by SewJenny 04 Mar 2014

Hello, I am new to this site. I have spent the last 4 hours reading all the different posts and have learned a lot. I really look forward to visiting this site on a regular basis and can't wait to purchase some of the wonderful designs.


I have a question I was hoping somebody might be able to answer regarding the USB stick for my machine. I recently purchased a Pfaff Creative Sensation. This morning I woke up to my dog chewing the USB stick that came with my machine. I cried! I called the store I purchased it from and they said the replacement USB stick will cost me $99. This is absolutely insane. I have been reading posts from others and found out I can use any USB stick. Does anybody have a Pfaff that can confirm this? I have also read that the USB stick should only be 1 or 2 GB because the computer in the machine will slow down if I use a larger USB.

I saw a posting from another member that purchased USB sticks from a place called Zenbroidery.com. Has anybody else ordered from here? I emailed them and got a response right away. They said they will work with my machine. If this is true, I will order a couple USB sticks as they are only $11.00 instead of $100.00 from Pfaff.

I look forward to your answers and look forward to spending more time reading all that you have posted on this site.

Hugs,
Jenny

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by susiesembroidery 08 Mar 2014

Hello, Jenny. Welcome to our group.

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by dec716 06 Mar 2014

welcome

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by buffy1 06 Mar 2014

I don't have a Pfaff mine it is a brother and the USB sticks that you buy in the office supply stores ( staples) work great in mine. can get them on sale or use a coupon for $5 and up in price.
welcome to cute embroidery!

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by haleymax 06 Mar 2014

Welcome, Jenny. Wonderful people on Cute and they will help you. Sorry, I can't answer your question as I don't have a Pfaff.

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by snowbird42 06 Mar 2014

Hi Jenny and a big welcome from soozie in Port Macquarie AUSTRALIA...SOOZIE

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by jmweller 05 Mar 2014

I see that you have probably gotten enough answers on your USB stick question. I did want to mention, if you don't already know this, don't forget to back-up your designs from your computer to a disc or an external drive or a bigger USB stick, in case your computer crashes and you can't recover the designs.
Maureen

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by debswebster 05 Mar 2014

Welcome to Cute Jenny. Hope you get your problem solved ASAP.

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by dragonflyer 05 Mar 2014

Hi Jenny...WELCOME TO CUTE!!! I see that you have gotten lots of replies to your question...I know you will love the friendship of our Community and find lots of helpful Cuties and information...ask away...someone here will either know the answer or help find it...it's a wonderful place to be a part of...Hugs & Smiles!

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by spendlove Moderator 05 Mar 2014

Welcome! You have loads of answers already - which shows what a friendly place this is.
I haven't read all of them in detail but I would advise you to buy a cheap USB stick and put it in your machine so it is formatted correctly before you put it in your computer.

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spendlove by spendlove 05 Mar 2014

PS I have a dog too, so I understand!

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by lilylady 05 Mar 2014

buy two cheap ones walmart, target, use one to put all the designs on and the other to put designs on as you use them on your machine, that why you won't bog down your computer on machine. Welcome and enjoy your embroidery machine, there wonderful.

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by grandmamek 05 Mar 2014

Welcome to cute. I have a Janome that uses USB sticks and I have found that the sticks I purchased at Walmart work as well as the Janome ones that cost a lot more money. Try a cheap one from Walmart or somewhere similar and I am betting you will have the results you want. Hugs, Mary

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by suelyn7 05 Mar 2014

Welcome to cute, you will love it here. I have a brother 1000 and I have a lot of regular USB sticks with designs I have loaded on and they all work brilliantly. I would think a small gig USB will be fine on your machine and like I said I have lots of USB each one with different category designs on. Hope I have helped a little Suelyn

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by asterixsew Moderator 05 Mar 2014

H Sewjenny and welcome. Sorry to hear about the dog and your usb stick. I have washed one in the past and was able to get the designs off it. I have to say it taught me a lesson and I am a little more careful about where I keep them. I don't have a Pfaff machine so I cant hep with the finer details for you

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by pennifold 05 Mar 2014

Hi Jenny and welcome to this wonderful website. I have a Brother Quattro Innovis Eye 6700D and a Husqvarna Designer 1 and both are made by the same company. I was given a Husqvarna USB stick when I purchased my machine and with the Brother I just used another 1GB USB I had bought from Officeworks. These can be purchased quite cheaply at several places and I see a few members below have mentioned this. I like the smaller ones personally as the machine takes too long to download the design if there are too many on it.

"SVP Worldwide, a global company headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda and doing business through its affiliated companies in over 190 countries, specializes in the design, manufacture and sale of high quality household sewing machines and related products under the SINGER, HUSQVARNA VIKING, and PFAFF brand names. For more information about the Company and the company’s brands view the following websites: www.svpworldwide.com, www.singerco.com, www.pfaff.com, and www.husqvarnaviking.com." This is taken from the internet. I hope this information helps you out.

