All Embird programs are Windows applications and are available in FREE demo versions.
They switch into fully enabled versions after registration is purchased and entered to the programs.
Basic Embird program resizes, splits, edits, displays, prints and converts embroidery designs. There are several optional plug-in programs and alphabets available for Embird, expanding its capabilities with digitizing, lettering, cross stitch designs, conversion of TrueType fonts into embroidery, etc.
Use of demo version is limited to 30 days or 100 runs. After this period, you must register your copy to use it further. The unregistered demo version has limited functionality.
Basic Embird works in two modes: Embird Manager and Embird Editor.
Displays also images - digital photos (.JPG, .TIF, etc.) and allows to sort them.
Creates (displays, prints and saves into .BMP or .JPG file) various types of design documentation, including animated .GIFs and screen saver.
Provides photo-realistic 3D preview of designs in order to enable assigning of proper colors to needles and to check the design without actual embroidering.
Contains many threads catalogs and finds thread closest to chosen color.
Reads and writes designs stored on memory cards, floppy, USB or hard disks in various embroidery formats.
Allows user to organize designs by copying them to new folders.
Supports Amazon and Azure cloud storage.
Provides separate File Commander window for convenient file management.
Embird Editor
Allows user to insert and delete colors in a design.
Joins and splits designs. Interactive free hand splitting and automatic splitting are supported.
Moves, resizes with density adjustment, centers, mirrors, rotates and skews designs or their parts.
Allows user to edit individual stitches or parts of design.
Allows user to change the stitch order of design parts.
Allows user to reduce the number of colors
Simulates sewing of design, even in 3D mode.
Sorts colors smartly.
Prints templates in 1.1 scale on multiple sheets.
Insert text in various predigitized fonts and layouts.
Inserts Font Engine text automatically converted from TrueType or Open Type fonts.
Join and split designs. Interactive free-hand splitting is supported.
Imports design from Embird Studio, Embird Cross Stitch and Sfumato Stitch programs to save them in appropriate file format.
What's New in Embird
General
Several bugs fixed.
New format added: "Quilting: Shirley Stitcher, Quilt magician . QCC"
Embird can show stitches saved in (some) Quilting QBOT . 4QB files.
It cannot write (convert to) .4QB.
Thread Charts
The following thread charts were added in new version:
Madeira Matt
Simthread Rayon
Simthread Polyester
Sigma
Hoops
The following embroidery hoops were added in new version:
Janome MC500e RE28b Hoop (200 x 280 mm) - Vertical
Janome MC500e RE28b Hoop (280 x 200 mm) - Horizontal
Janome MC500e RE20b Hoop (140 x 200 mm) - Vertical
Janome MC500e RE20b Hoop (200 x 140 mm) - Horizontal
Janome MC500e SQ20b Hoop (200 x 200 mm)
Janome MC500e SQ14b Hoop (140 x 140 mm)
Janome MC500e RE10b Hooop (100 x 40 mm) - Horizontal
Janome MC500e RE10b Hooop (40 x 100 mm) - Vertical
Studio
Fixes to column stitch layout.
Embird Studio
Studio 2016 is a Digitizing Plug-in for Embird Software. While the basic Embird program works mostly with stitch files, Studio uses vector objects for ease of design creation.
The main concept of digitizing in Studio is to draw vector outlines of respective objects and fill them with various types of stitches in the same way you would fill objects with color in a graphics program.
Studio contains two parts, each of them is optional
Digitizing of logos and fancy designs, lettering, auto-tracing, freehand, conversion of vector files into embroidery.
Studio is an optional plug-in program for Embird. It must be downloaded as a separate file and installed into Embird. Embird 2016 is required before you can trial or purchase Studio. Upgrade from previous versions of Studio to version 2016 is free of charge.
Digitizing Tools
Digitizing Tools is an optional part of Embird Studio. It allows the user to digitize scalable embroidery designs up to 200x200 centimeters (78.8x78.8") large.
A design is digitized so that the user creates outline (vector) objects either on a blank background or on an image (template) in the work area. When finished, the design is compiled into stitches and put into Embird Editor for final adjustment and saved in the desired embroidery format.
About
Designs are created in a vector form using lines and curves. Vector format allows resizing of designs without loss of quality. A raster picture can be imported as a template into the background of the working area. To store designs, Studio uses its own file format with all objects, parameters, stitches and background images stored in a single file (*.eof).
Objects such as Fill, Sfumato, Carving, Column, Column with pattern, Outline, Connection, Appliqué and Manual Stitches are available. Fill and Sfumato objects can have openings. Carving objects can be used to add unique texture to fills and columns. Objects can be moved, rotated, skewed and scaled.
Each object has adjustable creative and technical parameters such as stitch density, random broadening, fill pattern, color, type of underlay, etc., to allow the user to create special effects and adjust thte design for sewing on a particular fabric.
Advanced Features
Advanced features are included in the Studio work space. Some features are useable for Digitizing Tools, some for Sfumato Stitch and some for both of them.
Trace Tool allows the user to convert a bitmap image (raster image) to a vector design without redrawing the image manualy.
Trace tool works in a several steps:
1. Selection of consistently coloured area (pixels of raster image) with magic wand.
2. Turnig of selected raster areas into vector objects
3. Filling vector objects with stitches.
It is possible to create outline, column, fill, sfumato and carving objects. Selection options allow the user to change the way the Trace tool behaves with each selection. It is possible to define whether to make a new selection and discard any existing selection or add objects of a different color to the existing selection or select non-continuous areas of the same color at once.
Import and conversion of vector graphic into embroidery. Studio allows the user to import EMF, WMF and CMX vector graphic from Corel Draw, Adobe Illustrator, Zoner Draw, Paint Shop Pro, Pre-Design and other graphic programs and convert it into embroidery design without redrawing it. This function is available only to owners of the Font Engine plug-in.
Studio also allows the user to export embroidery designs into .SVG files (Scalable Vector Graphic) for use in Corel Draw and other graphic programs.
Automatic vectorization (digitizing) of raster image.
Interactive lettering allows the user to insert and edit text directly in the work area of Studio. Text can be created with Font Engine(True Type and Open Type fonts) or with pre-digitized Alphabets. Lettering supports multiline text and adjustable text baselines. Predefined baselines include circle, lines and spirals. All baselines can be transformed (moved, scaled, rotated and slanted) and/or as edited node-by-node. Whole text or individual characters can be moved, scaled, rotated and slanted as well. Additional controls allow the user to adjust spacing of characters, words and lines and overall size of the text.
Studio is able to generate various lettering styles from the common font files: auto-column (satin stitch), plain and motif fill, center outline and outline. All these styles can be used with nearest-point connections to avoid thread trimming.
Automatic Outliner creates a double-layered thin outline for a single object or multiple objects. Such outlines are often used for logos, lettering and cartoon-like characters. Objects may overlap or intersect one another and the program creates outlines only for the visible parts.
Envelope Tool allows the user to deform selected object(s) in the work area of Studio with the use of an adjustable boundary.
Options like predefined shapes, the type of horizontal and vertical edges and symmetry options are available from the panel at the right side of the screen.
Fills with multiple motifs. Studio allows the user to use several motifs within a single fill. Setting of desired number of rows and columns defines a grid of motifs that will be used to fill the object.
Multiple motifs can be combined with all options available for single motif like scale, shift, fill angle, wave and gradient.
Integrated Sew Simulator in Studio allows the user to simulate sewing of a whole design or just a selection in a normal, 3D or flat view mode. The color bar at top of the screen helps to 'rewind' simulation forward and backward. It is possible to set a negative speed for simulation, which means that stitches gradually disapear.
Freehand tool allows the user to create realistic fur or shading effects as well as sketch drawings with a mouse or digitizing tablet within a few minutes. It works like a painting tool. The result, however, is an embroidery design that can include various embroidery styles like fills, columns, sfumato objects, carvings and outlines as well as some new stitch styles like pressure-sensitive columns.
Corner function duplicates and rotates selected objects in the corner of the hoop to create symmetrical ornaments in the other three corners of the hoop.
Auto-Repeat tool allows the user to duplicate a sample along the chosen baseline (line, circle, rectangle, etc.). It is possible to mirror each copy of the sample and to set the distance (gap) between the samples.
Basic Features
To make digitized objects and stitches more visible on the background, the user can adjust brightness, contrast, gamma correction, color balance and saturation of the background image. There are also tools for rotation, cropping and resizing of the background image.
Object Inspector window is available for fast and easy management of objects. The user can change the color of an object or its order by simple drag-and-drop operation. Objects can be grouped to make manipulations easier. Icons in Object Inspector indicate color changes, trims, object type and visibility.
Thread catalog with thousands of thread colors from leading manufacturers. A thread list can be sorted according to the thread name, number or similarity with a chosen color. For easier work with the catalog it is possible to select a particular thread manufacturer and mark threads that you actually have. Then the search can be limited to the marked threads only.
Predefined Styles Table allows the user to set many object parameters (like density, pull compensation, underlay, minimum and mazimum stitch) at once, for sewing on specific materials like jeans, towels or fleece. Each of them requires a special combination of the above parameters for optimum embroidering.
Digitizing Tools creates not only cover stitches for each object, but also various types of underlay: center walk, edge walk, and zig-zag underlay to stabilize embroidered objects.
Digitizing Tools performs many editing operations automatically. Connection paths are rearranged when the user moves objects, sharp corners of columns are automatically split or folded when converted to stitches, fill overlays are adjusted according to size of object.
Studio includes many predefined fill patterns, envelopes, borders, fill motifs and outline samples. A built in editor allows the user to create your own fill patterns, outline samples, border samples and fill motifs.
3D Preview Tabs with 3D preview of embroidery designs are included in all Embird modules - basic Embird, Studio, Cross Stitch and Sew Simulator. Studio also provides X-ray and Density Map view modes to analyze the stitche density layout. These view modes help to identify areas of critical density and to increase the quality of the design.
Sfumato Stitch - Embroidery from Photos
Sfumato Stitch is an optional part of Embird Studio. It allows easy and fast creation of multicolored portraits and other designs from photos.
Sfumato objects can be combined with other objects like lettering, satin outlines, etc., but their digitizing requires registration of respective plug-ins like Font Engine or Digitizing Tools.
About
User imports a photo into the background of the working area and then draws Sfumato objects on top of the photo. Just like other objects in the Studio, Sfumato objects have vector boundaries that are automatically filled with stitches. A photo-realistic effect is achieved with variable density of the thread flow.
Objects are filled with stitches so that the thread forms looser or heavier meanders to create shading effects while fabric shows through the stitches. In general, the loose meanders are used on low density areas.
The face on the boy's portrait is a single Sfumato object with 5 shades of skin color and a hole.
Options
Special controls and paramaters are available to tune density and colors of the Sfumato object. Additional features like openings, carvings and color mask can be applied to achieve required stitch layout and texture.
Coloring
Each Sfumato object can have 1-5 shades of its basic color or user-defined shades. Chosing the proper number of separate objects and the proper number of shades within each object allowsthe user to achieve various coloring effects.
Single Sfumato object with just 1 shade
Single Sfumato object with 5 shades of sepia color
Single Sfumato object with 5 user-defined shades
Multicolored Sfumato design
The boy's portrait on the above example contains multiple Sfumato objects: the cap, face, mouth, shoulder and breast. Each of these objects has its own color scale.
Cross Stitch
Embird Cross Stitch is an optional plug-in for Embird. It provides a number of tools and stitch styles to create a perfect cross stitch pattern.
Manual drawing of crosses, automatic conversion from artwork, editing, outlining and lettering are all included in this software tool.
Computerized cross stitch allows you to focus on the creative aspect of embroidery. Program arranges the sewing order of crosses to optimize the actual embroidery process.
Embird Cross Stitch software allows the user to digitize cross stitch patterns with up to 400 x 400 crosses. Number of colors is limited to 254.
Manual and Automatic Mode
There are two ways of creating cross stitch patterns:
Crossstitch pattern is created manually by drawing dots (crosses) either on a blank background or on an image (template, scanned chart).
Crossstitch pattern is created automatically from imported background image (picture to cross stitch).
In both cases, the program automatically generates cross stitches and arranges them to optimize the sewing process. It is possible to import the scanned chart (hand graph) and calibrate it properly to fit the background of the work area, then manually draw the dots (crosses) using the chart in the background and finally compile the pattern into stitches.
Tools and Controls
Many editing tools are available for the creation and adjustment of patterns: marquee, lasso, magic wand, zoom lens, eye dropper, smooth, pencil, brush, air-brush, text, line, simple curve, rectangle, round rectangle, ellipse, star, regular polygon, fill area, clear area, etc. The pre-defined fill patterns are available, and the user can even create his/her own fill patterns. There are also some special functions like 'clear isolated points' or ' thin lines' and 'smooth' parts by adding quarter crosses to corners, which allows the user to clear and optimize the cross stitch pattern. The order in which the colors are sewn can be prescribed.
Lettering in Cross Stitch
Add text to your cross stitch designs with the use of any TrueType or OpenType font installed on your PC. Choose font, color and size and create lettering in a few seconds. Crosses are automatically generated inside of characters. By choosing another command from the menu it is possible to add the outlines around all characters easily.
Cross Styles
All popular cross types are supported:
normal crosses
mini-crosses
elongated horizontal crosses
elongated vertical crosses
upright crosses
double crosses
French knots
manual and automatic outlines
Additional Features
Use full, 3/4, half or quarter crosses to create your pattern. Also, a thin running-stitch outline can be added around the pattern manually or automatically. Controls like 'number of thread layers', 'size' of crosses and 'number of tie-up stitches' are available to give you full control over the stitches.
Font Engine
Embird Font Engine is a Lettering, Monogram and Clipart plug-in for Embird. It combines an embroidery lettering tool and graphics in vector file format. It creates embroidery lettering from common Windows fonts in TrueType and OpenType format. It is also possible to use it with 3rd party ready-made embroidery alphabets. Because of its vector handling capabilities, Font Engine is able to convert vector clipart or logos created with graphic programs into embroidery designs.
Font Engine has three main usage modes:
Embroidery lettering from TrueType and OpenType fonts
Lettering tool for ready-made embroidery alphabets
Conversion of vector graphics into embroidery designs
Please note: Font Engine does not include any font or clipart. It is a conversion program.
1. Embroidery Lettering from TrueType and OpenType Fonts
Main panel allows the user to select TrueType or OpenType font and type the text you want to convert into embroidery. Next panel (Properties tab) serves to adjust size and other parameters of lettering.
Font Engine can produce plain fill, auto column (satin stitch) and motif fills and sample, satin and appliqué outlines for text.
Fill Exterior option allows the user to invert filled areas of text.
Pattern, Wave, Gradient and other effects like contour or circular fill can be applied to plain fill of text.
Font Engine allows the user to place text on line, ellipse and other baselines and also to deform it with use of an envelope..
Lettering may have single stitch, sample, satin stitch or appliqué outline.
Auto Column (satin stitches) fill of text produces lettering looking almost as if it was digitized by a human digitizer. Font Engine uses a large base of digitizing knowledge and an artificial intelligence to convert fonts into satin stitches.
Satin stitch lettering of a large size should be used with the Pattern option on, to avoid too long stitches and to add texture to a large stitched areas.
Each character in a text can be moved, rotated, skewed and scaled separately to create unique lettering effects. Use the Symmetry options for easier adjustment of lettering envelope. Many predefined envelopes are included.
2. Lettering Tool for Ready-Made Alphabets
One of the most popular ways to create embroidery lettering is to buy ready-made embroidery font (alphabet) and compose your lettering from characters in the font. This may be a tedious job if you want to align lettering on a circle or create a longer text. Ready-made fonts are delivered in stitch files, usually one letter per file. The user has to import the stitch files one-by-one and put them together to create the text label.
Ready-Made Alphabets mode of Font Engine allows the use of a convenient lettering tool with 3rd party or custom letters. It is no longer necessary to assemble such lettering manually. Simply import all letter files at once, index letters and use them in the same way as common Windows fonts. Work with text and especially the lettering layout process becomes much easier.
Custom letters are not limited to a single color or style. You can use any number of colors, cross-stitch patterns or anything that stitch file supports and Embird can import.
Some features like nearest-point connections or outlines are not applicable to the ready-made alphabets. Resizing is available, but not recommended as stitch file quality may decrease when the size changes.
3. Vector Graphics
Font Engine functionality goes beyond the fonts. It can convert EMF, WMF and CMX vector graphics to an embroidery file. This function allows the user to import designs from drawing programs like Corel Draw or Adobe Illustrator. It is typically used for logos and clipart designs.
