Whether you are a beginner dipping your toes into the vast sea of thread-based magic or a seasoned embroiderer with an eye for detail and a hand steady with experience, choosing the right machine can be a game changer. One such game changer in the world of embroidery machines is the Brother PE800, a device that promises to infuse every stitch with precision and ease.
The Brother PE800 is an embroidery-only machine that’s been designed to cater to both the enthusiastic hobbyist and the entrepreneurial artisan. Its array of user-friendly features, paired with its high performance and reliability, make it a strong contender in the embroidery market.
In the October of 2022, Brother has introduced a newer model, the Brother PE900, to their impressive lineup of embroidery machines. But hold your horses, don’t let the word ‘newer’ make you feel FOMO. The PE800 is, and remains, a stellar choice for embroidery enthusiasts, packing a punch with its rich set of features, user-friendly interface, and robust performance. It’s like that classic, reliable car model that just keeps running smoothly, no matter how many new models hit the market.
Let me take you through everything the Brother PE800 has to offer, exploring its features, capabilities, pros, cons and how it stands in comparison to other machines in its league. Join me on this journey of threads, patterns, and technology, and find out if the Brother PE800 is the perfect dance partner for your embroidery efforts.
A quick overview of the Brother PE800
Alright folks, let’s dive into the nitty-gritty of the Brother PE800! We’re talking about a machine here that’s got more buttons than a NASA control room, but don’t let that intimidate you. The beauty of this machine is that each feature is designed with you, the user, in mind. Brother has basically rolled out the red carpet for us embroidery enthusiasts, making the whole process as breezy as a walk in the park. So, let’s explore what this baby has to offer.
Firstly, this little powerhouse is a single-thread embroidery machine. This means you’re the maestro conducting a symphony of colors, manually changing the thread after each color sequence. It’s not as swift as a multiple-needle machine, but hey, who doesn’t like a little hands-on action? Plus, the touchscreen is like your personal assistant, guiding you on when to change colors and which hue to pick next.
Speaking of the touchscreen, we’re not talking about a basic black and white one here, oh no. This is a vibrant, full-color, LCD touchscreen that’s your control center for all things stitchy. It’s where you choose your patterns, adjust your settings and essentially, bring your designs to life. From built-in patterns and fonts to fun border designs, you’ve got a plethora of creative options at your fingertips.
Did I mention the flexibility this machine offers? Not only can you select from the pre-loaded designs, but you can also import your own designs via a USB drive. So if you’re feeling a bit extra creative, and want to create your own unique designs, the Brother PE800 is your canvas.
This machine is also a bit of a speed demon. You can control your stitching speed, depending on your comfort level and the complexity of your design. Whether you want to leisurely stroll through your project or race to the finish line, the PE800 is right there with you.
And here’s the cherry on top: the PE800 has built-in tutorials that you can access right on the LCD screen. So if you’re ever feeling a bit lost, help is just a touch away.
Key features and functionalities
- Large Embroidery Field: The machine has a large 5″ x 7″ embroidery field, providing ample space for larger designs and lettering, as well as combining designs with less rehooping.
- Built-In Designs: The PE800 comes with 138 built-in embroidery designs including scrollwork, florals, and quilt patterns, giving you a wide array of options for your projects.
- Built-In Fonts: It also includes 11 built-in fonts (7 English, 3 Japanese, and 1 Cyrillic) for monogramming and personalization.
USB Port: The machine has a built-in USB port that allows you to import designs from a USB memory stick. - LCD Touchscreen: The large color LCD touchscreen allows you to preview your designs and make edits before you start stitching.
- Design Editing Features: You can increase or decrease the size of your designs, mirror-image them, rotate them, and more, right from the touchscreen.
- Automatic Needle Threader: The automatic needle threader takes care of threading the needle for you with just the touch of a lever.
- Quick-Set Bobbin: The quick-set, drop-in top bobbin system makes setting and accessing your bobbin thread a breeze.
- Thread Cutter Button: The machine includes a thread cutter button, which automatically cuts both the top and bobbin threads for you.
- On-Screen Tutorials: Tutorials can be accessed on the LCD touchscreen display if you need help operating the machine.
Design and size
The Brother PE800 exudes an air of sturdy elegance with its white chassis, adorned with a sprinkle of delicate purple accents. You’ll find it has a sleek, modern look, fitting right into your crafting nook or professional workspace. Its contemporary aesthetic is punctuated by the vibrant, color LCD touchscreen that sits front and center, beckoning you to explore its diverse range of functionalities.
On the front of the machine, you’ll find the control buttons neatly arranged for easy access. These include the start/stop button, a needle up/down button, and a thread cutter button. Each of these buttons is clearly marked, making operation intuitive, even for beginners.
