BrotherSE2000 Computerized Sewing and Embroidery Machine

This Brother SE2000 Sewing/Embroidery Machine sports a mid range price with high end features.I have long been a fan of Brother sewing machines because they combine excellent quality with affordable pricing and this machine is no exception. It is a full size sewing machine and when you attach the embroidery arm, it's an embroidery machine that will embroider designs up to 5" x 7". Because this is a large enough machine to machine quilt as well, be aware that it's quite heavy. The machine alone weighs over 20 pounds and that doesn't include the fairly heavy embroidery arm. If you want a machine to take with you to classes, etc., I would suggest one of Brother's 4" x 4" sewing/embroidery machines. Also, be aware that this machine does not come with a carrying case or rolling trolley. If you will want/need to take this machine places, you'll want to invest in one and fair warning, they are pricey in sizes large enough to fit a sewing/embroidery machine this size.The sewing features are excellent and include things like auto threading, drop in bobbin, needle up/down, stitching speed regulator, 241 built-in stitches, a color touch screen, 10 automatic buttonhole styles, a knee lift, assorted snap on presser feet, and a bright light to illuminate the sewing area. The legend showing all available stitches is located underneath the flip up cover on the top of the machine. It also comes with a detailed user manual and I strongly suggest at least skimming through it and then keeping it near your machine for the first few months so you can refer to it because you can easily miss out on many of the excellent features if you don't know they exist!I find the machine very easy to wind a bobbin on and easy to thread. The stitches are very nice and it's easy to tweak the stitch settings for various fabrics. I have been sewing for over 40 years and have done machine embroidery for 30 years. I own a very high end sewing/embroidery machine that costs thousands more than this machine and it is definitely quieter however, this machine is not excessively noisy and definitely not as noisy as low end sewing machines. I suggest buying a foam, sewing machine, mat for use under this machine. It will dampen noise and vibration quite a bit - especially when using the embroidery arm. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CQX48GD3One thing I am disappointed in is that it doesn't come with an attachable sewing extension table. You can purchase one to fit this machine from Brother or a Brother dealer and the part number is BRO SAWT4 however, I think one should have been included because you need one for sewing large items or items made with heavy fabrics like drapery or slipcovers.The embroidery side of the machine is equally impressive. The machine features Wireless LAN connection for importing embroidery designs and it also has a USB port for importing designs using a flash drive. One of my favorite features is that it cuts the jump stitches automatically for you! Besides that, there are 193 built in embroidery designs as well as 13 embroidery fonts (alphabets). It comes with one, standard, 5" x 7" hoop but you can purchase smaller hoops that will fit this machine for embroidering baby items, cuffs, collars, etc. There is one version of this machine that comes with a magnetic hoop but you can also buy a magnetic hoop separately and save a little money. If you plan to do much machine embroidery at all, do yourself a favor and buy a magnetic hoop immediately! It has changed my embroidery life! It take soooo much of the hassle out of machine embroidery and it also allows you to embroider specialty fabrics with ease and no hoop marks left behind. This hoop is the one I purchased and it works brilliantly. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F2WHC4F I also purchased some extra magnets because I wasn't sure the ones included would hold the fabric taut enough. I don't know if I actually needed the extra magnets but I am using them and my results are superb.This machine doesn't come with embroidery threads (although there are some bundles that do, I think.) It also doesn't come with any other supplies like stabilizers so be sure and order some threads and some various stabilizers so you can start as soon as your machine arrives. Tips: I like polyester embroidery thread because it doesn't shrink or bleed and can be machine washed time after time with no issues. You do want to use good quality threads for sewing and embroidery so be sure and read the reviews if you are buying non-name brand threads. I also like tear-away stabilizers - especially for beginners. You can get adhesive varieties as well and I use them most of the time.Also understand that machine embroidery comes with a learning curve if you have never done it before. You need to choose the right threads, needles, stabilizers, hoops, etc., to get beautiful results. Beyond that, there are hooping techniques and other tips that help produce professional results. Luckily, there are loads of videos on YouTube to teach you how to do all of this but you'll need to invest some time in learning and practicing. Once you get the hang of it, you can produce spectacular clothing, baby items, home dec, and gifts. My daughter personalizes gifts every year with monograms for her co-workers and she is legendary for this. I always give personalized baby blankets and onesies to new mothers and they are treasured. Just understand you'll need some time to learn and practice.This machine also works with a new Brother app called Artspira. You have to use this free app in order to access the 50 free designs that come with the purchase of this machine. But this app is kind of a mixed bag. I like it well enough but understand that many of the features are not available with the free to use version. There is a paid subscription that costs ~$13 a month that allows you to use all of the features and save more designs in the cloud. It also lets you automatically digitize line art and drawings and even photographs and turn them into embroidery designs. This works surprisingly well and it's wonderful for parents of small children because you can digitize their artwork! But I think the subscription fee is high for what you get so I am not using it. I hope Brother decides to lower the monthly fee by half so more people can take advantage of it.You can also use software to digitize your own embroidery designs, as well. There are a number of them - even an excellent free one called Ink/Stitch. Most, like PE Design 11, are quite expensive so it's good to know that there are free digitizing programs, too. You will certainly need to devote quite a bit of time learning to digitize designs but again, there are many, many video tutorials on YouTube available to teach you.I purchased this machine for a foster daughter who just got a college degree and she loves it. She is already making gifts for friends, although I am here to help her learn to use it. I think it's a wonderful machine for an experienced sewist and a dream for a new sewist as long as he/she understands it will take some time to learn to use any fine machine like this to its fullest advantage.

