Free Embroidery Designs

I’m new to sewing and don’t know too much about it & the machines, but I’m looking for something that will let me do different fonts and adjust the size of the stitching. Hoping for something that’s no more than $400.. Would Amazon or perhaps Walmart sell ones like this? Thanks

There are two major methods of machine embroidery — free motion, where you guide the hooped fabric, and can be done on any sewing machine, and computerized, which requires a special machine. I do some free motion embroidery — here’s sort of the great grandfather of textbooks of machine embroidery. free motion on a treadle machine: http://archive.org/details/singerinstructio00sing and the best modern book I know of: http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Book-Machine-Embroidery-Creative/dp/0801976480/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1 done just before embroidery machines became commonly available to home sewing.

The other method is computerized embroidery, and there are several types of machines there: combination sewing/embroidery machines like http://www.bernina.com/en-US/Products-us/BERNINA-products-us/BERNINA-Sewing-and-Embroidery-Machines-us/BERNINA-8-Series-us/BERNINA-en (this one was a mere $12.5K when it was first released) or more reasonably, http://www.amazon.com/Brother-SE400-Combination-Computerized-Embroidery/dp/B003AVMZA4/ref=sr_1_1?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1359239253&sr=1-1 and embroidery only machines like: http://www.amazon.com/Brother-PE770-Embroidery-Memory-Stick-Compatibility/dp/B002MQI2NM/ref=sr_1_2?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1359239253&sr=1-2 or a multihead (many needles at a time) machine like: http://in.bernina.com/product_detail-n3-i258-sIN.html which sews many colors at the same time, and is typically used by an embroidery business.

Most of the people I know who do computerized machine embroidery have started with a 4×4" hoop combination machine, then discovered that 1) they wanted a bigger hoop and 2) if they didn’t have another machine, they couldn’t sew while the machine was laboriously stitching out a design. The folks I know who bought embroidery only machines plus a sewing machine didn’t pay much more (if any) than the ones who bought a single combination machine, and most of them seem happier with their initial purpose.

On top of the machine, you usually wind up buying several types and weights of embroidery stabilizer, perhaps a digitizing program so you can make your own designs, another program to help convert predigitized designs into a format your machine can use, and thread. Lots and lots of threads. So the machine is only the tip of the iceberg.

If you can, see if you can find a basic machine embroidery class where they supply the machines. There’s a fairly steep learning curve at first, I understand, and see if it’s something you really want to invest in. Me? I’m happier doing embroidery by hand.

What is the best sewing machine to purchase to stitch words onto shirts and hoodys?

you didn’t say how big you want the letters and words. are you planning on doing this commercially? most home embroidery machines will void the warranty if you use it commercially. i’ve used the janome, pfaff, viking and brother embroidery machines. i personally prefer the brother line. i still haven’t read completely thru the manual. it is really easy to use. my machine is a ult2002d and i have heard that the new brother self threading is tricky to learn to use. i’ve heard good things about the brother se270d that walmart sells for $350 is a good machine. if i remember right it comes with a 5" x 7" hoop. since you basically want the machine for lettering i would suggest purchasing a hoop-it-all for your machine. www.hoopitall.com it will give you a much larger embroidery area without having to re-hoop. i will also say i haven’t really heard anything good about the singer embroidery machine. there are many yahoo groups for machine embroidery. some are machine specific. you may want to search yahoo groups for the specific brand of machine you are looking at and see what the people on the yahoo groups think of their machines.

here are a couple of embroidery websites i would like to share with you.
http://www.astitchahalf.com/ puts 5 different fonts on sale each week for $3 for all 5 sets.
http://www.designsbysick.com/amember/go.php?r=5647&i=l0">Designs by SiCK Embroidery Library has many fun fonts. they have 49 free designs per day and the membership fee to all the designs on their site is very reasonable.

good luck and if i can be of further assistance please feel free to e-mail me from my profile.

