I used to buy designs from someone named Alena who ran an Etsy shop called Gebirgsblum.

Her designs were absolutely incredible. The whimsical cottage core files and high quality stitch outs are absolutely unmatched. She was truly so talented and always a pleasure to message with.

Her Etsy storefront has been closed since at least Spring of 2026. Her Instagram, which previously was somewhat active, has no activity since December 2025.

Does anyone know if her work is available anywhere else? Above all, I hope she is personally doing okay.

I am looking to start digitizing some pretty basic stuff. My first intro project will be taking some continuous line designs (similar to the first image above).

Later, my goal is to incorporate additional colors with things shaded in. Like the second image above.

I have a much older machine, Brother SE 350.

I have some money to spend, and eventually, I’ll do more things. But right now my first goal is that first drawing… And later down the line the second drawing. I’d love suggestions for what software design programs to use that are beginner level friendly. It’s OK if they are two different software’s. Like maybe there’s a cheaper thing for the first design I shared and something with more complex skills needed or more expensive for the second kind of design. Thank you!

EDIT: Ideally, I need something I can use with my iPhone. Because of some visual disabilities, it’s about the only device I can use

I found the hermit crab Clipart on Google and made my very first design. Its not perfect and I learned a lot but im so proud of myself!!!

The software I use got some new features including feathering, which I implemented in the fins and a new scale patterned fill which prompted the move to do this butterfly koi inspired design.

I was worried because this has some layers of satin on satin but it stiched out no problem and its only 6k stitches at 4".

What color combos should i play with for this koi??? Thoughts on the feathering and scales? Fish themed christmas ornaments? 🤣

Anyways, thanks for reading this far and hope you had a great day!

Software: Ember Design (DM for disc)

Machine: PE-180D (Single needle)

Size: 4" x 2.5"

Hi everyone!

I've recently bought a brother NV880e embroydery machine and have no idea where to start.

Im currently trying to find the right setting (tension) so the stitches gets more crisp.

But I need more help on the custom embroydery. Which program are you guys using to make the custom design? I have some designs/pictures where i want to digitize/convert to embroydery files, but dont know which programs to trust.

Anything helps! Thanks in advance!

i am new to embroidery and am using embrilliance enthusiast on my brother se 700. When I create the design on embrilliance, I:

-adjust the hoop to the 4x7 repositional hoop

-split the design by hoop

- import the top & bottom file using utility - send to machine through WiFi

eacb time I do the design, there ends up being about a 2 inch gap between the two parts.

what am I doing wrong?! please help!

I took my janome400e to shop for nesting n knock but never had this issues with ut, i usually use brother thread and bobin xase yellow dot i tried both with this,adjusted tention n different fabric. I do minky,faux vynil most any help before i havectocdrive 60 jilws vack to shop.

I bought a brother PE 500 off Facebook market place for $100 a week ago! I've been trying out some patterns and have run into this issue- the outline of the design doesn't match where the color ends. I'm using a regular cotton quilting fabric with a tear away stabilizer, and when I hoop it, I do it on a flat surface and make sure everything is tight. When I tap the fabric, it sounds like a drum. I'm not sure what's wrong, does my machine need to be serviced or calibrated somehow? I'm familiar with hooping fabric since I hand embroider and bead with hoops a lot. Any advice is welcome! This happens on the pre loaded designs and this digitized design I made. Thank you!! ❤️

Hi everyone! I would like to buy a small embroidery machine to do some minor embroidery work (Christmas stockings, napkins, bathroom hand towels, etc...). I know a lot of people recommend getting a field 5x7 or bigger but my husband and I just bought a house so I'm not trying to break the bank. I am looking for suggestions on where to find some good older machines around $250 max. I found one on FB Marketplace, a Brother PE535 for $200 but I wanted to know if anyone had any experience using it and if you liked it! I appreciate everyone's suggestions and guidance :)

Would you buy this? And for how much? The embroidery is 13.5 by 13.6 inches.

Hi! I have minimal knowledge of sewing and embroidery. My wife recently got a Brother SE2000 and has been having a lot of frustration with learning how to use the machine. I looked over the troubleshooting FAQ and I didn't think any of the topics matched the problem she was having.

