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Baby Lock Flare Dedicated Embroidery Machine with FREE Online Classes
Baby Lock Flare Dedicated Embroidery Machine with FREE Online Classes
We can't wait to get you sewing!
Quilted Joy is the home of the world famous Quilt Fairies and is led by Angela Huffman, host of PBS' Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting. Buy your machine from people who sew on these machines every day.
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Machine Information
Embroidery only, and that is the point
The Flare does not sew. It has no stitch library, no feed dogs to drop and no presser feet beyond the embroidery foot, and Baby Lock lists it under embroidery-only machines for exactly that reason. What you get instead is the biggest embroidery field Baby Lock puts in an entry machine, 6¼ by 10¼ inches, running at 850 stitches a minute, for $1,999. If you already own a sewing machine you love and you want to add embroidery without replacing it, this is the least expensive way into Baby Lock embroidery with a hoop over ten inches long.
Angela Huffman, host of Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting PBS show and founder/owner of Quilted Joy.
Here is the comparison worth making, and we sell both machines so we have no reason to steer you. The Flare and the Vesta are the same embroidery machine: same 6¼ by 10¼ field, same 293 designs, same 850 stitches a minute. The Vesta adds a full sewing machine underneath for about sixteen hundred dollars more. If your sewing machine is fine, buy the Flare and keep the money. Call (502) 718-7148 or send us an email and we will talk it through.
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Six and a quarter by ten and a quarter
The field is 6¼ by 10¼ inches, which is 160 by 260mm, and that ten inch dimension is what you are paying for. It takes a towel border, a full name across a shirt front, a large quilt label or a jacket panel without splitting the design or re-hooping halfway through, and re-hooping is where long designs go crooked. Both hoops come in the box with grids: the full 6¼ by 10¼ and a 5 by 7. The machine reads designs up to 200,000 stitches.
Editing on the screen, including the lettering
The color touchscreen has a 4.85 by 2.5 inch viewing area, and you edit on it directly: move a design, rotate it by one, ten or ninety degrees, mirror it, combine designs, change the thread colors. The part people do not expect is that the 14 built-in fonts edit like designs do, so you can select a single letter and change it on its own rather than accepting the whole word as one block. Multi-line text and character spacing are both on the machine. One honest limit: resizing goes up 20 percent and down 10 percent, and it does not recalculate stitch density, so it is a nudge rather than free scaling.
It trims the jumps, mid-color
Most machines that trim jump stitches do it between colors. The Flare does it inside a single color segment, so the thread stops traveling across the hoop even when the design jumps from one leaf to another leaf in the same green. That is the difference between finished embroidery and embroidery you have to sit and clip, and no amount of sharp snips gets you as close as the machine does. Color Sort handles the other half of the problem: stitch the same design several times in one hoop and it reorders the run so you change thread fewer times.
The machine watches the thread so you do not have to
The Advanced Needle Threader takes the needle in a few motions, one-handed. Thread tension is set automatically. Upper and lower thread sensors stop the machine when a thread breaks or runs out, instead of letting it stitch a design in air while you are in the next room. A low bobbin indicator warns you before it happens, the bobbin is a Quick-Set drop-in, and an on-screen hoop sensor tells you which of the two hoops the design needs before you hoop anything.
Designs come over your wifi
Baby Lock's Design Database Transfer software is free, and it sends designs from your computer to the Flare over your wifi. There is a USB port too if you prefer a stick. It reads .pes, .phc and .dst files. It does not read .phx, and the transfer is one direction, computer to machine, so the Flare will not send designs back to your PC. The machine also tells you when a firmware update is available.
Baby Lock on storing your design library
This is Baby Lock's general video on organizing embroidery designs rather than a Flare walkthrough, but it covers the Design Database Transfer software the Flare uses.
Download the Flare brochure (PDF)
Where the Flare sits in the line
Nothing sits below it. The Flare is the entry point into Baby Lock's dedicated embroidery machines, and everything cheaper that embroiders is a combination machine with a much smaller hoop. Above it is the Ursa, and the jump is roughly three thousand dollars for an 8 by 14 inch field, 914 designs, 23 fonts, a 7 inch screen, true resizing from 60 to 200 percent with the stitch density recalculated, a two-point positioning system with an LED pointer foot, and a phone app that tells you when the thread breaks. Both machines run at 850 stitches a minute, so speed is not what you are buying. And sideways rather than up, the Vesta is this same embroidery machine with a full sewing machine added underneath.