I have been given an Embroidery Machine and would like to purchase a low cost software program with several fonts on it. I don’t know if there is a card with different fonts on it or if I need to get a software program. Please help me figure out what I need for this machine. It is a Simplicity…a few years old. Has a LCD screen and several animals and things but only two fonts.

It would help if I knew the model of your machine…..but…from what I will guess is that it is a pretty basic model. ( I have one as well and it is a real work horse..) You can download all sorts of embroidery designs from the internet…Lots of freebies out there…first you will need to know what the limitations are on your embroidery field, second, you will need a card writer and card…this will allow you to download all kinds of fonts and load them onto a card and into your embroidery machine…Now the next thing you will want to buy…..software, so you can arrange the letters into words or what ever and make your own design..but first learn to use the card and card writer….then go on to buy the software…I am using sew what pro but there are other programs out there as well…
Oh and in answer to your question…Yes you can buy preloaded cards with different fonts on them….Sorry sometimes I get a little carried away and off track from the intended question…Just make sure you look for cards that fit your machine’s format…Mine is Pes and two of my machines read that format….( a language your machine understands)
Oh and the sewwhatpro software uses your computer fonts and can turn them into digitized embroidery…there is a free 30 trial for this software…But you will need the card box first…I am giving you a link to show you what one card box looks like. the one you may need could be different..I don’t know because I don’t know your model number..
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=2171274

Hi, can anyone recommend a sewing machine including nice patterns, embroydery and alphabet? I am a complete beghinner qnd am willing to pay between 100 and 350 usd. must be easy to use.
Thanks a lot!!
Thanks a lot, but what about the Brother SE270D Computerized Sewing and Embroidery Machine, 350USD?

You really need to buy an embroidery machine from a dealer (sewing store) You will need lessons on the machine itself and for doing embroidery. This is not something to figure out yourself.
I know of two people who took back the Brother’s Disney embroidery machine to WalMart because they were so flustered with it.
Some dealers have older machine that were brought in when the owners traded up in models. Sewing stores are going to give you free lessons on your machine.
Once you have an embroidery machine you can buy 100’s of different fonts for it. Also there are many free designs on line. You just have to see if it is offered in your sewing machines "language" I have a Viking Huskavarna embroidery machine, I need designs in HUS.
Check out site below

i love to make the embroidery floss friendship bracelets and i just recently learned how to make the word ones, i was using the website billybear4kids.com to get the patterns for the letters but i noticed that the words usually come out kinda skinny, is there any website that has the patterns for word bracelets with different fonts that is free?

I love this website, and the ones you’re looking for should be under "alpha" 🙂
http://friendship-bracelets.net/index.php

I just bought an embroidery and I figured out how to write a word with the 4 printed fonts but I cannot figure out how to center it onto my fabric? It says to use embroidery sheets. Do I need to use that and what is that?

Also, for the cursive feature on #45-70, is there a way to type in the word on the machine or do I have to eyeball that with each letter? Does the cursive section only have one size?

Lastly, if I’m trying to find a free ballet, hawaiian or a different letter font on the internet to download, do you have an easy way to find it?

i have a brother machine but it is a ult2002d so i can’t specifically answer your question. there are soooooo many yahoo groups dedicated to machine embroidery. i looked up a couple of the for you and there are 2 that are just for your machine. the people on these groups are wonderful and will walk you thru every step of the way. here are the links.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Brother_se-270d/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/brother_Disney_SE-270D_CLUB/

as far as downloading designs from the internet i’ll give you a few sites
http://www.astitchahalf.com/ has a sale every week where she sells 5 different fonts for only $3.00
www.annthegran.com has all kinds of free designs
and my favorite site is
http://www.designsbysick.com/amember/go.php?r=5647&i=l0">Designs by SiCK Embroidery Library
they give away 49 free designs a day and the membership to their site is very reasonable.

these are just a few to get you started. if you have any other questions just e-mail me, i will be more than happy to help.

have fun.