The embroidery process imposes additional requirements on the design, especially proper object order, connections, overlays and layers. Therefore, some editing of vector designs in Embird Studio is usually needed to produce good embroidery from these files.
Alphabets
Alphabets are an optional lettering plug-ins for the Embird software. They are manually pre-digitized embroidery fonts in re-sizeable format.
Alphabets contain multiple versions of each character optimized for various size range and for a nearest-point connection between the letters. They are especially suitable for the creation of small lettering. Embird allows easy manipulation of Alphabets, including arching and shaping of the text.
Embird Alphabets are re-sizeable and have adjustable parameters like density, texture and underlay type. Program computes new stitches for each text label. This approach allows Embird to optimize stitches for each individual lettering layout and settings.
Embird Editor and Manager work with Alphabets through a text tool window. The text tool allows the user to adjust the layout of lettering and apply envelope, skewing and other shaping operations. When finished, lettering is compiled into stitches and put into Embird Editor for final adjustment and saved in the desired embroidery format.
Alphabets are accessible also from Studio's interactive lettering. When used from Studio, Alphabets produce text in a vector (outline) form that can be further edited in Studio.
Main features
Characters scalable in large scale (approximately 4,5 mm - 8 cm for "a")
Various underlays (center walk, edge walk, zig-zag)
Automatic and manual kerning of characters
Various types of letters connections (nearest point, floating stitch)
Automatic tie-ups before and after floating stitches
Automatic simplification of serif for small letters
Automatic parameters and underlays for various size of letters
Possibility of global change of text parameters or individual change of single letters parameters
Arching of text. Text can be placed on any of 7 predefined paths (circle, line, wave, etc.) with variable parameters, or user can define her/his own path.
Editing of spaces between letters, size of path and text, type of underlay.
Envelope function.
Arching of text
Pull Compensation
Random broadening
Automatic simplification of serifs on small characters
Various types of underlay
Auto shortening of stitches in curves
Nearest point connections
Envelope
Envelope can be used to create monograms as well as to add special effects like diamond shape or bridge to the lettering.
Use envelope controls to select any of the predefined envelopes or to create your own envelope. Define type of edges and optional symmetry of nodes. Move nodes in the work area to adjust the shape of the envelope.
Individual adjustment of characters
Position, width, height, angle, slanting and distance from the baseline of each character can be adjusted individually by moving respective node control.
Parameters of lettering
Type of underlay
Cover stitches: density, start/end dilatation gap, broadening, random broadening, pattern (7 patterns), auto shortening of stitches in curves.
Center walk underlay: maximum and minimum stitch
Edge walk underlay: edge offset, maximum and minimum stitch
Zig-zag underlay: edge offset, start/end dilatation gap, density, maximum and minimum stitch of zig-zag areas connection
Various types of cover stitches patterns
Iconizer
Iconizer is an optional plug-in for Embird. It displays content of embroidery files as icons or thumbnails. This capability is not limited to files displayed in Embird. Once Iconizer is installed and registered, it can work in the background of Windows Explorer or File Explorer and all programs that use standard dialog windows.
Whenever Windows needs to draw the icon of an embroidery file in any program or panel, Iconizer supplies the image of the design stored in this file. This allows you to see icons of actual designs, not just the generic icons you see without Iconizer. Iconizer is a useful tool to manage your embroidery designs in Explorer or other programs.
With Iconizer
Without Iconizer
About
Iconizer works together with Windows Explorer or File Explorer, as it is called in Windows 8. The principle of Iconizer is simple - normally, when you run Explorer and you are not using the Iconizer plug-in, each design file is represented by a generic type icon. Registered Iconizer shows a small picture of the embroidery design instead. This allows you to browse and sort your designs easily, because you can see the content of embroidery files while using all features of the Explorer and other Windows programs that use Explorer's standard dialog windows.
"Generic" icon of embroidery file
Embroidery file displayed icon
Iconizer uses Embird's library to read embroidery files. Therefore, it supports the same embroidery formats as Embird.
Using Iconizer in Explorer
Windows Explorer was renamed to File Explorer in Windows 8. It serves to access and manipulate the files stored on your computer. In the case of embroidery files, Iconizer draws pictures of their content and sends them to Explorer to display either as icons or as thumbnails. Iconizer also provides information like stitch count, design size, color number, etc., to display in Explorer's pop-up menu.
The first step is to choose the desired size of icons in Iconizer settings. The second step is to choose the icon enlargement in Explorer. The medium size in Explorer is equal to the basic icon size in Iconizer settings. Select a larger icon size in Explorer's View menu for a more detailed preview of designs, if needed.
Icons in the above example are too small. Select a larger size for better detail.
Iconizer does more than just display a picture of the design. It provides textual information about the design like dimensions, stitch count and so on. Also, it provides links to services like printing, editing or conversion of design in Embird software. These links and the textual information are accessible via a pop-up menu that appears when you right mouse button click on the design icon in Explorer.
Right click on embroidery file icon to invoke the pop-up menu with Embird commands and information about design.
3D Thumbnails and Color List
Besides normal, flat stitch rendering, Iconizer is also able to draw 3D thumbnails of embroidery designs. This option can be turned ON or OFF in the Embird Manager main menu > Options > Iconizer Settings. It is also possible to show or hide the color list of the design. 3D drawing and color list options have no effect on small icons.
Please download your free trial of Embird Software here.
This file contains Digitizing Tools & Sfumato Stitch. Digitizing plug-in for Embird 2016 Build 10.17: Unregistered demo has a stitch limit.
To install Studio plug-in:
1. Embird must first be installed.
2. Click on the download link above, then choose "Run".
3. Click on "Unzip"..
4. Check Studio has installed successfully by opening Embird and going to Help/Installed Plug-ins.
Cross Stitch 2016
No separate download. The installation file of Cross Stitch is included in the Embird installation file. If you have Embird installed already, Cross Stitch is installed, too. However, Embird registration does not cover the registration of Cross Stitch. Registration must be purchased separately. Unregistered Demo has a stitch limit.
To use Cross Stitch:
1. Download and install Embird.
2. Run Embird and click on "Editor > Insert > Cross Stitch Design".
Iconizer 2016
No separate download. The installation file of Iconizer is included in the Embird installation file. If you have Embird installed already, Iconizer is installed, too. However, Embird registration does not cover the registration of Iconizer. Registration must be purchased separately.
Unregistered Demo doesn't show all icons.
To use Iconizer:
1. Download and install Embird.
2. Run Embird and go to "Options > Iconizer Settings".
3. Click on each of the Select All buttons. Click OK to confirm the settings.
Font Engine 2016
No separate download. The installation file of Font Engine is included in the Embird installation file. If you have Embird installed already, Font Engine is installed too. However, Embird registration does not cover the registration of Font Engine.
Unregistered demo supports only characters "abcABC".
To use Font Engine:
1. Download and install Embird.
2. Run Embird and go to "Editor > Insert > Font Engine Text".
Alphabets
Click on each alphabet to see all the characters included. Unregistered demo supports only characters "abcABC". Download Alphabets 1-42 all-in-one installation file.
To use Alphabets:
1. Download and install Embird.
2. Click on the Alphabet download link, then click "Run".
3. Click on "Unzip".
4. Check the Alphabet has installed successfully by opening Embird and going to Help/Installed Plug-ins.
5. Run Embird and go to "Editor > Insert > Text".
Carolyn Keber's famous Embird Tutorials are available for instant download.
Embird is a multi-functional editing and design management program which you can either use in conjunction with your embroidery software or as a stand-alone editing program. Embird has a great many wonderful functions including design organization, splitting, re-sizing, converting to your embroidery format, editing, text and much, much more. Embird is a wonderful program and once you learn what it can do, you will wonder how you ever managed without it for your embroidery!
There are two parts to Embird Basic - Embird Manager and Embird Editor - both of which are covered in this tutorial. Carolyn takes you right through the program, step by step, beginning at the installation and then into the first screen that opens in Manager. You will learn all the commands and operations in both Editor and Manager and many lessons are provided for you to work through so that you are at ease with the program. Carolyn leaves no stone unturned!
Included with this tutorial are a number of designs and clipart that have been generously provided by exceptionally talented designers (many from the Secrets of Embroidery web-site) for your own personal use. These design files are included for you to use as you work through this tutorial - teaching you to convert, split, join and customize your designs in various ways.
Embird is an extremely comprehensive editing program that includes many fantastic features. With this super tutorial at your side, it won't take you long to learn the Embird program. You'll be an expert in no time at all.
This comprehensive 492 page tutorial is written in Carolyn's distinctive easy-to-follow and friendly style. It is packed full of screen shots to help you every step of the way.
Sample notes from the tutorial:
Another new addition is the ability to automatically create a JPG ( image file) of selected designs in the Right Panel. The JPG file that is created is a documentation file showing the colors in the design, the file name, the stitch count, the file size and the color changes.
If you wish to create JPG images of your designs, go to the Options on the Menu Bar.
Step by Step Guide to Embird Digitizing Studio - Ebook 770+ page Downloadable Ebook
If you have ever considered trying your hand at digitising but were wondering if you could learn how to create your own designs then look no further.
Carolyn Keber has written an extensive step by step tutorial for Embird Studio that will take you through the whole program and teach you bit by bit how to create your own wonderful designs. In no time at all you will be creating designs like a “pro”.
With the release of this latest Studio version the time has never been better to learn new skills. You will be amazed at just what you can do in Embird Studio and also how easily and quickly that you can create and edit your own designs.
From auto outlining designs to quickly creating border designs, auto repeating objects, Redwork from images and much much more.
In fact there is so much in this Studio tutorial. It has over 770 pages and lots of detailed pictures and information.
Carolyn goes to great pains to explain as much as she can about the program so that you learn not only how to use the tools and settings but also why you use them.
Click the image right to view an excerpt from the new tutorial.
In Carolyn’s latest Studio tutorial she takes you through many lessons explaining the commands and features of the programs.
The lessons include:
A fabulous new lesson on creating a Fairy in which you use a great
variety of tools including the new auto-outline command
Creating your own fills
and motif stitches
Auto-digitising and Auto–Corners
Appliqué - Creating and combining
appliqué and fill objects
Embird Text and Font Engine text.
And many more...
Included is a Table of Contents at the beginning of the tutorial plus an extensive Index at the end of the tutorial to help you quickly find what you are looking for.
If you have used Embird Manager and Editor then you’ll understand why Embird Digitizing Studio is a much loved digitising program which gets better with each release.
So, take the plunge now and purchase Carolyn’s very latest Digitizing Studio tutorial and teach yourself how to use this wonderful digitising program.
Customer Testimonial:
"Hi, just wanted to say that this tutorial, even though I find it expensive, should be put up as a big advertisement on the home page of your site.
Very glad I bought it, only 1/4 of the way so far but learned more in that time than I did since I bought the software last year. I would highly recommend this to anyone who buys the Embird program. I will gladly suck up the price as it is worth the frustration of trying to learn on your own and make many mistakes, then loose interest for a while.
Bottom line is, Buy The Tutorial. I am not even finished and learned a lot. Can't wait for the DVD's and to learn so much more. It is so easy to understand. Thanks for your time and thanks to the Author. "
Cheers,
Phillip Bourgeois
Please Note:The total zipped file size is 36mb which includes the 770+ tutorial .pdf and additional files needed for using throughout the lessons. Due to the large file size, it will take some time to download. If you are on dial-up or have trouble downloading large files, it is recomended you purchase the additional $15 postage to have the tutorial sent on CD. Alternatively get the whole Embird Studio Video DVD available further down the page, which includes a copy of the tutorial.
Font Engine
Step by Step Guide to Font Engine
In this 290 page Embird Font Engine tutorial Carolyn takes you through the program from the beginning, in her usual step by step manner, and shows you virtually everything you need to know about how to use Font Engine in both Embird Basic and in Embird Studio.
This is some of what can be found in the tutorial.
Detailed explanations of all the commands and options in Font Engine.
Lessons covering redwork, chain stitch, script fonts, satin stitching and much more.
Lessons on applique.
How to edit WMF files in Editor.
Lessons on how to use Wing Ding and Ding Bat fonts and how to convert vector images (WMF files) into embroidery designs.
Lessons on multiple lines of text, calendars and clocks.
How to create text around a circle or shape.
How to create your own baseline shapes for use with text.
How to fix the problem when there are gaps showing in text letters.
How to use Font Engine in Studio.
A lesson on altering connections in Studio.
A lesson on baselines and the options in Studio.
Multiple lines of text in Studio.
Converting vector files in Studio.
And much more.......
The tutorial will soon have you using Font Engine to its full potential. You'll be creating great text in no time at all. The only problem you'll have is deciding which text you are going to create next!
Free Tutorials
Many free Embird tutorials can be accessed by logging in to My Secrets.
Once logged in, go to the Free Tutorials sub-menu to request a download link.
Carolyn has created this series of Embird Studio videos to show you how to use the Column Tool in Studio and how each Edge Mode works. If you haven't used the Column Tool before and are struggling with the concept then these three free videos will make "the light come on" for you. As soon as you watch them you will understand how to use the Column Stitch Tool. It is much easier to watch Carolyn use the Column tool than to read how to use it - especially for those of you who have never used this type of tool before.
If you enjoy these videos then to learn much, much more in Embird check out Carolyn's Step by Step Guides to Embird Studio, Sfumato Stitch and Font Engine.
Customers Comments about Tutorials by Carolyn Keber
I just want to thank you for the wonderful video that I found and downloaded last weekend. It is wonderful at last I am understanding a lot more about Studio. I also have your videos on the column sts. which I find very useful.
As I have already told you I am starting to get a little older so unless I am working on trying to digitize I forget a lot, so out come the videos and all comes back. You are really a star, when ever I don't understand anything I get the lessons out and everything is made clear.
Thank you once again for all your help.
-Cynthia
I'm from the USA and I bought Embird last year after stumbling on to your portion of Secretsof.com. I believed what I read at your site and it agreed with what I could glean from reading John Deer and his advice that seemed to be, get a powerful basic punching program to develop the best skills to become a reliable embroidery designer, don't choose a fancy automatic program. The Embird Suite really is this powerful program it goes beyond my imagination as I found out after I purchased it and it has the automatic features also.
It has a steep learning curve because of its potential to be able to do almost anything. I'm a retired motor truck designer from NAVISTAR (International Harvester) and on the job I fell in love with computer designing. I'm 70 now and I have fallen in love with computer design all over again. I just want to thank you for your excellent tutorials. My wife has a Bernina embroidery machine and she can hardly wait for me to create any new design for her because with your tutorial instructions, understanding the adjustments that create easy to run designs are effortless.
When I started using the Embird Studio Tutorial lessons I was impatient and thought that "Oh no this looks so basic and I want to learn so much more" but how foolish I was. Your technique is to use the basics to establish a floor to work from and then revisit that work and learn editing and modification skills that I didn't even realize I was going to need. I have redone (modified) "that umbrella" over and over changing scale, design features, density, thread directions and styles so I can reflect the light just right. I even added rain drops bouncing off it. I'll have my wife stitch these variations out and we compare them to see how fabrics and any other variable affects the design.
You see, our son is in seminary, and we want to be able to provide liturgical vestments for him or altar garments, or whatever might be needed. Because of past professional standards, and the lighting conditions during the use of what we want to make for him or others our product will be under critical public scrutiny. What you teach us will be put to the test.
Your teaching process is fantastic, Thank you. Thank you for your efforts to train old dogs in new tricks.
-Dennis
Carolyn, I just finished printing the (Embird Studio V5 Tutorial) tutorial book - WOW!! As it was printing, I noted how superb the professionalism of this product is!! I worked thru most of the lion in the previous product, and I can see that this one is much more comprehensive - I thought the V4 edition was great, but I think you far outdid yourself on this one.
I can hardly wait to get started on this, and I will start with page 1 so I don't miss anything. Thank you for your thoughtful and careful explanations of the elements of Embird Studio. This is so far superior to any other product on the market - I think anyone could learn this program from your tutorials. Well worth waiting for. Now if I could just find time to work thru your Sfumato and Font Engine tutorials (which I also have), but I think the Studio will be first!
-Ginny in AZ
Thank you, Carolyn Keber, for the informative video tutorials on Installing Embird 2008. I have uninstalled and installed numerous times since Embird 2004, but still found the tutorials refreshing and they helped me cover all the points before actually installing the program.
