Hey! The machine I use is actually a quilting machine, but it has the freehand embroidery function and comes with the embroidery foot and you are able to drop the feed dogs down. It's called the Janome 6019QC. Here's a link to it - http://www.sewingmachines.co.uk/Janome6019WT_info.htm
I'm not sure what sort of price range you're able to afford, but on this site it's £299 with a load of freebies and I'd say it's well worth the money. I use mine regularly and I've had absolutely no problems with it and I've had it for just over five years. It's pretty durable too b/c I used to cart mine to and from college three days a week. You get an extension table with it too, which is a huge help for long lengths of fabric.
Hope this is of some help to you.
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by Crafty Kat
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freestyle embroidery on a sewing machine
Started over 2 years ago · Last post almost 2 years ago ·