Let me be the first to say welcome aboard. You will just love this site as everyone is so helpful. Juanita

A very warm welcome to you. The ladies here are extremely helpful and I am sure that your questions will be answered shortly. In the meantime, you may wish to have a look at the Embroidery Library website where you will find some excellent tutorials which cover pretty well every subject. Certainly worth a read.

Just wanted to add my Welcome...I'm glad you are here. I don't know anything about the programs you are asking about, but someone will come along that does. The best kind of thread to use is the kind your machine "likes" (don't laugh). I have a Bernina and it loves Sulky. Other brands give her gas, so I just stay with what she likes. ;)

Welcome to Cute!!! Glad to have you aboard!!! For the thread, I used to pay $4 or $5 dollars a spool until I tried Metro thread on line, they have sales often and I have payed as low as 67 cents for a 1000 spool. Also the colors are fabulous! They ship almost immediately and I usually get order in 2-3 days. I have not one complaint about them. I have ordered several times.
If you have a Brother Card, you will need a Pes card reader, but if you have a flash drive capability, I know nothing about that area. There are several free programs that you can use to change formats, but I would not know where, someone will be along with that info. ause Cuties help each other.
www.metrothread.com
is where you can see the Metro thread. Hugs & Welcome, Judy

Hi Nancy,

Congratulations on 'finding' this site! We all believe we are meant to be here too! I am not au fait with your machine but I am sure someone will come along who does know something about it.

With regards to free software for converting there are a few that we use. I will put up a couple of links for the most popular ones.

I absolutely love the Metro threads too, but my favourites are Robison Anton and Hemingworth! I live in Australia and a very dear Cutie Shirlene organised for me to get the Metro threads sent here as we don't have them in Australia.

Anyway, welcome again and I know you will learn to love it here, it is a very addictive site! Love and blessings Chris, Newcastle, Australia.

Hello and welcome. Hugs Christine, Johannesburg

Hi Nancy, I'm Susan. I use the Brother PED Basic. It allows me to view my designs and to load my memory card. You can resize designs with it. You can also print out pictures of designs in the hoop and color charts. I don't know anything about Little Max. Hope this helps a wee bit. Welcome to cute. Looking forward to seeing some of your projects. Hugs, Susan

http://www.embroideryonline.com/c-8-software.aspx

download/OESDARTsizerSetup.zip
⦁ Resize Designs • Rotate Designs • Mirror Designs , change colors
⦁ Reads and writes most embroidery formats:
.ART, .ARX, .PES, .PEC, .EMD, .GNC, .HUS, .SHV, .VP3, .VIP, .JEF, .SEW, .EXP, .PCS, .PCD, .PCQ, .PCM, .CSD, .XXX, and .DST


I find this very helpful. It converts JEF format which my Bernina software doesn't. Give it a try. I can send design from this software to my machine by cable or USB drive.

Welcome and enjoy.
Lamkin

I use what my machines "like" but sometimes I get a bad spool. If you have trouble with a thread color and not other colors, it could be the spool. Polyester threads wash well and are great but they do not shine like Rayon.
You have been given some very good pointers and since I do not have either of the programs you mentioned -- I shall just add -- welcome to Cute!

You guys are awesome! Thank you so much. I have a few projects I have already done. My middle daughter coaches gymnastics and two of her fellow coaches are having babies soon. I am making bibs and burp clothes and knitted sweaters. I am also trying to get a small business going as everyone always says "Can you make this...." I have put of my self care with sewing and knitting for many years and I am happily back with it. I can't wait to learn more and create more. I will be saving for the PE basic and can't wait to order it.

I have bookmarked the metro thread page (wow! the prices are awesome) I seem to be able to use any thread in my machine for the top thread. The bobbin thread I just can't figure out. Tensions seems to be an issue too. This machine was new in the box when I got it from a friend.

I can't wait to check out the links you all sent. I will be here often.

I downloaded the manual for your machine to get a little background on it. Even though you may have the 100x160 hoop with your machine you'll probably only be able to use mostly 100x100 designs (4x4") that you get from the internet which you will then have to transfer to your machine via a memory card.

I have a Brother machine too, and I bought PED Basic from Ebay (USA), as the card is extra here in Australia. It was also the best price :)

Welcome to the addictive world of machine embroidery *wink*. I had a Brother machine which was also limited to 4x4 designs and quickly wanted one with bigger hoops, which I was able to buy last year - also 2nd hand. Perhaps you won't outgrow yours as quickly as I outgrew mine, but once you discover all the ITH (in-the-hoop) designs you can make you might change your mind lol. (I can now do 6x10 designs.)