-Mary
Hi Carolyn, I just can't thank you enough for this Tutorial - it is amazing - I am at last understanding Studio. I am already up to page 302 and just can't get enough - I don't want to do anything else but follow your oh so easy steps. I purchased Embird 2006 and Studio (I think it was around October) and have been eagerly awaiting your Tutorial on Studio.
I kept diving in and out of Studio having a fiddle around and not getting much out of it at all - that is until now. I never realized how much you can do with Studio and once I have mastered it I will definitely like to master the cross stitch plug in so I will no doubt invest in your tutorial for that. Thank you, thank you, tha........
Regards,
-Sue
Hello Carolyn, I just downloaded your Studio Tutorial. And I just want to thank you for taking the time out of your life to do this. With every thing going on in your life I know you must be a very busy person, but yet you take your time and do such a good job on your tutorial. I always look forward to getting one of your tutorials because I know I will learn a lot from them. Anyway I just wanted to say... THANK YOU, THANK YOU. THANK YOU.
From San Diego Calif. USA,
-Bill
Carolyn, I just bought your Tutuorials for Studio of Embird, I have to say without a doubt it should be the bible of digitizing. I have learned so much, was looking for a way to make outline stitches for my designs, and bingo it was there, and so so much more. I can't wait to get started on creating my own designs. There was a lot i had already figured out, but believe you me I would recommend this tutorial to anyone who has Embird, because it is the BOOM as the young people would say. Again thank you for working on these and getting us the newbies a chance to enter your world if only for a while. Again thank you. Heidi
Your tutorials are very highly recommended on the Janome internet forum. We just purchased a Janome 11,000, and have chosen the Embird software suite. We are about to take an extended camping trip, and my wife got the insane notion that she wanted to take her machine with her. She had hoped to get some kind of hard copy, but given the limited time left, we will just have to download your tutorial from the net. I didn't realize that all this software was sourced offshore. Given the tremendous popularity of your tutorial, I am highly surprised that it is not offered by Amazon.com. It would surely be a "best seller".
Kindest regards,
-Harley L. Mullen
I have had Embird for a couple of years. I knew it was a great value but had used it only for design conversion...with no clue as to what it was capable of doing. Recently I purchased a design which required that I "personalize" it with lettering and the Embird alpha plug ins were recommended.
Naturally, I purchased the alpha and got it installed. NOW what was I to do with it???? I figured I better get a clue...and a fast clue since this design is something I wanted to stitch out on a baby gift. So I figured I would search out tutorials. As Providence would have it, that day I received the Secrets Of newsletter advertising your new tutorial. Off I went to purchase it.
I downloaded and printed it (so I would actually use it as a reference). I just feel compelled to write. I am at page 36 and have learned a TON from the tutorial already! What a joy....and your documentation is very easy to follow. I am a software engineer by profession. One would think I would just be able to sit down to click and do. I am not patient enough for the trial and error guessing method unless the tool to help you is so circular that it does not help anyway.
Your tutorial is a blessing. I can zoom through it picking up valuable hints/tips and usage that I had not considered as inherent to the tool. THANK YOU for an extremely well written document. The progression of the instruction is logical and informative....and above all else CLEAR.
I just wanted to tell you I have spent the entire day with "you by my side". I have worked my way through your entire video and it is absolutely delightful and totally educational. What a fun day I have had. There is just so much that Embird can do and to have such excellent lessons - with a rewind button - is wonderful. Congratulations on an outstanding cd.
Thank you so very much.
-Jean E. Smith
Hi Carolyn, I received your Embird CD in the mail yesterday. I haven't gone through half yet and can't believe how much I didn't know. I thought I was such a smarty pants and was sure I knew...if not everything, then enough! What an idiot! Thank you for doing the video tutorials! Although, I thought I went through your written tutorial well enough, I can see that videos are they way to go.....I learn a lot more with them. Can't wait to get you Studio video tutorial....and see how much I don't know in that area!! :-)
Thanks a bunch,
-Brenda
I just wanted to thank you for your great Studio CD and tell you that is it the best money I have spent on embroidery supplies. I am sure you'll understand when I say it has been a considerable amount. I love the cd, understand it completely and best of all, I CAN DO IT!
I had a good concept of digitizing having watched hundreds of designs stitch, but never liked Viking software and wasn't too fond of PE Design either. The software works great, but the instructions are even better. As a former computer instructor, I understand how important it is to get your students to understand and you have done it in a most pleasant and successful manner. Thanks again.
I will always remember how easy you made me learn to use Studio and had a really good time while I was at it. I finished the lesson quickly, but love the fact that I can go back any time for a fast review. I'll be looking forward to your new work and much continuing success to you.
-Barbara Yost
Dear Carolyn,
Thank you for the Embird Studio Tutorial CD which arrived yesterday. It is absolutely delightful & is going to be such a help to my digitizing, which at times leaves a lot to be desired. Everything is explained so well as you work through the designs & although the written tutorial is excellent there are times that a demonstration is a huge help to somebody who is no longer young.
Thank you also for the free Club tutorials via the Secrets site, they have been great too, & your Embird Tutorial is also excellent.
-Avice Whitehead
Dearest Carolyn,
Your CD video tutorial on Embird Studio came today!!! I honestly have tears just wishing I could hug you for all your hard work! The CD is the BEST tool anyone trying to learn Studio can have. It is so well done. You speak clearly, making it easy to understand. Oh my, I am just speechless.
I just wanted to say a huge thank you for all your hard work. It is going to make our hard work of learning Studio so much easier. I am already understanding this fabulous program and that says alot! It truly is the most wonderful tool for all Embird Studio users. In fact, it should be a MUST HAVE when anyone purchases Studio. ) I also look forward to anymore lessons you may come up with. You are a true teacher.
Oh, I have to go...I need to watch the next video...#7. I am so giddy with delight. Thank you again. Happy Holidays to you and your family. Take a break...you do deserve it.
-Gloria DeFrancisco
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh, Carolyn:
You did a superb job on this CD. I finally got the time tonight to sit down and concentrate on it. You are so interesting and make it simple enough for us to understand.....................I am thrilled........................Worth every penny.............
-Carolyn in MI
I need to tell you how helpful and informative your CD's are, I have both the Embird and PED/Palette. I am learning so much from both of them. You are a very talented lady and make it so easy to follow your lessons.
Thanks again and keep up the good work.
-Therese Roux
I recently purchased your Step-by-Step Guide to Embird and wanted to write to thank you for such a terrific product. I never imagined that you could do so much in Embird--I downloaded it simply to convert designs. And, it's so easy to use--thanks to your handy-dandy guide. I was able to sit down with your guide and a few hours later I'm feeling pretty confident with the program.
THANK YOU SO MUCH! I certainly got my money's worth out of this one!!!
-Crystal Zagnoli, Littleton, Colorado, USA
I just wanted to take a quick moment to thank you again for all of the information you are providing on your website and through your e-books. I downloaded my third one PE Design Manual Punching last week and I was very pleased with it. Within no time at all, I was able to figure out what to do and my designs have improved tremendously as a result. I agree that it does take a little more thought and work but the results are so worth it.
Thank you once again for sharing your knowledge. I look forward to checking your site regularly for new information.
-Cynthia Spearman
Just wanted to thank you for the update on the Embird 7.1 tutorial. I have downloaded it with no problems as well as ordering and downloading "Splitting and Rejoining Designs with Embird". Since Janome has still held us to a total of 32,000 stitches per design, it is necessary to split some of them. Even for the Gigahoop.
Thanks so much for taking the time to do these wonderful tutorials.
-Madeline E. Ashby
I just want to take a moment to let you know how much I've enjoyed your Step-by-Step Guide to Embird. You have made it very easy to read and understand!!!
Thank you!!!
-Diana
I have found the videos on the CD. Fantastic, brilliant, please e-mail me if you have any more. In the UK I would have had to pay £60 for one day tuition and would not have got a quarter of the information I have got from your Cd plus I can always refer back to something I haven t done for some time were my memory would not do this, thanks so much, I lost my husband to the dreaded Big C end of August and I thought this was the end of my life.
Your CD has given me something to get stuck into. Use up many lonely hours and given me the push I need. Now I can make that family quilt that I have been putting off doing and with my very own embroidery.
Thank you so much,
-Rose Swann
I have all of Carolyn's tutorials, even the ones on Embird. They are wonderful. I would love to have the downloads you mentioned. Please let me know how to get them.
Thank you.
-Kim Sawatzky
I just purchased Carolyn's Step by Step Guide for PE Design/Pallette. I'm so excited to learn that these new lessons and videos free of charge. I'll look forward to hearing from you.
Carolyn is wonderful!
-Diana Gates, Port Orchard, WA
I did purchase Carolyn's CD but I did not receive all the original videos. I was one of the first that she added some to the CD. I know it did not have the video for unzipping as I wrote her personally. How do I download the new videos though as I LOVE her tutorials and will be ordering the new ones this week (must have paycheck in bank first LOL)
Thank you. Smiles
-Mary Lee Erdman
Hello Carolyn, first must say I love your Embird tutorial I purchased yesterday! I won a digitizing contest from designstitch.com and it was the prize and have been looking forward to learning how to use it. After looking a several tutorials I chose yours.
-Linda
Hi Carolyn,
I did the Embird class in Townsville with you recently and I loved every bit of it. You are a great teacher and I wish you well with your classes. I also need Embird Studio classes now. LOL .
-Yvonne
I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed our classes with you in Townsville, you are a wonderful teacher, and I had a great time!
-Mary
I just made my way through your very enjoyable fur tutorial and wanted to thank you for your clear and concise explanations. I am slowly - with your help! - teaching myself to digitize and having a wonderful time doing so.
Just wanted to know I really liked your first tutorial for Embird 2006. It was really helpful and I felt your voice was very encouraging and pleasant. I am already modifying designs and making gifts. Thanks for your help. Can't wait to try Studio.
I want to tell you what I think -- YOU ARE TOO WONDERFUL!! Thanks very much.
Thanks so much for your tutorials. They really are marvelous.
I received my tutorial Saturday. They are wonderful, thank you.
I want to thank you for the Embird Studio Tutorial I bought from you. Its down to earth and easy to understand!
You are a star, yes it's worked. Always the little things it seems that cause these hiccups. Many thanks.
I have to tell you, you are the best teacher. Keep up the good work. Thank you.
I just wanted to let you know that after purchasing your Redwork tutorial this evening that I sat right down and was able to digitize the Santa with great results. I am so excited. I was determined to learn Redwork and this first lesson when so well and quickly that now I am determined to move forward with my learning. Thanks so much for providing these lessons for us.
Keep up the in depth videos for those of us that are not very good at manuals as we really need them.
Keep up your wonderful teaching cds as the are invaluable to oldies like me trying to learn something new and creative.
Thank you again for your inspiration and encouragement.
I want to take this time to tell you how much I enjoy all of your books that I have gotten from you. You are a great teacher!
I appreciate so much the Embird tutorials on Studio that I bought. It is helping me learn the program well. Well worth the investment. I did lesson one on the umbrella and am now going on to the Easter egg. Carolyn is a great teacher.
Embird 2013 Videos
Batch Converting in Embird Manager Video(for Embird 2012/2013)
This video shows how to batch convert designs. Using a single design Carolyn shows you how to convert the design to a number of different formats at the same time. She explains the formats and how various formats convert differently to others. She also shows you to to convert into the correct hoops for the format you need.
This video will download in .mp4 format and play on your computer. You can then easily watch and listen to Carolyn as she shows you how to use Embird Studio. Be sure to test the FREE Video before you purchase this to ensure you can play .mp4's on your computer.
Special FREE Offer - Valid from September 12th 2012
Order the fantastic Step by Step Guide to Embird DVD and this video will be included FREE.
Hide Colors in Embird Editor Video (for Embird Editor 2012/2013)
This is a short video created by Carolyn Keber that shows you how to Hide Colors in Embird Editor 2012. It highlights one of the new features included with Embird 2012.
This video will download in .mp4 format and play on your computer. You can then easily watch and listen to Carolyn as she shows you how to use Embird Studio. Be sure to test the FREE Video before you purchase this to ensure you can play .mp4's on your computer.
Special FREE Offer - Valid from September 12th 2012
Order the fantastic Step by Step Guide to Embird DVD and this video will be included FREE.
Show Contents of Zipped Files Video (for Embird Manager 2012/2013)
Show Contents of Zipped files is a short video showing you how to use this command in Embird Manager. It’s quick and easy and will save you unzipping all your files in your folders.
This video will download in .mp4 format and play on your computer. You can then easily watch and listen to Carolyn as she shows you how to use Embird Studio. Be sure to test the FREE Video before you purchase this to ensure you can play .mp4s on your computer.
Special FREE Offer - Valid from September 12th 2012
Order the fantastic Step by Step Guide to Embird DVD and this video will be included FREE.
Viewing Text Files in Embird Video (for Embird 2012/2013)
Have you tried opening your text files in Embird only to find that Embird shows you an error message that your files are not an embroidery file and cannot be viewed? You know that you used to be able to view text files in Embird so why are you getting an error message now? In this instructional video Carolyn Keber shows you the steps that you need to take in order to view your text files correctly in Embird – just like you used to do.
This video will download in .mp4 format and play on your computer. You can then easily watch and listen to Carolyn as she shows you how to use Embird Studio. Be sure to test the FREE Video before you purchase this to ensure you can play .mp4s on your computer.
Special FREE Offer - Valid from September 12th 2012
Order the fantastic Step by Step Guide to Embird DVD and this video will be included FREE.
Studio 2013 Videos
Adding Interest to Applique Stitching in Studio Video
(for Embird Studio V6)
In this video Carolyn shows how to take a satin appliqué edge and add your own unique touch to it. She starts by using a normal satin outline and changing it to an appliqué and then adding some unique touches to it. It will help inspire embroiderers to jazz up their applique. This video playing time is just under 10 minutes.
This video will download in .mp4 format and play on your computer. You can then easily watch and listen to Carolyn as she shows you how to use Embird Studio. Be sure to test the FREE Video before you purchase this to ensure you can play .mp4's on your computer.
Special FREE Offer - Valid from September 12th 2012
Order the fantastic Step by Step Guide to Studio DVD and this video will be included FREE.
Auto Outlining in Studio Video (for Embird Studio V6 & above)
Auto Outlining in Embird Studio is a 5 minute video created by Carolyn Keber that shows you how to use the Auto Outlining command in Studio. This video shows you how quick and easy it is to create an auto outline and how to edit it. In the video Carolyn shows you how to turn the auto-outline into a Redwork outline and also what changes to make as you work it.
This video will download in .mp4 format and play on your computer. You can then easily watch and listen to Carolyn as she shows you how to use Embird Studio. Be sure to test the FREE Video before you purchase this to ensure you can play .mp4's on your computer.
Special FREE Offer - Valid from September 12th 2012
Order the fantastic Step by Step Guide to Studio DVD and this video will be included FREE.
Embird and the Silhouette Cameo
Embird and the Silhouette Cameo
Have you purchased the Silhouette Cameo or are considering purchasing it?
The Silhouette Cameo is a small plotter which very cleverly cuts out all sorts of media including quilting cotton fabric extremely well. If you create machine embroidered appliqué and you have ever used or considered Cutwork needles then this is the machine for you. If you love appliqué using quilting cottons or 100% cotton fabrics then you’ll be amazed at what a breeze it is to produce your appliqué quickly and extremely cleanly. The appliqué pieces are cut out very quickly and cleanly with no ragged edges.
And the good news is that you can create an appliqué design in Studio and then send the information to the Silhouette Cameo software, which will then cut out your appliqué pieces. You can also take an existing appliqué design that you’ve purchased, and from Studio send the information to the Silhouette software and it will also cut out the appliqué pieces.
And even better news, with a few clicks of the mouse you can take a pre-digitised design from Embird Editor and Manager and send it to the Cameo Software in order to cut the appliqué pieces. You don’t even need to own Embird Studio.
In this small tutorial you will be guided through three different step-by-step lessons showing you how to create your own appliqué design in Embird and the Silhouette software, right through to your machine.
The first lesson is in Studio and then from the Silhouette Cameo software. Carolyn will then take you through the appliqué process right through to your machine and stitching.
The second lesson is also in Studio but this time using a purchased appliqué design. Carolyn will take you right through the process including in the Cameo software and then to your machine.
The third lesson shows you how to open a purchased appliqué design in Embird Editor and Manager and then with a few clicks of the mouse, take it to the Silhouette software and then through to your machine. You do not need Embird Studio for this process.
Included with this tutorial are two appliqué designs which have been generously donated by Sweet Heirloom from their Appliqué Tropical Fish Collection.
Also included is a Snowflake Fairy which was kindly donated by Ananda at Ananda’s Divine Designs.
