Well, I did it — I bought a 15-needle Ricoma embroidery machine!

My Brother ULT2001 died a couple of months ago, and we decided that it just wasn’t worth fixing it. I was disappointed that the machine’s electronics gave out. But since I only paid about $800 for the machine several years ago, I shouldn’t complain.

I’d been considering a multi-needle for quite a while, but decided that I just couldn’t justify the price for the one I thought I wanted — the Brother 10-needle machine. But since my machine stopped working, I had to make a decision. Should I invest in a new Brother machine, costing perhaps $5,000 – $15,000? Or should I risk another used machine? It’s not just the cost of the machine; it’s also the cost of the extra hoops, and all that goes with a specific machine.

So I decided to “take the plunge” on a multi-needle. Both my husband and I looked and researched a variety of machines. He found that the Ricoma had a good reputation for quality among the Chinese machines. After considering a lot of machines, we did buy the Ricoma.

At first it was intimidating — it’s huge! And it weighs over 200 pounds, just for the machine! We had to do some planning to get the machine delivered, moved to my sewing room, and set up. But it all came together.

Here’s a picture of the machine:

I’ve spent a few days getting to know the machine, and I’ve learned a few things:

1. Don’t make the machine go too fast. You’ll get a lot of thread breaks.
2. Make sure the bobbin is inserted correctly, and wound correctly in the bobbin case.
3. Pay attention to the context! Since there’s not much of a manual, you have to be aware of what all those buttons mean.
4. Threading the machine is not a piece of cake. 😉

I’ve had fun so far, just testing things. Maybe tomorrow I’ll actually make something!