Opinion please!!

I've just read an advert for the Husqvarner Designer 1. It sounds like a great machine but before I go to look at it.....

Has anyone got any opinions -- for or against -- on this machine?

The Mega hoop is included -- what size is this?

Is the 'Customising and Digitising' software similar to the PE Design that you get with the Brother machines? (This is free at the moment -- at least until the end of December.)

My nearest 'local' store is about 150 miles round trip, so before I make this journey I would like as much information as possible before I decide to go.

Thank you.

Reply to
sewing-grandma
Loading thread data ...

Have you been to the website yet?

formatting link
Emily

Reply to
Emily

Yes thanks Emily but I must have missed the size of the hoops, sorry I'm still unsure of the 'Customising and Digitising'. And I would still like opinions. Thank you

Reply to
sewing-grandma

Lots of people swear by them........but I am a Brother person in my bones......before you shell out any cash, compare the features and usability with Brother. AND, be sure the thing will use floppy discs......that will save you a fortune in design "cards" and software.........

Reply to
Pat

According to the HV website the mega hoop is 300 x 150 mm (14.2" x 6"). Touted to be the largest size currently on the market.

As for the software...I use Customizing frequently and it does what I need it to. It's fairly intuitive and comes with built in fonts etc. I've heard that Digitizing is a really hard program to get started on. In comparison to PED most people have said that they prefer the Brother software. I believe that you can also use fonts already installed on your computer in PED? This is not the case with HVCustomizing. You can only use what they give you. There is another piece of software that allows you to convert truetype fonts to stitch files but it doesn't allow you to enter letters from your keyboard. Basically it converts each letter individually into a separate file and you place them like you would a design.

I don't personally have a D1 but those who I know have one either love or hate theirs. There are lemons out there and from what I gather if you get a lemon it may be hard to get any sort of service (depending on how good your dealer is!).

Hope that helps a little.

Reply to
ncgirl

I've used both VIP and PED software. PED is definitely better for Digitizing, VIP is easier for Customizing. Don't get misled by the ability to be able to use floppy disks with the D1. Your designs still must be in the SHV format, which only the VIP software can make. In other words, with the D1, you must have at least VIP Customizing. The Brother 3001D also uses floppies, but in can read pes and dst, so you don't need any particular brand of software. In fact, you wouldn't need any software at all, you can download freebies from the Internet and use only Windows to copy them to a floppy. Of course you wouldn't be able to view them first, but that's another story.

Reply to
Sylvia

I have the Designer 1, I tried four of the TOL brand machines ( Brother, Pfaff, Husqvarna and Bernina) and decided on the Husqvarna. I already had a Husqvarna 6440 I'd used for years so I was sort of a Viking fan to begin with but went and did my shopping and testing and research and after about a year of searching, researching and dithering and "sleeping on it" I decided the Viking was the best for me, IMO. It does take floppies, you will need the Customizing program to download designs from the net, but it converts them from any format to Hus. If you can get it free that's a big bundle of $$ right there. I decided against purchasing the Digitizing program. For the cost and the time I would save in both areas, as much as I would use it, by downloading freebies and purchasing what I needed it would take me 40 years to make Digitizing cost effective. The only thing that may be a deterrent is that your dealer is 150 miles away in drive time.

Now, this is JUST my opinion, other's mileage may vary, but I really think that with these new TOL computerized machines you really need to take advantage of the free lessons to learn just what this machine can do. I have a lot of sewing experience under my belt and I know that the 6 months I waited to be able to get the classes into my schedule were worth the wait. I had been sewing on my new machine, went through the manual page by page and worked on things but I learned more in those few days of classes than I figured out with 6 months of reading the manual. If you are going to spend that kind of money, and it's a lot, you need to get your money's worth by learning just what all that machine can do, so the distance to classes at a dealer could be a very strong deciding factor, at least it would for me.

I have had my Designer1 for several years, never had a lick of problems with it, enjoying it more every time I use it. I think it's very easy to understand, operate, adjust and update (free) from downloads off the net. I test drove, several times, the comparable Brother and I think it was a very fine machine too. The Bernina dealer was just too far away and difficult to get to and a phone call would be long distance, and the Pfaff features came in third on my personal pros and cons score card. That's what is great about this country, you get make personal choices that all may not agree with ;-) There's a few things with the Brother I wish I had on the Viking and vis a versa. One of the BIG deciding factor for my Viking was the local dealer. They have a great staff, fabulous educators and a wonderful, conveniently located, store. The particular local Brother dealer that I went to were pretty snotty, to put it bluntly, and I just didn't want to deal with them no matter how much I liked their machine.

Val

Reply to
Valkyrie

Reply to
Persian

Thank you all for giving me some info on the Designer 1. I do appreciate it.

Val Thank you so much for taking the time to tell me about the Designer 1 and the reasons you bought it and not the Brother. Well this is why I was looking at other makes and models.

One of the reasons I was leaning towards it is that I have already have a Brother and PE4 and was thinking of upgrading as my machine is 5 years old and almost out of the extended warranty period. The other day while sewing it started to make a different sounding noise but I couldn't tell what was causing it. I phoned my local dealer about 20 miles away but they don't have anything to do with the machines anymore-- you have to deal with Brother direct --- 250 miles away. When I phoned them up I was asked if I could start up the machine and he would listen to the sound over the phone and tell me if it was a mechanical fault. My telephone is nowhere near my machine and I really couldn't see how a fault could be diagnosed over the phone. I was then told that if they came out to look at it and it was not a mechanical fault I would have to pay a call out charge plus whatever it cost to put right. I felt so let down by them. I feel I've paid for an extended warranty for nothing.

As for the upgrade -- well --it will be another make of machine but I will have to think twice though about the distance to travel if I had lessons. There is another store about 20 miles away but I didn't care for the owner when I first went looking at embroidery machines that was why I went to this other store -- but at least he would have sorted my machine out.

The store that I bought my Brother from also sell Janome. But.. as the store does not have anyone to look after your machine regardless of make after you've bought it -- I will not be buying from them again or I could be in the same situation a few years down the line. I wish we had a good store in my home town, maybe then I wouldn't have this problem.

The 'noise' has been intermitent so I'm checking on stabilisers and what fabric I'm sewing on to see if any of these could be at fault.

I'm going to be a bit like you with regard to buying another machine, I'm going to sleep on it, research some more and then see what I come up with. But I will have some fun looking.

Thank you all once again.

Reply to
sewing-grandma

We just converted our Brother machine (barely made it a year) to a boat anchor and bought a Husqvarna-Viking Designer 1.

Me

Reply to
me

I'll have to get a boat, LOL. I hope you like your new machine?

Reply to
sewing-grandma

Machine looked very user unfriendly and the software was so slow I would have tossed it by now. The dealers were all nasty ,snotty jerks through 3 States (USA) and Canada too???

Reply to
Gymmie Bob

Any smoke coming out of the back yet?

Reply to
Gymmie Bob

InspirePoint website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.