Thread: Brother pe500 embroidery machine ?

I got the same model fairly recently. I just wanted an inexpensive way to get started. I don't have answers to most of your questions. I have downloaded free designs from the internet, and they are easy to load to the machine without specialized software. I assume you got a book with directions. They are pretty clear IMHO. If you have specific questions about downloading, send me a PM. I don't necessarily plan to use my machine for quilt blocks, just to do some embroidery for towels, potholders, etc. I've made a few appliques, too. Some will go on a quilt, and I made one for a dress I made for DGD. I think the appliques are really fun to do.

I'd particularly like to know how to make quilt labels without going to the expense of software. I'm not sure the fonts that came with the machine are adequate.

I know you can get to a screen that seems to have percentages, so you might be able to increase the size of some smaller designs, but of course, not larger than 4x4 on this machine. That seems to be the limiting factor. I've gotten some really cute free designs as well as paid a small price for some others. Today, I'm working on freestanding lace. The stabilizer seems expensive though. I was able to get some at 40% off, but still pretty pricey for just experimenting with. There's also a bit of an investment in thread. Got some Christmas colors of threads today at JoAnns marked 50% off.

Have fun and keep us informed of your progress and discoveries.

Originally Posted by DJ

I got the same model fairly recently. I just wanted an inexpensive way to get started. I don't have answers to most of your questions. I have downloaded free designs from the internet, and they are easy to load to the machine without specialized software. I assume you got a book with directions. They are pretty clear IMHO. If you have specific questions about downloading, send me a PM. I don't necessarily plan to use my machine for quilt blocks, just to do some embroidery for towels, potholders, etc. I've made a few appliques, too. Some will go on a quilt, and I made one for a dress I made for DGD. I think the appliques are really fun to do.

I'd particularly like to know how to make quilt labels without going to the expense of software. I'm not sure the fonts that came with the machine are adequate.

I know you can get to a screen that seems to have percentages, so you might be able to increase the size of some smaller designs, but of course, not larger than 4x4 on this machine. That seems to be the limiting factor. I've gotten some really cute free designs as well as paid a small price for some others. Today, I'm working on freestanding lace. The stabilizer seems expensive though. I was able to get some at 40% off, but still pretty pricey for just experimenting with. There's also a bit of an investment in thread. Got some Christmas colors of threads today at JoAnns marked 50% off.

Have fun and keep us informed of your progress and discoveries.

I just bought a package of stabilizer from kensewingcenter.com free shipping, lots of brother supplies as well reasonably priced, never used it before but some of the gals on sewforum use it so I thought I would try the sampler pack with the most used type. I am not familiar with the machine but I would imagine there is a button to push to resize like on my brother. Their manuals are well written so you should be able to locate it.

I buy my water sol stabilizer at Joanns or Hancocks off the bolt; its cheaper and you can use a coupon or senior cit or military discount on top of that. I like Hancocks because they have the same days each month for discounts so I don't have to guess or wait for it to be announced.

Wilson has a free resizer program. You can only still do as much as your hoop will allow. You have to follow the directions for resizing. I tried the crabbing the corner and enlarging (like you do in Windows) and it distorted the embroidery so that alot of it didn't stitch out. I was doing it in my software but didn't realize that you have to follow certain guidelines. Also, depending on the design you aren't supposed to enlarge anything more that 20%; some can't go that much larger.

I don't have your machine but I use a usb (smart thumb) to save the files to when I want to take them to the machine. You could also use the cable and connect the machine to your printer. If you didn't get documentation with you machine I'd contact the company about getting it. You can quilt as you go or hoop small sections; which can be very time consuming.

Originally Posted by morelcabin

Embird is a free embroidery design software that you can download that has some good features you can use on that machine...

Embird isn't free, however you can download a free 30 day trial.