Brother SE625 Review: A Comprehensive Look At This Sewing And Embroidery Machine

The Brother SE625 is a versatile sewing and embroidery machine that has been very popular, especially in the USA. This combination machine allows you to not only sew and embroider, but also quilt projects. Key features that make the SE625 a great choice include the large LCD touch screen display, 103 built-in stitches and 80 built-in embroidery designs, automatic needle threader, and 4″ x 4″ embroidery area. The goal of this review is to take a comprehensive look at the Brother SE625’s features, pros and cons, and capabilities to help you determine if it is the right sewing and embroidery machine for your needs.

Overview and Features

The Brother SE625 is a computerized sewing and embroidery machine combo designed for home crafters and sewing enthusiasts. It allows you to not only sew versatile projects, but also embroider and monogram with built-in designs.

Here is an overview of the key features and specifications of the Brother SE625:

Specifications:

Specification	Details
Weight	26.3 lbs
Dimensions	21.06 x 16.42 x 15.28 inches
Built-in stitches	103
Built-in embroidery designs	80
Embroidery designs on CD	200
Maximum embroidery area	4″ x 4″
Sewing speed	710 stitches per minute
Warranty	25 years limited

The Brother SE625 sewing and embroidery machine comes equipped with a wide range of features and accessories:

LCD Display – It has a 3.2″ LCD color touchscreen display that allows you to easily select stitches and embroidery designs, edit designs, and preview stitches and designs in full color. This makes it very user-friendly.
Built-in Stitches – There are 103 built-in utility and decorative sewing stitches, including 8 one-step auto-sized buttonholes.
Embroidery Designs – It comes with 80 built-in embroidery designs and 6 lettering fonts. An included CD adds 200 more designs.
Embroidery Area – The maximum embroidery area is 4″ x 4″ for monogramming small projects.
Convenience Features – Features like the automatic needle threader, top drop-in bobbin, automatic thread cutter, and easy bobbin winding make operation very convenient.
Free Arm – The free arm is perfect for sewing sleeves, pant legs, and other tubular areas.
Accessories – It comes with 7 sewing feet, 4 bobbins, needle set, seam ripper, screwdriver, spool caps, accessory bag, hoops, and more.
Warranty – It offers a 25 year limited warranty for peace of mind.

Review of the LCD Display

One of the best features of the Brother SE625 is the large 3.2” LCD color touchscreen display. This display makes selecting stitches, choosing embroidery designs, and editing designs very easy.

When you first turn on the machine, you are greeted with the main home screen that shows the basic stitch selection screen. You can scroll through the different utility and decorative stitches to select the one you want. The display shows the stitch name, picture, and stitch number for easy reference.

The LCD display makes it easy to scroll through and select stitches.

The LCD screen also displays the recommended presser foot, stitch length, stitch width, and tension settings for the selected stitch. You can manually adjust the stitch length and width as needed for your project.

Once you have selected your desired stitch, you can view a preview of how it will look sewn out. This is very helpful to visualize the stitch and make sure it is what you want before starting to sew.

See a preview of the selected stitch.

For embroidery, the process is very similar. You can scroll through built-in designs or imported designs from a USB stick. Selecting a design brings up the editing screen.

Here you can resize, reposition, rotate, mirror image, and edit colors of embroidery designs right on the vivid LCD display. You can even add lettering following an arc or circle. After making edits, you can preview the final design prior to stitching it out.

The LCD display makes embroidering so much easier since you can see design colors and details clearly. It really takes the guesswork out of embroidery and sewing.

Edit embroidery designs effortlessly on the LCD display.

Having this large, full color LCD touchscreen makes the Brother SE625 very intuitive to use. Whether you are sewing regular projects, quilting, embroidering, or monogramming, you’ll appreciate how easy it is to use the display for selecting, editing, and previewing designs. It’s like having a sewing assistant right there on the machine.

Review of Built-In Stitches

The Brother SE625 comes equipped with 103 built-in utility and decorative sewing stitches. This gives you a wide variety of options for clothing construction, home decor projects, quilting, and more.

