What kind of machine are you talking about?

Moni

It's a Janome 200E.

You can certainly use regular sewing thread to practice with.

You should be aware though, that your perfect tension with regular sewing thread will different when you switch to a rayon or poly or metallic embroidery thread.

I also recommend you get some of the pre-wound bobbins, or wind your bobbins with a bobbin-weight thread. It's a finer weight than ordinary sewing thread (50 or 60wt), and you can get a whole lot more on the bobbin.

I'm pretty much retired now, so I'm no longer "up" with embroidery forums.

Lonestarlady, are you Cj from Texas?

I live near a commercial machine embroidery factory (5 B's). They embroider logo apparel for local high schools, colleges, etc as well as other apparel like t-shirts, sweats, caps, etc with "pretty stuff". They have a factory outlet store & sell their apparel at discounted prices & even have sales on those prices.

AND they also sell left over Madeira thread cones.... some are 1/2 full or less, but still way, way more than on a "spool" of thread". They sell @ 50¢ per cone, in a large variety of colors!! Medeira is a well known & resprected brand.

My sister in law has a machine embroidery machine (Baby Lock) & she got a case of Medeira thread in the deal..... it's like a $400-500 value for $150, but it is rather small spools (as opposed to cones). My point being that thread is expensive!!

So we go out to 5B's to load up on thread for her & she doesn't have any qualms about practicing, or "wasting" thread because it's so cheap!

Sooo..... the upshot.... are there any commercial embroidery places in your area that might do the same as 5B's? Or..... if you want I can go out to the local place & pick up a bunch for you & mail it if you'd like?

I don't own an emb. machine myself..... I just take advantage of my dear sis-in-law, LOL .... so I don't know the answer to your Q & she's new @ it, so she probably doesn't know either. You WILL have fun with it!!

I know jenniCA is an expert, email her.

I have a Melco industrial strength one, but rarely use it anymore. In fact, since my move last July it has never been hooked up to see if it still works.

Right now, I am searching for a compatible monitor. If I can't find one, I will sell all parts, including the thread.

Keep me in mind.

Moni

lonestarlady, I have a Bernina and have used nothing but the embroidery thread, even for practicing. So I can't help you there.
The only forum I go to is the embroidery forum here at the Garden Web. It's slow, but if you have a question usually someone will answer it.

Hi, Lonestarlady--Maybe someone at this ME forum can help you. They seem to have lots of activity.

You might have to register, but it's free.

http://forums.marthapullen.com/

Yes, Bee, I'm Cj from Texas! If we do have a commercial embroidery place around here, I'm not aware of it. I just bit the bullet, used my embroidery thread, and monogrammed a burb cloth and a bib for my newest grandson...AND they are gift worthy!! lol!! I don't know if *I* will save any money, but my DDs are excited! We all love to give personalized gifts, especially for babies, and this will do the trick. If I really enjoy doing it and am able to pick up a little business on the side, I may invest in a nicer machine later on.

Thanks for your replies!

I have a Janome 350E which I use almost daily mainly to make cat toys for local animal rescues. I have a really long list of my favourite embroidery web sites but my recommendation of one of the best and very active helpful sites would be www.sewforum.com. There are two boards here that you should look at. One has patterns (free) that many digitizers generously put up and the other is a help board for those of us have difficulty with.

One of the most common frustrations that a beginner has is not making sure the presser foot is in the up position when threading. Sometimes you get "nesting" issues (collection of thread) that require you to clean out the bobbin area and re-thread. (I ended up taking my machine back to have it "repaired" before the shop owner showed me shaking his head laughing!) I don't know how many times I've given this advice to on the sew forum.

One of my favourite computer programs to go along with my machine is SewIconz which displays the icon on my computer embroidery folder so that it just isn't a name - a picture which tells me the size of the image and type of file. Janome uses .JEF files. PES are the most common but there are a number of programs (some free) that allow you to convert PES to JEF for the Janome.

I've also learned to sit by my machine while stitching. Tempting to multi-task but I follow Murphy's Law - Walk away and something will happen!

Hope you have as much fun as I have had with mine. If I can help - leave a message and I'll e-mail you.

Thank you, Holly! I appreciate that! I'll be sure and check out the sewforum site. I looked at the Embird program and downloaded the trial version. I want something that does monograms in layers. It's costly so I'll have to pace myself. lol! This can be quite an expensive hobby, can't it?!!

I have a Babylock Ellegante; a couple things I can contribute are: when embroidering items that will be washed over and over (such as bibs, shirts, etc.), polyester thread is more colorfast than rayon; in fact I rarely buy any more rayon. My biggest tip: wear some type of glasses while running your machine; I've had needles break and fly up and would have hit me in the eye if I hadn't had my reading glasses on.

I have the viking Rose and i use dual duty thread(coats& clark) to practice with.So far no problems with it.I use the machine embroidery thread when i'm ready to do a project,although i have used what i stitched up for tests to apply to garments,especially if it's for a kid.
Kathi