Specifications
| At a glance |
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|---|---|
| Embroidery |
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| On-screen editing |
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| Threading and sensors |
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| Connectivity |
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| What it does not do |
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| In the box |
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| Warranty |
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Warranty service is handled here in Louisville by our own factory-certified technicians, so your machine does not have to travel to a stranger when it needs attention. If you live outside of Louisville, any Baby Lock dealer in the country will service your machine under warranty. Every machine we sell also comes with owner classes, and on an embroidery machine that is where hooping, stabilizer and thread choice stop being guesswork.
Additional Information
| Product type | Sewing & Embroidery Machine |
| Brand | Baby Lock |
| Manufacturer | Baby Lock |
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Baby Lock Flare Dedicated Embroidery Machine with FREE Online Classes — Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Baby Lock Flare sew?
No. The Flare is a dedicated embroidery machine. It has no stitch library, no feed dogs to drop and no presser feet beyond the embroidery foot, and Baby Lock lists it under its embroidery-only machines. If you want sewing and embroidery in one machine, the Vesta is the Flare with a full sewing machine added underneath.
How big is the embroidery field, and what hoops are included?
The field is 6 and a quarter by 10 and a quarter inches, which is 160 by 260mm. Two hoops come in the box, both with grids: the full 6 and a quarter by 10 and a quarter, and a 5 by 7. That ten inch dimension is the reason to buy this machine, because a towel border or a name across a shirt front fits in one hooping instead of being split.
How is the Flare different from the Vesta?
On the embroidery side they are the same machine: the same 6 and a quarter by 10 and a quarter field, the same 293 designs, the same 850 stitches a minute. The Vesta costs about sixteen hundred dollars more and what that buys is a complete sewing machine underneath, with 301 stitches and 13 presser feet. If you already own a sewing machine you are happy with, the Flare is the better buy.
What does cutting jump stitches actually save me?
Most machines that trim jump stitches do it between colors. The Flare does it inside a single color segment, so thread stops traveling across the hoop even when a design jumps from one leaf to another in the same green. It is the difference between embroidery that comes out of the hoop finished and embroidery you sit and clip with snips, and snips never get as close as the machine does.
Can I resize designs on the Flare?
Within limits. You can enlarge a design up to 20 percent and reduce it up to 10 percent on screen, and the machine does not recalculate stitch density when it does, so treat it as a nudge rather than free scaling. Rotation in one, ten and ninety degree steps, mirroring, combining designs and changing thread colors are all on the screen too.
Can I edit the lettering?
Yes, and this is one of the Flare's better features. The 14 built-in fonts edit like designs do, so you can select a single letter and change it on its own rather than accepting a word as one block. Multi-line text, character spacing and the character array function are all built in.
How do I get my own designs onto the Flare?
Over your wifi using Baby Lock's Design Database Transfer software, which is a free download, or on a USB stick. It reads .pes, .phc and .dst files. Two things to know: it cannot read .phx files, and the wireless transfer only goes one way, from your computer to the machine.
Does the Flare have a needle beam or laser placement guide?
Not as standard. Baby Lock lists the needle beam on the Flare as requiring the U+ foot, which is bought separately. What the machine does include is a 9-point trial check that traces the design's outline so you can confirm placement before you stitch.
Can I pay for the Flare over time?
Yes. Shop Pay Installments is available at checkout, so you can split the purchase into payments. You will see the option and the estimated payment on the checkout page, and you are welcome to call us at (502) 718-7148.
What warranty comes with the Flare?
Baby Lock covers the Flare with a 25 year limited manufacturer's warranty, 10 years on parts, 5 years on the circuit board, 5 years on electrical components and 1 year of labor. Warranty service is done here in Louisville by our own factory-certified technicians, and any Baby Lock dealer in the country can service it under warranty if you live elsewhere.
