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.

What are the best sites to download free embroidery graphics from?

Congratulations!

First, create a folder on either the pc’s hard drive, disk or flash drive for storing your downloads or you will have problems trying to locate them as you want to use them. Within the folder, create sub folders as the collection grows for easy access, such as infant, hearts, sports, flowers, etc.

If you decide to store on the hard drive, be sure to back-up on a flash drive by saving each time you add or make changes to the folder. This can be a life saver should the pc crash or otherwise lose all your hard work.

Downloads are usually zipped to save download time. These files have to be opened/extracted/unzipped before they can be used as the embroidery machine will not recognize the format. This is a good time to rename the files for easy recognition. If there is a file extension (.pes) be sure to add it to the rename. Example: yxrose123.pes could be renamed yellowrose.pes

Be sure to download files with a pes format and that are within the size of the machine’s embroidery stitch area.

For example – if the embroidery machine is designed for a 4" x 4" hoop, no matter how much larger a hoop that you may use, the machine is limited to the 4 x 4 and will not stitch out a larger design without editing software to split the design into smaller segments and additional re-hooping and re-positioning of the item being embroidered.

There are many sites for downloading free designs – beware of the foreign sites, especially Russian as they offer designs that are illegal US licensed designs.

If you do a search of free machine embroidery designs you can then choose the sites as you wish – just watch out for the foreign sites offering Disney and other licensed designs.

I use Ann The Gran – some are free for everyone and others are free to members of Ann’s Club, which requires a small membership fee. Membership also includes discounts on supplies and merchandise. http://www.annthegran.com

Embroidery Library as a few freebies, but they have the best overall tips, techniques and tutorials online. http://www.emblibrary.com/EL/elprojects/holder.aspx?page=techniques

http://www.sewforum.com has free designs and a great forum for learning, asking questions and overall information.

Brother has designs that can be downloaded, will be in the correct format and within the 4 x 4 hoop size/stitching area – http://www.brother-usa.com/HomeSewing/GetCreative/free-designs.aspx

Once you have your collection, you will not be able to view the actual design unless you have a software program. The least expensive on that I have found is Embrilliance Thumbnailer, available here – http://www.dzgns.com/shopping_cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1293 this site also has free downloads.

Enjoy and please email me if you have any additional questions.