Brother Dream Creator XE – VM 5100 Review

While visiting Laura’s Sewing and Vacuum in Port St. Lucie, Florida, I came across the Brother Dream Creator XE – VM 5100. Naturally, I had to sit down and review it at once.

Brother Dream Creator XE – VM 5100

At A Glance

When I first saw the Dream Creator, I thought it was a Dream Weaver – that is until I took a closer look. It has the very same chassis and shell as the Dream Weaver. It does not, however, have a screensaver.

On board function buttons and controls

Among the on board function buttons and controls that the Dream Creator XE – VM 5100 shares with the Dream Weaver are: start/stop button; needle up/down; presser foot up/down; thread cutter; reverse stitch; stitch stop; variable speed slider and an automatic needle threader. There is also a see through bobbin cover, drop feed and an easy to follow thread guide.

The oversized full color bright backlit LCD touch screen is an excellent feature that helps navigate through the entire sewing, embroidery and machine quilting process.

See through bobbin cover

One of the features that makes the Dream Creator and Dream Weaver stand apart from other sewing, embroidery and quilting machines is the fact that you can sew without having to go through the process of removing the embroidery unit.

Features

• 561 sewing stitches
  • 30 on CD
  • 13 bobbin work designs
  • 17 alphanumeric fonts
  • 140 frame/pattern combinations
  • 318 built in embroidery designs
  • 10 built in frame designs
• Automatic tension adjustment
• Adjustable bobbin winding speed
• Upper and lower thread sensor
• On screen assistance
• On screen editing
• Automatic thread cutter
• Quickset bobbin
• Automatic needle threader
• Needle up/down
• Start/stop
• Decorative stitch stop/sequencing
• Adjustable presser foot pressure
• Adjustable stitch length and width
• My Custom Stitch programmable software
• Automatic presser foot lift
• Pivot function
• Drop feed
• On screen editing
• Curving text

Working on the Brother Dream Creator XE – VM 5100

When you sit down to work on the Brother Dream Creator XE – VM 5100, the first thing you notice is the bright LED lighting.

The workspace is not only well illuminated, it is also very large – large enough to accommodate practically any sewing, quilting or embroidery project you may want to take on.

Threading the Brother Dream Creator XE and winding the bobbin are simple enough for the very basic beginner to master. The easy to follow threading guides make the entire set up process as simple as can be.

Threading and winding the bobbin are simple

Stitch selection on touch screen

The machine I reviewed had the embroidery unit attached. It was great to be able to switch the machine on, touch the icon on the screen that changes the mode from embroidery to sewing and just wait a couple of seconds while the machine recalibrated itself.

There is no need whatsoever to remove the unit. Not only is this a convenient time saving feature, it also reduces the possibility of damaging the sensitive components inside the embroidery unit by having to handle it more than necessary.

Selecting the stitches on the Brother Dream Creator is as easy as selecting the menu icon on the touch screen and then toggling through to the desired stitch mode… utility, decorative, or alphanumeric.

In each mode, you have several different stitch options from which to choose. You can use the touch screen to adjust stitch length and width as well as to use the mirror imaging feature and to set your stitch memory to program a sequence of utility or decorative stitches.

Absolutely perfect stitches

Excellent embroidery designs

I had a lot of fun playing around with various stitches and programming them to render a few different sequences.

I am pleased to report that the entire process was not only very simple, it was just as easy to erase the memory and start all over again without going through a lot of unnecessary steps that slow things down when you are anxious to see your work materialize into a finished product.

The quality of the stitches produced by the Brother Dream Creator XE met and exceeded my expectations on all fronts. The stitches were absolutely perfect in every way.

Although I didn’t create it, an example of one of the built in embroidery designs was on display as well. Needless to say, that, too, is excellent.

Fabrics

• Natural fibers/cotton-linen-wool
• Fine fabrics/silk-satin-taffeta/velvet
• Knits
• Synthetic fabrics/blends-rayon-polyester
• Leather/suede
• Fur
• Reptile skin
• Canvas/Twill
• Plastic/Rubber
• Extra thick fabrics or multiple layers

Accessories

In addition to an almost infinite number of optional sewing, quilting and embroidery accessories, the Brother XE – VM 5100 comes with the following standard accessories:

• 10 Snap on presser feet
• Blind stitch
• Buttonhole
• Button
• Zigzag
• Monogramming
• Overcasting
• Zipper
• Straight stitch
• Quilting
• Free motion
• Scissors
• Eyelet punch
• Needles
• Thread nets
• Screwdrivers
• Spool caps (1 large/1 medium/1 small)
• On board accessories case
• Soft accessories pouch
• Spool pins
• Lint brush
• Seam ripper
• Bobbins
• Soft dust cover
• Exclusive travel bag set
• Owner’s manual
• Quick reference guide

Accessories

Maintenance

Tying Off The Loose Ends

The Brother Dream Creator XE – VM 5100 is an excellent alternative to the more costly Dream Weaver. If you want all of the essential features that make the Dream Weaver special without all of the extra bells and whistles, you can’t go wrong with this choice.

The only real differences I noticed between the two machines is the fact that there is no screen saver, and the Dream Creator has fewer stitch options. If you can live without the Disney Pixar characters and the exclusive Laura Ashley designs, you would be quite pleased with this machine.

The stitch selection process and quality of finished stitches are identical to the Dream Weaver as well as the feel and solid construction.

Working on the Dream Creator is one of the most enjoyable sewing experiences I can honestly say that I have had in recent months.

In my opinion, this is not a machine for beginners – especially young ones. To me, there are far too many options for a beginner to be confronted with if they have never worked with a sewing machine of any type before.

I do, however recommend this machine for anyone who is ready to step up their game and explore the possibilities of not only machine quilting and embroidery, but combining all three techniques. The mere fact that you can sew with the embroidery arm in place makes this a real possibility.

I’m all for taking a few steps as possible to get the job done and done right. By being able to leave the embroidery arm where it is, switching modes is a piece of cake.

A simple touch of the finger and you are ready to switch from sewing to embroidery and back to sewing in no time at all.

It also is a great benefit when you consider the fact that the less you have to handle the embroidery unit, the small chance you have of damaging the delicate inner workings of the arm.

I didn’t take the time to create an embroidery design of my own, but I did take a few minutes to scroll through the embroidery designs just to see what they were like.

With so many to choose from, I can’t imagine how anyone who seriously wants to use machine embroidery would not be able to find enough designs to keep them busy for a long, long time.

If you are seriously considering a new sewing, embroidery and quilting machine, I encourage you to visit your local authorized Brother Innov-is dealer and ask for demonstration of the Brother Creator XE – VM 5100.

Don’t be shy. While you’re there, be sure to take a good look at the Dream Weaver as well and make the comparison for yourself.