Free Embroidery Designs

Hai,
I want to buy a embroidery machine . but not sure which brand / design no to buy. bcas i was learning from one of my friend to stitch chudidars ( in normal tailoring machine-singer) and hand embroidery . my husband is asking me to buy embroidery machine. will it be easy to follow the manuals if i buy those machine?????? can i see a video demo in any web-site for operating machine embroidering machines . so that i can be sure to buy which model & company. otherwise it will be waste to buy with out knowing how to operate. I am living in U.A.E.

plz write me ur suggestions , if possible the web-site names where i can learn online how to operate & learn to do the designs using machines…..Awaiting for all of ur replies………

I have a Singer Futura CE-200. It is my first embroidery machine and I am very pleased. It was low-cost, mainly because it does not have a computer on board. You hook it to your computer and it will stitch what is on the screen. It was very easy for me to learn, and the software will convert designs in many formats. This allows you to download a lot of free designs from the internet. The main disadvantage is the size of the hoops. The largest one has a stitch area of about 5" X 7". This means in large designs you have to re-hoop. Hope this helps.

I’ve had other Singer machines but this is the first embroidery machine. (I’ve never even done hand embroidery.) I can’t seem to find any classes in my area. Any tips or clues on getting started?? Any books or websites to look into??

welcome to the wonderful world of machine embroidery. first you need to read your manual, you won’t necessarily understand everything in there but read it anyway, it is going to make sense very soon. there are soooooooo many yahoo groups devoted to machine embroidery. the people there are so very helpful. i will give you a few to get started.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/News_For_Embroidery/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EmbracingMachineEmbroidery/?yguid=102878935
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/magicstitches/?yguid=102878935
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/snaggersstitches/?yguid=102878935

here are some groups just for the singer futura
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SingerQuantumFuturaEmbroidery/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FuturaEmbroidery/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/QuantumFuturaHelpingHand/

the people on these groups will take you by the hand and help you all the way.

my favorite site for embroidery designs gives away 49 free designs at day. their subscription to their site is very reasonable. here is the link
http://www.designsbysick.com/amember/go.php?r=5647&i=l0">Designs by SiCK Embroidery Library

have fun with your new hobby.

I want to learn how to sew. i want do be able to make dresses for my two little girls and start selling some I make but first I need a sewing machine. I saw a Singer Futura CE-150 Sewing and Embroidery Machine at walmart because I would also like to embroider but costs $539 and I cannot afford that. Does anyone have any suggestions on a good sewing machine.

For embroidery, consider learning to do free motion embroidery on a sewing machine… any sewing machine will do. Here’s a pro working — though his setup is a little easier, it’s the same idea:
http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/3833/video-manuels-free-motion-embroidery-technique
And something less fancy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8hFRab26BE

As far as a sewing machine, I’d definitely suggest you want to get a model with a blindhem stitch… otherwise my basic suggestions are below. Please note that using a home sewing machine for business voids the warranty (they’re not meant for the duty cycle of sewing for a business), and that as soon as you learn the basic machine operation, I’m going to strongly suggest that you want to borrow Carol Ahles’ book, Fine Machine Sewing, from the library and at least learn her methods of machine blindhemming — it’ll save you lots and lots of time.

If you truly are going to use home machines to make stuff to sell, I’d buy a basic sewing machine (see below) and a decent 4 thread serger ASAP. Add computerized embroidery to that if you wish later.

My basic beginner sewing machine rant:
Take a look at Kate Dicey’s essay on choosing sewing machines at
http://www.katedicey.co.uk (and take a look around at her site…
there are a lot of nice little tutorials there!). The FAQ she
refers to is at http://preview.tinyurl.com/l5rzu6 now.

What I want for beginners in sewing:

– a machine that doesn’t scare you

– a machine that isn’t balky (cheap new machines are often very
balky or need adjustments often and are rarely repairable — just
too frustrating to learn on!)

– very good straight stitch

– good zigzag (4-5 mm is fine, more than that is gravy)

– a method of making buttonholes that makes sense to you

– adjustable presser foot pressure (which helps some fabric
handling issues)

– accessory presser feet that don’t cost an arm and a leg
(machines that use a "short shank foot" typically handle generic
presser feet pretty well. Some brands of machines use proprietary
or very expensive presser feet)

If the budget stretches far enough:

– blindhem and stretch blindhem stitches

– triple zigzag (nice for elastic applications)

– a couple of decorative stitches (you won’t use them nearly as
much as you think)

– electronic machine because of the needle position control and
because the stepper motors give you full "punching force" at
slow sewing speeds — mechanical machines often will stall at
slow speeds.

