How to use an embroidery machine: your first project, step by step

Fit a 75/11 needle, thread the top with 40 wt embroidery thread and use embroidery bobbin thread underneath. Fuse or layer tear-away stabilizer behind a stable woven cotton, hoop it taut without stretching, attach the frame and pick a small built-in design. Check the position with the machine’s layout function, stitch a few stitches, trim the tail, then let it run color by color and tear away the stabilizer at the end. Your first embroidery project should be boring on purpose. Pick a stable fabric, a stabilizer that matches it and a small built-in design, so the only new things you are learning are threading, hooping and running the machine. Once that works, everything else is a variation.

The steps below follow the order Brother’s operation manuals use for models like the PE900, with notes from stabilizer and thread makers. Other brands use the same basic sequence, but check your own manual for button names and included hoops.

What do you need before your first stitch-out?

Gather everything before you start. Stopping halfway to hunt for a bobbin is how fabric gets bumped out of position.

If you are still building your kit, our embroidery supplies checklist covers what to buy first and what can wait.

Step 1: Unbox and check the embroidery unit and hoop

1. Find the “Included Accessories” sheet. Brother’s PE900 manual refers you to this separate sheet for the parts list, and it differs by model.
2. Identify the embroidery frame (hoop). Brother lists a large 18 × 13 cm (7 × 5 in) frame set for the PE900. A 4 × 4 machine such as the PE545 comes with a smaller frame.
3. Find the embroidery sheet, a clear plastic grid that drops into the inner frame. You will use it for placement.
4. With the machine off, slide the embroidery unit onto the machine until it snaps into place. Brother warns not to push on the carriage, not to touch the connector, and to make sure there is no gap between the unit and the machine.
5. Leave space behind and beside the machine. The carriage moves the frame in every direction while stitching, and Brother notes that a frame hitting an object can misalign the design.

Do not carry the machine around with the embroidery unit attached. Brother says the unit can drop and cause injury.

Step 2: Put in a fresh 75/11 needle

Brother’s manual recommends a 75/11 home sewing machine needle for embroidery. It suggests trying a 90/14 if the machine is not stitching well on heavy fabric, and a ball point needle for short stitches such as small letters.

1. Raise the needle and lock the keys (or turn the machine off) so it cannot start while your hands are near the needle.
2. Check the new needle by laying its flat side on a flat surface; Brother says the gap should be even along its length. Never use a bent needle.
3. Insert it with the flat side toward the rear of the machine until it touches the needle stopper, then tighten the clamp screw, as Brother’s manual describes.

Start every new project with a fresh needle if you are unsure how many hours the old one has run. Madeira puts the life of a machine embroidery needle at about 8 hours of running time. For more on needle types, see the embroidery needles guide.

Step 3: Wind and insert the bobbin

Brother’s PE900 manual says to wind and insert the bobbin before attaching the frame, using the recommended bobbin thread, and to check there is enough on it.

1. Wind embroidery bobbin thread onto the plastic bobbin that came with the machine, or use prewound bobbins that match your machine’s bobbin class.
2. Drop it into the bobbin case in the direction shown in the manual, pull the thread through the guide and close the cover.
3. Use white bobbin thread for now. It is the standard choice and it shows you clearly when tension is off.

Our thread guide for beginners explains bobbin weights and prewound options.

Step 4: Thread the top with 40 wt embroidery thread

1. Raise the presser foot. Brother’s PE900 manual notes that the machine cannot be threaded if the presser foot is not raised.
2. Put the spool on the pin with the correct spool cap, then follow the numbered thread path to the needle.
3. Use the automatic needle threader if your machine has one.

Upper threading is where most first-day problems start. Brother’s list of symptoms names incorrect upper threading as the first cause of thread tangling on the wrong side of the fabric (a bird nest) and of upper thread breaks.

Step 5: Prepare the fabric and stabilizer

1. Press the fabric so it is smooth.
2. Cut tear-away stabilizer larger than the hoop. Brother says to use a piece larger than the frame.
3. If you are using an iron-on stabilizer, press it to the wrong side of the fabric. Otherwise lay a regular tear-away under the fabric.
4. Mark the center of where you want the design with an erasable pen: a vertical and a horizontal line that cross. Test the pen on a scrap first.

