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7 cool features you don’t expect to find on a sewing machine

7 cool features you don’t expect to find on a sewing machine

by Jean Boyd

Yesterday I gave you some sources for embroidery designs to use on THE Dream Machine 2 by Brother.

Today I’ll be showing you 7 cool features on this machine that you probably don’t expect to find on a sewing machine.

The LCD screen is about 5½” x 8½” – approximately the same size as an iPad! This is where you can access all the sewing and embroidery functions as well as the help screens and videos.

Help screen showing how to hoop the fabric

Help screen showing how to hoop the fabric

The LCD screen also has a screen saver, so if you’re away from your machine for a while, pictures show up and move across the screen at intervals that you can adjust. The fun part is that you can use your own photos for the screen saver! The easy to follow  instructions are all on page 37 of the manual.

There is even a special cloth from Brother to clean the LCD screen. And the screen does get dirty, because it’s a touch screen and if you’re not using the stylus, you’re using your fingers!

Cleaning cloth for the LCD screen and one of my personal photos as part of the screen saver

Cleaning cloth for the LCD screen and one of my personal photos as part of the screen saver

On the side of the machine you’ll find 2 USB ports – 1 port for connecting a mouse, and 1 for a USB stick. There is also a port for connecting your computer and one for headphones.

Right above these ports you’ll find a slot for an HD camera card. The stylus holder is also on this part of the machine.

Ports for connecting USB sticks, mouse, laptop computer and headphones

Ports for connecting USB sticks, mouse, laptop computer and headphones

The multi-function foot controller comes with a main foot controller and a side pedal. Each one can be programmed to do different tasks: thread cutting, needle up or down, single stitch or reverse stitch.

Multi-function foot controller for THE Dream Machine 2 by Brother

Multi-function foot controller for THE Dream Machine 2 by Brother

For the past 2 months, while learning to use the embroidery features on THE Dream Machine 2 by Brother, I’ve made lots of samples while trying different techniques. As well as the ones in this week’s blog, there are several more samples on my QUILT Social blog posts from September 25 – 29, 2017.

Be sure to come back on November 27, 2017 when I’ll show you how I used my samples to make some little quilts. I’ll also be introducing you to even more embroidery techniques on this great machine!

This is part 5 of 5 in this series.
Go back to part 4: Embroidery pattern search for THE Dream Machine 2

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