Love and blessings Chris, Newcastle, Australia.

1 comment
pennifold by pennifold 05 Mar 2014

As rescuer has commented if it is a Dongle for the programme for your machine then, yes, these are very expensive as they are the software. Love Chris

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by airyfairy 05 Mar 2014

Welcome Jenny to this amazing site. When I bought my Bernina they tried to get me to buy 'their' USB stick at quite a price. They then told me that I could use an ordinary one. Hope someone with your machine comes along to help soon. Hugs Sarah (South Africa)

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by cherylgauteng 05 Mar 2014

Welcome to Cute Embroidery ! from Cheryl in South Africa

1 comment
cherylgauteng by cherylgauteng 05 Mar 2014

I use any USB that is available for my BERNINA 830.

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by rescuer Moderator 04 Mar 2014

Welcome to Cute Embroidery!
I wonder if you might be talking about a Dongle. It looks just a a USB -- but it is special and very costly to replace. Is it for the software?

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by jrob Moderator 04 Mar 2014

Welcome, Jenny! I'm glad you are here. Wait around and someone with your machine will come by and answer your question, although I think that answers you have been given already are probably correct.

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by hightechgrammy 04 Mar 2014

HI Jenny and Welcome to Cuties! There are some really cute USB sticks that look like measuring tapes and sewing machines too. It IS best to get 2 GB or smaller, but it won't make much difference if the only ones you find, even at Walmart, are 4 GB. Truly. Any USB thumb drive, will do. If you don't fill up the USB drive it won't be that slow. I have a USB drive that looks like Hello Kitty! Glad you found us! Jan

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hightechgrammy by hightechgrammy 04 Mar 2014

You have ten flowers already!

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by cfidl 04 Mar 2014

Welcome to Cute Jenny! I am sure you got the right answer and it did not cost $99. Hope to see you around.

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by crafter2243 Moderator 04 Mar 2014

First Jenny Welcome to Cute.
Now to your Problem.If you have a computer a ordinary USB stick would not be a waste. I would try that first before spending this outrages amount. I have a Baby Lock and I can use any old USB. Did the one from Pfaff have embroidery files on them that are part of their designs? It just doesn't make any sense. Let us know about the outcome of this.
Angie

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by noah 04 Mar 2014

I use one i bought at Walmart for Five bucks .Get your money back or don't buy it till u at least try a cheap one ok and Welcome:):)

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by Patricia109 04 Mar 2014

Hi Jenny and welcome.
I use a USB that my husband bought when 2 GB was still new (over 10 yrs ago) and it cost me $50... It is too small to use for anything else so I use it to transfer my designs.
You may need to format your new USB to your machine's requirements. I don't know! You do for Janome machine.
Ask in a few sewing stores to get the fuller picture.
I use a Brother machine and it requires no special formatting of the USB to use it in the machine. I have used a 8GB stick, but I only had a few designs on it. I think the trick is to have one stick for putting designs into your machine which never has more than a dozen designs on it to prevent your machine's or your confusion.
And have a spare empty one for designs from class.
Do not have folders on your USB, unless you machine's software requires it.
My local sewing machine shop that holds classes sells the 2 GB sticks in fancy covers for around $12-15 AU.
I went to the local office supply shop and bought three 8GB sticks as that was the smallest they had (& they came in 3 packs) and use them for my embroidery designs. But as I said earlier I keep them clean and tidy with only the latest 3 to 6 design/s on there. I cannot see on my tiny screen well and I become well and truly confused over which blob is the right one to stitch out. :-)
If you don't have software you can pick up free software for viewing your designs to make it easier to pick which ones to transfer to and from the USB. Amazing Designs and Wilcom are two that I can think of without looking.
Kids and animals love our crafting, so keep your new stick safe.

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by marjialexa Moderator 04 Mar 2014

I don't know the answer to your USB question, because I don't use one for my Janome. But I wanted to welcome you to the Cute Community! Stick around, you'll learn a lot here, and make good friends that will usually be able to help with any embroidery problem you encounter. Again, a big Cute welcome to you!! Hugs, Marji

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hightechgrammy by hightechgrammy 04 Mar 2014

I LOVE your kitties!!

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by blueeyedblonde 04 Mar 2014

I've never had to use a USB stick as I have a link from my computer to my machine, but I do have some and recently have tried them. I bought extras (never know if you're gonna go somewhere and be using someone else's machine, etc.) The Dollarama here is now carrying 1gb USB sticks so I bought two and later bought some more for back up aand should do me for a long time. They were only $3. The two dealers in the city carry them, but they are $20 each.
I don't know what kind of dollar stores you have where you live, but worth checking them out. (I tried them out and they work just fine.)

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