Why woven cotton and tear-away? Madeira recommends tear-away for heavier, stable wovens and cut-away for stretchy knits. A T-shirt is a poor first project because it needs cut-away and gentle hooping; save it until you have a few stitch-outs behind you. The cut-away vs tear-away guide has a full fabric table.

Step 6: Hoop the fabric taut, not stretched

1. Loosen the hoop screw and separate the inner and outer frames. Put the outer frame on a flat surface.
2. Lay the stabilizer and fabric on top, right side of the fabric facing up.
3. Place the embroidery sheet in the inner frame and line its center lines up with your marks.
4. Press the inner frame into the outer frame and tighten the screw.
5. Remove slack by hand. Brother describes the goal as a drum-like sound when you tap the fabric, and says the top edges of the inner and outer frames should be aligned.
6. Remove the embroidery sheet.

Madeira’s rule is “taut but not stretched.” If the weave lines bow or the fabric looks distorted, unhoop and start again. Our hooping guide covers knits, floating and hard-to-hoop items.

Step 7: Attach the frame and choose a built-in design

1. Raise the presser foot.
2. Slide the frame into the frame holder, aligning both pins, until it clicks. Brother notes that if only one pin is inserted, the design may not stitch correctly.
3. On the screen, open the built-in embroidery designs and pick a small, simple motif with only two or three colors. Fewer colors means fewer thread changes on your first run.
4. Leave the size alone for now. Resizing changes stitch density, which is a topic for later.

If you want to load your own file, read how to transfer embroidery designs to your machine after this first project.

Step 8: Check the placement before you stitch

Brother’s manual says the pattern normally sits in the center of the frame, and that you can check the layout before embroidering. On the PE900, the frame moves to show the pattern position, and a second key moves it around the whole embroidering area.

1. Use the layout or “check position” function and watch where the needle lines up with your marks.
2. Make sure the needle is up while the frame moves; Brother warns it can break if it is down.
3. Nudge the design with the arrow keys if it is off-center.

The embroidery placement guide explains marking and checking in more detail.

Step 9: Stitch the first color

1. Hold the end of the top thread lightly with a little slack, lower the presser foot and press Start.
2. After 5–6 stitches, press Stop. This step comes straight from Brother’s manual.
3. Trim the starting thread tail close to the fabric. Brother explains that a tail left at the start can get embroidered over and become very hard to remove.
4. Press Start again. The machine stops on its own when the color is done, and cuts the thread if automatic thread cutting is on.

Stay with the machine. If the fabric hangs off the table or anything is in the frame’s path, the design can shift.

Step 10: Change colors and finish the design

1. Rethread with the next color shown on screen. Brother notes screen colors may vary slightly from real spools, so choose by eye.
2. Repeat the start, stop and trim routine for each color.
3. Trim jump stitches (the loose threads that travel between sections). On machines with jump stitch trimming, such as the PE900, the machine trims many of them automatically. Brother says a higher trim setting means fewer trims and more jump stitches left on the surface, so trim any remaining ones with curved scissors.

If the thread breaks or the bobbin runs out, stop, rethread, and use the machine’s back-stitch keys to move a few stitches before the break before restarting.

Step 11: Remove the hoop and stabilizer

1. Remove the frame from the machine, then the fabric from the frame.
2. Turn it over and tear the stabilizer away gently, supporting the stitches with your other hand so you don’t pull them.
3. Erase or wash out the marking pen lines as the pen instructions say.
4. Press from the back on a towel so you don’t flatten the stitches.

Step 12: Keep notes on what you did

Write down the fabric, stabilizer, needle, thread brand and any settings you changed. When something goes right, you can repeat it; when something goes wrong, you know what to change. A simple notebook or a phone note per project is enough.

What are the most common first-day mistakes?

What should you make next?

Once one design comes out clean, change one variable at a time: a new design, then a new fabric, then a garment. Our list of what you can make with an embroidery machine is sorted by hoop size and difficulty. If you are still choosing hardware, start with the best embroidery machine for beginners, and use the stitch time calculator to see how long bigger designs will take.

What to buy

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

• Tear-away stabilizer — Temporary support for stable wovens such as canvas, denim, twill and quilting cotton.
• 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.
• Curved embroidery or appliqué scissors — Trim jump stitches and appliqué fabric close to stitches without lifting the hoop off the machine.
• Water- or air-erasable marking pen — Mark center lines and placement before hooping so the design lands where you planned.