Both are for your own personal use with this tutorial.
On a personal note, Carolyn owns both the Cutwork needles and software and also the Silhouette Cameo and software. If she had known about the Silhouette Cameo before she purchased the Cutwork needles she would never have purchased the Cutwork Needles and software. Carolyn is so impressed with the Cameo and you have a dedicated machine for cutting appliqué rather than your embroidery machine cutting the pieces. So much better and so much quicker!
Note: The Silhouette Cameo is not available through Secrets. You can find out more about it at this site Silhouette America or purchase it from craft stores in your area.
Applique and Accuquilt Go Cutter
Embird Studio, Applique from Pre-cut Shapes & the Accuquilt Go Cutter
Do you love appliqué? Maybe you love appliqué but stitching the shapes at the sewing machine means that you need to be really accurate with your stitching. As you know this is a time consuming task.
Wouldn’t it be great to have the appliqué shapes stitch on your embroidery machine while you either watched the machine stitch or you did other sewing or another job?
In this latest lesson for creating appliqué objects in Embird Studio Carolyn takes you through opening an image accurately at the original size in Studio and then creating accurate appliqué shapes to stitch at your machine. You no longer need to place fabric squares and then trim after the tackdown stitches in the hoop in this lesson. Carolyn will show you an entirely different method.
You’ll have all the shapes cut beforehand and with your digitising skills in Studio you’ll create embroidery objects to match those shapes exactly. It’s quick and easy.
As well as showing you how to create accurate shapes and embroideries to match Carolyn also demonstrates the Accuquilt Go Cutter in this lesson - but the Go Cutter is not an essential accessory in order to use this lesson as Carolyn explains the same method when using appliqué shapes cut by hand.
The image below is a quilt from the PS I Love You book series that Carolyn made for her grandson. This quilt is easily replicated using the method taught in Carolyn’s latest lesson.
If you do use an Accuquilt cutter and dies then there is no longer any need to purchase pre-digitised designs for your shapes. You can make your own and personalise them whichever way suits the project that you’re working on, thus saving yourself money as well.
Save the shapes when completed and they’ll always be ready for future projects. They can be then edited, added to with shading etc. and made into fantastic new projects.
This is a fun way to create appliqué and you’ll be sure to wonder why you ever did appliqué any other way.
This Embird tutorial is a 25 page document in pdf format available for immediate download. You can also order it for use with PE-Design if you prefer.
"Hi Carolyn,
I just looked at the costumes you made for your grandchildren and I am so impressed. How lucky they are to have you for a grandmother. A few years ago, I made the Dallas Cowboy's cheerleader outfit for one of my college age granddaughters. I used the Embird Studio shapes to create embroideried stars. I then appliques the stars to the vest. It was quite realistic."
-Ruth
Digitizing with Studio
Carolyn Keber has designed a series of Beginner's Guides to Embird Studio. The lessons have been taken from her full Embird Digitizing Studio Tutorial and adapted for sale on an individual basis.
These lessons are suited to those who are not already familiar with Carolyn's lessons and would like to "try before they buy" the full tutorial, or for those who just wish to learn specific functions of the program.
Anyone who purchases the lessons available on this page and then wishes to upgrade to the full Embird Digitizing Studio Tutorial, will receive a credit of up to $10* off the price of the 780 page downloadable ebook.
Simply purchase the full Studio tutorial then contact the Secrets Office with your order number to request your $10* credit. This credit will be given in My Secrets Dollars that you can spend anywhere on the Secrets of Embroidery website.
*The maximum credit given will be $10 or the cost of your purchased tutorial(s) from this page if they total less than $10. This offer is only available when paying the full price for the Studio downloadable tutorial, it is not available with any other special offers.
Learning Studio Lesson 1 - Creating Shapes with the Fill Tool
In this handy 15 page lesson, Carolyn shows you how to create a basic shape using the shapes menu and how to use the available tools to create objects for designs.
She provides very clear and indepth instructions with plenty of images to help you learn to set the hoop size, set parameters, place nodes, generate stitches, save a design, and create a fill object manually.
Learning Studio Lesson 2 Creating a Design using an Image as a Template
In this lesson an image is imported into Embird Studio, and, using the image as a template, a design is created using the Embird Studio tools.
This tutorial consists of 31 pages and covers the use of the Fill Tool and the Outline Tool to create a Border object for the umbrella design.
Follow along with Carolyn as she takes you through this lesson step by step and by the end of the lesson you will have created your own design ready to stitch.
Learning Studio Lesson 3 The Easter Egg Lesson
In this lesson Carolyn takes you through the steps on how to make an Easter egg design from an image. She will show you how to use several tools in the process and explain the stitch settings for each of them.
This tutorial is a 20 page pdf document written in Carolyn Keber's clear, concise, step-by-step style. Enjoy making your own impressive Easter egg designs while learning more about the essential tools of Embird Studio v6.
Learning Studio Lesson 4 The Fill, Hole and Carving Tools Lesson
In this lesson Carolyn explains all about the Fill Tool and its Parameters. There are plenty of options available when you use the Fill Tool, now you can learn how to use them.
You will learn about Auto Column and Motif stitches as well as explanations of the stitch settings (Parameters) for the objects created with the Fill Tool.
Scaling:
Carolyn also takes you through how to use the Hole Tool and Carving Tool as well. Learn all about Density, Pull Compensation, Underlay settings and much more. You will also learn how to use the Effects option and the Gradient option in Parameters.
This lesson is an 80 page document in .pdf format.
Learning Studio Lesson 5 The Outline, Manual, Connection and Auto-Outline Tools
In this latest Embird Studio lesson Carolyn takes you through the tools such as the Outline Tool, the Manual Tool, the Connection Tool and the Auto-Outline Tool. In this 82 page lesson Carolyn shows you how to use each of these tools and explains the settings for them and then takes you through a lesson demonstrating how to use them and the options available.
The Outline Tool has quite a few options available – such as converting an outline to a satin stitch quickly, using the outline to create a border pattern or even using the outline tool to make an appliqué object. You will be amazed at all the options you have available when using the Outline Tool.
Carolyn covers the Manual Tool as well and shows you a design where the Manual Stitch has been cleverly used to add lovely accent detail to the design.
Also covered is a lesson using the Connection Tool where Carolyn explains how to use the Connection Tool, where to place the path for the Connection Tool and much more.
As well you will find a lesson using the Outline Tool to create an appliqué design.
The Outline is great for creating appliqué designs quickly and easily as Studio adds the Marking and Tackdown lines automatically. Follow along with Carolyn in this lesson while she takes you through all the options for these Tools.
Also included are lessons which include a demonstration of the Auto-Outline Tool which will be available in the next release of Embird Studio. This is a very clever tool and it will be widely appreciated as it will make creating outlines very simple – at last!
Embossing in Embird Studio Tutorial
Have you ever wanted to try your hand at creating Embossed designs? In this Embird Studio lesson Carolyn teaches you, in her usual step by step manner, how to create an embossed design using one of the Studio commands to quickly and simply create your own designs. You will be amazed at how easily you can quickly create your own designs.
Embossed designs are usually found on items with a pile such as fleece, polar fleece, velvet or toweling. You can create and personalize a number of Home Décor items using this easy method.
As well as teaching you how to create your own embossed designs Carolyn also demonstrates how to hoop your fabric and finish the embroidery. Follow along with this lesson and you will be embossing in no time at all.
This tutorial is a 25 page document in pdf format. Included are the designs that Carolyn created as well as the images required for the lesson.
Fonts and Text
Exporting Designs as Images for use with Text
A New Method (for Embird 2010 & above)
Carolyn has written an 11 page lesson on how to export an embroidery design as an image and then use it in Embird Text to help align lettering.
This is a new way of viewing an embroidery image as a template in Embird Text. Follow along with Carolyn as she explains in her usual step by step method how to create an image from an embroidery design and then use it as a template in the Text Menu. It's quick and easy.
How to Create Lettering for Caps (for Studio V5 & above) A free tutorial for newsletter subscribers from My Secrets.
This video shows you how to change the sewing order, used for lettering on caps. Caps stitch in a manner that a line of stitching starts to stitch in the center of a cap and then stitches backwards towards the left side. Once finished the machine would then move back to the center once more and then complete the stitching by stitching to the right.
Creating Single Line Text in Studio V4 A free tutorial for newsletter subscribers from My Secrets.
Have you ever wished that you could create a nice single line text to embroider on your garments or objects? Perhaps the text options available through Embird fonts just dont create the right lettering type, but you really like the style itself.
There are not alot of options available for single line text, but in this lesson Carolyn will show you how to easily create your own text with the outline style of your choice, using the Embird Text as a template.
Altering Fills for True Type Fonts (for Embird 2004 & above) A free tutorial for newsletter subscribers from My Secrets.
This lesson you will learn how to create a pretty design using True Type Fonts & Font Engine and then how to alter the fill of that design in Embird Editor.
Smart Reverse Stitches (for Embird 2006 & above) A free tutorial for newsletter subscribers from My Secrets.
This tutorial shows you a very simple, easy way to reverse stitches when you have multiple lines of text to stitch in a single design. Reverse stitching is when every alternate line of lettering is reversed to prevent the embroidery machine making such long jump stitches to repeatedly move from right to left to restart the line of stitching.
Reverse Stitches (for Embird 2004 & above) A free tutorial for newsletter subscribers from My Secrets.
In this tutorial you will learn how to reverse the stitches in Embird Editor, painlessly. The order of stitches is reversed in text so that alternate lines of lettering can be reversed to prevent the embroidery machine making such long jump stitches to return to the beginning of a line of stitching.
Images and Vectors
Thinking Outside the Square (for Embird Studio V5 & above) A free tutorial for newsletter subscribers from My Secrets.
Work along with Carolyn as she uses Embird Studio and MS Paint to draw all the pieces needed for a sewing pattern, with all the grade rules marked on the image. Carolyn found she didnt need all the fancy drawing software, and could instead use Embird Studio and MS Paint to easily create what she needed. She certainly thought "Outside the Square" for the use of Embird Studio.
Changing Designs to Images (for Embird 2006 & above) A free tutorial for newsletter subscribers from My Secrets.
This lesson shows you how to change embroidery designs into usable images. You will learn how to remove the jump stitches that show in 3D mode, so you can export a perfect 3D image of your embroidery. This image can be used in various ways, to print out on letterheads, cards etc.
Creating Vectors with Xara Xtreme (for Studio V4 & above) A free tutorial for newsletter subscribers from My Secrets.
Embird Studio has the ability to import Vector Graphic Files and then convert them into instant embroiodery designs. Vector files are graphics files that consist of lines and curves. Most vector files that are available for downloaded have not been created with the intention of turning them into embroidery designs, and the results are not always the best when stitching out.
Xara Xtreme is a really good program for creating your own vector files. In this lesson Carolyn shows you to easy it is to use some of the tools in Xara and turn that graphic into a deisgn in Embird Studio.
Editing and Duplicating
Fun with Guidelines (for Embird 2010 & above) A free tutorial for newsletter subscribers from My Secrets.
In this lesson, Carolyn shows you how to use one of the new features in the latest release of Embird – Embird 2010 Build 8.8. Guide Lines are now accessible in Embird Editor.
Carolyn shows you one way in which you can cleverly use the Guide Lines to split objects and re-arrange the files into a different design. Included in this little lesson is the design file that Carolyn used.
Using Stitch List to Edit Designs (for Embird 2004 & above) A free tutorial for newsletter subscribers from My Secrets.
In this tutorial Carolyn will show you to to automatically convert a WMF file into a one color embroidery design using Font Engine. Then how to use Stitch List in Embird to identify the different parts of the design and split them. This enables you to change the colors of the different parts of the design and stitch them all individually.
Duplicating Parts of a Design (for Studio V4 & above) A free tutorial for newsletter subscribers from My Secrets.
Have you ever created a design in Embird Studio and wished you could have duplicated the notes from one side of the object and mirror image them so that a single object is created all at once. This would save time digitizing by not having to digitize the other side. Carolyn will show you how to do this in this lesson.
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Building a Library of Design Parts (for Studio V4 & above) A free tutorial for newsletter subscribers from My Secrets.
Not everyone is a digitizer, nor do they want to become a digitizer. Howerver there might be a time when you are putting designs together in Embird, and find you need a special shape to finish off.
Carolyn will show you how to create your shapes, and build a library of design parts to be used at your convienience.
Creating a Workspace (for Embird 2004 & above) A free tutorial for newsletter subscribers from My Secrets.
Do you ever import a number of different designs into Embird Editor and arrange them in different combinations to see how a project will work. If you save them in the usual way, they will be saved as one file, that you can not edit when you re-open them.
In this tutorial Carolyn will show you how to save the project you are working on, without joining all the files together, into a Workspace File. Once saved, this file can be re-opened and the designs will appear on your Design Page in the same positions as they were when you closed out of the screen.
Corner Designs into a Frame (for Embird 2004 & above) A free tutorial for newsletter subscribers from My Secrets.
In this lesson, Carolyn shows you how to take a design, rotate it and turn it into a frame design using the Edit/Corner command in Embird Editor.
You can then insert other designs or fonts of your choice into the center of the frame.
Customizing and Installing
Embird Manager Thread Catalogue A free tutorial for newsletter subscribers from My Secrets.
In the latest Embird 8.8D Build there are a number of changes to the program. In this small lesson Carolyn takes you through one of the new commands. This new command will give you another option when changing colors in designs using Embird Manager.
Included with the lesson is the Fairy design that Carolyn created in Embird Studio for her Embird Studio tutorial.
How to Install Embird 2010 on an Apple Mac Computer A free tutorial for newsletter subscribers from My Secrets.
Do you own an Apple Mac Computer? Are you having trouble installing Embird on it? If so, this tutorial will guide you through the process of installing Embird on your Mac Computer.
It includes clear step by step directions, and pictures to help you easily install Embird 2010 in no time.
Customizing the Design Page (for Embird 2006 & above) A free tutorial for newsletter subscribers from My Secrets.
Customize how you view hoops on your computer screen in the Design page of Embird Editor. Learn how you can set the hoops, grid, background, and borders to colors of your choice.
Customizing hoop colors could be used for various reasons. One, to show the background color of the hoop, as fabric you intend to stitch the design on, to see if any thread colors need changing to suit the background fabric.Another reason is if you dont want the grid lines to show when you print a template of the design.
Keyboard Shortcuts for Studio V5 A free tutorial for newsletter subscribers from My Secrets.
Use this handy printable guide as a quick reference guide for around 90 different keyboard shortcuts you can use to speed up your digitizing in Embird Studio. The shortcut command, along with description of what it does are both included. A must have for any serious digitizer.
Creating a Personal Favorites Folder (for Embird 2004 & above) A free tutorial for newsletter subscribers from My Secrets.
Carolyn will show you how to create your own personal folders for a "quick start" straight into your embroidery designs folder.
Long Mouse Click Video for Writing Designs (for Embird 2004 & above)
A free tutorial for newsletter subscribers from My Secrets.
One of the marvelous features of Embird is that you can send your designs straight to your Data Pen, Smart Media Reader Writer or USB capable embroidery machine if you wish. Carolyn will show you how to do this with the Long Mouse Click.
Note this is a large video file you will need to download and play.
Embird & The Ultimate Box (for Embird 2004 & above) A free tutorial for newsletter subscribers from My Secrets.
Owners of The Ultimate Box can write their designs to their Ultimate Card from directly within the Embird program.
Carolyn will show you how to do that with this little tutorial.
This downloadable tutorial is about how easy it is to change colors in a series of designs using the Load command in Manager. This command is particularly useful for design sets that have similar colors. By using this command you can quickly and easily change all the colors in sets of designs to new colors without having to laboriously change each color individually.
Included with this lesson are three designs that have been generously provided for your personal use by Ananda Smith at Divine Designs.
Re-sizing Designs (for Embird 2004 & above)
This downloadable ebook guides you through resizing designs in Embird 2004 in an easy to understand, step by step manner. You'll be able to work at your own pace using two lovely designs, which have been kindly supplied by Cardinal Country Designs and Birdhouse Cottage Crafts.
In this 38 page tutorial you will learn the basics of resizing including:
How to prepare your design for resizing - what to look for and how to examine your designs after resizing.
An in depth explanation on density.
How to re-size correctly.
How to separate and apply different density settings to sections fo the design.
How to apply different density settings to sections of the design.
And all the reasons why on earth you'd want to do any of this!
Changing One Color Designs into Two Colors (for Embird 2004 & above) A free tutorial for newsletter subscribers from My Secrets.