Size-wise, the Brother PE800 is compact and perfectly designed for ease of use. It measures approximately 21.2 x 16.5 x 15.5 inches. This compact size makes it a great fit for most tables or desks without taking up too much precious space. Despite its relatively small footprint, there’s a good amount of workspace underneath the throat. The machine itself weighs about 13.74 pounds. This substantial weight lends a certain stability to the machine, keeping it steady while you’re embroidering, and ensuring that it doesn’t jitter or move during use.
What comes in the box?
The Brother PE800 comes as a complete package for embroidery enthusiasts. Here’s the scoop on what you can expect to find when you pop open that box:
- The Brother PE800 Embroidery Machine: Obviously! This beauty is the star of the show, all sleek and shiny and ready for action. It does come with the power cord.
- 5″ x 7″ Embroidery Hoop: This generously sized hoop is perfect for tackling larger designs or for combining several smaller ones. It’s also just the right size for monogramming most items.
- Embroidery Foot: It’s always nice to have a spare, isn’t it? The PE800 comes with an extra embroidery foot to ensure you’ve got everything you need to get started.
- Needle Set: You get several needles, perfect for tackling different types of fabrics and designs.
- Bobbins: Four pre-wound bobbins are included, so you can get started right away (one is inside the machine.)
- Cleaning Brush and Seam Ripper: The cleaning brush will help you keep your machine in tip-top shape, while the seam ripper is always handy to have around for those rare occasions when a stitch goes awry.
- Screwdriver Set: A small and a large screwdriver are included for any minor adjustments or maintenance you need to do.
- Spool Caps and Net: Three different sizes (small, medium, and large) to ensure your thread spools stay secure and keep your thread from unwinding or getting tangled while you’re working.
- Scissors: A small pair of scissors that are perfect for trimming threads or fabric.
- Instruction Manual: A thorough and well-illustrated guide to help you get to know your new machine.
Please note that the Brother PE800 doesn’t come with any embroidery software, so you’ll need to get your own if you want to create custom designs. However, it does come with a ton of built-in design, and also a slew of settings and customization possibilities, you can do so much in machine designing without really needing to use any digitizing software.
Different settings and adjustments
The Brother PE800 is a feature-packed computerized embroidery machine that is easy to use, but also offers plenty of settings and customization options, allowing you to truly make your projects your own. Here’s a rundown of some of these options:
- Design Selection: The machine comes with 138 built-in designs, 11 fonts, and 10 frame shapes with 14 stitch patterns, giving you a plethora of options for customization. You can select from floral, quilt patterns, scrollwork, and more.
- Design Editing: Once you’ve selected or imported a design, you can use the color LCD touchscreen to make a variety of edits. You can enlarge or shrink the design, rotate it by 1, 10, or 90 degrees, change thread colors, and even combine different patterns, letters, and frames.
- Letter Customization: The machine allows you to adjust the thread density on letter and frame patterns, and you can even add letters to an arc for an extra touch of personalization.
- Design Preview: Before you start stitching, you can preview your design and check its position on your hooped fabric. This allows you to make any necessary adjustments before you begin.
- Design Saving: If you like your design and think you might want to use it again in the future, you can save it either to the machine’s memory or your USB drive.
- Design Import: With the built-in USB port, you can import your own designs, further expanding your options for customization. You can find or create designs in .pes, .dst, .phs, and .pen formats and simply save them to a USB drive.
- Stitching Speed: You can adjust the stitching speed according to your comfort level or the requirements of your project.
- Needle Position: The default needle position can be changed within the embroidery settings on the LCD touchscreen display, offering more control over your stitching.
These settings and customization options give you a high degree of control and flexibility, enabling you to create unique and personalized embroidery projects with the Brother PE800.
Built-in designs
The Brother PE800 comes pre-loaded with a variety of designs that will cater to a wide range of embroidery interests. Here are the built-in design categories:
- Embroidery Patterns: The machine offers 138 built-in embroidery designs. These include various floral patterns, quilt patterns, scrollwork, and more. These designs cater to a wide range of interests and project types.
- Alphabet Patterns: There’s a built-in floral alphabet pattern that can be used for monogramming or adding a personal touch to your projects.
- Character Patterns: With 11 built-in fonts, you can add text or monograms to your embroidery. The fonts come in various styles, allowing for much versatility in your projects.
- Frame Patterns: There’s a selection of built-in frame patterns with fun border designs. You can choose from 10 different frame shapes and 14 stitch patterns to add a touch of creativity to your work.
