Brother SE400 Computerized Embroidery Sewing Machine Review

The Brother SE400 Computerized Embroidery Sewing Machine takes the SE350 up a notch by adding a USB port so you can download embroidery patterns and stitches and update your machine through your laptop or computer.

For its price range, this is a phenomenally functional machine - bordering on professional use due to the wide variety of features and sewing types that can be performed.

Brother SE400 Stitch Patterns
Because this is a combination sewing and embroidery machine, there are loads of stitches to accomplish either type of sewing. There are 67 general utility and sewing stitches such as 10 styles of 1-step buttonholes, Straight, Zigzag, Overcasting, BlindHem, Applique, Stretch, Patchwork, Quilting, Eyelet, Smocking, Decorative, Heirloom stitches and Side Cutter stitches. (Side Cutter stitches cut the fabric off at the seam during sewing similar to what a serger does for seam edges.)

Those stitches can be modified by adjusting the width or height or applying a mirror, twin or multi-directional stitch function.

For embroidery, there are 70 built-in embroidery designs including flowers, roses, baskets of flowers, animals, plants and birds. You choose the pattern and the machine will guide you through step-by-step including thread color selection. The LCD screen shows how much time it will take to complete each step.

Letters and characters used for embroidery and monogramming are excellent additions to today's sewing machines and the Brother SE400 includes 5 different fonts.

There are 10 styles of frame stitches you can use as a border around your work including a square, circle, and diamond and 12 different stitch styles to use in sewing those frames for a total of 120 frame options.

Brother SE400 Presser Feet
The Brother SE400 comes with 8 snap-on presser feet: Buttonhole, Overcasting, Monogramming, Zipper, Zigzag, Blind Stitch, Button Fitting, and the Embroidery foot.

Most product listings describe the machine as having only 7 presser feet but are not counting the embroidery foot in the equation.

The Zigzag foot has a leveling button to help it maneuver over thick seams or fabric edges (as is often necessary when hemming denim for jeans).

The presser foot height has 3 settings: down, regular up, and extra up for slipping thick fabrics under the presser foot.

Brother SE400 Features
Using some of the best technology for thread delivery and even stitching, the Brother SE 400 also includes automatic features to make machine set up as easy as possible and push button controls that handle things like thread cutting and bobbin winding.

Thread delivery is horizontal, the bobbin is a Quick-Set drop in style casing, and the feed dogs have seven points of contact for optimum fabric control.

There is an automatic needle threader, the ability to drop the feed dogs, and upper thread and bobbin sensors tell you when your thread had broken or is running low.

Push buttons are conveniently located for programming the needle to stop in the up or down position, a Start/Stop button, speed control slider, and a Reverse/Reinforcement stitch button.

All settings take place through the use of the Brother SE400's touch screen panel and nice sized icons display stitch patterns and directions.

Embroidering with the machine requires that you remove the extension table and slide the included embroidery unit onto the machine. Then place your fabric in the embroidery frame and ensure the right needle, thread, and presser foot are in place.

On the side of the machine is an embroidery card slot so you can purchase sets of embroidery designs to expand your library of artwork.

The Brother SE 400 embroidery sewing machine with USB port and embroidery card reader offers incredible functionality and value.

Thanks To : Baby Stroller Travel System

Baby Girl Clip Art

The online baby girl images help you to design attractive invitation cards and e-greetings easily. The World Wide Web is a great storehouse of information on any subject matter (we too are aiming to contributing to this store). Nowadays, many websites (both paid and free) host baby girl images, baby boy images as well as baby shower images.

Clip art, as its name suggests, is a form of graphic art that makes use of pre-existing images. These drawings / images are either copied or physically cut from existing works in the printed format on a particular topic. The sources of these pictures are either books that have entered the public domain or books specifically published for such use. Logos, mascots, identity and business cards, invitations, letterheads, etc., can be made by cutting or copying the images. Clip art facilitates the availability of a pool of generic art that can be used and reused by non-artists.

