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If you're new to machine embroidery, you might be wondering how to get all those fabulous designs you're finding online INTO your embroidery machine. Let's see if we can make sense of this...
The basics of design transfer
Download the design files to your computer. These will almost always be files than end in .zip.
Unzip the downloaded .zip file and locate the files you want, in the proper format for your machine
Save the files to your computer in a safe location where you keep your machine embroidery files. I suggest doing this right after you download them because it's easy to forget later on and you may lose access to those files you bought. ( ఠ ͟ʖ ఠ)
Use "drag and drop" on your computer to move your selected files from a file folder to a USB stick. (see below if your machine doesn't use a USB stick
Safely remove the USB stick from your computer. This typically involves telling the computer to "eject" the USB stick instead of just yanking it out of the computer. Don't be a yanker!
Plug the USB stick into your embroidery machine, and use your embroidery machine menu to find the files on the USB stick.
Then start stiching!
Those are the basic steps. If something doesn't make sense to you, keep reading and I'll share some more details. And if you still can't get things working, leave a comment at the end of this blog post and I'll try to help you out if I can.
Dealing with .zip files
After you purchase a design online, you will download the files to your computer and they are usually smushed together in a file that ends with .zip which just means lots of files are inside that package. Think of a .ZIP file as a gift or present, and you need to unwrap that gift to see all the lovely things inside.
If you're new to .zip files, here's how to get the good stuff out of them: Unzip on Mac or Windows.
File Format Confusion?
When you open the ZIP file, you will see an alphabet soup of files with weird file formats that your computer can't open. That's Normal! Figure out which file format you need for your particular embroidery machine, and only transfer those to your USB stick or machine. For example, if you are using a Brother or Babylock machine, you only need to transfer the files that end with .PES and everything else in that design folder can stay on your computer because your machine doesn't need those other files. I have a separate article about how to figure out which file format your embroidery machine wants.
Keep all your files and file formats safely stored! If you get a new machine in the future that requires a different format than your current machine, you'll want to have all those files. Don't count on the Designer keeping your files available for a free download on their website.
Do You need software?
Most newer machines don't need any software to transfer designs to the embroidery machine. Some machines simply drag/drop to the USB with no special software, while others require embroidery software to "decode" files first. My (old) Viking Designer 1 machine needs that software step and maybe yours does too. But newer machine just use the drag and drop system of file transfer just like your computer does.
Newer Machines with USB
After the files are on your computer and unzipped, simply move them to the USB stick that's plugged into your computer. You can drag and drop or use whatever method you're familiar with to move files. Then eject the USB and take it to your embroidery machine where you should be able to see those new designs. Need to know what kind of USB stick to buy? I've got a video about that: Which USB Stick works for Embroidery Machines?
Older machines with cards
The older embroidery machines still have a lot of milage left on them and can be a great value, but they use a dinosaur of a file system called memory cards. Many of them used proprietary cards that don't work in any other devices. A card reader/writer is required so you can put your designs from your computer onto the card, then plug that card into the machine. These card readers are getting harder to find, but you might be able to get a used on ebay or facebook marketplace.
Super Fancy Wi-Fi machines
More and more machines are including Wifi file transfer and you'll need to read your machines manual on that since each brand does things a bit different. Some require an app for the transfer.
What the heck is this photo? I asked AI to generate "an illustration in grey tones showing a computer, a USB stick, and an embroidery machine" and this is what it gave me. See the embroidery machine? NO? That's because AI knows NOTHING about machine embroidery.
Still, the jumble of wires is kinda how we feel when trying to figure out transferring designs in the beginning. So the jumbled illustration seemed appropriate. (◔◡◔)
Still feeling confused? Can't get the files to show up on your embroidery machine? Leave a comment below and I'll try to help if I can.
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