Embroidery enthusiasts are always looking for new designs to stitch. This article will show you how to download embroidery designs to a USB stick so you can transfer them from your computer to your embroidery machine.
Here are a few simple steps:
- Go to the embroidery website
- Download the design you want
- Plugin your USB stick and open up My Computer
- Double-click on your USB drive, and it will show up as a flash drive with the name of whatever is plugged into it
- Click on the folder that has the downloaded design
- Drag and drop this folder onto your desktop or somewhere else where you can find it again
Here are the Most Common Questions asked by new embroiderers.
Have you ever had trouble downloading embroidery designs to a uSB stick?
Yes. This is a very common problem. If you look at the file type of a zip file, it’s usually a .exe.
So, if your computer doesn’t have the correct programs on it for opening this type of file (Zip + Rar), then you’ll need to go out and buy them first. Or just get a Mac! 🙂 Zip can be opened on most computers without any downloads but most computers don’t have a free rar program installed for unzipping downloaded files in Windows OS hence the difficulty in transferring embroidery designs to USB drives or external hard drives as wanted by the user.
How do you back up your embroidery designs?
There are two main considerations for backing up your embroidery designs. The first is the location where your files will live- either on an external hard drive, smartphone, laptop, or tablet device.
The second consideration is how you’ll back these files up by manually copying them (sneaky, right?) or syncing them across avenues like Dropbox, OneDrive, or iCloud to name a few. In other words, backing up an embroidered design includes safeguarding and securing it through one of the following options:
Both Manual Copying And Syncing of Your Files
One Application Only (iCloud Or Dropbox)
Personally Backing Up Your Embroidery Designs On A USB Drive
Is there an easier way to download embroidery designs to a USB stick?
Yes! You can download embroidery designs from the web or transfer them to your embroidery machine’s USB thumb drive without having to open any other programs. Here are the ways:
- Drag and drop a design file onto an icon saved on the desktop.
- Open up your computer’s “My Computer” window, go to “Favorites”,
- then click on the regular USB icon (not the one that says “Removable Drive”).
- Click on “Organize Favorite Links” and put a star next to every program you wish you could drag and drop onto this link in order of ease – for instance, PES2USB for Brother machines, DesignWorkshop for Janome machines.
What different formats of Embroidery files can be saved on a USB stick, such as JPEGs, PDFs, etc.?
Embroidery designs can be saved in the following formats:
DST, EXP, JEF, HUS, PES, VIP OR VAN.
The most common type of embroidery file is a .eps format because it can be read by any sewing software, but there are many other, more specific formats like .pcs or .jef which are machine specific and therefore need to be loaded in tandem with their corresponding sewing machines. Each machine-specific format must also be paired with software (like Brother PE Quilter Edition or Tajima DGML) in order to view and edit the files properly. Once saved as an exportable design (.exp), these have to be transferred from Photoshop and Illustrator.
What Size of USB stick do I Need to store the embroidery design file?
The size of your embroidery design file will determine the size of the USB stick that you need. Some Designers make a 2D cross stitch pattern with a large .PES, .JPG or .PDF file.
We recommend looking for an 8 GB to 16 GB USB stick so it has plenty of storage space for designs that are larger than 500 MB which is common these days due to higher quality art and designs on offer. On the other hand, if the embroidery design is smaller, then a 64GB USB stick is enough. Check out what website you’re downloading your patterns from – some sites list requirements in links as well as product descriptions at top level navigation icon in the marketplace section use caution downloading from sources.
Is embroidery software essential to download embroidery design?
The answer is no, but almost all embroidery software does offer the option to download designs.
Most embroidery machines are compatible with any image or word processing program (including notepads). However, some computer software such as Adobe Illustrator and CorelDRAW can export a file which can then be used on embroidery machines.
Conclusion:
The simplest way to download embroidery designs is by using a USB stick. You can also use the Embroidery Design Software which will save your files in various formats, from DST and ART to PES and JEF. There are many ways you can get downloads of embroidery designs onto a USB stick or other device, but this process should provide an easy way for beginners who don’t want to worry about complicated software settings.
We hope you found this article helpful! If you have any questions about the process of downloading embroidery designs to a USB stick, please feel free to contact us.
Sources:
- If you own a Brother embroidery machine then follow this tutorial for more info: How to download or transfer designs from my computer to my machine using USB media
- If you own a Janome embroidery machine then follow this tutorial for more info: Transferring a design from your PC to a USB Stick
- If You Use a Bernina machine and Mac Computer, follow this tutorial: For Mac User Guide
