Embroidery machine supplies list: what to buy first

Before your first project, buy cut-away and tear-away stabilizer, a starter set of 40 wt polyester embroidery thread, bobbin thread or prewound bobbins that match your machine, 75/11 embroidery needles, small curved scissors, an erasable marking pen and (if your machine uses one) a small USB drive. Add no-show mesh, water-soluble topping, adhesive stabilizer, spray, ballpoint needles, snips and tweezers as your projects need them. Skip big thread collections, specialty stabilizers and extra hoops until you know what you stitch. A new embroidery machine can’t stitch anything without a few supplies, and the supply aisle is full of things you don’t need yet. This list sorts everything into three groups: what to buy before your first stitch-out, what to add when a project calls for it, and what to skip for now.

Each item includes why you need it and what to check before you buy. Shopping links for every item appear at the end of the page. If you’re still budgeting for the machine itself, run the numbers in the startup budget calculator.

Check your manual before you buy anything

Three supplies depend on your exact machine. Getting them wrong wastes money.

• Bobbin size. Prewound bobbins come in different sizes. Brother lists its PWB350 as size 11.5 and “Designed for use in Brother embroidery-only machines.” Combo owners should confirm in the manual.
• Needle system. Home and commercial machines use different needles. Buy the system your manual names.
• Design transfer. Some machines use USB, some add Wi-Fi, and some are app-only. Brother’s PP1 (Skitch), for example, runs through the Artspira app. Check what your machine supports before buying a USB drive.

Essentials: buy these before your first project

These are the supplies almost every beginner needs in the first week.

Stabilizer: cut-away and tear-away

Stabilizer is the item that is easiest to skip or get wrong. Madeira lists choosing the wrong stabilizer among common beginner mistakes: cut-away for stretchy knits and light wovens, tear-away for heavier wovens such as twill, denim and canvas. You need both to cover most first projects.

Buy rolls or packs of each rather than a single sheet. You’ll want a test stitch before every real item. The cut-away vs tear-away stabilizer guide has a fabric-by-fabric table.

Thread and bobbin thread

Brother’s manual says the upper thread should be 40-weight rayon or polyester embroidery thread for most embroidery, and that its included bobbin case is set for 90 weight bobbin thread. Polyester is the more forgiving starter choice for anything that gets washed. Start with a basic color range and add shades by project; the best embroidery thread for beginners explains how.

Needles

Brother’s manual recommends a 75/11 needle for most embroidery and a 90/14 for heavy fabric that isn’t stitching well. Needles wear quickly; Madeira estimates about 8 hours of running time per needle. Buy a full pack, not a single needle. The embroidery needles guide covers sizes and points.

Scissors and marking pen

Small curved scissors let you trim jump threads and stabilizer without cutting the fabric. An erasable marking pen lets you mark the center and orientation so the design lands where you want it. The embroidery placement guide shows standard positions for shirts, bags and towels.

USB drive

Brother machines read .pes, .dst, .phc and .pen files, and many models load them from USB. A small, plain drive is the safest choice; check supported media in your manual. The design transfer guide covers USB, Wi-Fi and app transfer.

Nice-to-have: add these when a project needs them

T-shirts first? Move no-show mesh, spray adhesive and ballpoint needles up to your essentials. The best stabilizer for T-shirts explains the setup.

Towels first? Add water-soluble topping right away. See how to embroider towels.

Hard-to-hoop items? Add adhesive stabilizer. How to hoop fabric for machine embroidery explains hooping and floating.

Skip for now

These items are popular but rarely needed in your first months. Wait until a specific project calls for them.

• Huge thread collections. A large set often includes colors you’ll never use. Buy a starter range, then add spools by project.
• Metallic thread. Sulky recommends a 90/14 needle, slower speed and lower tension for metallics. Learn on regular thread first.
• Heat-away and other specialty stabilizers. Sulky’s Heat-Away needs a dry iron and fabrics that tolerate 260–300°F. Useful for sheer fabrics, but niche.
• Fibrous wash-away for lace. Great for freestanding lace, but wait until you try a lace design. The stabilizer types guide explains film vs fibrous.
• Extra and magnetic hoops. Brother offers an optional 4 × 7 inch magnetic frame for the PE900 and SE2000, for example. Wait until you know which hoop you use most.
• Paid digitizing software. Built-in and downloaded designs are enough to learn on. Compare options later in best embroidery software for beginners.
• Bulk stabilizer rolls. Buy normal rolls until you know which types and weights you actually use.

A first-week shopping list

If you want one list to take to the store or cart:

1. Medium cut-away stabilizer
2. Medium tear-away stabilizer
3. 40 wt polyester embroidery thread set
4. Embroidery bobbin thread or matching prewound bobbins
5. 75/11 needles in your machine’s system
6. Small curved scissors
7. Erasable marking pen
8. USB drive, if your machine uses one
9. Plus: practice fabric, such as plain cotton and a couple of inexpensive T-shirts

Then stitch a few designs. Your first projects will show you which nice-to-haves to add next.

Practice fabric matters more than it looks. Plain, stable cotton with tear-away is the easiest way to learn hooping and threading, and a cheap T-shirt with cut-away teaches you knits before you stitch a shirt you care about.

How to keep supply costs under control

• Test on scraps. Madeira’s hooping advice (snug, no stretching, smallest hoop that fits) saves stabilizer and garments.
• Buy by project, not by catalog. Add a supply when a project needs it.
• Stay with one thread brand. Matching shades across brands is approximate; see thread color matching.
• Count supplies in your budget. The startup budget calculator adds machine, supplies, software and a test allowance, and the embroidery startup cost guide breaks down the categories.

Still choosing a machine? Start with the best embroidery machine for beginners or the Start here page.

What to buy

The supplies this guide calls for, with what to check before buying. Prices change often — confirm with the seller.

• Cut-away stabilizer — Permanent support for knits, T-shirts, sweatshirts and anything that stretches.
• No-show mesh (poly mesh) cut-away — A soft, light cut-away for light-colored or thin knits where a heavy backing would show.
• Tear-away stabilizer — Temporary support for stable wovens such as canvas, denim, twill and quilting cotton.
• Water-soluble stabilizer & topping — Film topping keeps stitches on top of towels and fleece; fibrous wash-away is used for freestanding lace.
• Adhesive (sticky) stabilizer — Lets you float items that are hard to hoop, such as collars, small pockets and bags.
• Temporary spray adhesive — Bonds fabric to stabilizer to reduce shifting when floating or hooping slippery fabric.
• 40 wt polyester embroidery thread set — A starter range of colors in the weight most home designs are digitized for.
• Embroidery bobbin thread or prewound bobbins — Lighter bobbin thread keeps the back of the design flat and reduces bulk.
• Embroidery needles (75/11) — Embroidery needles have a larger eye and groove that protect rayon and polyester thread at speed.
• Ballpoint embroidery needles — A rounded tip slips between knit fibers instead of piercing them.
• Curved embroidery or appliqué scissors — Trim jump stitches and appliqué fabric close to stitches without lifting the hoop off the machine.
• Thread snips — Fast, one-handed trimming of thread tails between color changes.
• Water- or air-erasable marking pen — Mark center lines and placement before hooping so the design lands where you planned.
• Tweezers — Pull out trimmed tails, lint and stray threads around the needle plate.
• Small USB flash drive — The most universal way to move designs from computer to machine.

Related tool

Try the Embroidery startup budget calculator: Add up machine, supplies, software and test allowance. Free, no signup.