In spite of several reviews around the internet based on mis-information by salesmen trying for an up-sale, I really believe that the Brother LB6800PRW is identical to the very popular Brother SE400 except for the Project Runway branding. The only difference between the two combination embroidery and sewing machines is that the Brother LB6800PRW comes with a rolling tote bag and has the Project Runway logo on the front of the machine. And, of course, the price. The price difference which used to be more than $100 has narrowed considerably this year to less than $50. So, first, are the two machines really the same? And, second, why would you want to pay more for the LB6800PRW?
Why Am I So Sure The LB6800PRW Is The Same Machine As The SE400?
When I said that the two machines are the same, in answer to a question on a review, I stirred up quite a bit of controversy. People had all sorts of misunderstandings of the features and accessories of both machines. Sometimes the descriptions aren’t clear. Some of the confusion came from salesmen. Personally, I never trust a salesman who doesn’t have what I want and is trying to sell me something more expensive instead. So I set out to learn everything I could in order to compare the two machines and share the results of my research with you.
I’m sure the Brother LS6800PRW and SE400 are identical machines because . . .
- I compared the specifications for the SE400 vs the LB6800PRW. The Specifications and the User Manuals from Brother’s website for the two machines are exactly the same. See for yourself: Brother SE400 Specifications and Brother LB6800PRW Specifications.
- A woman in an embroidery forum reports that she asked Brother Support and they confirmed that the machines are identical.
- Descriptions on merchant sites and from reliable reviews are the same.
Why Buy The Brother LB6800PRW instead of the SE400?
You’re a Project Runway fan and would really enjoy using the official Project Runway sewing and embroidery machine and the very cute PRW rolling tote bag. If you take your machine to classes and workshops or over to a friend’s house to sew together, the rolling bag would be very useful and worth having.- Sometimes the LB6800PRW is less expensive than the SE400. The Brother SE400 is so popular that Amazon has trouble keeping it in stock. When it goes out of stock, the price can go crazy as Amazon sells it from third-party vendors. And the LB6800PRW can become a much better buy. Always check both current prices before deciding which machine to buy.
- If you need these embroidery supplies and accessories, the LB6800PRW with the Grand Slam Embroidery package offers incredible value for the money. It’s not always available, so be sure to check.
The Brother LB-6800PRW with Grand Slam Package includes:
Brother LB-6800PRW Project Runway Computerized Sewing and Embroidery Machine with USB Port
67 built-in sewing stitches • 70 built-in embroidery designs • 120 frame pattern combinations • 5 monogramming fonts • USB port with computer connectivity for importing embroidery designs • automatic needle threader • push-button thread cutter • back-lit LCD touch screen with help and reference guide • 4×4 inch embroidery area • Quick-Set drop-in bobbin • automatic bobbin winding • One-touch start/stop/reverse button • operates with or without foot control • electronic variable sewing speed control allows you to choose your most comfortable sewing speed • free arm/flatbed convertible sewing surface • lots of accessories • Project Runway rolling bag
Polystar Embroidery Thread on Snap Spools and Thread Box
You get 61 mini-king spools, each containing 1,000 meters of 50 wt. Polystar embroidery thread in shiny and vibrant colors. You never need to convert the colors because the Brother color names and numbers are printed on the bottom of each spool. The thread is stored securely in individual compartments in the thread box. The snap spool design prevents the thread from unraveling and helps you easily find the end of the thread.
Click here to see the actual colors.
144 Pre-wound Bobbins
The Grand Slam Embroidery Packages includes 144 pre-wound bobbins, 95 meters each, 100% spun polyester bobbin thread in white color, style M.
15,000 Embroidery Designs
This set of three CDs has over 15,000 professionally digitized embroidery designs — from angels to zoo animals, there’s something to suit any project.
Just connect the LB6800PRW to your computer with the included USB cable and copy the designs over. You can copy either directly from the CD, or save them on your computer first. There’s no need for a card writer box and extra software because the download software is built into the LB6800PRW and uses the USB port. Works on both Windows and Macintoshes.
All the designs are in .pes format which is the preferred format for Brother embroidery machines. This means that you don’t need embroidery software or an extra step just to convert the format. The designs are ready to go.
Cap Hoop
The cap hoop allows you to embroider logos and names on baseball-style caps and hats. It attaches to the 4×4 inch embroidery hoop that comes with the LB6800PRW and holds the cap bill firmly outside the hoop while you embroider on the cap itself. You can personalize caps for your whole team with this cap hoop. You can find instructions for using the cap hoop in my post, “Cap Hoop for Brother SE400 Embroidery Machine.”
Tear & Wash Stabilizer
Stabilizer is essential to support the fabric and hold it in place for embroidery. Without proper support, designs can pucker, pull or snag. Tear & Wash Stabilizer is torn away after the design is stitched and the rest dissolves in the wash, leaving a clean result.
Stork Embroidery Scissors
These charming little scissors are perfect for fine detail work. The needle-sharp point gets into all those hard-to-reach places. The stork scissors come in a beautiful leather case with a magnetic button for easy closing.
Thread Converter Pro III
When you have a large inventory of embroidery thread from different brands, it can be difficult to know which colors to use for a particular design. Thread Convert Pro III makes it simply by converting thread colors from fourteen different thread manufacturers.
This software converts thread colors to and from Brother or Polystar, Sulky, Madeira, Guterman, Coats & Clark, DMC, Robison Anton, AngelKing, Kingstar, Isacord, Isafil, Marathon, Anchor, and Pearl Yacht.
All You Need To Get Started
With the Brother LB6800PRW sewing and embroidery machine plus the Grand Slam Embroidery package, you have everything you need to get started embroidering except fabric or your creative project to embroider on.
