Embroidery sewing machines offer both the services of embroidery and sewing in one appliance. Thus, these machines offer the best of both worlds, and are available at attractive prices.
The earliest embroidery was done by hand, following which the process became mechanized with the use of the mechanical embroidery machine. Sewing machines with or without built-in stitches can be used to "manually" create embroidery designs on fabric. These manual types of embroidery machines are used very little these days, and mostly for fiber art and quilting projects. This type of embroidery is used to embellish garments, though with decreasing frequency these days. Replacing it is the free machine embroidery process, often called "thread drawing or painting", which is favored by quilters and fabric artists to embellish or to create samples of textile art. However, it is the computerized embroidery sewing machines that have revolutionized the market. They can be used by inputting a pattern, however complicated or intricate it may be, into the machine and getting its exact replica on fabric.
These embroidery sewing machines contain special software that reads digitized embroidery files. They are extremely popular among professionals, crafters, quilters, and seamstresses, owing to their precision and convenience. They are widely used even by those who enjoy embroidery as a hobby.
The best machines have facilities for both embroidery and sewing. Some of the high-end models come with an inbuilt large color touch screen, a USB interface, design editing software on the machine, embroidery adviser software, and design file storage system. The embroidery sewing machine prices range from $400 up to the expensive ones costing $2000. Brands that sell this product are Brother, Singer, JAMAC Kenmore and Shark.
There are also several kinds of embroidery software available. This variety includes software that can convert a photograph into an embroidery design. Some websites offer tools that allow a buyer to customize stock designs, thus eliminating the need to buy embroidery digitizing software.