Best T Shirt Embroidery Machines [ALL BUDGETS!]

If you’re in the market for a t shirt embroidery machine – you’re in luck! Embroidering on t-shirts is easy to do on any embroidery machine, though it does take a bit of skill and knowledge to get it done properly!

Even the cheap embroidery machines are up to the task, as long as you’re content with being limited to 4″ x 4″ pocket sized designs.

But, if you’re interested in a machine for large designs, or you need to produce large quantities of embroidered shirts for sale, things get a bit more expensive.

While a bigger hoop is always better, this quickly drives up the price. So, be honest with yourself about what size you really need for your designs. Though I’d recommend at least a 5″ x 7″ hoop.

Likewise, while a multi-needle machine makes mass producing shirts much faster, since you don’t have to swap out the thread colors manually, it’s also expensive. The cheapest multi needle embroidery machines will still run you $5000+, and that’s just not in everyone’s budget!

Below I’ve given my top picks for t-shirt embroidery machines based on features, function, and price!

Janome Memory Craft 400E – $1,349

The Janome Memory Craft 400E is an excellent embroidery machine for clothing, including t-shirts! I’ve recommended this as an embroidery machine for sweatshirts and hoodies before, because of its generous 8″ x 8″ embroidery area, and the large throat space, which makes it easy to maneuver bulky clothing under.

However, this machine is also great if you want to make large t-shirt designs without spending a ton of money. It’s an excellent value for all of the features and the embroidery are that it offers.

With this machine you’ll be able to stitch designs at 860 stitches per minute, but it also has variable speed which you can dial down as low as 400 for designs that require more care.

You can upload your own custom designs via the USB port, take advantage of the on-screen editing functions to re-size, rotate, change thread colors, and manipulate your designs, and it even has automatic jump thread trimming – a rare feature for machines in the entry level price range.

Click here to get the best price on the Janome 400e

Brother NS1150 – $899

Is the 400E outside of your budget? No worries! While the Brother NS1150 is not quite as nice as the 400e, it’ll still work perfectly fine for creating custom t-shirts.

This machine has a smaller embroidery area, at 5″ x 7″ and not as much room to the right of the needle for bulky items, but it’s still a quality machine you can depend on.

So, what else will you be missing out on downgrading? Well, for starters it is a bit slower, and you’ll only get 650 stitches per minute out of it.

This machine also does not have the thread break sensor, and it does not automatically trim your jump stitches for you like the Janome 400e does.

However, if you can live with these limitations – it’s an excellent machine and forgoing fancy features will get you started in embroidery for a good deal cheaper.

Click here to get the best price on the Brother NS1150

Janome MB4 – $5,499

Looking to start up a clothing brand and need a machine that can create a lot of shirts fast? The Janome MB4 is one of the cheapest multi-needle machines around and it’s a great pick if you need a home business embroidery machine.

This is a 4 needle machine, which means you can load up 4 thread colors and the machine will stitch your designs without the need to stop. Obviously, this saves a ton of time over a standard machine, where it will stop for each color change and you’ll need to re-thread it.

It also has a generous 9.4″ x 7.9″ embroidery area, allowing you to create large custom shirt designs, and it’s variable speed setting will hum along at a respectable 600-800 stitches per minute.

It handles jump stitches for you, has an automatic thread cutter, comes with all the free hoops you’ll need, and you can use it to customize a lot of products if your brand moves beyond t-shirts later.

Click here to get the best price on the Janome MB4