Here are the categories of built-in stitches available:

Straight Stitches – The basic straight stitch is perfect for seams and construction. There is also a triple straight stitch for extra reinforcement.
Zigzag Stitches – Several widths and types of zigzag stitches are available for applique, embroidery, buttonholes, overcasting, and mending.
Buttonhole Stitches – There are 8 one-step, auto-sized buttonhole styles for perfect buttonholes every time.
Blind Hem Stitches – Choose from 2 blind he stitches for invisible hems on pants, skirts, and more.
Decorative Stitches – Dozens of stitches like honeycomb, crosses, leaves, and scallops allow you to embellish projects.
Satin Stitches – For beautiful satin stitch embroidery, there are several built-in options.
Quilting/Piecing Stitches – 7 stitches designed specifically for quilting and piecing quilts come built-in.
Elastic Stitches – The 2 elastic/smocking stitches are perfect for stretchy fabrics.
Darning/Embroidery Stitches – Darn and embroider with the 6 built-in darning stitches.

You can adjust the stitch length and width for most stitches to your desired settings. This allows full customization for the perfect stitch density on your projects.

Having so many stitches built-in makes this machine extremely versatile for all sorts of sewing projects. The stitches are high quality, and the machine sews them out smoothly and accurately.

The Brother SE625 LCD display makes selecting your desired stitch simple. Just scroll through the list or type in the stitch number to select it.

So whether you need a stretch stitch for knits, a satin stitch for embroidering, or a straight stitch for construction seams, the SE625 has you covered with its wide selection of built-in stitches!

A sampling of the 103 built-in stitches.

Review of Embroidery Features

In addition to its sewing capabilities, the Brother SE625 also functions as a 4″ x 4″ embroidery machine.

It comes with 80 built-in embroidery designs that you can customize and stitch out. An included CD adds 200 more designs to choose from.

Here are some of the key embroidery features that make the Brother SE625 a great entry-level embroidery machine.

Built-In Embroidery Designs

There are 80 different embroidery designs built into the machine’s memory. The designs encompass various categories:

Floral motifs
Scenes with children/babies
Holiday and seasonal
Animals and insects
Borders and frames
Quilting patterns

This gives you a wide selection of designs to embroider right out of the box. The machine also includes 37 different frame shapes and floral flourishes you can use as accents or combine with letters.

While 80 designs may seem limited compared to some embroidery machines, you can easily import more .pes designs via the USB port. Brother also included a CD with 200 extra designs to get you started.

Built-In Lettering Fonts

In addition to embroidery designs, the SE625 has 6 alphanumeric built-in fonts.

You have the option of 2 English fonts, 2 Cyrillic fonts, a Japanese font, and a European font.

Each font is available in 3 different sizes – small, medium, and large. This allows you to properly size text for your projects.

The editing features let you arrange lettering in arcs, circles, lines, and more. You can really customize the text however you’d like.

Design Editing Capabilities

A major benefit of the Brother SE625 is the design editing features accessible right on the LCD touchscreen display.

You can do the following with no extra software needed:

Resize designs and text up to 20% larger or down to 10% smaller
Reposition designs using your finger to drag on the screen
Mirror image designs both horizontally and vertically
Rotate designs in 0.1, 1, 10, and 90 degree increments
Change individual thread colors
Adjust design density and satin stitch width
Combine designs and lettering

Being able to do this editing right on the intuitive display makes embroidery projects quick and easy. You can see your changes before stitching them out.

Editing designs is easy with the built-in editing features.

Importing Designs

While the built-in designs give you lots of options, you may eventually want to embroider your own designs.

The SE625 makes this easy with the built-in USB port. You can quickly transfer .pes embroidery files from your computer to the machine using a USB stick.

Many embroidery designers sell sets of designs in .pes format. Or if you have embroidery software, you can create your own to import.

This gives you an unlimited number of designs for monogramming, embroidering names, embellishing garments, and so much more. Simply plug in your USB stick and import new designs in just seconds!

Convenient Features for Embroidery

Several conveniences when it comes to embroidering make the Brother SE625 a great machine for beginners.

The automatic needle threader saves you time and frustration when dealing with changing thread colors. The top drop-in bobbin and bobbin winder are also very easy to use.

There are even built-in tutorials for embroidering on the LCD display that you can reference anytime.

An integrated sensor alerts you when the bobbin is running low on thread. It will actually stop stitching to prevent you from running out of bobbin thread mid-design.

If you ever need to stop embroidering in the middle of a design, the machine will remember exactly where you stopped. When you start back up, it will resume in the same place.

Overall, the Brother SE625 makes it very user-friendly to go from selecting a design to stitching out a completed embroidery project. The conveniences built into this machine make it a great choice for beginner embroiderers.

Sewing Performance and Built-In Stitches

The Brother SE625 sewing machine boasts 103 built-in utility and decorative stitches measuring up to 7mm wide. You can easily select and adjust stitches using the LCD touchscreen display.

