Free Embroidery Designs

singer or brother

Hands down – Brother! This brand is the leader in home embroidery machines.

The format used is very well known and used at many sites that offer free design downloads.

Next step up is Baby Lock, which is of the same family.

I have owned both brands. Started as a newbie with a Brother model with a maximum embroidery area of 4" x 4". I soon outgrew this limitation and traded up for a Baby Lock with a much larger embroidery area.

In addition to the embroidery machine (no matter which brand you choose) will be the need for software for viewing and editing designs.

Embird is the leader in this field. You begin with an inexpensive base/basic program and then add "plug-ins" as you progress and determine a need for the additions. http://www.secretsof.com/content/1853

This site – http://www.annaboveembroidery.com/embroidery-tips.html will help you learn how to download, unzip the file and save to your PC. There is also a tutorial for using fonts with Embird.

This site has many helpful techniques and tips – http://www.emblibrary.com/el/elprojects/holder.aspx?page=techniques

Are you looking for machine embroidery designs? Try the machine brand web sites, they all have downloads of free sample designs of the collections that they sell. Also, most designers have a free sample of the work that they sell. Some of my favorites:

http://www.husqvarnaviking.com/uk/1556.htm
http://www.brother-usa.com/HomeSewing/GetCreative/free-designs.aspx
http://www.elnausa.com/
http://www.singerco.com/projects/
http://www.pfaffusa.com/4704.html
http://www.embroideryonline.com/products/SpecialDeals.aspx
http://www.emblibrary.com/EL/default.aspx
http://freeembroiderystuff.embroiderydesigns.com/stockdesigns.aspx

Have fun!!

My intention is to be able to embroider golf towels for memorial golf tournaments each year and possibly do shirts down the road if I find that it is not to difficult. Can someone please tell me if I am going in over my head here with even thinking about trying to do this? Please help me out here with some answers. Thank you…

Visit as many sewing machine dealers as you can and tell them your interests.

Machine embroidery is easy – the machine does all the work. All you need to do is follow the instructions and watch the results as the machine does it’s thing.

Ideally, you want an embroidery machine that has at least a 5×7 stitching area, USB direct connect or USB flash drive for sending designs to the machine that you have downloaded from the Internet to your PC.

Do not buy an embroidery machine that uses rewritable memory cards and card reader box only – they are becoming obsolete as they are not compatible with Vista 64.

Do not buy software from a dealer – you need to become comfortable with the machine first, and some software is less expensive online.

Embird is one that is very popular and can be downloaded as a free trial.

You will need to also purchase, embroidery thread, embroidery bobbin thread and stabilizer. A package of needles and small scissors will come with the machine.

See this site for tips and techniques for machine embroidery – http://www.emblibrary.com/EL/elprojects/holder.aspx?page=techniques

Forums that are helpful are http://www.sewforum.com and http://www.annthegran.com/

I am wanting to get a machine and need to start small but I want something that can grow with my needs. I’ve seen where you can buy appliques for machines and am not sure what all that involves. Are there certain machines that you can buy extra patterns? for? And to the cheaper ones not do as much? I’ve seen some that look like a sewing machine with an extra attachment and others that almost look like small factory equipment.

An embroidery machine has a few built-in designs. Others can be downloaded from the Internet. Some are free and others are for sale. Some are 100% embroidery and others are applique done in the embroidery hoop.

The one I usually recommend is the Brother SE 400. Right now everyone seems to be out of stock until mid-February. This is online. Your local Walmart may have this model in stock.

Visit a Brother sewing machine dealer and ask for a demo. They may have a model that is close in price to the SE 400, which is a combo (sewing and embroidery machine) or one that they have taken in on a trade-up.

It would be best to buy from a dealer even though you will be paying a little bit more (Walmart and Amazon have the SE 400 for around $400). With the dealer you will have access to lessons as well as assistance and service for the machine when necessary.

Machine applique designs come with an instruction PDF that will give you fabric and thread colors; indicate when to place the fabric on the stabilizer and when to trim for the next step. Each section of the fabric is sewn in place with a running stitch and then finished with a satin stitch.

If this is a priority, ask if it can be included in the demo.

This site may add further insight as to what can be done and how to do it – http://www.emblibrary.com/EL/elprojects/holder.aspx?page=techniques

I have a Brother Innovis 4000D sewing machine.

You can download a lot of free designs at Brother. http://www.brother-usa.com/HomeSewing/GetCreative/free-designs.aspx

Embroidery Library has a variety of designs at good prices. http://www.emblibrary.com/EL/default.aspx

They also have very good techniques & tips – http://www.emblibrary.com/EL/elprojects/holder.aspx?page=techniques

This is a good site for supplies – http://allstitchembroiderysupplies.com/

I’m just trying to get an idea what I can sew on with this machine, and also which would be the best thread for embroidery? I know I can sew towels, but for some reason, I had difficulty sewing on one when I tried it. I’m thinking my machine doesn’t like the thread that I have so which embroidery thread serves best for that model? Any information you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

Embroidering towels or other napped fabric takes preparation of the fabric.

Be sure to use thread specifically for machine embroidery and bobbin thread specifically for machine embroidery.

There are tips, techniques and charts at Embroidery Library that would be very helpful to anyone who does machine embroidery. http://www.emblibrary.com/EL/elprojects/holder.aspx?page=techniques

I have a Janome Memory Craft 200E. I have never used an embroidery machine before, so this is all greek to me! What format do the designs I purchase/download need to be in?

If this is your machine – http://www.allbrands.com/products/abp13701-0160.html

You need the jef format.

If you find designs that you like, but they are not jef, you can convert them by using Pulse Ambassador. This is a free software download used by many machine embroiderers.

http://www.pulsemicro.com/ambassadordownload

Before you download designs, create a folder on the PC’s hard drive and name it Embroidery or something you can easily recognize.

When you download a design, select SAVE and the folder you created.

The design file may be compressed or zipped – you will have to open this before sending to the embroidery machine.

Highlight the design file and select open or extract. You will now have two files; the zipped file and the open file. You can delete the zipped file.

If the file has to be converted to jef, open Pulse Ambassador and find the design file. Open and then SAVE AS using the jef format.

Make sure the designs you download are within the limitations of the embroidery machine – this is usually signified by the size of the hoop.

Back up your embroidery folder to flash drive or cd every time you add or make a change. This will ensure the saftey of the folder should the PC go wonky and loose you hard work.

It is also a good idea to have a catalog program so you can see the designs – Windows cannot read machine embroidery designs.

You can check Embird, Buzz Tools or Ann The Gran for this software. ATG has a demo you can download and try for a limited period of time.

Embroidery Library has several free tutorials, videos, tips & techniques that are very helpful.

http://www.emblibrary.com/el/elprojects/holder.aspx?page=techniques

5. Janlynn Value Pack Cotton Embroidery Floss

4. 40 Spools Polyester Embroidery Machine Thread + FREE Thread Clipper

3. 48 Large Spools Embroidery Machine Thread

2. 100 Different Colors Embroidery Machine Thread + Free Conversion Software

1. Polyester Thread Sets – 40 Spools – 500M – 40 wt.
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