Free Embroidery Designs

I have seen websites that show how to do stitches, but how do I make an entire design? For example, my cousin used a machine to embroider initials and it was beautiful, but my grandmother insisted she could do better "in her day" by hand…however she has arthritis and can no longer do it, let alone teach me. Also, I live in a small area, there aren’t classes to take so that isn’t reasonable. Any basic suggestions or instructions would be lovely 🙂

Begin with small things with larger stitches.

The major forms of hand-embroidery can be grouped into free-style and counted-thread.

Counted thread is done on relatively coarse fabric (ideally with the equal warp & woof counts). It can be done from charts or designs may be applied directly to the fabric and counted-stitching used for the design. One very simple method of beginning to learn this is to use a pale gingham check for an easy-to-see grid (no smaller than 5 squares/inch for learning). Shirt to other fabrics and finer counts with experience. I done counted work on handkerchief linen when I need to do so.

Ask for the assistance of the Reference Librarian at your library. There may be helpful instructional manuals there for free-style embroidery. If ILL (Inter-Library Loan) is available, the world’s at your fingertips. There’s also the Internet. Search [embroidery how-to] or [embroidery instructions stitches] etc.

What I really need to know from you guys is if I bought designs off the internet can I transfer them to this machine. I realise I would have to purchase some software, but basically is it limited to what it can download?. Am looking to update my embroidery machine but not fork out too much as I would not be using it on an everyday basis, but would like the capability of getting designs off the computer.

Download to your hearts content!

The Janome 300e uses a Compact Flash card (used in some digital cameras) to transfer designs from your computer to the 300e. You will also need a Compact Flash card adapter (pcmcia card) in order to load the CF card into the 300e. You will also need either CF card slot in your computer or a card reader to transfer designs from the computer to the 300e (f your computer is a laptop with a pcmcia card slot, you will not need a card reader, just the CF card and the card adapter).

The 300e uses JEF format. (If you download the older SEW format you will need a program to convert to JEF–most on-line digitizers offer their designs in JEF).

The 300e comes with 4"x4" and a 5"x7" hoops.

If you download JEF format, you will not need any software. You will format the CFcard/adaptor in your 300e by putting it in the slot then turning the machine on. When you want to add designs to it, you put it in either the CF slot on your computer or in a card reader and drag or copy the designs to the EMBF5 folder that was put on the CF card when it was formatted.

You can find the CF cards and pcmcia card adaptors on ebay; they are inexpensive . I have used cards as big as 512mb without a problem, but I only put the designs that I will be using at the time on the card. I have several cards from old cameras that are as small as 16 mb.

If you are looking for software to change formats, you can use Wilcom Truesizer. If you want software that will let you adjust size, thread color, etc., Embird is a great way to go–it is not free but is a bargain for all that it will do (and you can purchase add=ons if you want to try digitizing for yourself in the future). Just download the JEF format designs onto the CF card and load them into the 300e. It is very easy. The 300e is a wonderful machine, you won’t be sorry if you get it!

Just be careful when you download designs that they are "legal" designs! Stay away from ebay as although there are legitimate digitizers that sell on ebay, there are also pirates who will sell you hundreds of designs for a few dollars that they pirated off places like Disney and other digitizers that they have no legal right to sell.

I hope this is clearer than mud 🙂

I am looking to sew together outfits, blankets, etc. I am also wanting to be able to embroider letters, names, and small characters (like disney, nickelodeon, etc.) I want to make my daughters clothes, and possibly open up a small business. What is one that is a reasonable price and somewhat easy to learn on? Thank you, serious answers only please!
As I stated on here, I was wanting to make my daughters clothes. I know that the disney and whatnot would have restrictions, and I could not resell them.

The best bargain is the Brother SE400 and just under $400. It is a combo (sewing or embroidery).

The Disney, Warner Brothers, Nickelodeon and select designers can be downloaded and used with this model.

The information will be with the machine. In fact, iBroidery is advertised on the side of the box the machine comes in. iBroidery at the Brother website is where you will find the downloads. There will also be a list of Brother models that accept the format .pen for Disney, etc.

All other designs for Brother embroidery machines will be the .pes format.

You will not be able to view downloaded designs on your PC without machine embroidery software.

