Unveiling the NEW embroidery unit for the Husqvarna VIKING DESIGNER EPIC 3

If you thought unboxing the NEW Husqvarna VIKING DESIGNER EPIC 3 was exciting, wait until you see Husqvarna VIKING DESIGNER EPIC 3’s NEW embroidery unit! It’s going to blow your socks off!

Husqvarna VIKING DESIGNER EPIC 3 with the embroidery unit

The embroidery unit comes in a separate case with all the components neatly tucked into slots. The case is large, so it’s on wheels, making it easy to move around.

The embroidery unit case is on wheels

Unzipping the cover reveals a protective piece of packing Styrofoam. I can’t wait to see it!

A protective layer of Styrofoam

Removing the Styrofoam reveals lots of new parts, either in engineered slots in the packing material, strapped down, or both.

The components of the embroidery unit

The first thing you’ll notice is that the embroidery unit is HEAVY. It has been reinforced with a steel structure to provide the stability needed to access larger embroidery hoops. Not that any of us want larger hoops. Of course, we want larger hoops! The design and abilities are BRAND-new, and I can’t tell you how excited I am.

The embroidery unit for the Husqvarna VIKING DESIGNER EPIC 3

Four hoops come with the DESIGNER EPIC 3. Each hoop has a secure place to reside in in the case of the embroidery unit. The sizes of the included hoops are:

• Splendid Square Hoop II (120 by 120)
• Jewel Hoop II (240 by 150)
• Royal Hoop II (360 by 200)
• Regal Hoop (465 by 260)

Four hoops that come with the DESIGNER EPIC 3

A redesign of the embroidery hoops provides more stability. Did you notice that the shape differs from what we’re used to? It’s slightly asymmetrical and thicker on the side where the embroidery hoop connector is. While this helps with stability, it also ensures the inner hoop will only fit into the outer hoop in one direction. None of us have ever made that mistake – right?

The new shape of the embroidery hoop

You’ll also notice that the embroidery hoop connector is different.

The NEW embroidery hoop connector

And, of course, the embroidery hoop attachment on the embroidery arm has also changed.

The embroidery hoop attachment on the embroidery unit

This new system makes it easy to attach and detach the hoops. There is ZERO strain on the embroidery arm and well. I love it! Here’s a short video showing how easy it is to hoop and unhoop using the new system.

I know what you’re thinking. If we get four hoops with the DESIGNER EPIC 3 and we have a bunch of legacy hoops with the old attachment system, you want to know if you can still use those other hoops. The answer is YES.

There’s a hoop adapter, which will allow you to use SOME of the legacy hoops. When you open up the Hoop Options on the embroidery edit screen, you’ll see which legacy hoops you can use—currently, there are twelve legacy hoops, including all the metal hoops, endless hoops, and more.

The hoop adaptor beside the embroidery hoop attachment on the embroidery arm

Three specialty hoops have been designed specifically for the DESIGNER EPIC 3, and I’ll chat about those later this week. They are SO EXCITING!

I referred to the size of the Regal Hoop earlier, but look at the size! It’s HUGE – can you imagine doing free-standing lace ornaments or designing items in the hoop and having all that space without rehooping? I LOVE this and can’t wait to embroider something!

The size of the Regal Hoop

Something else new is how the embroidery unit attaches to the DESIGNER EPIC 3. The end of the base of the embroidery machine opens to reveal the embroidery unit connector, containing two holes and two sockets. You’ll find two pins and two plugs on the underside of the embroidery unit. There’s a notch in the base of the sewing machine and the embroidery unit, so it’s easy to match up those notches to get everything in the correct place.

The embroidery unit connector

The embroidery unit settles into place, and you want to extend it to the left as far as it goes. You should see a gap of approximately ¼” between the embroidery unit and the sewing machine.

The embroidery unit connected to the DESIGNER EPIC 3

I forgot to mention that removing the accessory tray is necessary BEFORE you connect the embroidery unit.  Once the embroidery unit is attached, you’ll notice a lot of space between the embroidery unit and the embroidery machine. This gap allows us the ability to do FREE ARM embroidery! WOW!!! Exciting!

The embroidery unit is attached to the DESIGNER EPIC 3

That gap is too large for regular embroidery, as the embroidery hoops need support. There’s an embroidery unit extension table that fills the gap. Note that this extension table is NOT for sewing; it’s to be used for embroidery only.

The embroidery unit extension table

WOW — that’s so exciting! But wait, there’s more! If I use the new Regal Hoop (465 by 260) or the NEW Mega Turnable Hoop (450 by 450), there’s not enough support for those longer hoops. So, two Hoop Supports can be added to the front and back to provide additional support.

The Hoop Supports in place

And now, when I place the Regal Hoop on the embroidery unit, there’s plenty of support.

The Hoop Supports provides support for the Regal Hoop

Something else that’s new is there are electronic components in the embroidery unit. Therefore, if you update your embroidery machine, it’s a good idea to do so with the embroidery unit attached. If not, you’ll have to update the embroidery unit the next time you connect it.

Updating the embroidery unit

WOW – that’s a LOT of new in the embroidery unit. WAIT – there’s one more thing. The new unit is much more robust, and the embroidery arm is supported by TWO rods inside the unit rather than one. Again, this provides more stability for those larger hoops and heavier items we know we will embroider.

But it’s also super quiet. Here’s a quick video of the calibration process. You can barely hear the unit calibrate!

There are some serious changes made to the embroidery unit for the Husqvarna VIKING DESIGNER EPIC 3, and all are good! I can hardly wait to start embroidering!

Be sure to come back tomorrow when we look at what changes they’ve made to the software inside this fantastic sewing and embroidery machine. You’re going to love it!

Have a great day!

Ciao!

This is part 2 of 5 in this series

Go back to part 1: Unboxing the NEW Husqvarna VIKING DESIGNER EPIC 3

Go to part 3: What’s new in the internal software on the HV DESIGNER EPIC 3

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