Once selected, the SE625 does an excellent job sewing stitches smoothly and accurately. The powerful motor handles a variety of fabrics and produces precise stitches for beautiful results.

Sewing denim and heavy fabrics

While not an industrial machine, the Brother SE625 can handle thicker fabrics from light canvas up to denim and corduroy fairly well. The key is using the appropriate needle for the fabric thickness. It comes with Denim needles that have a sharper point and firmer shaft for penetrating heavy fabrics. The foot also has markings for sewing denim.

Switching to a size 16 or 18 Denim needle makes all the difference when sewing multiple layers of cotton duck, denim jeans, canvas bags or totes, and other midweight fabrics. You may need to slow down the max sewing speed as well.

As long as you don’t force the machine, it can handle most home decor and clothing projects that use heavier fabrics. Just don’t expect it to sew through leather or multiple layers of canvas or denim.

Utility and decorative stitches

Thanks to the 103 built-in stitches, you can sew just about any type of utility or decorative stitch for your projects.

The Brother SE625 does an excellent job sewing both lightweight and midweight woven fabrics like quilting cottons, blends, broadcloth, and calico. The stitch quality looks great for construction seams, hemming pants and skirts, adding appliques, sewing on buttons, and more.

Decorative stitches like the satin, blind hem, and blanket stitches turn out just as nicely. The machine handles adjusting stitch width and length well to give you options for stitch density.

Overall, this machine provides professional stitch quality on par with more expensive machines. Both beginner and experienced sewers will appreciate the stitch performance.

Sample straight, zigzag, and decorative stitches sewn on the Brother SE625.

Free-motion quilting

While not designed exclusively for quilting, the Brother SE625 can handle free-motion work for smaller projects.

The machine offers a 6.4” x 4.1” work area to the right of the needle, providing ample space for managing quilts. For larger blankets and coverlets, the Janome Continental M7 Professional with its 13″ workspace may be a better choice.

By dropping the feed dogs, you can move the fabric manually to quilt freehand designs. Adjusting the speed from slow to fast takes practice to coordinate movements. An open toe quilting foot is crucial for visibility. The Brother SA129 is an affordable low shank option.

While free-motion quilting entails a learning curve, the SE625 provides the functionality for quilters to grow their skills and complete smaller projects.

Review of Embroidery Capabilities

In addition to sewing, the Brother SE625 allows you to embroider designs within a 4″ x 4″ area.

The embroidery field is on the small side, but ideal if you mostly want to embroider monograms, labels, small motifs, or lettering.

Let’s take a look at how this machine performs when it comes to embroidering.

Embroidery field size

The working embroidery area on the SE625 measure approximately 4″ x 4″. The included hoop is designed for this field size.

4″ x 4″ gives you space to embroider single lines of lettering, small names, monograms, and simple designs.

It’s also nice for adding embroidered accents to projects like embellishing a shirt pocket, trousers, or creating unique patches.

However, if you routinely want to embroider designs larger than 4″ or embroider a complete logo or image that exceeds this size, a larger hoop would be beneficial. Some machines like the Brother SE1900 offer a 5″ x 7″ or larger field size.

You can still embroider designs in sections on the SE625, but you need to re-hoop the fabric and carefully align designs for multi-hooping.

Embroidery speed

The maximum embroidery speed on the SE625 is 650 stitches per minute. This isn’t the fastest, but moderate for most hobby embroidering.

You may notice that dense or highly detailed embroidery designs take a bit more time to complete. The machine does a great job stitching out designs accurately though.

If you think a faster machine would suit your needs better, certain Brother models offer quicker speeds up to 1000 spm. But the SE625 should suffice for most home embroidery projects.

Design editing features

A major advantage of the SE625 is the built-in design editing features. You can resize, rotate, move, mirror image, and edit colors right on the touchscreen before stitching.

These user-friendly editing tools allow you to customize the built-in designs or imported .pes designs however you’d like.

You can really get creative and even combine multiple elements like letters and motifs into entirely new designs.

The pre-stitch preview ability lets you see the final edited design in full color on the display first. This is invaluable for catching any errors and making sure your design is perfect before embroidering.

Overall, the design editing capabilities make embroidering so much easier and more customized on the Brother SE625.

Editing embroidery designs is intuitive on the color LCD touchscreen.

Embroidering special fabrics

The SE625 can embroider a range of fabrics from woven cottons and cotton blends to linens, polyesters, microfibers, denim, and sturdy canvas.