Embird is the most economical program currently on the market – http://www.secretsof.com/content/1853

Before downloading (the Brother website also has many free, non-licensed designs you can download):

(1) Create a new folder on your PC and name it so you can easily find it.
(2) Choose the design you want to download and SAVE it to the folder.
(3) Most downloads are zipped (compressed for faster download time).
(4) Unzip/Open/Extract (depends on the wording of the Windows version being used) the design file.
(5) After testing the extracted file, rename if necessary for easy access and then delete the zipped file.

As far as selling items with copyright fabrics or designs – this can be done as long as the items are clearly advertised as "Not a licensed product". You do not want to sell, but when the garments you make are outgrown, you may want to put them in a yard sale.

Please feel free to email me if you have any questions.

Ookay. I have some Stoneware and Ceramic Plates, and I realize that essentially 90% of glazed dinnerware is contaminated with lead, in sufficiently high enough quantities that people have actually gotten lead poisoning from eating off of and storing food in these things.

I have a few Stoneware plates that were made in Japan, and are probably seven or eight years old. They are solid white, and although they have a few ridge-like designs imprinted as embroidery around the top edges, have no colors. Does this mean that they’re probably lead free, or could the glaze still be ridden and laden with lead content?

In addition – my parents refuse to convert to glass dinnerware, and insist on using what is obviously a threat and danger to both their own, and my health also – especially mine, moreover, since I’m only in my teens, and my brain still has some developing left to do.

I intend to put my foot down and refuse to eat off any ceramic or stoneware dinnerware – only things made of glass (not lead crystal, of course). But this still beckons the question: "Can anything else that’s put in the washer with the ceramics and stoneware get contaminated with lead?"
Actually, Gary, lead was found to be just as prevalent in the glaze of ceramic and stoneware dinnerware made in the United States and in Europe, as it was in products imported in from developing countries with less stringent standards.

Nobody is safe.

If it was made as dinnerware in Japan only 8 years ago, it probably does not contain lead. You might be able to find the website for the manufacturer. Most of the recent Pb poisoning from pottery glaze (it is typically the glaze and not the ceramic itself) comes from the developing countries, Mexico, central america, SE asia, etc. I doubt that 90% of glazed dinnerware poses any threat of poisoning people. People have been eating off of ceramic plates for a long time. There are tests that can be done. People who inspect houses for Pb paint often use X-ray fluorescence which could be used on the ceramic without damaging it.

I’m pretty sure it took place in England and was published in the 1990s.

I only remember the name Miranda and she wasn’t the main character. I”ll cal the main character lady and the other main character man.

~summary~
Near the beginning of the book the lady (main character) is in Miranda’s room searching for something.She hears Miranda coming in so she hides in a tiny closet and is surprised to find a man (main character) there who is also looking for something.Miranda brought a guy with her and they start messing around on the best and the guy creams,and Miranda says something like "You ruined my good sheets! Get out!"
Not long after in the book the lady is walking up the stairs during a ball and starts to feel freaked out,so she goes to the man she hid with room and wakes him up and tells him.Then someone bangs on the bedroom door saying someone was killed.They both run up the stairs and there is a dead body in the lady’s room that she was supposed to find (may have been killed by Miranda).The killer got tierd of waiting for someone to find the body so they sent a maid up to the room with tea.Then everyone starts looking at the man and lady because she’s looking all proper while his clothes are all mussed up.The the man puts his arm around her and tells everyone that they’re engaged.Later Miranda will talk to her and tell her all about how much she enjoys the sight of a manly chest and the lady will say "I wouldn’t think someone of your social class would know of such things." and Miranda says "Don’t act like you’re an innocent virgin,everyone saw you two together."
Some time in the book a maid,who is engaged to another worker,almost gets raped by some guy and is screaming "I’m a good girl!" and the guy tells her "I’ll break you in for him"The lady comes up behind him and hits him in the head.And the two of them push him down the stairs to make it look like he fell (he survives).

