Brother HE1 Review In Detail

Brother HE1 is an embroidery only machine. This embroidery machine has a striking design similarity with the ever popular Brother SE400, except for the front graphics and speed control slider. While SE400 is a sewing and embroidery combo machine, Brother HE1 is an embroidery only machine. HE1 has 70 built-in embroidery designs to choose from. It has 5 lettering fonts and 120 frame pattern combinations. You have large, small and medium alphabet sizes to choose from.

Brother HE1 has a lot of advanced editing options. Reasonably sized backlit LCD touch screen makes stitch selection and editing very easy. Operating this machine should be a walk in the park for anyone using a basic smartphone. On board editing option is a huge blessing, as you will get a preview of what you will be getting for real. Added to that, is the USB connectivity option to import thousands of designs from Brother's own ibroidery.com or other third party websites. Creativity has no limit on this machine. Even impressive is the fact that how easy it is to transfer downloaded designs to the machine. It is exactly like copying a file to your flash drive.

The maximum embroidery area of HE1 is 4"x4", which clearly suggests that it aims entry level sewers (4"x4" hoop is the only one included). With the automatic needle threader, you can thread the needle in a snap. There is also an automatic thread cutter, which cuts the remaining thread automatically (this is in addition to a manual thread cutter provided on the side of the machine). Top drop-in bobbin makes bobbin changing easy. Snap-on hoop is another user-friendly feature.

On-screen help is available on Brother HE1. So you don't need to go after the user manual all the time. There is an independent bobbin winding motor which is pretty common on all modern machines. The main machine motor can deliver 400 stitches/min, which is powerful enough to handle most projects. HE1 has 25 year limited warranty cover.

Ease of Use

The stitch quality of HE1 is very impressive. The controls and editing is very easy to understand. It is a very user-friendly machine, something which beginners will love the most. Performance and quality of this machine is top notch.

Drawbacks

While 4"x4" embroidery area is enough for small-medium sized projects, professionals who do larger projects on a regular basis might feel the available area a bit small.

The USB port on Brother HE1 is not the normal port, it is a Type B port instead, which means you can't directly plug in a USB stick. You can only use the cable that comes with machine to connect it to your laptop or computer. If you want a machine to directly plug in the USB stick, you might have to look at Brother PE770, which also comes with a larger 5"x7" embroidery area.

Pros

•    Easy to use
•    Advanced options
•    Quality stitches
•    Computer connectivity

Cons

•    4"x4" embroidery area

Review Verdict

Overall, I am very much happy with what Brother HE1 brings to the table. It will be a great embroidery machine to start with.