5 basic ways to customize your sewing experience on the Dreamweaver XE

Yesterday on QUILTsocial I unpacked and set up the Dreamweaver XE from Brother. I’ll be using this machine for the next few months, so I’m doing a little customizing to make it my own!

Changing the language

When I first plugged in the machine, I realized that the person who had it before me had been using it in French. Now, I can read and speak a little French, but not well enough to manage using a computerized sewing and embroidery machine. So first things first, let’s get it speaking my language!

Now, if you bought this machine new, you wouldn’t have to do this step. When you turn the machine on for the very first time it asks you what language you would like to use and it sets it right then and there. But, let’s say your long lost cousin from Spain comes and wants to use your sewing machine…here’s how you would change the language for her.

First, press the “machine setting mode key” at the bottom left of the screen. It looks like a little piece of paper.

The settings screens open up. You can scroll through the screens using the arrow buttons at the bottom of each screen. When you reach screen 5, you can change the language by pressing the left and right arrows. There are many different languages available!

OK, now we’re in business!

Changing the needle position

You can set the default position for the needle on Screen 2. I personally like the needle to be in the center whenever I start sewing, but you can pick the position that works best for you by highlighting one of the selections. The blue color means that that option has been selected.

Set the volume

You can set the speaker level on the Dreamweaver XE from Brother on Screen 4. I like this volume to be fairly low, so I’ve selected 1.

Set the light level

Brightness is set on Screen 6. My studio is not well lit, so I like the lights that illuminate the workspace on the machine to be bright. You also set the LCD screen brightness on the settings screen, so go ahead and change that at this time too if you want.

Setting Eco Mode

On page 5, you also have the option of selecting Eco mode or the “Shutoff Support Mode”. I like Eco mode to be set to “on” and I’ve set the timer to 10 minutes. This just means that if I’m away from the machine and don’t press any buttons the machine goes into a sleep mode to conserve energy. The lights go off and the screen is dimmed, but the green on/off button blinks to let you know that the machine is still powered on. Once you sit down at the machine and press any buttons or touch the screen everything comes right back on.

For Shutoff Support Mode the same type of thing happens, but you have to actually turn the machine off and then back on again to continue sewing. I prefer the Eco mode so I can just get back to work with the touch of a finger.

These 5 ways to customize your sewing are based solely on personal preference and none of them have to be made in order to start sewing (except perhaps the language LOL). If you take your Dreamweaver XE right out of the box, set your language and plug it in, you can start sewing right away. Once you’ve worked with the machine, you’ll know if you want more or less sound or light or if you need the Eco function to take over if you get taken away.

Tomorrow I’ll talk about some of the great features of this machine that make sewing and quilting a dream!