Baby girl images are the cheapest and most viable options for enriching your content of baby shower invitation cards and greetings. With the right software, any picture or image may be converted into clipart. Free baby images is a great way to enhance any presentation as it provides colorful and attractive images exactly in tune with the content presented.

Baby girl Images:
Various websites contain thousands of readily available images. These drawings are further grouped under sub-categories; say baby girl images, baby boy images, baby shower images, etc. One can avail the services and select a single drawing or a group of drawings from a particular sub-group according to ones needs.

Baby shower Images:
The shower ceremony celebrates the arrival of a baby in this world and particularly into a family. As such, invitations are sent out to the near and dear ones. The images become handy while sending invitations for the shower ceremony. Many sites host baby shower images on various themes - baby boy shower images, girl clip art, baby adoption clip art, etc. One can refer to either the paid or free baby shower clip art sites in designing your invitations.

If the occasion is say the arrival of a girl, then the theme of the invitation card as well as that of the party will be for a girl. In these cases, baby clip art photos are to be used. You may opt to send either printed invitations or invitations via the Internet. The huge stocks of baby clipart pictures enable one to make a distinct choice. One can further give a personalized touch to the cards by innovative use of ideas and words.

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Homemade Baby Slings - How to Make Your Own Baby Sling!

As many hip parents know, baby slings have become an increasingly popular mode of transporting your infant or toddler around - from A-list celebrities spotted wearing a designer Baby Bjorn with baby in tow, to everyday moms and dads on the go who choose to use a variety of baby slings and carriers, the baby carrier is the way to carry your little one in style!

Saving Green...

With today's ever-tightening economy, some parents are choosing to get crafty - and get sewing! While there are many gifted homemakers who enjoy making their own baby clothes, others are merely looking to save a penny or two and design their own easy-to-sew or no-sew baby wrap.

Going Green...

There are also environmentally-conscious parents who would prefer to start their child's life on a green note - and organic baby slings are easily made, using natural fibers and textiles (such as hemp and unbleached cotton) as eco-friendly alternatives to synthetic materials used in traditional baby carriers.

Making a Scene!

Still others choose to express their creative side - crocheting, knitting and hand-stitching hip baby slings to suit their own personal style, crafty folks everywhere can consult a multitude of craft magazines and websites for how-to's and blogs when creating their own original baby sling designs.

Ready, Set...Sew!

So, whether you're on a budget, looking to express your artistic or creative side, or simply trying to live a greener lifestyle, it's easy to make your own cheap baby slings - below, DIY instructions to sew your own baby wrap!

HOW TO MAKE BABY SLINGS:

For anyone who has basic sewing skills, this is a fairly simple project:

1. First, choose your fabric at a local fabric store - since you will be sewing (or serging) the edges, you may choose woven cloth that is unfinished, as well as fleeces and cotton knits, as long as they don't curl up when cut.

2. Next, cut your cloth to the proper dimension - if you're purchasing your fabric in person, the salesperson can cut the cloth to your specifications; we recommend 20 to 35" wide and at least 5 yards (15 feet) long.

3. Finally, you will finish the edges by serging all four sides of the material.

If you do not have your own serger, we recommend hemming all the way around the four sides of the baby wrap. You may also choose to visit your local sewing machine store, which might let you borrow their serger for free or for a small fee; visiting a tailor or dry cleaners is another affordable option for finishing your baby wrap.

IMPORTANT TIP: DO NOT buy 2.5 yards of 2 different materials & sew them together to create 5 yards - this will result in a WEIGHT-BEARING seam, weakening your baby wrap & making it less safe!

Although this is a moderately easy sling project for some, sewing isn't quite an option for everyone, especially when you consider what you're transporting! For the rest of us less-than-crafty folks who want to carry their precious cargo stylishly (and safely!), it's not difficult to find inexpensive and cheap baby slings. There are many online sources, including Babysling.com, where you can find a great assortment of affordable baby slings & infant slings, including the ERGO baby carrier, Hotslings brand, Moby Wrap, Maya, Ellaroo, Baby K'Tan baby carrier and more! Whether you're looking for a baby backpack, a linen baby sling, a Velcro sling, organic slings or any other type of kid sling, you're sure to find a wonderful selection of moderately-priced, eco-friendly and stylish options at Babysling.com!