Always use the appropriate needle size and type for your fabric thickness. The needles that come with the machine will cover most common fabrics.

An embroidery cutting and securing the edges first with interface backing is recommended for stretchy fabrics like knits and certain silky fabrics prone to slipping in the hoop.

For best results embroidering thick seams and fabrics like jeans, sweatshirts, canvas bags, etc., adhere interfacing to the inside of the hoop area first. Then ensure you are using a sharp needle that can pierce the fabric thickness without issue.

While not industrial strength, this machine can handle most fabric types for home embroidery with proper stabilizing and needles.

Here is the continuation of the comprehensive Brother SE625 review blog post:

Monogramming

The Brother SE625 performs monogramming tasks excellently thanks to the built-in lettering fonts and editing capabilities.

With 6 font options available in 3 sizes, you have plenty of versatility for monograms. Use block letters for a traditional monogram style or script fonts for a more elegant, cursive look.

Resizing the fonts is a breeze when you want small or large letters. You can also arrange letters in an arc or staggered on different lines. The editing features ensure your monogram design looks just as you imagined.

The maximum embroidery area does limit how many letters you can fit depending on their size and arrangement. But you can always re-hoop the fabric to add additional letters or flourishes if your design exceeds 4″.

Overall, the Brother SE625 provides wonderful functionality for all sorts of monogramming projects from garments to blankets and more.

An example monogram created on the Brother SE625.

Embroidering hats

While the SE625 doesn’t come with a specialized hat hoop, you can embroider hats using the included 4″ x 4″ hoop.

The trick is proper placement and stabilizing. Using a high crown hat with a stiff front works best to keep the fabric taut in the hoop.

Adhere stabilizer to the inside of the hat where the design will stitch. Then carefully situate the hat in the hoop so the design area remains flat and tight.

You may need to play around with placement to find the right positioning that works for your hat style. But with patience, embroidering hats is certainly doable.

Consider purchasing Brother’s cap frames for an easier, more secure way to embroider hats on the SE625.

Built-in embroidery patterns

While 80 built-in designs are included, you may eventually want more variety.

The SE625 makes it easy to import new .pes embroidery files using the USB port. Copy patterns from your computer onto a USB flash drive.

Then plug it into the port on the machine to access and import those new designs instantly.

Between the built-ins, included CD, and ability to add your own patterns, you have unlimited creative options for embroidery projects.

The SE625 truly excels at embroidery for beginners to intermediate embroiderers. The built-in features provide everything needed for professional results without the advanced machine price tag.

Additional Convenient Features

Aside from its great stitching and embroidering capabilities, the Brother SE625 has several convenience features that improve the user experience.

Automatic needle threader

Stringing the thread through the eye of the needle is one of the most frustrating parts of sewing. But the automatic needle threader on the SE625 makes it fast and easy.

Simply lower the presser foot and touch the lever while guiding the thread to the hook. It instantly passes the thread through the needle.

While learning how to use it takes some practice, once you get the hang of it, this automatic tool is invaluable! No more eye straining or struggling to manually thread needles.

Easy bobbin winding

Winding the bobbin on the SE625 couldn’t be more convenient and quick thanks to the built-in winder.

Simply place an empty bobbin on the shaft and pull the thread through the guide holes. Push the shaft to the right, then step on the foot pedal to start winding the bobbin.

Once the bobbin is full, it disengages automatically for smooth winding every time. Having an automatic bobbin winder like this makes sewing preparation so much faster.

Bobbin winding is a breeze with the built-in winder.

Jam resistant drop-in bobbin

This machine features a top loading, drop-in bobbin system that clicks securely into place in the bobbin case. The vertical bobbin design is jam and snag resistant.

Instructions printed on the machine clearly show how to insert the bobbin case and thread the machine. Loading the bobbin only takes seconds before you’re ready to start sewing.

The clear bobbin cover also allows you to monitor the bobbin thread as you sew. An integrated sensor even warns when bobbin thread is running low to prevent mid-project frustration from suddenly running out.

Free arm capability

Sewing small, tubular projects like sleeve cuffs and pant legs can be difficult to maneuver under the arm space of a regular sewing machine.

But the Brother SE625 offers free arm capability that solves this problem and makes sewing cylindrical items easier.

To access the free arm, simply remove the flat bed attachment. This opens up the area around the needle and makes it possible to slide narrow pieces around the extended arm.