I love love love my machine! Best investment and can do so much. Brother by far has an incredible reputation of longevity.

I am so happy with my new Brother se2000. Great upgrade from my Innovis 1200

The media could not be loaded. This is my first time using an embroidery machine and the hardest part was to read the manual and calibrate the bobine tension because I was getting a nest thread on the back because the bobine was to tight and the thread wasn't rotatingFor this a read the manual like 3 times and watch some YouTube videos and got it to work perfectly!!

This is my second embroidery and sewing machine and I love it. It is Wi-Fi capable and is very easy to use. It is a good size for where I wanted to place it and is not noisy at all.

I ordered this machine to start a small business and couldn’t recommend it enough! It takes a bit of practice but it’s a fantastic machine. It’s can be noisy but with a mat under it, it absorbs most of the sound. I’ve managed to pay the machine back in a matter of months, so definitely a great value for money. Would recommend!

In my 60's and been sewing all my life. This machine definitely had convenient features...auto thread cutter and needle threader were awesome. The sewing part was as you would expect from any reputable brand or pricey model sewing machine. However it was NOT as quiet as claimed by others. In fact it was louder than my current machine. While sewing, it quite often made a thudding sound which I knew wasn't normal for such a pricey machine, thus one of the reasons I returned it. The presser foot lift was positioned different than my current machine and felt a bit awkward but clearly that's on me. THE EMBROIDERY part of this machine was the other reason I chose returned it. I thought it would be a wonderful bonus to my creativity when I was researching what new machine to purchase. But for me, using it proved far more work than it was worth. Embroidering one color at a time was a pain, and trying to embroidered a modest size 6 color design on a size small jean jacket was very time consuming. Trying to get the denim just right in the two piece hoop without the top part popping off was a challenge. Then trying to secure the hoop onto the machine while also trying to maneuver the rest of the jacket out of the way proved difficult. Learning the settings to each embroidery design took quite a bit of time and was a learning curve even after I devoted a few days reading instructions, watching videos, and patiently playing around with them. Ultimately, after several attempts to embroider a reasonable variety of designs on a variety of fabrics and clothing, reality hit and I realized it takes too much time to end up witha successful attractive design. Also, you really are very limited on WHERE you can embroider on clothing. You can't do sleeves, or legs, and small areas like the collar of a jean shirt or the cuffs of a shirt would be impossible with the 5x7 hoop. So given this was not going to aid in my creativity the way I thought, (and also given the thudding sound), it made no sense to keep the machine or replace it for the same model. It was returned for a full refund, and I will now resume my search for strictly a higher quality sewing machine