In this lesson Carolyn shows you how to personalize a design by changing a one color object into a two color object, and then inserting a basting stitch to stabilize your fabric.
Personal Thread Catalog (for Embird 2004 & above)
A free tutorial for newsletter subscribers from My Secrets.
In this lesson Carolyn shows you how to change and customize thread colors of a design, and create your own thread colors and catalog using RGB colors (not just choose colors from a thread manufacturer).
EDR Files (for Embird 2004 & above) A free tutorial for newsletter subscribers from My Secrets.
In this lesson Carolyn shows you the role of EDR files when chaging colors in Embird Manager. If you use Embird, you would have seen EDR files tucked away with your designs. These files contain all the color information of your designs with the same name. Carolyn shows you how to choose your colors and save them in EDR.
Splitting and Alignment
Select, Scan & Align (for Embird 2008 / Studio V5 and above)
Would you like to embroider designs on ready-made garments but you have wondered how you could place them in the right place on the garment easily?
Have you thought about adding embroidery to cut out pattern pieces before you have stitched them and wondered how you could get accurate placement?
In this Select, Scan and Align lesson Carolyn shows you how to add embroidery to a pattern piece or a ready-made garment yourself using a little bit of ingenuity and without having to purchase any other software program - other than Embird or Studio - in order to do it.
Follow along with Carolyn as she takes you through her method. As long as you are able to scan pattern pieces or actual garments pieces and you have Embird or Embird Studio and a graphics program such as Paint Shop Pro or similar you will be able to use this lesson.
Carolyn shows you two ways to do this lesson: one in Embird Studio combined with Embird Editor; and the other way is for those that don't own Embird Studio. So if you only own Embird Editor you will still be able to complete this lesson. You will end up with garments that you'll be proud to own. When Carolyn finished her blouse that she made for this lesson the comments that she received were “Oh that is so pretty!”.
Now, you can create your own garments using this method with the help of this easy to follow, 28 page tutorial. It is for anyone with either Embird Basic (Manager and Editor) or Embird Studio as Carolyn shows how to have the same result whether you own Studio, Embird or both!
Carolyn Keber includes Splitting and Rejoining lessons in her full Embird 2010 Tutorial. IF you dont own that, you can learn how to split and rejoin designs in this mini tutorial made with Embird 2004.
There are currently many beautiful embroidery designs available that will not fit into the hoops for our embroidery machines.
Using Embird Editor you can easily and accurately split these designs, line them back up, and sew them out in a hoop that was previously considered too small.
This tutorial walks you step-by-step through 2 methods for doing this.
It contains lots of pictures and a beautiful large floral design which you use as an example in the tutorial. This design has been kindly donated by Heather Beckett of Birdhouse Cottage Crafts.
Adding Alignment Lines to Create Border Designs (for Embird 2004 & above) A free tutorial for newsletter subscribers from My Secrets.
In this lesson you will learn how to add alignment lines to a design that can be then sewn, in a continuous manner on your embroidery machine. This is handy when you would like to sew a design around the edge of a tablecloth or other special linen and do hot have a special border hoop for your machine.
Using Overlap Hoops
Splitting for the Overlap Hoop or Janome Giga Hoop
(for Embird Editor)
Do you own the Gigahoop or Overlap Hoop or perhaps a large hoop that needs the design split and re-joined at the machine - such as a Pfaff hoop? Do you need help with splitting for that hoop?
Have you ever had problems with alignment at the machine with your hoop?
The Overlap and Gigahoops have been known to cause embroiderers a few heartaches at their machine as some have found that they have small gaps where their split design should re-join at the machine.
Carolyn, with the help of her friend Bryden, has come up with a solution to this problem that will hopefully solve this problem.
In this 50 page tutorial, follow along with Carolyn as she takes you through splitting using the Janome Gigahoop as an example, and then shows you how to align the design at the machine.
Carolyn shows you two different methods of getting a good alignment.
By the end of the tutorial you should feel confident enough to try your hand at splitting your own designs and stitching them out knowing that they will align nicely.
The lesson is filled with great information, photos and tips for splitting as well as aligning the design at your machine.
While this lesson is written using the Janome Gigahoop as an example, anyone with an Overlap hoop will also find this lesson very helpful.
It it shows you how to split and then re-align at the machine even when you have previously had problems aligning your designs.
Included with the tutorial are two lovely embroidery designs (as pictured above), generously supplied for your use by Ace Points Embroidery.
Guide to Setting up and Using the Husqvarna Ghia Hoop
(for Embird Editor)
In this tutorial Carolyn shows you how to put the Ghia Hoop (for Husqvarna Machines) together along with the support tables for the hoop.
Once set up she shows you how to mark the hoop positions so that you get correct placements for your designs.
In Embird Editor Carolyn shows you how to use this hoop and how to save the designs.
Once the designs are ready for the machine Carolyn takes you through stitching them out. Follow along with Carolyn as she helps you through the GHIA hoop.
Although this tutorial was written using the Super Long GHIA as an example, the same principles apply to the vast majority of GHIA hoops.
So if you have ever needed guidance with a GHIA hoop then this tutorial will help you
Insert Alignment Marks for Husqvarna Designer 1 Endless Hoop
(for Embird 2004 & above)
Here is a written tutorial and video for the Husqvarna Endless Hoop. You can create endless embroideries very simply and easily with this hoop. Following this tutorial, you will not need any special software other then Embird and Husqvarna Disk Manager to be able to create the continuous borders.
The machines that use this hoop are the Husqvarna Designer 1 and Designer 2 and they must have been updated with the free update from the Husqvarna web-site before they can use this hoop. The Endless hoop is available from your local Husqvarna dealer.
Inserting Alignment Stitches Video
This video which accompanies the tutorial will help you understand the theory and inserting of alignment stitches. It is included with the above tutorial and shows the alignment stitches only. You need to have read the Endless Hoop Tutorial first, as this video only demonstrates one feature of the lesson.
Splitting for Overlap Hoops (for Embird 2004 & above) A free tutorial for newsletter subscribers from My Secrets.
In this lesson Carolyn shows you to to split designs from within Embird, to be used for Overlap Hoops. The hoop used in this example is the Brother Overlap hoop 100x172 but any overlap hoop can be used by applying the same principles in this lesson.
Redwork and Outlines
Auto Outlining in Studio (for Embird Studio V6 & above)
Auto Outlining in Embird Studio is a 5 minute video created by Carolyn which shows you how to use the Auto Outlining command in Studio. This video shows you how quick and easy it is to create an auto outline and how to edit it. In the video Carolyn shows you how to turn the auto-outline into a Redwork outline and also what changes to make as you work it.
This video will download in .mp3 format and play on your computer. You can then easily watch and listen to Carolyn as she shows you how to use Embird Studio. Be sure to test the FREE Video before you purchase this to ensure you can play .mp3s on your computer.
Creating Stippling and Outline Designs (for Studio V5 & above)
In this lesson, Carolyn takes you through creating your own stippling in Embird Studio using the Freehand Tool.
Follow along with Carolyn in her usual easy manner and by the end of the lesson you will be confident to create your own stipple designs.
These designs can then be used for quilting, home decoration and on garments.
In the second lesson Carolyn shows you how to add an embroidery design - which is included for your personal use in the lesson due to the generosity of Ace Points Embroidery - and then create your stippling around the design.
Embird Studio does have a Motif stitch for stippling, but as it is created in a line form it is not always suitable for the stippled projects that we like to create.
True stippling meanders throughout a design. You will be thrilled at how simple it is to create a stippling pattern which can be used over and over again and then re-sized and changed to suit any project that you decide to create.
Using another method, Carolyn will show you how to create an automatic outline for stippling or outline images. You’ll be amazed at what you can do and this should open up lots of design opportunities for you. You will always look at outline images in a different light.
Included with the lesson is the beautiful Ace Points Embroidery posy design, an image file to use for your stippling practice, plus 3 free bonus Stippling files.
Redwork Made Easy (for Embird Studio V5 & above)
This fabulous 25 page tutorial shows three different ways to do Redwork, what stitches to use, what settings to use and how to get the Arrange Outline Parts command to work nicely with the Redwork. It’s an easy to follow lesson which will have you creating your own Redwork within no time at all. It also includes a video which demonstrates the Arrange Outline Parts command - for those that like to "see" how to do it.
The Redwork Made Easy download file includes:
Full color tutorial in pdf format on creating Redwork using Embird Studio
Four minute video demonstrating the Arrange Outline Parts command
Two example designs in both of and jpg formats
Creating Mono-Color Designs (for Studio V5 & above)
Tutorial by Carolyn Keber.
This tutorial teaches you how to create a very pretty single colored design , such as the Monogram shown above - with a variety of fills and outline styles that will turn out an embroidery design suitable for use on linen, clothing, towels, and much more.
Carolyn, in her usual easy to follow step by step manner, shows you how to plan and then create the design using the Embird Studio tools.
This design will not only look beautiful when finished but will stitch out without any jump stitches or trims. Work along with Carolyn as she shows, with lots of screen shots, how to create this very pretty design. This tutorial of over 40 pages will give you the confidence to dive in and create lots more designs in a similar manner. Why pay high end prices for beautiful embroidered linen and garments when you can create your own?
The Outline Tool (for Studio V4 & above) A free tutorial for newsletter subscribers from My Secrets.
Learn how to use the outline tool and change the parameters or stitch settings to different selections to create different effects. The outline tool in Studio is very versatile and has a number of options available to it. Carolyn will guide you through this, to make your own Love Doves.
Satin Stitch and Fills
Using Wide Satin Stitch (for Studio V5 & above)
In this tutorial Carolyn takes you through a lesson on using the Wide Satin Stitch feature in Embird Studio.
The wide satin stitch setting was released in the Embird Studio Version 5 and is a great alternative to regular satin stitch when you are creating large fill areas that require satin stitch but the areas are too large for regular satin stitch.
Follow along with Carolyn in this lesson and try out this new feature. You will be able to apply it to all sorts of designs – not only lettering, but to any fill area.
Watch the video and see how Carolyn uses wide satin stitch and then refer to the written notes that accompany the video. The video can even be downloaded and played on your iPod Touch (if you have one)!
In her usual easy to follow style Carolyn takes you step by step through the Embird Studio Trace Tool command. (available in Studio V5 & above) Follow along with her to learn how to create great designs from the included images. This extensive tutorial is 45 pages long.
Below is an excerpt from the tutorial:
Fun with Fur Motif Fills (for Studio V4 & above) A free tutorial for newsletter subscribers from My Secrets.
This lesson shows you how to use the motif fills in studio to create the best fur affect on an animal. Carolyn will guide you through the process of making this cute bear. This lesson is aimed at those who already have some knowledge of Studio and its commands and just want to learn the fur affect.
Changing Long Satin Stitch Fills (for Embird 2004 and above) A free tutorial for newsletter subscribers from My Secrets.
In this lesson you will learn how to change a fill or fills in Embird. You may have a design that when viewed in the 3D stitch mode in Embird Editor, appears to have gaps in it. This is caused by very long satin stitches, these are hard for your machine to sew out. The best thing to do is change the fill in those affected area. Carolyn will show you how.
Converting Studio Fill to Sfumato Fill (for Studio V4 & above) A free tutorial for newsletter subscribers from My Secrets.
In this lesson Carolyn will show you how to take an existing eof file - Embird Studio File - and change a part of that file into an interesting fill using a command in Embird Studio. This is perfect for creating the checkered effect on the bears shirt to look like a knitted top. You will need to have Sfumato registered to use this lesson.
Introduction to Embird Cross Stitch 3 A free tutorial for newsletter subscribers from My Secrets.
Carolyn takes you through a couple of the great features of the Cross Stitch plug-in for Embird. Learn how to make this yellow flower into a cross stitch fill design with this 14 page tutorial.
Introduction to Sfumato V2 A free tutorial for newsletter subscribers from My Secrets.
In this lesson Carolyn will introduce you to Embird Sfumato Plug-in. She will show you the basics of how easy it is to take a photo and turn it into an embroidery design.
Applique Lessons
Creating an Applique Design (for Studio V3 & above)
This downloadable tutorial ebook shows you how to create an appliqué design in Embird Studio using the Outline Tool and adjusting the Parameters to suit the design.
Carolyn takes you through this lesson step by step, and shows you how to create a very cute applique lion from clipart.
Carolyn also teaches you how to create the fur effect for the lion’s mane and how to add the other body features for the lion. The tutorial also includes photos showing how the design is stitched out on an embroidery machine.
Applique with Fonts (for Font Engine & Embird 2006 & above) A free tutorial for newsletter subscribers from My Secrets.
This lesson Carolyn uses Font Engine to create an applique lettering of her grandsons name, for a Santa Sack. She shows you how to edit the letters so that Embird will stitch all the applique in one stitchout, rather then individual letters. It takes a little work in Embird to do this, but the result is seamless, and stitches as a quick applique on your machine.
Adjusting Applique Satin Stitch (Embird 2004 & above) A free tutorial for newsletter subscribers from My Secrets.
In this lesson Carolyn shows you how to adjust the width of applique stitch in Embird Editor without affecting the rest of your design. You may have a design where the satin stitch width is not enough to cover the edges of the applique fabric you are using. It is very quick and easy to solve this problem. Let Carolyn show you how to do it.
Stabilizing and Underlay
Creating Underlay for a Whole Design (for Studio V4 & above)
A free tutorial for newsletter subscribers from My Secrets.
The stability of an embroidery design is very important when stitching. Creating an embroidery design with a number of objects in it, each with their own separate underlay, does not always create the best stabilisation for your embroidery design. In this lesson Carolyn shows you how to create underlay for a whole design in Embird Studio using existing objects you have already created. You will need to already be a little familiar with the tools of Studio to use this lesson.
Creating Stabilizing Grids for Designs (for Studio V3 & above) A free tutorial for newsletter subscribers from My Secrets.
Have you ever stitched out a design and found that the outline is "off" - away from the edge of the design - leaving a gap between the fill and outline. This can be caused by a number of factors and is not always the result of a poorly digitized design.
Some of the causes can be:
The same direction of fill used throughout the design.
Improper hooping.
Improper stabilizing
A stretchy fabric
In this lesson you will learn how to create a grid in Embird Studio so that you can save it to your machines memory. Once you have created the grid you will then be able to adjust the size of this grid for every hoop size that you have for your machine and save it in the memory fo your embroidery machine. This way you can "call up" your gird and use it before stitching out any design you wish - especially those with outlines.
Creating Basting Stitches for your Machine Hoops (for Embird 2004 & above) A free tutorial for newsletter subscribers from My Secrets.
In this tutorial you will learn a very simple way to create your own basting files for each of your machine hoops. Then you can save these basting files to your embroidery machines memory. This way you can easily call up the basting stitches, for the hoop you are using, when you go to stitch out your design.
When you use basting stitches before stitching your design out, you know your design will be safely secured to your hoop and fabric. As the basting stitches are stored in your machines memory, you can use them over and over again.
Creative Projects
Make a 3D Lavender Hanger (for Embird 2004 + ) A free tutorial for newsletter subscribers from My Secrets.
In this lesson Carolyn shows you how to take a freestanding lace design and make it into a 3D Lavender Hanger.
You will learn how to seperate the design and re-arrange the sewing order, duplicate parts of it and then put it back together again.
Step by Step instructions and photos are also included for stitching out your design and completing your 3D Freestanding Lace Lavender Hanger.
Make a Bobbin Work Butterfly (for Studio V3 & above) A free tutorial for newsletter subscribers from My Secrets.
In this lesson you will learn how you can create wonderful effects with your embroidery using Embird Studio.
The butterfly you will learn to make will be a combination of cutwork using organza and "bobbin work" or free stitching in Studio.
Creating Fluffy Flowers (for Embird 2004 & above) A free tutorial for newsletter subscribers from My Secrets.
If you dont know how to digitize, then Carolyn will show you an easy way to create cute fluffy flowers in Embird using two of Embirds plug-in texts. You will be able to make this fluffly flower from the round full stop, or period in an alphabet.
She will also show you how to stitch out the flower and cut your bobbin thread to create this cute fluffy flower.
Creating 3D Designs (for Embird 2004 & above) A free tutorial for newsletter subscribers from My Secrets.
In your "Embroidery Stash" you will have a number of regular embroidery designs that, with a little bit of thaught, and help from Embird, can be changed into 3D designs.
This tutorial shows you how to change a design from "regular embroidery" to "lovely 3D embroidery. This method of creating 3D designs would be suitable for lots of designs. You could reate bees, bugs, dragonflies, fairies, flowers and much more.