Check Out The Three Choices
The prices and availability of the Brother SE400, LB6800PRW, and LB6800PRW with Grand Slam Embroidery Package are always changing. So you need to compare all three to find the best value. I almost always find the best price at Amazon, and I’ve always been very happy with their service, so I always look there first.
Check the current price and availability of the Brother SE400 here:
Check the current price and availability of the Brother LB6800PRW here:
Check the current price and availability of the Brother LB6800PRW with the Grand Slam Embroidery Package here:
I hope that this extensive information helps you choose the right embroidery machine for you. Have fun with your new hobby.
Blessings,
P.S. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below. Because of the nasty spammers, I have to moderate comments. So yours won’t appear right away, but I’ll get to it as soon as possible. I’d love to hear from you. And if you find this site helpful, I’d really appreciate your sharing it by clicking the Like button below.
I was completely 100% convinced that the two machines are identical. However, looking at the product specifications on the Brother website lists a difference in the weight if these machines:
6800 weighs more than the SE400. Here is what I found:
SE400: machine weight= 10.9 lbs; shipping weight=22 lbs
LB 6800: machine weight=16.09 lbs; shipping weight=23.4 lbs
Went to Amazon:
SE400: machine weight= N/A; shipping weight= 23.8 lbs
LB 6800: machine weight= 25 lbs; shipping weight= 38.2 lbs
Walmart:
SE400: machine weight= N/A; shipping weight= 24.3 lbs
LB 6800: machine weight= N/A; shipping weight= 37.45 lbs
J&R:
SE400: machine weight= N/A; shipping weight= 24.3 lbs
LB 6800: machine weight= N/A; shipping weight= 37.2 lbs
So does this mean? So the Project Runway bag weighs anywhere from 1.4 lbs to ~14.5 lbs? How does it add so much extra weight…packing materials? heavy duty box?
Maybe the LB6800PRW IS a more “heavy duty” machine. According to Brother, it weighs >5 lbs more than the SE400. My head is spinning! Right now, the 6800 is $90 more than the SE400…
Hi Jessie,
Yes, you’re right — the numbers don’t add up. I just moved and don’t have a scale. Or I would weigh my SE400 and verify at least one weight.
Amazons says it’s the product weight so I’m not sure what that is. I’m guessing that Brother’s machine weights include the accessories which means the rolling tote bag weighs about 5 lbs. That’s reasonable with the wheels and frame. I don’t understand why Amazon’s shipping weight for the SE400 is almost 2 lbs greater than Brother’s. My SE400 arrived in the box from Brother, no extra Amazon packing material or anything. Brother said the machines were identical. All I can suggest is that you call Brother Support and verify it yourself. Walmart doesn’t have the LB6800PRW in stores or I would just go over and see.
Hi Kamala –
WOW – what a fantastic site! I’ve been trying to read-up on the SE400 and your site is the best – excellent work – thanks! I was all set to buy one at Walmart but thought I should talk to a couple of local sewing machine retailers to make sure I know what I’m doing. They told me that the Walmart machines are fairly poor in quality and typically break down quite a bit plus you get no help for any of your questions. They tried to persuade me to buy a ‘reputable’ machine from a dealer like them. After looking at the SE400 thou – it sure looks good to me….
One quick question: I want to embroider custom business logos and college logos. I have designs in png, jpg, PSD (photoshop), etc format but I don’t believe I can save anything to the embroider extensions you mention. How would I do this so I can embroider these custom designs? i.e I want to do a UCLA logo (custom script letters) as well as a girls name in a font of my choice. Do I need special software? I have Mac computers.
Thank you very much for your help! It would be great if you could write back right away as I want to buy a machine on Friday or Saturday but want to make sure I can do the custom embroidering as I mentioned above.
Thanks again!!!!!
Jeanne
Hi Jeanne,
Thanks for the kind words and I’m so glad you found my site helpful.
The Brother SE400 will do what you want but you will need additional embroidery software. There are a couple of limitations to consider. First, the logos, etc. should fit into the 4×4 inch maximum frame. You can use software to split designs or embroider a design in pieces (for example, a girl’s name under a motif), but it’s more trouble and doesn’t work for all designs. Second, it sounds like you’re starting a business. The SE400 is a home embroidery machine, not a commercial one. This means it’s slower and less sturdy than the expensive machines at the dealer. I would love to have a machine costing thousands of dollars but it’s way out of my budget, so I’m very happy with the SE400. When your business outgrows the SE400, you’ll be able to afford a bigger machine.
For the logos, you need embroidery digitizing software. It’s not just the extension, but the data in the file has to be embroidery data that tells the machine where to stitch, colors, etc. Many people like Embird. Embird Studio will import your Photoshop or image file, let you do all sorts of editing, and output an embroidery file. There is also a plugin for it that lets you convert photos. Embird also has a module for fonts that will let you create the girl’s name in any font you have on your computer. They’re sort of like Photoshop and Illustrator for embroidery.
There are other programs, including one from Brother. But I mostly see Embird on the forums. It has a 30-day free trial, so you can see if you like it. I haven’t written about software because I haven’t tried it yet. I’ve been living in Italy without my machine. But I’m moving back to the states next week and want to start doing more, especially with video tutorials.
I have a Mac too, and this is the bad news. There are some embroidery programs that run on the Mac, but the best ones seem to be Windows only. There are two solutions. I run Windows on my Mac using VMWare Fusion. (You can also use Parallels.) It works fine. Some people buy an inexpensive PC that they use just for embroidery.
If you do decided to the buy the SE400 from Amazon, I would really appreciate it if you went to Amazon using my special link. You won’t pay any more and I’ll get a small commission which helps pay for the site (and the video camera.
).
Lots of luck and fun with embroidery whatever you do,
Kamala