Remember, you’re not limited to these built-in designs. The Brother PE800 has a USB port, which means you can import your own designs, vastly expanding the design possibilities for your embroidery projects.
Software compatibility and importing designs
The Brother PE800 doesn’t come with any digitizing software included. However, there are many options available in the market. Here are a few popular choices:
- Ink/Stitch: This is a free, open-source software that works as an extension of Inkscape. It’s a great choice if you’re familiar with vector graphics.
- Embrilliance: This software is user-friendly and offers a wide range of features. It’s compatible with both Mac and Windows.
- Hatch Embroidery: Created by Wilcom, this software is powerful and packed with features. It’s a good choice for those looking to create professional-quality designs.
- SewArt: This is a budget-friendly option for those just getting started with embroidery. It’s easy to use and offers a good range of basic features.
- SewWhatPro: This is another affordable option that’s well-suited to beginners. It allows you to edit, resize, and convert embroidery files.
Most of these programs offer free trials, so you can test them out to see which one suits your needs and preferences the best. There are certainly more, you just need to ensure that the software you choose is compatible with the file formats supported by the Brother PE800.
Once you have chosen your digitizing software, importing designs into the Brother PE800 is a straightforward process that involves a few steps:
- Find or Create Your Design: First, you’ll need to find a design online or create one using embroidery digitizing software. The Brother PE800 supports .pes file formats primarily, but it can also handle .dst, .phs, and .pen files.
- Save Your Design: Once you have your design ready, save it in a compatible format onto a USB flash drive. This drive will act as the bridge between your computer and the embroidery machine.
- Import the Design: Plug the USB drive into the port on the side of the Brother PE800. You can then access your designs from the LCD touchscreen.
You will be able to see your design on the screen, and maybe do some additional adjustments, if needed.
Setting up the Brother PE800
There are plenty of videos out there on how to set up your new Brother PE800 embroidery machine that you can watch, but if you only have time and patience for one, let it be this one:
Is Brother PE800 a good fit for beginners?
Absolutely! The Brother PE800 is a fantastic choice for those venturing into the world of embroidery for the first time. With its intuitive and user-friendly design, this machine is practically a mentor by your side, ready to guide you through your first stitches.
The setup and threading of the PE800 is a breeze, even for those who might be initially intimidated by the complexities of an embroidery machine. Brother machines are renowned for their simplicity and ease of use, and the PE800 is no exception. The instructions are easy to follow in the user manual, the quick-start guide, and even etched onto the body of the machine itself!
The machine’s built-in tutorials accessible via the LCD screen add another layer of support for beginners, providing assistance and reminders at your fingertips. The learning curve might seem a bit steep at the beginning, but remember, every master was once a beginner. With time, patience, and practice, you’ll soon be embroidering like a pro!
However, let’s be real, the PE800 is quite a financial investment. So, if you’re unsure whether embroidery is going to be your new passion or just a passing interest, consider starting with a more budget-friendly option like the Brother PE535. It’s smaller, with a 4″x4″ embroidery area which means more rehooping, but it’s also more affordable.
Pros
- Advanced LCD Touchscreen: The Brother PE800 features a full-color, 3.2-inch LCD touchscreen. This advanced display not only allows you to view your designs in color before you start stitching, but also enables on-screen editing. You can rotate, increase and decrease the size, mirror-image, and move designs directly on the screen, which adds a tremendous amount of flexibility and precision to your projects.
- Large Embroidery Field: With a 5″ x 7″ embroidery field, the PE800 offers ample space to work on larger designs and lettering, and for combining designs with less rehooping. This feature is particularly beneficial if you plan to work on larger projects like jacket backs or quilts.
- Built-in Designs and Fonts: The machine comes with 138 built-in embroidery designs, including scrollwork, florals, and quilt patterns, along with 11 built-in fonts (7 English, 3 Japanese, and 1 Cyrillic). This variety allows for plenty of creative freedom right out of the box, without needing to purchase additional designs.
- USB Port for Design Import: The inclusion of a USB port allows you to import designs from a USB memory stick. This means you aren’t limited to just the built-in designs; you can source designs from various online embroidery design libraries, purchase them from designers, or even create your own using compatible software.
- Automatic Needle Threader: This feature simplifies the threading process, reducing setup time and frustration. It’s a game-changer for those who struggle with threading the needle, particularly for those with vision issues or shaky hands.
Cons
- Embroidery Only: The Brother PE800 is an embroidery-only machine. While this allows it to be highly specialized and feature-rich in its area, it might not be the best fit if you’re also interested in sewing. You’d need a separate machine for that, which could be an issue in terms of cost and space.