Order your Embird products, upgrades and plugins here.
The Ultimate Box and Ultimate Card is a design transfer system for embroidery machines.
Do you have an embroidery machine that can only read designs from a card, but you don't want to spend a substantial amount of money on pre-programmed design cards? Instead, you can download and use designs from the Internet or buy them on disk. Then, The Ultimate Box and The Ultimate Card (re-writable blank card) are all you need!
If you already have some experience in embroidery and you would like to edit, re-size, split designs or digitize your own designs, you may choose to use an embroidery software program that fits your needs and budget - we recommend Embird! However, any software used in conjunction with The Ultimate Box and The Ultimate Card provides you with all the necessary tools.
Finally, if you are an experienced digitizer then you probably already own very sophisticated high quality software. Now, add The Ultimate Box and The Ultimate Card and you have a perfect match!
The Ultimate Box and The Ultimate Card are about freedom. The freedom to choose which software to use, how many designs to transfer to the card, and how large those designs will be. Here's how it works...
Download a design to your computer from the Internet, or from a disk.
Edit it with your embroidery software, such as any version of Embird, PE Design, Melco etc.
Save the design to the hard drive of your computer in PES, PEC or HUS format.
Transfer the selected embroidery design to The Ultimate Card.
Next, simply place the card into your embroidery machine and… Happy Sewing!
There are two different Ultimate Boxes available in either Basic or Plus versions.
Find out which one suits your machine and requirements from the information below or Click Here for the Ultimate Box Comparison Chart.
Minimum System Requirements:
IBM PC Compatible*
Pentium 166 MHz
RAM 32 Mb
USB port
MS Windows (any version)
Screen Resolution 800x600
Compact Disk Drive
* MAC users need to have Virtual PC to work with The Ultimate Box.
** Ultimate Box is equipped with only one USB connector
Each Ultimate Box includes:
USB Cable
Manual
Installation Disk
Warranty Registration Card
The Ultimate Box USB (Basic) is a single slot read/write box for PES (Brother, Babylock, Bernina Deco, Simplicity, White) and HUS (Viking/Husqvarna Rose, 1+, Iris) Embroidery Machines.
The Ultimate Box writes to The Ultimate Cards, Version I, II and III, Amazing (Magic) blank card and 512K (4 Megabit) Blank Brother card. The Ultimate Box reads and saves designs back to the hard drive of your computer from the above blank cards and most pre-programmed design cards.
The Ultimate Box includes the basic software you need to read/write to cards.
The Ultimate Box Plus has the same functionality as the Ultimate Box USB (Basic), with additional software that provides full design format conversion, automatic "fit-to-hoop" resizing, rotating, mirroring and more.
While retaining all the great benefits of The Ultimate Box USB (basic), the Ultimate Box Plus offers several new features:
A preview in a greyscale is displayed on the embroidery machine after card has been programmed.
Designs can be scaled, rotated and flipped over in the machines that support these functions.
It is easier to position designs in the corners of the hoop.
More pre-programmed cards can be read.
Improved accuracy of colour information while reading cards.
Design files can now be re-named, copied, etc. inside the Ultimate box Explorer.
Drag and drop function.
The Ultimate Box includes the basic software you need to read/write to cards.
The Ultimate Box II (Basic) is a dual slot card reader/writer device that, in addition to the functionality of the Ultimate Box USB, also supports Pfaff and Bernina Artista 200 (with Ultimate Card III), Deco 330 (Ultimate Card for Deco 330).
Reads re-writable cards and most pre-programmed design cards.
The Ultimate Box includes the basic software you need to read/write to cards.
The Ultimate Box II Plus has the same functionality as the Ultimate Box II (Basic), with additional software that provides full design format conversion, automatic "fit-tohoop" resizing, rotating, mirroring and more.
While retaining all the great benefits of The Ultimate Box II (basic), the Ultimate Box II Plus offers several new features:
A preview in a greyscale is displayed on the embroidery machine after card has been programmed.
Designs can be scaled, rotated and flipped over in the machines that support these functions.
It is easier to position designs in the corners of the hoop.
More pre-programmed cards can be read.
Improved accuracy of colour information while reading cards.
Design files can now be re-named, copied, etc. inside the Ultimate box Explorer.
Drag and drop function.
The Ultimate Box includes the basic software you need to read/write to cards, or you can use Embird with it.
International Orders outside the US
All our shipping prices quoted on site are for US orders only. If you live outside the US the shipping cost will be $68.00. A standard shipping and procesing fee of $18.00 is automatically added to your order at the checkout, so please use the $50 Add to Cart button below to add the additional required international shipping cost to your order.
The Ultimate Cards
There are four different Ultimate Cards available.
Click Here for The Ultimate Card Compatibility List of embroidery machines by models and manufacturers.
The Ultimate Card has the Ultimate Memory Size. 1 Megabyte is the largest memory space that can be recognized, read and used by Brother, Babylock, White, Bernina Deco or Simplicity sewing machines. Ultimate Card can store about 35-40 patterns with over 450,000 total number of stitches. At the same time, these cards provide the maximum storage capacity of 512k (about 230,000 stitches) for Viking, Husqvarna machines.
IMPORTANT! Even though the Ultimate Card is the largest re-writable card on the market, when used with Amazing Box type products you are still limited by the restrictions of those boxes, for example no more than six designs can be transferred to the card and designs have size and color limitations. On the other hand, if the blank card that is supplied with the Amazing Box (Magic Box, Mini Box, Smart Box, Universal Embroidery Translator Box) is used with the Ultimate Box, these restrictions no longer apply.
The Ultimate Card Version I works with The Ultimate Box (Basic & Plus), The Ultimate Box II (Basic & Plus), The Magic Box, Amazing Box or Bernina box.
Use the same Ultimate Card I or II with Brother, Babylock, White, Bernina Deco and Simplicity embroidery machines. The Ultimate Card I can also be used with Viking and Husqvarna embroidery machines. Each brand requires a diffirent programing method that is provided by The Ultimate box or other embroidery reader/writer devices.
The Ultimate Card, Version II is needed only for use with PE-Design Box, Ver. 4.0 or higher (Palette, Deco Wizard). This card can also be used with The Ultimate Box (Basic & Plus), The Ultimate Box II (Basic & Plus), The Magic Box, Amazing Box or Bernina box.
Please note there are some compatibility issues with the Ultimate Card II not working properly in PED- Basic and versions of PE-Design boxes older than 6.0. Click here for more information on this and how to fix the problem if you have one of these boxes.
The Ultimate Card III can be programmed for use with Bernina Artista 200 embroidery machines only by the dual-slot Ultimate Box II (Basic or Plus).
It can also be used with with Pfaff embroidery machines, by Pfaff Creative/Smart station box or the dual-slot Ultimate Box II (Basic or Plus).
The Ultimate Card ver.III has the largest possible memory capacity 512KBites that Pfaff 7560, 7570, 2140, 2144 and Bernina Artista 200 sewing machines can use. They hold four times more designs than 128Kb Pfaff or 128Kb Artista cards!
All Pfaff and Artista cards, as well as The Ultimate Card ver.III, are manufactured using the same PCMCIA technology.
Just place your Ultimate Card III into the dual-slot Ultimate Box II (Basic or Plus) and transfer as many designs as the card can hold!
The Ultimate Card for Bernina Deco 330 can be programmed by a dual-slot Ultimate Box II (Basic or Plus) with embroidery designs in EXP format. It can not be programmed by Amazing/Magic/Bernina boxes.
International Orders outside the US
All shipping prices quoted on site are for US orders only. If you live outside the US the shipping cost will be $68.00. A standard $11 shipping cost and $7 procesing fee is automatically added to your order at the checkout, so please use the $50 Add to Cart button below to add the additional international shipping cost to your order.
Embird & The Ultimate Box
The Ultimate Box Plus, Ultimate Card and Embird Program.
The only package you will need to be able to get designs from the Internet, to your computer, and sewing machine.
The single card slot Ultimate Box Plus and dual card Ultimate Box II come with the trial version of Embird embroidery software. The basic Embird program resizes, splits, edits, displays, prints and converts embroidery designs. Embird will enable you to do everything you need to your designs on your computer, before you use them with your machine. Enjoy Embird with your free 30 day trial to see how you like the program before deciding whether to register it.
All You Need to Use Designs from the Net
Embird, the Ultimate Box Plus or II and Ultimate Card are all you need to be able to use designs both on your computer and machine. Here's how it works...
Download a design to your computer from the Internet, or from a disk.
Edit it with your embroidery software, such as any version of Embird, PE Design, Melco etc.
Save the design to the hard drive of your computer in PES, PEC or HUS format.
Transfer the selected embroidery design to the Ultimate card.
Next, simply place the card into your embroidery machine and… Happy Sewing!
Embird Registration
The single card slot Ultimate Box Plus and dual card Ultimate Box II come with the trial version of Embird embroidery software. The Embird part of the program expires in 30 days after installation unless the registration key is purchased. Registration numbers are generally sent to you by email and can be ordered from the Embird area of Secrets of Embroidery.
VERY IMPORTANT! Even after Embird expiration in 30 days, The Ultimate Box operation remains fully functional. No purchase of any licenses or registrations is necessary to continue using the Ultimate box in conjunction with any embroidery software other than Embird.
Ultimate Box and Ultimate Card Compatibility
The Ultimate Box will work with the Brother, Baby Lock, Bernina Deco, Simplicity or Viking/Husqvarna machines.
The Ultimate Box II will work with the Pfaff and Bernina Machines. (Please note - if you are using the Embird software with the Bernina machines, you will be able to view and edit designs in ART format, but not convert from other formsts to ART. You will need the Artista software to do this).
Using Embird with The Ultimate Box to Read and Write from your Ultimate Cards.
The Ultimate Box is a read/write device that transfers embroidery designs from the hard drive of your computer to a re-writable blank embroidery card that fits your Brother, Babylock, Bernina Deco, Simplicity, White and Viking/Husqvarna embroidery machines. The Ultimate Box writes up to 230,000 stitches to the Amazing/Magic and Brother 512 Kilobyte (4 Megabit) blank cards. The Ultimate Box writes over 450,000 stitches to the Ultimate Card. It reads and saves designs back to the hard drive of your computer from the above cards and most pre-programmed design cards (except licensed design cards). The box connects with a cable to the USB port of your computer. .
Note: Ultimate Box is developed by Vikant Corporation. Vikant Corporation is not affiliated with any manufacturers mentioned here. All brand names and product names are trademarks and servicemarks of the respective manufacturers.
Warning: Embird supports the USB version of The Ultimate Box only, it does not support the serial port version of Ultimate Box, even if used with a USB adapter. If you have the serial port version of Ultimate Box, please note that you can update your box to the new Ultimate Box.
Screen Basics
The Ultimate Box screen is divided into two main sections.
The top portion of the screen is used to navigate folders on your computer and select designs. It is divided into three areas. The Folder Tree (top left) allows you to easily navigate to the folders on your computer. While browsing, double click on a folder to open or close it. The full path of the current folder is displayed above this panel. The File Browsing Panel (top middle) displays the files in the currently selected folder. You can filter the files displayed in the File Browsing Panel by selecting Mask in the box above this panel. Click on a file to select it and preview it in the Preview area (top right). Above this section is the main toolbar and menus.
The bottom section of the screen is a Holding Area for writing, reading and viewing designs on the embroidery card. Directly above the Holding Area is the Action Bar which includes the following options:
Copy To Holding Area - Copies the currently selected design(s) from File Browsing Panel to the Holding Area.
Copy to Folder - Copies the designs from the Holding Area to the currently selected folder on your computer.
Remove from Holding Area - Removes selected designs from the Holding Area.
Rename - Renames a design in the Holding Area.
Write to Card - Starts writing a card. (For more details see Writing to Embroidery Cards.)
Read from Card - Starts reading from a card. (For more details see Reading Embroidery Cards.)
Erase Card - Remove all designs from a card.
Writing to Embroidery Cards
WARNING: All data on a re-writable embroidery card has to be erased before any new information can be written on it. Make sure that any valuable data is saved on the hard drive of your computer or move it to the Holding Area before you write to the card.
To write designs to the card (make sure the card is in the reader/writer box):
On the top menu bar, select the type of embroidery card you want to write. Choose from Brother Card or Viking Card.
Use the Folder Tree to navigate to your embroidery designs folder.
Select a design in the File Browsing Panel to preview it. To add designs to the Holding Area, click on the Copy to Holding Area action button. The bottom status bar shows you amount of space used on the embroidery card and the amount remaining.
When you have finished adding designs to the Holding Area, click the Write to Card action button.
5. As a last reminder, the software will ask you to confirm the Write procedure. Select OK.
When Write operation is complete, take the card out of reader/writer box, insert it into your sewing machine and start embroidering.
Write Card Error
If you have chosen more design files than will fit on the card, a warning message will appear. You will need to remove some designs from the Holding Area before you can write to the card.
Click OK.
Select a design in the Holding Area and click Remove from Holding Area action button. Repeat this step until the yellow bar in the status area turns blue.
Try to write again.
Reading Embroidery Cards
WARNING: All designs in the Holding Area are removed and replaced by the designs on the embroidery card.
To read/save designs from the card to the hard drive of your computer:
Click the Read from Card action button.
If required by the embroidery card, you are prompted for a design file name prefix. Modify this if desired and click OK. Designs will use this prefix and be assigned sequential numbers.
The embroidery card is read and the designs are displayed in the Holding Area. This process may take up to 5 minutes.
Use the Folder Tree to navigate to the desired folder. You can also create a new folder to store the designs using the New Folder tool bar button.
After the destination folder is selected, click the Copy to Folder action button.
To clear Holding Area, select all designs in Holding Area and click the Remove from Holding Area action button.
To rename files:
Select the file in File Browsing Panel.
Click the Rename action button above the panel.
At the prompt change the file name.
The Ultimate Box FAQs
How can I use the Ultimate Card II with my PE Design 6.0 or PED Basic. The Ultimate Cards ver.II (UCv.II) are designed for PE-Design type (Deco Wizard, Baby Lock Palette) and PED-Basic boxes. In PE-Design software, version 6.0 blank card formatting was changed. Therefore, all version II cards come from Vikant formatted for PE-Design boxes 6 and higher. However, this formatting procedure prevents the v.IIcard from working in PED-Basic or PE-Design 4 and 5. The “Read-only card” message is displayed.
There is a simple solution to this problem: The card has to be ERASED in the Ultimate Box (insert the card into the Ultimate Box with USB connection and click "ERASE" button)
Current owners of Ultimate Card, version II and PED-Basic or PE-Design 4 and 5 experiencing problems should send cards to Vikant, so the cards can be re-formatted. You will only need to send the cards in if you do not have the Ultimate Box to Erase them.
Specify on the order whether the card, version II is for PE-Design 6.0 or the PED-Basic or PE-Design 4 & 5. Use the Contact Us form at the top of the website.
Does The Ultimate Box write to The Ultimate Card, only? No, The Ultimate Box writes designs to The Ultimate Card version I & II, the Amazing (Magic, Universal Embroidery Translator, Dream Maker, Bernina box) blank card and 512Kilobyte (4Megabit) Brother blank embroidery card.
I understand that The Ultimate Box reads and saves designs to my computer from the cards it writes to. Are there any other cards that The Ultimate Box can read? Yes, it reads and saves designs to the hard drive of your computer from most of the preprogrammed Brother type design cards, except copyrighted cards.
I don't have any digitizing software and would like to use designs downloaded from the Internet, floppy or compact disks. Can I use The Ultimate Box? Yes, The Ultimate Box and The Ultimate Card are all you will need.
I have PE-Design (Palette, Deco Wizard) 4.0 software and the 3.0 version read/write box. I'd like to take advantage of the memory size of The Ultimate Card. Do I also need The Ultimate Box? You can buy The Ultimate Box complete with The Ultimate card; or you can upgrade your PE-Design(Palette, Deco Wizard) read/write box to a version 4.0 for about $200.00 and add The Ultimate Card.
Can I use The Ultimate Box with my PE-Design(Palette, Deco Wizard) 3.0 or older software? The Ultimate Box can be used in conjunction with any version of any embroidery software. You can use that software to edit designs or create new ones and save designs to the hard drive of your computer. The browsing and transferring utility that comes with The Ultimate Box only finds and sends those designs to the blank card.
I'd like to use Buzz Tools or Embird. Do I need any additional software to make it compatible with The Ultimate Box? No, any software used in conjunction with The Ultimate Box will give you a perfect package.