As for thread: I, like you, also use just regular poly thread for embroidery but I also use poly embroidery thread. Both my machines have been very fussy about brands of thread they like and of course both love the Brother branded thread (which goes on sale around Mothers' Day here). Don't go overboard buying big on threads until you are sure your machine "likes" it (ie stitches nicely). Also you'll need to use the correct bobbin thread, Brother has two different bobbin threads for their machines: one is a #60 the other is #90 - #90 being the thinnest and the one your machine prefers. Mine uses the #60 but also likes prewound Nebs bobbins. Again see if you can get hold of one to try before you buy up big on prewounds.

I also wished I had a spare 4x4 hoop so that I could hoop up & be ready to go with another design while one was stitching (yes, you get really addicted lol or is it just me?).

Congrats on your new machine and welcome to Cuties :) xXx

Welcome to Cute Embroidery Nancy

My manual says polyester thread is best and I hear that more often than not. Some say it's not as shiny as rayon but usually if I read a question about it people say rayon colors can run/bleed and be less durable. For me personally I would rather have less shiny thread than one than may stain the shirt or break and unravel after a few washings. As they say tho you have to use what your machine likes.

I have a Brother 190D and PED basic to transfer designs to my machine. As for other software, I already had Husqvarna 3D and Embird at the time and could easily convert to pes in those, so I never tried the free ones.

Hello Nancy, a warm welcome to Cute, may you have a wonderful stay!! You have been given some sage advice. Good luck - it's so exciting entering the world of embroidery. Debbie in Durban, South Africa

i am also relatively new to machine embroidery.got addicted by the end of first day of having it.got in feb. for b-day.have been on-line for just about everything.a quilt/embroiderer friend turned me on to CUTIES.everything i get here that is 4x4 seems to magically show up in my machine via usb cord from thw computer.i havent gotten PEBASIC yet.may have to look for something in future.good luck in your quest and welcome aboard.lynne

Welcome, you are a perfect site, I used to have 180D Iliked that machine a lot, then I bought a Brother 6500 I am in love with it so I decided to give my 180 to my SIL, with one only condition if she gets tired of machine embroidery to give it back to me, do not send it to Salvation Army, ..... I have PED basic, true sizer( not too sure about the name) I know it is for free, i have Embird I have differents brands of thread and they all work fine in my machine it depends how dense the design is. Welcome again!!!!!:)

Hi, welcome. Just wanted to add some info about metroemb. They are having a sale through the 20th, so it's a good time to try a few colors. I have quite a lot of it. If you do like it, I would suggest getting the color chart, which has actual thread so you can see if the color is just what you want. When I first got some, they were just not quite what I saw on the computer screen. Nice, but not quite. I do love the chart.
Their bobbin thread prices are the lowest I have found. You can get a small amount of black and white to see if you like it.
I mostly use poly,they have a nice sheen nowadays. And it will not loose color if bleached, which bibs and burp pads might need.
Tension- usually if you see bobbin thread on the top, the top tension is too tight, and pulling the bobbin thread up. I always loosen the top on my machines. On the back of your embroidery, you should see the bobbin thread with top thread on each side of it. Unlike sewing, or free standing lace, embroidery designs don't have equal tension.
Jo

Hi Nancy

Welcome! this is a wonderful place to come to.. and we are so glad you are here too!

To answer some of your questions: I have PedBasic. It will let you resize up or down 10% or 20%. I can't remember exactly which one, as i don't use it for that. It will mainly let you see your Unzipped files, and send them to a card. I bought mine from Amazon and it was $116 and came with a card. When i was looking for the program i shopped around, and found the Pedbasic on EBAY didn't come with the card for the same price. And the card alone is Very Very pricey. I have never used the Little Max. I do know it is more expensive that PeBasic.

I bought quite a bit of Sulky thread from Jo-anns when they had a sale. i live over 45 miles away from the nearest one so it wasn't too convenient. I bought a set of threads from DesignsbySick.com and i really like them. They are really pretty colors, my machine likes them, and they were on sale! lol... The only threads i have ever had a problem with was Coats n Clark's.

I use Pulse Ambassador to do just about everything... it's a free program. I have tried a few others, but this seems to be the one i keep coming back to.

Hope this helps, and again Welcome!
debi

Welcome. This is a wonderful site with very helpful cuties.
Max

Welcome aboard the most helpful, friendly and addictive site. We are like family and are here for everybody that needs help or an ear for listening. I read all your answers and think that your questions have been answered and can add nothing. Enjoy your machine. Hugs from Centurion, South Africa.

Wow!!! I took the suggestion and bought actual bobbin thread. I have dialed my tension back to the normal range and it still looks beautiful! THANK YOU one and all for that suggestion. I am designing a project for a friend (who hopes to get me more orders) for a MahJong flag. She purchased all the materials and fell in love with the Sulky thread! I have not used it as I am making a test run of our design so just using basic thread.

I have a project that I will upload that I am pleased with. Do I just do it right here?

Welcome Nancy to Cute! We're glad you joined us and you'll find help here and friendship.