Way later in the book she is staying somewhere else and is getting ready to leave for good and asks to take a small embroidery picture that was hanging in her room as a souviner.When she takes it down she finds a letter behind it.So she tracks down the person the letter is for and it’s an old lady.The old lady starts crying because she knows the woman who wrote the letter is probably dead or else she wouldn’t have hidden it.Then she goes to meet the man in the park so he can take her home.He’smad because he knows she is lying about where she went because she has mud on her shoes.In the back of the carriage they kiss and then quickly start having sex and he pulls out and creams on her leg and is glad to find out she was a virgin.

Later,they’re meeting Miranda and when they go into her house it very quiet and the library door is closed.They walk into the library and see Miranda has been shot and killed so they quickly leave.Not long after the meet with Miranda’s bodyguard in a park and he tells them who he suspects killed her.Then he starts to cry saying he was in love with her but she didn’t love him back.And she would get drunk and force him to have sex with sometimes on the stairs.The lady then hugs him and says "That was have been so painfull for you on the stairs."

And sometime during the books the lady gets a letter from her teenage sister in group home for young ladies saying that she woke up late at night and went downstairs for something to drink.She heard a grunting noise in the study and went in thinking someone was hurt.The owner of the group home and a well respected widower were haveing sex.And she says that it looked nothing like the books said it would be like and that she wants to leave.

Forbidden Love (Dell Historical Romance) book is an old fashion bodice ripper. I enjoyed it and it took me a day to read. Yes he is a totally Alpha male but she is strong and stands up to him. This is my favourite Karen Robards book. I think you will either love this book or hate it – no middle ground here!

I’ve been sewing for 7 years but have never done embroidery. If someone has this machine, do you recommend it? Can I download free embroidery on a Macintosh and use it with this machine?

My wife and I bought this machine and found it relatively easy to learn. Neither one of us had ever embroidered or done much sewing before. The machine is, I feel, a really good starting point for someone wanting to get into the hobby or business. We had the machine for only a couple of months before we decided to upgrade. We are a small home-based start up embroidery business; thus the reason for upgrading. Having gone up a level and a half or so to a Brother Pacesetter 8200 there are some things we miss about the 270D and some things we don’t. The 270D makes threading needles simple. The 8200 requires a tad bit more work (I do mean only a tad) to thread and is not as easy as the 270D; where once you get the thread situated in the thread cartridge you just insert it into the machine. So from that stand point the 270 is easier. That being said, having upgraded, I can honestly say, if we had known the difference in quality of the embroidery produced, we would have gone with a "higher" end machine from the start. The 270 produces good embroidery, but the difference of quality it is capable of and that of the 8200 floored us (270 had some looping and gaps in the designs while the 8200 did not). Same design, same thread. 8200 won hands down. So what am I trying to say here? If you don’t want to shell out the dough, the 270 is perfect. If you can get your hands on an upgrade for a couple of hundred bucks more (varies), I’d go with a model a step or two above. My two cents. Hope it helps.

I want to embroider some fingertip towels with the initial "J" on them, but can’t seem to find a font that would look good free off the internet. Anyone have some to share for free? I am also looking for some fun ones for initial "M" or a first name and a fun border…something for diaper covers and little outfits for my baby girl.
The sewforum.com link is great! That is the kind of response help I am looking for! I know there are freebies out there…just need some help finding them 🙂

My new problem…these are .pes files, which my embroidery machine is compatible…I just can’t view them on my computer. Any suggestions on why I can’t view them, or what I need to do so?

I found these in the wedding fonts and thought you might like the flower letter for your daughter

http://www.fontspace.com/category/wedding
Check Corners on page 1 and Corinne’s roses the Calla Lily on page 3

my mum has an embroidery machine, i have a design i want, but do not want to submit it to a site so they can sell it. i am looking for preferably free software where i can create it myself.
thanks in advance..
or, even a site that will do it for you but give you a percentage of their profits on the design..
yes, she has the card reader on the computer so she can transfer files to the machine.
i have an image that i have created that i want to use, but do not have any software to convert it over to the right file type..
i have found sites where you can submit your image to them and they would format it for you for free, but in doing so, you give them all of the rights to the image..

www.embird.com will let you try before you buy. does your mum have a way to get the design from the computer to the machine? my favorite site for designs is <a href="http://www.designsbysick.com/amember/go.php?r=5647&i=l0">Designs by SiCK Embroidery Library</a>
you might want to take a look.
any other questions just e-mail me.

deb