Which design formats are supported by The Ultimate Box? PES, PEC, HUS. Support for other formats will be added in the future.
What is the difference between The Ultimate Box and the Amazing(Magic, Universal Embroidery Translator, Dream Maker, Bernina box) Box? The major difference is that The Ultimate Box writes as many designs to the blank card as it can hold, while Amazing box can only write up to 6 designs. The Ultimate Box will also read and save designs back from the card to the hard drive, which tested versions of the Amazing box could not do. The Ultimate Box has only one card slot for Brother type cards, while the Amazing Box has four card slots for different brands of sewing machines.
When writing to the Amazing (Magic, Universal Embroidery Translator, Dream Maker, Bernina) blank card, will The Ultimate Box be able to write only 6 designs? No, The Ultimate Box writes as many designs as the Amazing (Magic, Universal Embroidery Translator, Dream Maker, Bernina) blank card will hold. You are not limited to 6 designs anymore!
What is the difference between The Ultimate Box and PE-Design (Palette, Deco Wizard) read/write module? The Ultimate Box works in conjunction with any embroidery software,or without it. PE-Design(Palette, Deco Wizard) read/write box does not work without PE Design software and vice versa.
Do I have to use The Ultimate Box and The Ultimate Card as a package, or can they function separately?If you have already spent your money on a PE-Design (Palette, Deco Wizard) 4.0 read/write module, you can take full advantage of the benefits of The Ultimate Card without buying The Ultimate Box.
I already own a blank card for the Amazing (Magic, Universal Embroidery Translator, Dream Maker, Bernina) Box and would like to use The Ultimate Box to write to it. Do I also have to buy The Ultimate Card? If the memory size of the blank Amazing (Magic, Universal Embroidery Translator, Dream Maker, Bernina) card satisfy your needs you can just use The Ultimate Box to write more than 6 designs to it. If you would like to have a larger card, then The Ultimate Card is the answer.
How is The Ultimate Box connected to the Computer? USB cable. (Included with the Ultimate Box)
When installing drivers for Ultimate Box with USB connection in WindowsXP, I received a message about Card Reader/Writer driver has not passed Windows LOGO testing, that the driver is not XP Certified and that it might harm my computer. What do I do? Use CONTINUE ANYWAY option, as this message is standard message in WindowsXP for installation of the new hardware and software that was not made by Microsoft. It will NOT do any damage or harm your computer.
I have The Ultimate Box with serial connector and would like to use it on USB port of my computer. Which USB to Serial converter compatible with The Ultimate Box? IOGEAR model# GUC232A USB to Serial converter is compatible with The Ultimate Box. (Check your local BEST BUY for availability
What kind of power supply is provided with The Ultimate Box (serial port)? The Ultimate Box is shipped with the standard 120Volt AC to 12Volt DC adapter. Our overseas customers can purchase an appropriate adapter for the voltage in their countries.
Write:
Ultimate Card Ver.I, Ultimate Card Ver.II, Ultimate Card III, Amazing Blank Card for Brother, 512K (4mb) Brother Blank Card.
Ultimate Card Ver. I, Amazing Blank Card for Brother, Jenome /Elna/New Home, Pfaff, Viking, Bernina Artista.
Write:
Brother Blank Card, Ultimate Card Ver. II (with PE Design Box Ver. 4.0 or higher)
Write:
Brother Blank Card
Read:
All of the above plus most of the preprogrammed Design cards
Read:
All of the above plus most of the preprogrammed Design cards
Read:
All of the above plus preprogrammed Brother Design cards
Read:
Preprogrammed Brother Design cards
Price (8), MSRP
from 118.00 for Box. (Card is additional)
from $148.00
for The Ultimate Box Complete with The Ultimate Card
$499.99
$1,500.00
$499.99
(blank card is not included)
Amazing Box is sold under the names Magic Box, Amazing Box, Universal Embroidery Translator, Dream Maker
PE Design, Baby Lock Palette, Deco Wizard
Most embroidery formats can be converted into PES or HUS by different conversion programs. Support for other formats will be added to the Ultimate Box software.
Works only as a package complete with the software
With the software version tested
Number of designs the box can write to the card is limited by the memory size of the blank card, except for the Amazing box that can not write more than 6 designs to an Amazing Blank Card or The Ultimate Card Ver. I.
Number of stitches depends on several factors, such as number of colors, etc.
The actual sale price may vary.
Download & Install Software Drivers
The Ultimate Box has two types of connections, the Serial Port and the USB Port. Find out what type of connection you have by looking at the photos below.
The Ultimate Box with USB port
The Ultimate Box with Serial port
The following are for help with the Ultimate Box USB connection. If you have the older Serial type connection box, go to http://www.vikant-emb.com for further help.
The Ultimate Box USB, PLUS and II Software, Drivers & Manual download
Does your Ultimate Box have the following connection. If so, you have a USB connection. Look at the SERIAL NUMBER in the back of the Ultimate Box:
If the number starts with VK0310XXXXX or BT0310XXXXX, you have The Ultimate Box USB.
If the number starts with WM0410XXXXX or SS0410XXXXX, you have The Ultimate Box PLUS.
If the number starts with DS0410XXXXX , you have The Ultimate Box II.
Installation with Windows 8
From the Metro Start Screen, open Settings (move the cursor to the right corner of the screen and wait for the pop-out bar to appear, and then click the Gear icon).
Click ‘More PC Settings’.
Click ‘General’.
Scroll down, and click ‘Restart now’ under ‘Advanced startup’.
Wait a bit.
Click ‘Troubleshoot’.
Click ‘Advanced Options’
Click ‘Windows Startup Settings’
Click Restart.
The computer reboots and prompts the next menu to choose from. One of the items is to Disable driver signature enforcement. Press number 7 or F7 to continue booting to Windows 8 with digital sign enforcement disabled.
Proceed with Ultimate box program installation, Ultimate box Drivers installation or Update. Select “Install this driver software anyway” on Windows Security warning.
Restart computer once again to re-enable the Digital Signature enforcement.
1. From the Metro Start Screen, open Settings (move the cursor to the right corner of the screen and wait for the pop-out bar to appear, and then click the Gear icon).
2. Click on the Change PC settings link.
3. When the Control Panel opens, switch over to the “Update & recovery” section.
4. Then click on the Recovery option on the left hand side.
5. Once selected, you will see an advanced startup section appear on the right hand side. You will need to click on the “Restart now” button.
6. Once your Computer has rebooted you will need to choose the Troubleshoot option.
7. Go to Advanced options.
8. Then Startup Settings.
9. Click on Restart
10. The computer reboots and prompts the next menu to choose from. One of the items is to Disable driver signature enforcement. Press number 7 or F7 to continue booting to Windows 8 with digital sign enforcement disabled.
11. Proceed with Ultimate box program installation, Ultimate box Drivers installation or Update. Select “Install this driver software anyway” on Windows Security warning.
Restart computer once again to re-enable the Digital Signature enforcement.
Installation with Windows Vista & Windows 7.
UN-install previous versions of Ultimate Box software by going to StartProgramsUltimateEXPLORERUninstall UltimateEXPLORER.
Click HERE to download UltimateExplorer(USB Edition).
Choose "SAVE" ("save to disk") at download dialog box.
Browse to and select a folder (such as your computer's Desktop) to save UltimateSetUp.exe.
Double click on UltimateSetUp.exe to start installation, use Next button to follow the installatio process.
VISTA and Windows 7 users only: SET COMPATIBILITY MODE
Make sure Ultimate Explorer is closed.
Right click on the Ultimate Explorer icon and select properties.
Last tab should say “Compatibility”, click on it.
Make sure that “Run this program in compatibility mode for:” is checked,
“WINDOWS XP Service 3” (or whichever is highest) is selected from drop down box, click Apply, OK and try to open Ultimate Explorer again.
Installation with Windows 98, 2000, XP, Vista 32-bit
Download and save USBDriver.exe on your computer, double click to start WinZip Self_Extractor, click on Unzip button to unzip files in C:Ultimate_Box_USB_Driver folder.
Connect Ultimate Box to your computer via USB cable, check "Include this location" or "Specified location" in Add New Hardware dialog and use Browse button to point to "C:Ultimate_Box_USB_Driver" folder, click Next to continue installation. DOWNLOAD USBDriver.exe
Installation with Windows XP, VISTA, Windows 7 64-bit
Click on this link Download 64-bit driver . When asked if you want to SAVE or RUN the file, choose RUN and then change the Location destination to your Desktop (or anywhere where you can easily find it).
Go to your computers START button and choose Control Panel.
Windows VISTA users 3. Switch to a "Classic View" and double-click on the System icon. Once in System, click on Hardware tab and press the Device Manager button.
Windows 7 users 3. Switch the "View" from "Categories" to"View Large Icons" just above the Control Panels 8 buttons. This option will present many more selections. Double-click on the Device Manager button.
Make sure the Ultimate Box is plugged into an available USB port. You'll see a vertical "tree" view of your hardware. Look for a Reader/Writer Box with either a yellow Question mark or a triangle warning sign.
Right-click on the Reader/Writer Box and select the first item on the menu, Update Driver.
Use the 2nd selection to point to the driver on your system and press Continue.
Use Browse button to navigate to the folder where you've downloaded the driver and press Continue to install the driver, allowing it to install and continue.
The process will finish and the Green Light on the Ultimate Box should be lit.
This will conclude the Driver installation and your device is ready to be used by any software capable of using it, like Ultimate Explorer, Embird and others. Please keep in mind that Embird is a separate company from Vikant and they may have newer versions of their software available, but you shouldn't have any trouble running the old version, as long the Operating System recognizes the Reader/Writer box, which this procedure accomplishes
SET COMPATIBILITY MODE
Make sure Ultimate Explorer is closed.
Right click on the Ultimate Explorer icon and select properties.
Last tab should say “Compatibility”, click on it.
Make sure that “Run this program in compatibility mode for:” is checked,
“WINDOWS XP Service 3” (or whichever is highest) is selected from drop down box, click Apply, OK and try to open Ultimate Explorer again.
Download and save the file on the desktop of your VPC, connect the Ultimate Box to your MAC, double click on UltimateEXPLORER_VPC_fix.exe on your desktop to start the software.
Manual
To download UltimateBoxManual click on the link with an appropriate format:
If you experience difficulties viewing designs saved to your computer using UltimateExplorer software, click on DOWNLOAD - UNZIP - EMBROIDER for instructions on how to download, un-Zip and manage embroidery designs
The Ultimate Card Comparisons
There are 4 different Ultimate Cards available.
You can find out which card you need from the information below
The Ultimate Card ver.I and v.11 Compatibility
Compatibility List by Models and Manufacturers
Brand Capacity
Model
Maximum Usable Memory
Babylock:
EM-1
1 Megabyte
EM-2
1 Megabyte
ESi-1
1 Megabyte
ESi-2
1 Megabyte
ESE;
1 Megabyte
ESE2
1 Megabyte
ESL
1 Megabyte
EAC
1 Megabyte
Ellure
1 Megabyte
Intrigue
1 Megabyte
BL60E
1 Megabyte
Espire
1 Megabyte
Ellageo
1 Megabyte
Ellegante
1 Megabyte
Emore
1 Megabyte
Esante
1 Megabyte
Bernina:
Deco 500
1 Megabyte
Deco 600
1 Megabyte
Deco 650
1 Megabyte
Brother:
PE-100
1 Megabyte
PE-200
1 Megabyte
PE-150
1 Megabyte
PE-150V
1 Megabyte
PE-170D
1 Megabyte
PE-180D & PE-190D
1 Megabyte
SE-270D
1 Megabyte
PE-300S
1 Megabyte
PE-400D
1 Megabyte
PC-7000
1 Megabyte
PC-7500
1 Megabyte
PC-8200
1 Megabyte
PC-6500
1 Megabyte
PC-8500
1 Megabyte
PC-8500D
1 Megabyte
PR-600
1 Megabyte
PR-600C
1 Megabyte
Super Galaxie 2000
1 Megabyte
Super Galaxie 2100 & 2100D
1 Megabyte
Super Galaxie 3000
1 Megabyte
Super Galaxie 3000D
1 Megabyte
ULT2001
1 Megabyte
ULT2001D
1 Megabyte
ULT2002D
1 Megabyte
ULT2003D
1 Megabyte
INNOV-ís 500D
1 Megabyte
INNOV-ís 1000
1 Megabyte
INNOV-ís 700E
1 Megabyte
INNOV-ís 1500D & 2500D
1 Megabyte
INNOV-ís 4000D
1 Megabyte
White:
3300
1 Megabyte
3300FS
1 Megabyte
W4400
1 Megabyte
Simplicity:
SE1
1 Megabyte
SE2
1 Megabyte
SE3
1 Megabyte
Additional Compatibility for The Ultimate Card ver.I
The Ultimate Card ver.1 is also compattible with the following.
Brand Capacity
Model
Maximum Usable Memory
Viking:
1+
512 Kilobytes
Iris
512 Kilobytes
Orchidea
512 Kilobytes
Rose
512 Kilobytes
Scandinavia 300 & 400
512 Kilobytes
The Ultimate Card ver.III Compatibility
Compatibility List by Models and Manufacturers
Brand Capacity
Model
Maximum Usable Memory
Bernina:
ARTISTA 200
512 Kilobytes
PFAFF:
CREATIVE 2140, 2170
512 Kilobytes
CREATIVE 2144
512 Kilobytes
CREATIVE 7560
512 Kilobytes
CREATIVE 7562
512 Kilobytes
CREATIVE 7570
512 Kilobytes
The Ultimate Card for Bernina Deco 330
Compatibility List by Models and Manufacturers
Brand Capacity
Model
Maximum Usable Memory
Bernina:
Deco 330
Ordering & Shipping
Make sure you have already chosen your Ultimate Box and/or Ultimate Card products, added them to your cart, and have checked they are compatible with your brand of machine.
When you place your Ultimate Box order, it will be sent directly to you from Vikant Corp in the US. Please make sure that all the details you provide are accurate since they will be verified by their sales department before they can ship your order.
There will be a miniumum cost of $11.00 added to your order for shipping and $7.00 for processing (total $18.00). This will be added automatically at the checkout.
International Orders
These shipping costs are only for orders within the US. If you live outside the US the total shipping cost including the processing fee is $68.00. A standard $11.00 shipping cost and $7.00 processing fee is automatically added to your order at the checkout, so please use the $50.00 Add to Cart button below to add the additional international shipping cost to your order.
International Custom Duties
Any customs duties incurred for international orders are additional to the shipping costs and need to be paid when your package arrives. Information for these will be included on the "Bill Too" field of your invoice.
Additional International Shipping as arranged with the Secrets of Embroidery Office.
If you have already ordered an Ultimate Box product, but need to place an additional order to cover international shipping fees, please use the following Add to Cart.
WARRANTY:
1 year limited warranty form Vikant Corporation on cards.
1 year limited warranty on Ultimate Box and Cards (except connector).
All warranties will be carried out by Vikant Corporation.
Legal Disclaimer
The Vikant Corporation and The Ultimate Box
LEGAL NOTICE / DISCLAIMER
Use of the Ultimate Box website for the Vikant Corporation site constitutes acceptance of these rules and regulations.
This Agreement describes the terms and conditions applicable to ytheir use of Products and Service at Vikant-EMB.com. The Vikant Corporation may amend this Agreement at any time by posting the amended terms on their site, which will become effective immediately.
1.Eligibility
Vikant Corporation is a manufacturer of hardware (read/write devices and memory cards) only. All software programs operating Vikant products are manufactured by a third party developers that are not a part of Vikant Corporation. Vikant is not responsible for any software functions, including but not limited to computer interface, operation under different computer operating systems, quality of designs transferred to and from cards, number and quality of embroidery design formats, types of re-writable and pre-programmed design cards available from other card manufacturers. Any use of Vikant products box should adhere to applicable license agreements of all third parties including, but not limited to original embroidery equipment manufacturers, manufacturers of re-writable and pre-programmed cards, embroidery software developers and manufacturers, embroidery design producers, etc. This product must not be used in any way that violates ownership, copyright, trademarks or other intellectual property rights of third parties, such as original embroidery equipment manufacturers, manufacturers of re-writable and pre-programmed cards, embroidery software developers and manufacturers, embroidery design producers, etc.
The Vikant Corporations products and services are available only to individuals who can form legally binding contracts under applicable law. Without limiting the foregoing, their services are not available to minors. If you do not qualify, please do not use their services.
