Q:  How do I download the designs I purchased?

Q:  My order says "Pending" or "Cancelled", but I thought I paid for it.

This is caused by one of two things.  Either you did not go all the way through the checkout process or our payment processor didn't report the payment to the website.  You can click on the "complete payment" link to continue with checkout, or, if you have completed payment please email us with your order number and we will manually complete your order.

Q:  My embroidery design didn't come out right.  The outlines/details are off.

Our designs go through extensive testing before we add them to the site for sale.  I am confident that you will be able to achieve excellent results from our designs.    

There are several variables that could cause a design to shift.

The number one cause is using a stabilizer that tears away instead of one that you cut away after the design is done stitching.  As the design stitches, it will perforate tear away stabilizer and the stabilizer will begin to pull away from the design, leaving it with very little stability in the hoop when the last parts of the design stitch. I NEVER recommend tear away stabilizer in any form (including fusible and sticky) unless you are embroidering towels or other thick items. It doesn’t work well for appliqués because the outline stitching will tear it and cause it to pull away from the design prematurely.

When a design is off in some areas and not others it’s can also be because the hoop didn’t have a good, even hold on the item that was embroidered. If it was tight in some areas and loose in others, that shifting can happen.  Another cause of shifting is if the hoop accidentally bumps something, or if the design is accidentally moved in the hoop during fabric trimming (If you pull on the fabric a little while trimming, like most people do.) Just be really careful when trimming.
 

Q:  Can I resize your designs?

You can resize my designs, but do so at your own risk.  The designs are optimized to sew at their original size.  I do not recommend that you resize any embroidery design up or down by more than 10%.  If you do resize a design, please test it first.  Also keep in mind that opening or editing a design in embroidery software can cause changes to the design.  Embird especially likes to change jump stitches to running stitches and satin stitches to fill stitches. 

Q:  How do I spell names with the alphabets?  My machine only lets me open one letter at a time. 

That’s a VERY common question and something I wondered myself when I was first getting started. The built-in alphabets in our machines are different than the alphabets that you can download from the internet. Embroidery machines don’t read them in the same way as the built-in fonts. In order to to spell names with downloaded alphabets you must merge the individual letter files in embroidery software, then save as a new file and send that to your machine.

First, open the first letter of the word or name, then use the software to “import” or “merge” the remaining letters and arrange them to spell the name. If your machine didn’t come with embroidery software you can download Stitch Era Universal for free or you can also get free trials of Embird or Sew What Pro, all of which will allow you to merge letters into names.

Q:  I ordered the same design twice.  What can I do?

If you are signed in while shopping our site, our system will tell you if you have already purchased a design.  You will see a note in red near the "add to basket button". 

If you make a duplicate purchase we will be happy to send you another design of your choice.  If you ordered a single design twice you can choose another single.  If you ordered a set twice you can choose another set.

Q:  Why can't I open my PES design?  It says "No sewing data".

Palette and PE-Design can be funny about versions. The file versions change whenever they release a new version of the software so right now there are 8 different versions of PES files.  Sometimes, people using version 1-6 of Palette or PE-Design will get an error.  This can be corrected by opening the file in another program and re-saving it. Other software that doesn’t use PES as the native format will usually save files as PES version 1, which is why it helps sometimes to re-save.  You can also email me and I will re-save your designs for you.

Q:  Do I need a PayPal account to purchase from your site?

A:  No.  You will be directed to PayPal to complete your purchase, but you do not need a PayPal account.  Select the option on the left, enter your payment info, and wait to be directed to your instant downloads.

Q:  What formats do you offer?

A:  PES, JEF, HUS, DST, EXP, XXX, VIP and ART.

I can convert to most other formats - just send me an email if you don't see your format listed.

Q:  Can I use your designs on a regular sewing machine?

A:  Embroidery design files are formatted to be read by embroidery machines.  You need an embroidery machine to sew our designs.

Q:  What software do you use?

I use Wilcom Embroidery software to digitize.  I also use Brother PE-Design and Bernina Designer Plus, so if you have questions about these programs I am happy to help!  I use Buzz Tools to convert and organize files.