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Child Leashes - Harnesses - Tethers - For Or Against?

... More like, beware the extremists!

Fade out to scenario...

I got into the strangest discussion the other day. I, a long-haired, barefooted, beach-dwelling dude, was strolling pleasantly along my white soft-sand beach with the wind in my hair. The gulls calling and gliding on the breeze, and the smell of salty air and coconut oil toasting in the sun gave me a warm, perfect feeling. When who did I encounter, but a rough Irish bloke wearing the largest pair of winter galoshes! He accosted me about my bare feet, saying where he came from the air is cold, and the angry Irish sea is violent as it crashes on the rough shore pebbles to slowly wear them smooth. He insisted we should all be wearing heavy rubber galoshes at all times to protect our feet, while I insisted we should all live in bare feet with no exceptions so we could enjoy the sand in our toes. We spent the rest of the day arguing over who was right.

Fade back to reality...

It might be evident from the scenario above that an argument may last a long time if we only reference our own perspective at the current moment and apply it to everyone else without considering their situation and perspective may be different from our own. In reading web articles and blogs regarding voluntary versus involuntary means of connecting children to parents while in public, this seems to occur unusually frequently. One group or company may claim a certain product or method is the silver bullet to solve all problems for all families at all times. Conversely, others argue vociferously against child tethers, harnesses and leashes altogether, deeming it unfit treatment for anyone at any time. Ironically, many of the same people strongly advocate for the use of involuntary strollers or carriers.

The point is that both sides should avoid absolutes and judgment. In the barefoot versus galoshes scenario above, one might agree that going barefoot may be fitting on a warm Carribean soft-sand beach. But the Irish sea argument holds water (excuse the pun) on its own home turf. And a third person would probably advocate for crampons if they just came off a glacier climb. The old quote 'different strokes for different folks' holds true here. Or, even with the same person, to paraphrase Ecclesiates, 'to everything there is a season, a time to every purpose'.

So it is with family connectors. The proper use of the proper tool or technique will depend on many things. It may depend on the individual make-up of a family, including the number of children and age range, the temperament and abilities of each child, and the needs and possibly special needs of each child. A family with an eight year old and a twelve year old may not need a child harness, nor a stroller, nor even a hand hold, in the proper setting. However, a family with three-year-old twins may need a lot more attention and help to keep up with the young crew. And a family with four or even eight will realize the adults don't have enough hands to hold onto everyone.

Likewise, different settings call for different measures. A family may not likely need strollers or harnesses in their church nursery, but they may want something to keep the children a little closer in a shopping mall, and closer still while crossing a busy street or parking lot. While sitting at a departure gate waiting for a flight, a child may not need anything but the parent in the next chair, but my guess is an extra pair of hands would be most useful to help manage things going through airport security checkpoints.

Speaking of airports and security, things will also differ based on the level of security in different geographic areas, settings, and times. It may be fine to escort a few children around a Pennsylvania farm on a non-harvest day. But my guess is that it would be somewhat harrowing to escort the same bunch through Times Square on New Year's Eve. The different levels of security would likely call for different methods of keeping contact. Likewise, a missionary family with six small children will be taking different precautions when they traverse the campus of the JAARS missionary training center in Waxhaw, NC, than when they pass through a third world city in an area known for abductions and human trafficking.

The end picture is that unlike our barefoot versus galoshes argument at the beginning of our article, we need to keep an open mind with respect to what will work for ourselves and other people, and anyone arguing absolutes should consider that other people may have different perspectives and situations than our own. Not all families have the same number of children with the same ages, temperaments and needs. Not all settings will require they same level of connection between family members. And certainly not all levels of security will require one single answer.

In my next article, I will attempt to explore and classify different types of involuntary child connectors (stay tuned, as you might be surprised by some on the list...).

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