Please go to the best sewing machine dealers around and ask them
to show you some machines in your price range, *especially* used
machines you can afford. You’ll get a far better machine at a
specific price buying used than new and a good dealer is worth
their weight in sewing machine needles when you get a machine
problem — often they can talk you through the problem over the
phone. While you’re trying things out, try a couple of machines
(sewing only, not combo sewing-embroidery) over your price limit,
just so you can see what the difference in stitch quality and
ease of use might be. You may find you want to go for the used
Cadillac. Or you might want the new basic Chevy. Might as well
try both out.

Suggested reading: John Giordano’s The Sewing Machine Book
(especially for used machines), Carol Ahles’ Fine Machine Sewing
(especially the first and last few chapters) and Gale Grigg
Hazen’s Owner’s Guide to Sewing Machines, Sergers and Knitting
Machines. All of these are likely to be available at your public
library.

Used brands I’d particularly look for: Elna, Bernina,
Viking/Husqvarna, Pfaff, Singer (pre 1970), Juki, Toyota

New "bargain brand" I’d probably pick, if new, decent and budget
was my choice: Janome (who also does Kenmore).

Do I need to take classes for this? I saw someone had a computer program and from that it went to the machine. I just don’t know what I need to get other that an embroidery machine obviously. Do they come with computer programs? Thanks!

Two good machines to start with are the Singer Futura or the Singerxl6000 depending on your budget. Both have programs that allow the machine to transfer a design from your computer to the machine itself. You will not have to buy a seperate program. There are TONS of free designs online to get you started, and you can always buy a digitizing program later if you choose to start actually making your own designs. Embird is a good program to start with when your ready to do that

There are several yahoo groups for both types of embroidery machines I mentioned and you will get great help there

I am looking at getting a lower end embroidery machine, and this Viking seems to be winning, but I can’t find anywhere that says what is the preferred file type for the designs, I think it can read a few, I know some must be better than others, and I don’t know which it does and does not read.

I don’t think I would want an embroidery machine that has to be connected to a PC. http://www.husqvarnaviking.com/us/18210_18224.htm

The format for Viking is usually.hus. But since this model looks like the Singer Futura, it may also use .sew format. See this discussion – http://artisanssquare.com/sg/index.php?topic=8992.0

The dealer can give you this information.

You can convert any machine embroidery design (except Bernina’s .art format) to the format required by using conversion software,

Pulse Ambassador is a free conversion download used by many, including me.

When selecting designs, be sure the size of the design is within the stitching (embroidery) limitations of the embroidery machine.

Most have the standard 4 x 4 stitching area and some embroidery machines have larger stitching areas for embroidery designs.

Im trying to find a website to download free fonts for singer futura 150. Anyone know some sites.

Not many fonts are free, but there are many designs available for downloading that may have a few and other for sale.

You need to know the format of your embroidery machine. If the designs do not come in the format you need, there is a free software program where you can convert to the format needed.

Set up a folder on the hard drive of your PC and name it embroidery downloads.

Select the designs you want to download – these are usually referred to as files.

Save to your embroidery folder.

Most downloads are zipped it will look like a file with a zipper. To unzip, mouse over the design file to highlight.

A mini screen will come onto the screen. Select open, unzip or extract.

This is the file you will be working with and the zipped file can be deleted.

If you need to convert the format, download Pulse Ambassador.

Open the file in PA and save in the format you need.

One of may sites – http://apexembdesigns.com/

You have to join this site (free) and then choose Download Designs from the tool bar. All the designs that have a download icon are free to everyone. All are free to those who are members of Ann’s Club. The designs are .pes format and may have to be converted to the format used by your embroidery machine. http://www.annthegran.com/

To search and review the thousands that are available, put free machine embroidery designs in the web search box at Yahoo or google.

I would like to monogram more than anything else. Does one of these machines work better than another. I would like to stay under $1000. Do I need special software to get new fonts? It’s confusing as to what extra things you need to buy in order to get more designs. Can anyone help?