Free arm sewing ensures you can easily hem pants, stitch cuffs, add elastic, and more without fabric bunching or shifting.

Knee lift lever

The knee lift lever is an excellent addition that frees up your hands so you don’t have to continuously raise and lower the presser foot as you sew.

With the knee lift attached, gently bump the lever with your knee to raise and lower the presser foot hands-free.

This convenient accessory makes maneuvers like pivoting on corners effortless since you don’t have to set your project down to lift the presser foot. The repetitive motion can also prevent fatigue in your fingers and wrist.

You can purchase the Brother KA3530 lever separately if your machine didn’t come with one. Simply attach it to the front to start enjoying hands-free control.

Automatic thread cutter

Cutting upper and bobbin threads between sewing is a quick step to finish your stitches neatly.

But having to manually cut threads with scissors in between can disrupt your workflow. The automatic thread cutter on the SE625 eliminates this hassle.

With the touch of a button, both top and bobbin threads are snipper swiftly. This time-saving function helps your sewing move along quickly and efficiently.

Wide table

While the Brother SE625 doesn’t come with an extension table, you can purchase one to provide more workspace around the machine.

The Brother WT15 Wide Table offers an extra-large area perfect for managing large projects. You can spread out quilts, curtains, and other material with ease.

The smooth surface also makes an ideal space for cutting and laying out fabric. Extending your work area with this table accessory is a great upgrade.

A wide table like the Brother WT15 provides more workspace.

Warranty

Brother offers outstanding support for their machines with a 25 year limited warranty included with the SE625.

The warranty provides coverage for manufacturer defects and errors that arise through normal use. Registering your machine is required to take advantage of the warranty if repairs are needed.

It provides wonderful peace of mind knowing your investment is protected for decades. Brother’s reputation for quality engineering shows through in this generous warranty.

Between the user-friendly design and helpful warranty, Brother makes owning and operating the SE625 a pleasure.

Pros and Cons of the Brother SE625

Let’s summarize the main pros and cons of the Brother SE625 sewing and embroidery machine:

Pros:

Combination machine allows sewing, quilting, and 4″ x 4″ embroidery
Large 3.2″ LCD color touchscreen for effortless operation
103 built-in stitches plus 80 embroidery designs
User-friendly automatic features like needle threader and bobbin winding
25 year limited manufacturer’s warranty
Good for beginners with ample instructions and tutorials
Imports designs easily using the USB port
Hundreds of design and font options
Convenient free arm for sleeves and pant legs
Smooth precise stitch and embroidery quality
Hundreds less than most multi-needle embroidery machines

Cons:

Smaller 4” x 4” embroidery hoop size
Slower maximum embroidery speed of 650 spm
CD for extra designs rather than USB stick
Stippling or heavy quilting can tax the machine
No included wide table or quilting feet
Presser foot pressure isn’t adjustable
No automatic presser foot lift

While no machine is perfect, the Brother SE625 provides tremendous value and capabilities for hobby embroiderers and sewists.

The cons should not deter most home crafters who want that combination of sewing, quilting, and embroidering in an affordable machine.

For the price, it would be difficult to find another machine that can do so many things while still being beginner-friendly.

Final Thoughts on the Brother SE625

Finding a reasonably priced sewing and embroidery machine with versatility for quilting, construction, embroidery, and decorative projects isn’t always easy.

After reviewing all of its features and performance, it’s clear why the Brother SE625 is a top-rated multi-function machine.

Home sewists looking for an all-in-one option can’t go wrong with this computerized machine. It truly provides the capabilities of several specialized machines without sacrificing quality.

The SE625 operates smoothly and offers hundreds of decorative and utility stitches. Transitioning to the embroidery functions is a breeze with the built-in tutorials and LCD editing screen.

Beginners will also find this machine easy to thread, wind bobbins, and operate thanks to conveniences like the automatic needle threader.

With proper care, this machine should provide many years of reliable service backed by Brother’s lengthy warranty.

While a 4″ x 4″ hoop may be small for some uses, there are ways to work around it creatively. And the moderate 650 stitch per minute speed won’t break records, but sufficiently handles most projects.

Considering its versatility, performance, and features, the Brother SE625 is an impressive sewing and embroidery machine. It earns its reputation as a most valued combination machine for a reason.

Whether monogramming, sewing home décor, embroidering gifts, or quilting keepsakes, the SE625 certainly won’t disappoint!

The Brother SE625 sewing and embroidery machine provides versatile capabilities and features at an affordable price point for most home sewists.