Reviews · Best with embroidery
Brother SE700 review: a real embroidery machine, with a small hoop
Two machines in one box - and an honest account of the limit you will hit first.
By Michael W. · Published
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The Brother SE700 does something most beginner machines only pretend to do: it embroiders. Hoop the fabric, choose a design on the touchscreen, and the machine moves the hoop under the needle to stitch it out. That is genuinely different from a decorative stitch pattern, and it is why people buy this machine.
The number to hold in your head is 4 x 4 inches. That is the embroidery field, and it is the limit you will meet first - well before you run out of designs or ideas.
What 4 x 4 inches is actually good for
Monograms. Names on tote bags. Left-chest logos on a shirt. Patches. Labels in handmade clothes. Small motifs on a quilt block. That is a real and useful list, and if it describes what you want to make, the SE700 will make you happy.
What it will not do is a design across the back of a jacket, a large hooped wall piece, or an all-over pattern. Those need a larger field, which means a considerably more expensive machine. Splitting a design across multiple hoopings is possible and is more fiddly than it sounds.
The ongoing cost nobody mentions
Embroidery is a consumable hobby in a way that sewing is not. Every design needs stabilizer behind it - cut-away, tear-away or wash-away depending on the fabric - and stabilizer is bought and used up. Embroidery thread is not the same as sewing thread and comes in more colors than you expect to need. Designs beyond the 135 built in are bought individually.
None of that is a reason not to buy the machine. It is a reason to budget past the purchase.
How it is as a plain sewing machine
Competent. It has 103 sewing stitches, the automatic threader and the drop-in bobbin, and it will make clothes perfectly well. It is not better at sewing than the CS7000X, and it does not have the included wide table, so quilting is less comfortable. Treat the sewing side as “good enough that you do not need a second machine” rather than as the reason to buy it.
The embroidery decision
Buy the combo machine, or buy a better sewing machine and skip embroidery for now.
Brother SE700
Real 4 x 4 inch embroidery, a color touchscreen, and a capable sewing machine underneath.
Skip it if You mainly want to make clothes or quilts. The same money buys a better dedicated sewing machine.
Brother CS7000X
No embroidery, but a better everyday sewing machine with the wide table included.
Skip it if You want physical dials instead of a menu, or you will be sewing canvas, upholstery or leather regularly.
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The machine in full
Best if you want embroidery too
Brother SE700
A sewing machine and a 4x4 embroidery machine in one box.
- 103 sewing stitches plus 135 built-in embroidery designs
- 4 x 4 inch embroidery field
- Color touchscreen, wireless design transfer
- Automatic threader, drop-in bobbin
- Get it if
- You want to personalize things - names, monograms, patches, small designs - as well as sew.
- Skip it if
- You mainly want to make clothes or quilts. The same money buys a better dedicated sewing machine.
The trade-off
The 4 x 4 inch embroidery field is small, and embroidery has ongoing costs - stabilizer, thread, designs. Great at what it does; not a shortcut to a better sewing machine.
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How the Brother SE700 scores
Our judgment on the six axes described on the methodology page. Not measurements - we do not run a test lab.
- Setup and threading
- 8/10
- Everyday stitch quality
- 8/10
- Thick fabric
- 5/10
- Beginner features
- 8/10
- Durability reputation
- 7/10
- Help for this exact model
- 8/10
Overall 7.4/10
Questions beginners actually ask
Is the Brother SE700 good for beginners?
For a beginner who specifically wants embroidery, yes. It is more machine to learn than a plain sewing machine, and the touchscreen workflow takes a weekend to get comfortable with. If you mainly want to make clothes or quilts, a dedicated sewing machine at the same price is the better buy.
How big is the Brother SE700 embroidery area?
4 x 4 inches. That is enough for monograms, names, small logos, patches and quilt-block motifs. It is not enough for a design across the back of a jacket, and splitting large designs across multiple hoopings is fiddly.
What do you have to buy on top of a Brother SE700?
Stabilizer for every design, embroidery thread in the colors your designs call for, and any designs beyond the 135 built in. Embroidery is a consumable hobby - budget past the machine itself.
Brother SE700 or SE725?
Same embroidery and sewing hardware, same 4 x 4 inch field. The SE725 is a refresh with a newer wireless workflow. Buy whichever is cheaper on the day.
Sources
Specifications are taken from manufacturer listings. We do not run a test lab and never claim to - how each machine is assessed is set out on our methodology page.