- Not Ideal for Heavy-Duty Materials: While the PE800 works beautifully with standard fabrics like cotton and linen, it might struggle with thicker, heavier materials like denim or leather. If you plan to regularly work with these types of materials, you may need a machine designed to handle them.
- Can Be Overwhelming for Beginners: Although the PE800 is designed to be user-friendly with features like an automatic needle threader and on-screen tutorials, the array of features and options can be a bit overwhelming for someone new to embroidery. It’s a machine that a user can grow into, but the learning curve may be steep for absolute beginners.
- Cost: The Brother PE800 is a mid-range embroidery machine in terms of cost. While it offers good value for its features and capabilities, the price might be a barrier for those on a tight budget or for beginners who aren’t ready to commit to a higher-priced machine.
- No Wireless Connectivity: Unlike some newer models (like the Brother PE900), the PE800 does not have wireless connectivity, which means you can’t directly download designs from your computer or from cloud-based design libraries. You’ll need to use a USB memory stick to transfer designs to the machine.
Remember, what might be a pro for one person could be a con for another, depending on individual needs, skill level, and what you’re looking for in an embroidery machine. It’s always best to assess based on your personal requirements and preferences.
How Brother PE800 compares to some other machines
| Brother PE800 | Brother PE770 | Brother PE900 | Brother PE535 | Brother SE1900 |
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| A solid all-rounder, boasting a significant number of built-in designs and a large embroidery area, but it might be a bit pricey for beginners and lacks the sewing capabilities some may want. | A reliable older model with a large embroidery area and a good amount of built-in designs, but it lacks the color LCD touchscreen of newer models, potentially making design editing more challenging. | The PE900 pushes the boundaries with advanced features like wireless connectivity and app compatibility, allowing for a high degree of creative freedom, but its advanced capabilities could be overwhelming for beginners and its price might be a barrier for some. | An excellent entry-level option, offering a user-friendly interface and a decent amount of built-in designs; however, its smaller embroidery area might limit the size of your projects. | The SE1900 stands out with its dual sewing and embroidery capabilities, providing exceptional versatility for a wide range of projects, but this multifunctionality might be overkill for someone only interested in embroidery. |
FAQ
Q: Can you make your own designs with Brother embroidery machine?
A: Yes, you can create your own designs for the Brother PE800 using compatible digitizing software, and then import them via the USB port.
Q: Is the PE800 discontinued?
A: According to the Brother’s official website, the Brother PE800 has just recently been discontinued. However, it is still available for purchases through some dealers and marketplaces, so I suggest that you go grab it while you can.
Q: What is the biggest hoop size for PE800?
A: The largest hoop size that comes with the Brother PE800 is 5″ x 7″.
Q: Can you use a bigger hoop on Brother PE800?
A: The Brother PE800 is designed to work best with the included 5″ x 7″ hoop. Using a larger hoop may not be supported and could potentially cause damage or other issues with your machine.
Q: Can I upload my own designs to Brother PE800?
A: Absolutely! The Brother PE800 features a USB port that allows you to import your own embroidery designs. Just ensure your designs are in a compatible format (.pes or .dst files).
Q: What types of fabric can I embroider with the Brother PE800?
A: The Brother PE800 can handle a wide range of fabrics, including cotton, linen, denim, and more. However, it is always important to use the right stabilizer and needle for different types of fabric to ensure the best results.
Q: Can I sew with the Brother PE800?
A: The Brother PE800 is an embroidery-only machine. It does not have sewing capabilities.
Q: Does Brother PE800 come with a warranty?
A: Yes, Brother typically offers a limited 25-year warranty on their machines, including the PE800. It’s always important to check the specific terms and conditions of your warranty upon purchase.
Q: Can I use metallic thread with the Brother PE800?
A: Yes, you can use metallic thread with the PE800. However, metallic thread can be more challenging to work with, so it’s recommended to use a metallic needle and slow down the stitching speed.
Q: Can Brother PE800 connect to the computer?
A: While the PE800 doesn’t directly connect to a computer, it does have a USB port which allows you to transfer design files from your computer to the machine.
I hope this info-packed tour has shed light on your path to achieving your embroidery dreams, whether you’re a newbie looking for a friendly start or a seasoned stitcher hunting for a feature-rich upgrade. Remember, the perfect embroidery machine is not just about the specs, it’s about how well it fits your unique creative vision.
Still got questions percolating in that crafty mind of yours? Don’t hesitate to reach out! No query is too detailed or too darn peculiar. After all, the embroidery world is vast, and there’s always more to explore. Thanks for tagging along on this thread-filled adventure, and until next time, keep those creative juices flowing and those embroidery needles dancing!