Here’s a lengthy reply to your question. It’s going to be long and detailed since I was doing the same research on machines myself a few months ago…here is what I’ve discovered….
I have a Brother PE-700 II, which is the same as the PE-700 except that it has a built in USB interface to download designs directly from the computer/internet. This little extra isn’t on the regular PE-700, but other than that I understand from Brother they are the same machine. I LOVE this machine & have been using mine almost daily for 3 months. Because the PE-700 II has the USB capability, I don’t have to buy additional hardware/software to add new designs such as monograms, and can now download (or buy) countless designs from the seemingly limitless supply available on the web. Even better, — it cost LESS with this nifty hsn-exclusive extra than the regular PE-700. It is a special configuration put together by Brother exclusively for HSN (hsn.com). I did a huge amount of research before purchase– even spoke to Brother on the phone a few times before purchasing it from HSN. The HSN cost is only 799.00, when they have it in stock — it’s usually offered with a flex pay option of 5x 159.00 monthly payments. Even better –this is less than the usual price for the regular PE-700 that doesn’t have the USB built in. It has a memory for downloading an additional 6 designs into it’s memory at a time, and designs can be stored in tne memory or on your computer for later use. Lastly — Brother’s customer service is very helpful and accessible so aside from HSN’s terrific 30-day no hassle return policy you have the Brother’s usual warranty coverage and customer support. The machine uses plastic class 15 bobbins –easily found, requires no oiling, keeps a record of stitches sewn for your "service count" before maintainance reminder for cleaning,accepts PES design cards, has ton’s of designs built in and 3 built in alphabets with some built in sizing capabilities (S.M.L) for the fonts, an additional larger monogram font built in, nice bright light, hard case, easy threading like a dream, adjustable tension, on-screen sizing/placement/design flip, rotate etc, design stitch totals, estimated stitching time for design,auto bobbin and upper thread cutting, adjustable thread color options, option of viewing measurements in inches or milimeters, helpful on-screen reminders, adjustable screen brightness, lanquage selection, thread tension setting, beeps for broken threads, built in on-screen animated help with directions, and the larger 5 (wide) x 7(high) stitching area. I use mine to monogram purses, and the availability of free and low priced fonts/designs on the internet is endless. It sews out my complex lace designs like a dream with perfect stitch tension…just remember to lower tension number & stitch speed when using metallic threads as you would do on any embroidery machine. I find most of my designs/monograms on the web (search under machine embroidery designs), and either download the many free samples or make a purchase. Save it into your computer’s "shared document" files with a folder name for east access, and then turn on the machine with the USB cable plugged into your computer’s usb port and copy or save the design to drive "k" which is the emb. machine’s active folder. The "k" drive only comes up on the computer when the embroidery machine’s usb cable is attached and machine is turned on.)The included directions that come with the machine are very, very simple. The machine will read the file and download it into it’s temp memory OR you can choose to save it for use later. Most downloaded designs are also resizable to some extent on the Brother PE-700 without needing additional software. HSN sells out of these (PE-700 II) fairly quickly, but is due to have more in stock very soon according to there craft/sewing host. If you’ll check their website after midnite late THIS Wednesday evening (when it’s actually 12:00 am eastern time Thursday morning)..they are supposed to be offering some sort of embroidery machine as the Today’s Special with a terrific special price. It may or may not be the Brother PE-700II. Their program guide can be found on the website at hsn.com ….then go to Program Guide on the top bar to see when "sewing or crafts" will be airing on television and the internet. If you see the name Darelene Cayhill or the show "It’s SewEasy", or Brother or Singer listed…there’s a good chance a Brother embroidery machine will also be featured. It can also be watched online. (Check hsn tv.) I never was into any kind of home shopping until I got this machine…but my neighborhood authorized Brother dealer/repair tells me it’s a peach of a deal with the built-in usb port and was such a sweetheart in telling me I could get it from HSN. com at a better price than he could offer — especially since the regular PE-700 has no built in USB port…He said these machines use the same parts as the Babylock version — just a lower priced brand name by the same maker. Anyway, I LOVE mine! And best of all — I really loved the special price, the extra’s, & the easy low monthly payments using my check card. Now I have hundreds of designs at my fingertips stored on my computer and cd’s. So yes — the PE-700 rocks — but is even better if you can get the PE-700 II with built in USB rather than having to pay more for USB converter hardware/software like PE-Design Box. Good luck! (P.S. I don’t know for sure when hsn.com will have more of the machine in –but I am told more ARE due in very soon, so keep checking the website with a search for the Brother Embroidery machines. It’s likely to be featured all day this Thursday or until it sells out again.They usually have several brands & models–the Singer Futura embroidery machine has had less positive customer reviews on hsn’s website — some difficulties reported with Singer’s software compatibilty with the new Windows version and requiring too many updates before being able to use.(I use XP with my Brother—no problems at all. The Brother PE-700 II has had nothing but stellar feedback on on HSN feedback pages as well as other websites such as embroidery web–rings. Personally, I was advised to select the Brother brand over the Singer because Singer’s are said to be more prone to tension problem issues, require more "singer-only" parts such as bobbins, etc, need for software updates and patches, are said to change county-of-origin contracted manufacturing sources more frequently- hence less uniform control in the manifacturing process, more complicated software issues, higher priced Singer specific parts, and is a less consumer-popular name as Brother. Because Brother also uses the same quality parts in the embroidery machines as are used in the higher end Babyloc brand name machines — component quality is not an issue.) I’m not against Singer products, but this is what I’ve personally learned after reading many websites, customer reviews on both brands, talking to the manufacturers technical support people, taking sewing/embroidery classes and attending embroidery conferences (my last embroidery machine was a Brother too) and most importanty, talking to other user’s and visiting several local authorized Singer and Brother repair shops for input prior to each purchase.) Once again –good luck and happy stitchin!