2.Fees
The Vikant Corporation may change their Prices and Fees policy and the fees for their services from time to time. Any changes to the policy are effective immediately after being posted on this site. The Vikant Corporation may in their sole discretion change some or all of their products and services at any time. In the event The Vikant Corporation introduce a new product or service, the fees for that service are effective at the launch of the product service. Unless otherwise stated, all fees are quoted in U.S. Dollars. You are responsible for paying all fees associated with using their products or service and their The Vikant Corporationbsite and all applicable taxes.
3.Designs submitted for The Ultimate Service.
The Vikant Corporation are not involved in selling, distribution, collecting, digitizing or production of designs submitted for The Ultimate Service. As a result, The Vikant Corporation have no control over the quality, safety or legality of the designs sent to us. In the event that you have a dispute with one or more suppliers of embroidery designs including, but not limited to any embroidery equipment manufacturers, digitizing companies, private or public collectors of embroidery designs over any legal matters, you release Vikant-EMB.com and Vikant Corporation (and their officers, directors, agents, subsidiaries and employees) from claims, demands and damages (actual and consequential) of every kind and nature, known and unknown, suspected and unsuspected, disclosed and undisclosed, arising out of or in any way connected with such disputes. If you are a California resident, you waive California Civil Code §1542, which says: "A general release does not extend to claims which the creditor does not know or suspect to exist in his favor at the time of executing the release, which if known by him must have materially affected his settlement with the debtor."
4.Ordering Information
"Ordering Information" is defined as any information you provide to the Vikant Corporation in the process of ordering of any of their products or services, design submittion process, through e-mail or other means of communication. You are solely responsible for Ordering Information, and The Vikant Corporation act as a passive conduit for ytheir online distribution and publication of Ordering Information. With respect to Ordering Information:
4.1 Ordering Information (or any designs submitted therein): (a) shall not be false, inaccurate or misleading; (b) shall not be fraudulent or involve the sale of counterfeit or stolen items; (c) shall not infringe any third party's copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret or other proprietary rights or rights of publicity or privacy; (d) shall not violate any law, statute, ordinance or regulation (including without limitation those governing export control, consumer protection, unfair competition, antidiscrimination or false advertising); (e) shall not be defamatory, trade libelous, unlawfully threatening or unlawfully harassing; (f) shall not be obscene or contain child pornography; (g) shall not contain any viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time bombs, cancelbots or other computer programming routines that are intended to damage, detrimentally interfere with, surreptitiously intercept or expropriate any system, data or personal information; (h) shall not create liability for us or cause us to lose (in whole or in part) the services of their ISPs or other suppliers; and (i) shall not link directly or indirectly to or include descriptions of goods or services that are prohibited under this Agreement or you do not have a right to link to or include. Furthermore, you may not submit any item including but not limited to an embroidery design to their site (or consummate any transaction that was initiated using their service) that could cause us to violate any applicable law, statute, ordinance or regulation.
4.2 Solely to enable Vikant-EMB.com and Vikant Corporation to use the information you supply us with, so that The Vikant Corporation are not violating any rights you might have in that information, you agree to grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, sublicensable (through multiple tiers) right to exercise the copyright and publicity rights (but no other rights) you have in Ordering Information, in any media now known or not currently known, with respect to Ordering Information. The Vikant Corporation will only use Ordering Information in accordance with their Privacy Policy.
5.Access and Interference
You will not use any robot, spider, other automatic device, or manual process to monitor or copy their The Vikant Corporationb pages or the content contained herein without their prior expressed written permission. You agree that you will not use any device, software or routine to interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper working of the Vikant-EMB.com site. You agree that you will not take any action that imposes an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on their infrastructure. You agree that you will not copy, reproduce, alter, modify, create derivative works, or publicly display any content (except for Ordering Information) from their The Vikant Corporationbsite without the prior expressed written permission of Vikant-EMB.com or the appropriate third party.
6.Breach
Without limiting other remedies, The Vikant Corporation may immediately issue a warning and refuse to provide their services to you: (a) if you breach this Agreement or the documents it incorporates by reference; (b) if The Vikant Corporation are unable to verify or authenticate any information you provide to us; or (c) if The Vikant Corporation believe that ytheir actions may cause legal liability for you, their users or us.
7.Warranty
The Ultimate Card - 1 Year
512K Blank Card for Pfaff - 1 Year.
The Ultimate Box - 1 Year
The Ultimate Service - Since The Vikant Corporation only provide a service of transferring submitted by their customers designs to The Ultimate card and have no means of verifying the quality of them, The Vikant Corporation AND their SUPPLIERS PROVIDE THE ULTIMATE SERVICE "AS IS" AND WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY OR CONDITION, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY. The Vikant Corporation AND their SUPPLIERS SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF TITLE, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. Some states do not allow the disclaimer of implied warranties, so the foregoing disclaimer may not apply to you. This warranty gives you specific legal rights and you may also have other legal rights which vary from state to state.
8.Liability Limit
IN NO EVENT SHALL The Vikant Corporation OR their SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR LOST PROFITS OR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH their SITE, OUP PRODUCTS, their SERVICES OR THIS AGREEMENT (HOThe Vikant CorporationVER ARISING, INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE). their LIABILITY, AND THE LIABILITY OF their SUPPLIERS, TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTIES IN ANY CIRCUMSTANCE IS LIMITED TO THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNT OF FEES YOU PAY TO US IN THE 12 MONTHS PRIOR TO THE ACTION GIVING RISE TO LIABILITY, AND (B) $100. Some states do not allow the limitation of liability, so the foregoing limitation may not apply to you.
9.Indemnity
You agree to indemnify and hold us and their subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, directors, agents, and employees, harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable attorneys' fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of ytheir breach of this Agreement, or ytheir violation of any law or the rights of a third party.
10.Legal Compliance
You shall comply with all applicable laws, statutes, ordinances and regulations regarding ytheir use of their products or service and any items submitted by you, purchase, solicitation of offers to purchase, and sale of items.
11.No Agency
You and Vikant-EMB.com are independent contractors, and no agency, partnership, joint venture, employee-employer or franchiser-franchisee relationship is intended or created by this Agreement.
12.Notices
Any notices shall be given by postal mail to Vikant Corporation Attn: Legal Services 6577 Windham Lane, Long Grove, IL 60047 (in the case of Vikant-EMB.com ) or to the e-mail address you provide to Vikant-EMB.com during the ordering process (in ytheir case). Notice shall be deemed given 24 htheirs after e-mail is sent, unless the sending party is notified that the e-mail address is invalid. Alternatively, The Vikant Corporation may give you notice by certified mail, postage prepaid and return receipt requested, to the address provided to Vikant-EMB.com during the registration process. In such case, notice shall be deemed given 3 days after the date of mailing.
13.Arbitration
Any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to this Agreement or their services shall be settled by binding arbitration in accordance with the commercial arbitration rules of the American Arbitration Association. Any such controversy or claim shall be arbitrated on an individual basis, and shall not be consolidated in any arbitration with any claim or controversy of any other party. The arbitration shall be conducted in the Lake County, IL, and judgment on the arbitration award may be entered into any ctheirt having jurisdiction thereof. Either you or Vikant-EMB.com may seek any interim or preliminary relief from a ctheirt of competent jurisdiction in Lake County, IL necessary to protect the rights or property of you or Vikant-EMB.com (Vikant Corporation) pending the completion of arbitration.
14.General
This Agreement shall be governed in all respects by the laws of the State of Illinois as such laws are applied to agreements entered into and to be performed entirely within Illinois betThe Vikant Corporationen Illinois residents. The Vikant Corporation do not guarantee continuous, uninterrupted or secure access to their services, and operation of their site may be interfered with by numerous factors outside of their control. If any provision of this Agreement is held to be invalid or unenforceable, such provision shall be struck and the remaining provisions shall be enforced. Headings are for reference purposes only and in no way define, limit, construe or describe the scope or extent of such section. their failure to act with respect to a breach by you or others does not waive their right to act with respect to subsequent or similar breaches. This Agreement sets forth the entire understanding and agreement betThe Vikant Corporationen us with respect to the subject matter hereof.
There are three different Ultimate Cards. The FAQ for V.I and V.II are listed first. Scroll down to find the FAQ for V.III
The Ultimate Card V.I and V.II FAQ
Which brands of sewing machines can The Ultimate Card be used with? The type of card slot in your sewing machine determines whether you can use The Ultimate Card or not. The Ultimate Card is made for Brother, Baby Lock, Bernina Deco, Simplicity, White and Viking/Husqvarna machines. For a complete list of models per manufacturer, please click here.
Does The Ultimate Card work with Pfaff sewing machine? Yes, The Ultimate Card III, but not the Ultimate Card, version I or II.
Does The Ultimate Card work with Bernina Artista series? Yes, The Ultimate Card III, but not the Ultimate Card, version I or II.
Can I rewrite designs to The Ultimate Card and re-use it? Yes, you can remove them and put new ones onto The Ultimate Card up to a hundred thousand times!
Which version of The Ultimate Card should I use with my PE-Design(Palette, Deco Wizard) read/write box? The Ultimate Card Ver. II
Which version of The Ultimate Card should I use with my Amazing Box(Magic Box, Universal Embroidery Translator, Dream Maker, Bernina Box)? The Ultimate Card Ver. I
Can I write more than six designs to The Ultimate Card using my Amazing (Magic, Universal Embroidery Translator, Dream Maker, Bernina) box? No, you are limited to writing only up to six designs to The Ultimate Card, Ver. I or blank Amazing card by the Amazing box
Can The Ultimate Card be used with PE-Design boxes or their Palette, Deco Wizard equivalents if their versions are 3.0 or earlier(2.0 or 1.0)? No, your PE-Design, Palette, or Deco Wizard Box must be upgraded to ver. 4.0 in order to write to The Ultimate Card Ver. II
Do I have to upgrade my PE-Design(Palette, Deco Wizard) software to version 4.0 also, or is upgrading my read/write box enough to write to The Ultimate Card ver. II You can use any version of PE-Design software but the read/write box must be 4.0
Can I write designs to The Ultimate Card in formats other than PES, PEC or HUS? Yes, designs in other formats can be written to the card by PE-Design(Palette, Deco Wizard) read/write modules, Amazing Box(Magic Box, Universal Embroidery Translator, Dream Maker, Bernina Box) or PES2Card. However, in most machines where The Ultimate Card is used, the designs must be in PES, PEC or HUS formats.
How many designs can I write to The Ultimate Card? There is no limit to the number of designs that The Ultimate Box or PE-Design 4.0 box can write to The Ultimate Card. However, only six designs can be written to the card by the Amazing Box.
What is the largest design that can be put on this card? There is no design size limit, although, you need to make sure that the design can be embroidered by your sewing machine. If necessary, it must be split or resized.
What is the difference between The Ultimate Card and other blank embroidery cards made by Brother, Amazing Designs or Viking? The Ultimate Card, manufactured by Vikant Corporation, can be programmed by a variety of read/write devices such as, PE-Design(Palette, Deco Wizard) or Amazing Box(Magic Box, Universal Embroidery Translator, Dream Maker, Bernina Box) while other blank cards can only be programmed by their original read/write devices. Also, this one megabyte card can hold twice as many designs as a 512Kilobyte Amazing Blank card or the largest 512Kilobyte (4 Megabit) Brother Blank card.
Can The Ultimate Card be programmed by Viking/Husqvarna reader/writer box? The Ultimate Card cannot be programmed by Viking/Husqvarna reader/writer box. However, The Ultimate Card version I, programmed by The Ultimate Box, can be used with Viking/Husqvarna sewing machines.
Can The Ultimate Card be read and designs saved back to the hard drive of my computer? Yes, if you use it with The Ultimate Box, PE-Design(Palette, Deco Wizard) read/write devices.
Can The Ultimate Card be used with Janome type sewing machines? No, it will not fit the card slot.
The Ultimate Card V.III FAQ
What makes The Ultimate Card ver.III work exactly in the same way as Pfaff Blank Cards? Most Pfaff cards are made by the same manufacturer as our cards. The same tecnology and components are used.
I've heard a rumor that using The Ultimate Card may effect my Pfaff/Artista machine's performance and void the warranty. Is it true? No, it is not. The Ultimate Card ver.III doesn't have any pre-loaded software on them that can affect any internal software components or computer programming in your equipment. Your Pfaff machine will format card for the first time. There are no mechanical parts that can damage your sewing machine. Both, The Ultimate Card ver.III and Pfaff/Artista card are built in compliance with the same PCMCIA standard. Therefore, to the Pfaff or Bernina Artista machine, there is no difference whether it's using a Pfaff Blank card, Bernina Artista re-writable or our card. This has been proven by thousands of satisfied customers for over 6 years of trouble free use.
My Pfaff machine is connected to the computer via cable. I can not transfer designs to my Ultimate Card ver.III. Is it a bad card? No, it is not. Please, check communications settings in your software.
How long does the battery last for and can it be replaced in the Ultimate Card III? The battery life is approximately 10 years. You can not replace the battery, but you can replace the card.
If I get the message, "Battery is low," what should I do? Leave the card in the card slot of your machine under power for several hours. The battery will get charged. If you intend not to use the card for about 6 months (after the inital use),you should charge the card battery for about 8 hours. Should you use the card more frequently, less charging time would be required.
How many designs can I put on The Ultimate Card III? The number of designs is determined by the total number of stitches. The card works well with a total of approximately 300,000 stitches on it. It also depends on the number of colors.
My Ultimate Card worked great, but suddenly, some designs start "scrambling". What happened? There are several reasons that may cause this problem. One of the reasons could be that the card is overloaded with designs. Another common reason is poor digitizing quality. To solve the problem you have to re-format your card.
I've downloaded only a few designs but I'm told, "The card is full". What is wrong? The designs on the card may be too large. Check the total number of stitches. Sometimes, the order in which you download your patterns onto the card may have an effect. In this case, you have to re-format the card and put designs on it in a different order.
How do I re-format my card? Directly in Pfaff machine: Turn the machine OFF. Insert The Ultimate Card ver.III into a card slot. While holding the card button down, turn ON the machine. It should ask you to clear and number the card, do so. Then, repeat the procedure again.
Can I program my Ultimate Card III for use with Bernina Artista with any equipment other than Ultimate Box II? NO.
Can I program my Ultimate card III for use with Pfaff embroidery machine with any equipment other than Ultimate Box II? Yes. The Ultimate Card III works just as the original Pfaff re-writable card (Pfaff creative card). It can be programmed directly in the Pfaff machine connected to the computer via Pfaff cable, by Pfaff Creative station or by Ultimate Box II.
The Ultimate Card FAQs
Please download your free trial of Embird Software here.
This file contains Digitizing Tools & Sfumato Stitch. Digitizing plug-in for Embird 2016 Build 10.17: Unregistered demo has a stitch limit.
To install Studio plug-in:
1. Embird must first be installed.
2. Click on the download link above, then choose "Run".
3. Click on "Unzip"..
4. Check Studio has installed successfully by opening Embird and going to Help/Installed Plug-ins.
Cross Stitch 2016
No separate download. The installation file of Cross Stitch is included in the Embird installation file. If you have Embird installed already, Cross Stitch is installed, too. However, Embird registration does not cover the registration of Cross Stitch. Registration must be purchased separately. Unregistered Demo has a stitch limit.
To use Cross Stitch:
1. Download and install Embird.
2. Run Embird and click on "Editor > Insert > Cross Stitch Design".
Iconizer 2016
No separate download. The installation file of Iconizer is included in the Embird installation file. If you have Embird installed already, Iconizer is installed, too. However, Embird registration does not cover the registration of Iconizer. Registration must be purchased separately.
Unregistered Demo doesn't show all icons.
To use Iconizer:
1. Download and install Embird.
2. Run Embird and go to "Options > Iconizer Settings".
3. Click on each of the Select All buttons. Click OK to confirm the settings.
Font Engine 2016
No separate download. The installation file of Font Engine is included in the Embird installation file. If you have Embird installed already, Font Engine is installed too. However, Embird registration does not cover the registration of Font Engine.
Unregistered demo supports only characters "abcABC".
To use Font Engine:
1. Download and install Embird.
2. Run Embird and go to "Editor > Insert > Font Engine Text".
Alphabets
Click on each alphabet to see all the characters included. Unregistered demo supports only characters "abcABC". Download Alphabets 1-42 all-in-one installation file.
To use Alphabets:
1. Download and install Embird.
2. Click on the Alphabet download link, then click "Run".
3. Click on "Unzip".
4. Check the Alphabet has installed successfully by opening Embird and going to Help/Installed Plug-ins.
5. Run Embird and go to "Editor > Insert > Text".