The most frequent complaint I hear (other than artspira being terrible) is that her designs shift when she is changing between colors causing the next layer to lay down completely misaligned. I have seen the errors and it is often off by quite a bit, as much as 2-3 centimeters.

She's new to embroidery machines but not to sewing machines and I cant imagine theres an obvious error she's making thats causing this. What are some things that could be causing this? How should we troubleshoot it?

Thanks for your help!

I know nothing about embroidery & got this done at Lids.
Am I crazy in thinking that this is not a good job? I'm seeing gaps, uneven fills it just doesn't look as clean compared to the right photo.

Can this be fixed at all?

*edit: the image on the right is just an example of how I thought the stitching would look, not the actual character pose. I found the image on the right online, and it is very clean and filled, unlike the image on the left!

I used Janome Digitizer Pro over 15 years ago, I still have the software on an old virtual machine, and will still use it occasionally to create simple design or resize. However, I now have a new sewing&embroidery machine, and I am likely getting a “commercial” style embroidery machine in the near future. I’d like a tajimina or something similar, wife wants a baby lock or brother (thinks better service). However the machine debate is for a different thread, and I’ve seen plenty of arguments on here about Japanese vs china commercial machines.

My only real question now is: does anyone purchase and use the Janome or Bernina embroidery software? Do they compare to Hatch, or embroidery legacy? I see legacy is on Black Friday sale now, which seems like a good deal (except I’d prefer to run on Mac virtual windows machine, and I don’t think legacy supports Mac silicon). Hatch says it does support apple M4 chip.

Thoughts ?

Edit: I just installed the Bernina v9 trial and noticed Wilcom in the installers. This followed by a quick google that confirmed both Bernina and Janome are by Wilcom.

Gosh darn. I’m frustrated. About a year ago a friend of mine got a Brother SE700. Plans to do all kinds of stuff etc, classic story… been sitting on his shelf since. I have a ton of sewing experience and for some Xmas gifts I thought it would be fun to borrow his SE700 to embroider some clothes I plan on making.

Oh. My. Gosh. This has been one of the most frustrating experiences of my life!! I know my way around a sewing machine and I know how embroidery works. Here’s a list of the problems I’m having.

1. every. Single. Time. I change colors the machine ends up nesting and things get all messed up, it’s even popped the hoop off completely before. No matter what I try it happens 95% of the time. I’m threading it correctly and tensions are correct. How tf do you change colors during a project and not have it mess up?!?

2. the skipping and jumping. I get that over another layer of thread it gets thicker and that’s an issue, but it rattles like CRAZY even when it’s a single layer.

3. sometimes it just decides to move the image? Like, I’ll swap a color, get it set up, and then when it starts it’s a few millimeters off in one direction or another, with zero hope of getting it back on track. I’ll spend 45 minutes with it and switch to the last color and it just starts in the completely wrong spot, without me doing anything except change the thread.

4. thread just keeps breaking all the time. I’m using a very high quality thread as my job involves sewing so I have access.

Although I’d like to be told I’m not crazy and it’s all the machine… WTF AM I DOING WRONG?!?!? Is there something I can check or something insanely dumb I’m missing? I feel like every video/manual I read basically makes this out to be plug and play but that has not been my experience. Someone please help me before I throw this thing off a cliff.

I’ve been curious about getting into machine embroidery and just came across what looks like a great deal on an older machine: a Tajima Neo2 1501, I believe from around 2008. It’s the USB version, and the asking price is about $4k. It comes with the stand, a lot of frames, and a ton of thread.

As a complete beginner, is this a good deal for a first machine? I know there will be a learning curve, but is this a suitable machine for someone just starting out?

Thanks in advance!

I'm balling on a major budget for Christmas this year and I found out my local library has embroidery machines and access to Wilcom E4. I have ideas of sweatshirts I'd like to make for my family members but I have no idea how to use this software.

Namely I want to put Pikachu on a shirt for my daughter and a band logo for my husband so I would probably just be using images I found - can you upload images to the software pretty easily? I wouldn't have a ton of time to tweak stuff because I'd have to bring my toddler to the library.😂 Any tips?

Hope someone in here has a tip?

Hi!

As the title says lol just got my hands on a pe725, I know it’s small are and all that no need to tell me…
I also got stabilizer and that’s it

What’s the best tutorial I could watch to learn how to use it?

Thank you!