Hi Robyn
I personally love to embroider, so this question got my attention. I also love to search the internet so these are my findings. Hopefully they help you out:

Web site #1:
Singer Futura CE200 Embroidery designs (see www.sewingmachine-sales… ) link

"As well as being a great sewing machine for every day sewing, the Singer CE200 Futura is also a full power embroidery machine when you link it to your own PC, all the software and cables are included."

"The new Singer CE-200 Futura, the newest break-through in sewing and embroidery technology! …. Create beautiful embroidery with a direct connection to a Windows compatible computer, and create your own embroidery designs from photos or clip-art!"

"Create your own designs! – Scan a photo, use clip art and the software automatically fills it with stitches and sends it directly to the machine." (Robyn, this is where the FREE part would come in).

"Embroidery Functions with Futura software, tutorial and USB Cable:
When downloading designs from the internet, off a floppy disk or CD, the Futura software will recognize AND AUTOMATICALLY CONVERT the following embroidery formats.
FHE
CHE
XXX
PSW
PEC
PES
HUS
SEW
EXP
DST
PCS "
_____________________________________
Web site #2:
"Embroidery Software CD – free download for replacement CD to be able to download photos off the internet".

On this web site below it states: “FUTURA basic software installation CD. This is the CD THAT CAME WITH YOUR MACHINE. If you lost your CD and need a replacement, here it is!" (see bellaluciadesigns.com… ) link

I need to know how to download free fonts and where. I found a site where I can purchase them, but I also don’t know what format to use. Please help!

http://www.designsbysick.com/hourlydesign
you have to join this group which is free…they have lots of FREE designs and fonts for the futura…(xxx) format…when you download make sure you choose the right format for your machine…they even have designs every hour on the half hour which are free….once you join you will need to go to the files section and that is where you can download a bunch of free embroidery fonts….

How hard is it to embroider…I do not have much experience with sewing machine. Mainly all I wanting to do is embroider cute graphics and customs names on baby items for a business i currently have running. I have tons of customers wanti8bng these products and I need to know how hard embroidery is. The machibne I have looked at is the singer futura because it appeaqrs to embroider for you once you put it in the computer. is this how all embroider machines work. What is the best one to use…as i said i am new to this and want something that will be easy to use and I love the idea of hands free bevause the though of sewibng a difficult design is kinda scary to me

Brother is the leader in machine embroidery. The Singers are not supported once the new models come out.

The SE400 sold at Walmart is less than $400 and serves as a sewing machine as well as an embroidery machine.

A sewing machine dealer may have something a little more expensive and they would be able to teach you how to do the embroidery.

There are some designs built into the machine and others can be downloaded from the Internet.

Before downloading, you need to be sure the design is within the size of the embroidery area of the machine – this is usually indicated by the maximum hoop that comes with the machine.

Create a folder on your computer for the designs to reside.

When designs are downloaded, most will be in a zipped/compressed file. They have to be opened and saved to the folder.

Embroidery machines will have a limited selection of alpha/numerical fonts. Others can be downloaded.

You select the design from the folder and copy to the method of transferal that comes with the embroidery machine; USB cable or USB stick drive.

Avoid machines that use floppies or memory card only as they are obsolete.

To view the designs on the computer you will need a catalog, such as Catalog Xpress or Embrilliance Thumbnailer. Cat X has more features and cost more than ET, which is only for viewing.

http://www.annthegran.com/Product.aspx?t=1&i=2567&gclid=CNbwwZ-HlqgCFYjsKgodi2XuDg

http://embrilliance.com/products/embrilliance-thumbnailer