Brother PE535 Review

As an embroiderer, your dream is to have a workhorse to tackle all your embroidery projects like a piece of cake. The market today has loads of nice performing embroidery machines but you need the one that best fits your specific needs. Most importantly, the best embroidery machine is the one that resonates with your skill level.

Brother PE535 is a wise choice if you are seeking a machine for beginner embroiderers with little or no experience. It is an embroidery-only machine so you can expect high-quality designs. It’s so easy to use that you don’t need any initial guidance from a pro embroiderer. 

All you need to get started is to set up the machine, follow the manual and start practicing on it. Here we will be delivering a complete Brother PE535 review

Brother PE535
Brother PE535

The Brother PE535

  • Easy Operational
  • Built-in Embroidery Designs & Fonts
  • Works perfectly on Heavy Fabrics
  • Affordable

What You Get Brother PE535

  • 80 built-in embroidery presets
  • 9  built-in fonts for lettering
  • 3.2” large touchscreen
  • USB port for importing designs
  • An embroidery arm
  • 4” x 4” hoop for embroidery
  • Built-in memory for importing presets
  • Instructional DVD
  • 25-year backup warranty
  • Technical support for the life of the product

What is in Brother PE535 For you

The Brother PE535 has numerous features that will attract you. Let’s talk about some of them.

Sleek Design

The machine has an attractive sleek look. Its body is made up of plastic and metal which makes it durable and long-lasting. Brother has always been busy introducing awesome machine designs. 

Wide presets variety

Having 80 built-in designs, this machine offers you a limitless creative environment. You can embroider on your pillowcases, skirts, and cushions the beautiful presets. The embellishments add up a lot to your project’s attraction.

Some of the built-in design presets include kids’ favorite themes. Besides those, you can embroider holidays and some floral designs on your projects.

Machine memory

The built-in memory helps in storing the presets that aren’t included in the machine but rather imported from an external source such as a USB stick or Brother’s website.

All the designs that are imported into the machine are stored in this built-in machine memory. 

Easy to use

The easier to use the more a beginner loves the machine. Unlike other complicated embroidery machines, Brother PE535 is so easy and convenient to use. It doesn’t really matter if you have basic knowledge or you are an advanced embroiderer.

If you have a bit of knowledge about embroidery, you can start right away. If you are a novice embroiderer, you just need to go through the User Manual and the tutorials within the machine that guide you step by step so you don’t have to go to youtube and watch tons of videos.

Just learn the basics and start your practice. The more you practice the more perfect you will become.

Lettering on the go

Next is the lettering that makes it a fair deal. It’s made so easy with the built-in 9 fonts that you just have to select your desired font and type the word you want to embroider onto your cushion or jacket. 

Be careful to select a letter size that would fit inside the 4” x 4” hoop size. You will get used to letter size after you practice this multiple times.

Importing designs via the USB

It is obvious that every single built-in design is not good to go. Some of the presets would suit your projects while others won’t resonate with your project or choice.

In that case, you would need to import your desired design from an external source. Brother PE535 has a USB port for that purpose. Just save it on a USB from your PC or download it from iBroidery website.

What Could Disappoint you?

Although the machine has some extra-cool features that you would love, you still have to know a couple of its downsides. 

Firstly, the Brother PE535 is an embroidery-only machine so you won’t be able to sew or quilt with it. If you didn’t know about it yet and want a combo machine then you should check out the Brother SE1900. However, If you already have a sewing machine then you are good to go with this machine.

Secondly, this machine has limited functions and capabilities when it comes to bells and whistles which means it is a wise choice for beginners. If you have expertise in embroidering and want a pro-level machine then this is not the right machine for you.

Pros

  • User-friendly
  • Easy to set up
  • Versatile
  • High-quality stitching
  • USB port 
  • Large colored touchscreen

Cons

  • Embroidery-only machine
  • Best for beginner embroiderers mostly

Brother PE535 vs The Brother PE800

The Brother PE800 & PE535 are two popular embroidery machines that have earned a reputation for being an excellent beginner and mid-level machines. We’re going to compare both of them with each other and see what the actual differences are between these two embroidery machines.

Designs & Fonts

Both machines come with some pre-installed fonts and embroidery designs. The PE800 offers 11 lettering fonts and 138 embroidery designs, whereas the PE535 has only nine fonts and 90 designs. Not a huge difference!

The designs that come built-in with the machine, in my opinion, are usually rather tacky and are just good for testing. Also, the embroidery designs and fonts are not that costly. Simply purchase whatever you want.

On-Screen Editing

Both of the machines are equipped with touchscreen displays where you can preview your designs before stitching. They’re both full-color displays and about the same size. But the PE800 allows you a bit extra to modify the designs. For example, you can flip, duplicate, rotate, and adjust a design on the screen of the PE800.

Hoop Size

The maximum hoop size of the Brother PE535 is 4 x 4 inches, resulting in a stitch area of 3.8 x 3.8 inches (approximately); this might be quite restricting. While the PE800 includes a 5 x 7 inches embroidery hoop, allowing you to work on larger embroidery designs. This feature alone makes this machine worth an additional hundred dollars or so.

Our Personal Thoughts About The Brother PE535

In terms of our individual suggestions, we will go straight to the point if you’re an advanced embroiderer; we won’t recommend this machine as your regular workhorse. But if you’re a beginner or intermediate user, we’ll recommend it for regular usage.

FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Nope, you can't sew with the Brother PE535, as it is an embroidery-only machine and can be used only for embroidering.

Yes, the Brother PE535 can accommodate a larger hoop, a multi-position hoop that allows to hoop more cloth and combine various designs without re-hooping as frequently.

You'll need the specified embroidery thread for PE535. Other types of threads may not give you the best possible output.

Yes, the Brother PE535 comes equipped with a USB port that helps import custom embroidery designs to the machine.

Standard embroidery machine needles will work with the PE535. The size of the needle, on the other hand, should be decided based on the material you are stitching. 75/11 embroidery needles are a great multipurpose size.

Final Verdict

Overall Brother PE535 is a great machine for anyone who is just starting out embroidery. It is really user-friendly, durable, and an easy-to-use machine. Backed up by a 25-year warranty and lifetime technical support. 

Having a USB port, this machine allows you to further personalize your projects with custom designs. 

In fact, everything is just perfect except if you are an expert embroiderer then it’s better to go for another advanced machine like the Brother SE1900 or Brother PE800. 

However, if you are a beginner we highly recommend this machine for any type of embroidery project.