two machines is in the accessories you get. Extras you get with LB6800PRW are rolling bag, 1 additional feet and a felt. The decision you need to make is whether you need a rolling bag as that is the thing that makes such a huge price difference.
The best thing you can do is to compare the prices of both and if the price difference is under $40, I think LB6800PRW won’t be a bad deal. Otherwise, you are literally wasting your hard earned money.
Pros : Here I am not talking too much about the pros as both machines are identical.
Cons : As a value for money package, I would consider SE400 as a better sewing and embroidery machine.