I’ve been getting a lot of questions about the new USB port and downloading designs. This article will explain step-by-step how to download embroidery designs from your computer into a Brother SE400.
You can connect the Brother SE400 directly to your computer (PC or Mac) with the included USB cable. You can then download embroidery designs saved on your computer into the SE400 for stitching. You can also upgrade the internal software in the SE400 when Brother releases an upgrade.
NOTE: The USB port on the SE400 only accepts a USB cable that attaches to your computer. It is not compatible with USB drives, thumb or jump drives, memory sticks, etc.
Find Embroidery Designs that Work with the SE400
There are many websites where you can purchase embroidery designs and download them directly to your computer. Most sites have free designs you can try. You can also obtain designs on CDs. Designs on CD can either be saved to your computer first or copied directly to the SE400.
Make Sure the Design File Is Compatible with the Brother SE400:
.PES or .DST Embroidery Data File Format
The Brother SE400 can only read embroidery data files in .PES and .DST format. The best format for Brother embroidery machines is .PES because it contains information about the design such as number of stitches, number of colors, thread color names, and allows displaying an image of the design on the LCD panel.
Tajima (.dst) formats have some limitations that make them less convienent. Only the first eight characters of the file name are displayed in the LCD control panel. The image of the design cannot be displayed. Because the .dst format does not contain the thread color information, the design is displayed with Brother’s default thread color sequence. You will have to look at the design and pick the color you want for each displayed color.
Sometimes embroidery design files that you download from the Internet are “zipped.” You’ll know because the file name ends with “.zip”. On Mactinoshes and Windows XP and later, you can just double-click the file to “un-zip” it. (If this doesn’t work on Windows, you’ll need to install a free utility such as WinZip.) Then you’ll see the .pes files.
Design Fits in the 4×4 Inch Embroidery Area
Although the maximum embroidery size is commonly refered to as a 4×4 inch hoop size, it really doesn’t depend on the hoop. The embroidery unit of the Brother SE400 is physically incapable of embroidering a larger size because that’s the maximum amount the unit will move. The actual maximum size is 3.93 inches (9.98 cm or 99.8mm).
Check the File Name
The SE400 won’t recognize embroidery files with special characters in the name. If you have a file name with special characters, rename the file before uploading it to the machine. It’s safest to use only letters (upper and lowercase), numbers, “-”) and underscore (“_”) in file names.
Connect Your Computer to the Brother SE400
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USB Cable Included |
Plug the square end |
Plug the flat end |
The Brother SE400 |
Plug the square end of the included USB cable into the USB port on the right side of the SE400. Plug the flat end of the cable into a USB port on your computer.
Make sure both the computer and the embroidery machine are turned on.
On the SE400 LCD screen, press the USB icon. This will take you to a screen that will give you information about the designs you’re downloading.
Look at the LCD Screen
It’s helpful to glance at the Brother SE400 touch screen while you’re copying files over. The message “Transmitting by USB” will appear briefly during the actual file transfer. And then you’ll see this screen giving information about the designs you have transferred over:
The first number at the top left of the screen is the total amount of memory you’ve used. The second number is the total amount of memory space. The SE400 can hold up to 12 designs or 476KB of data in its memory. After that you have to delete some old designs if you want to download more designs.
Next there is the button (looks like a pocket with an up arrow) for retreiving the pattern.
Under the button, there is the number of the current page and the total number of pages. Two designs are displayed on each page. In the photo above, I’ve uploaded three designs. So I’m on page 1 out of 2 pages.
At the bottom, there are images of the embroidery designs on the current page.
Copy the Embroidery Design Data Files to the Brother SE400
For Windows Computers (For Macintoshes, See Below.)
Back on your PC, you’ll have “Removable Disk” listed in “My Computer”:
Open the folder on your computer where you keep the embroidery files. Navigate to the particular design you want to download to the SE400. Right-click on the design file. Click on “Send to: Removable Disk”
Do not copy .zip files. You must unzip them first.
Do not copy folders to “Removable Disk.” The SE400 cannot recognize folders or find embroidery files in folders. The individual files must be added to “Removable Disk.”
Do not copy more than 12 designs to “Removable Disk.”
For Macintoshes (For PCs, Skip This Section.)
Although the manual says the SE400 is only compatible with PCs, it’ll work just fine with a Macintosh.
The SE400 will show up as an external hard drive, named “No Name.” Just drag and drop the embroidery files to this drive.
Do not copy .zip files. You must unzip them first. Just double-click it.
Do not copy folders to “No Name.” The SE400 cannot recognize folders or find embroidery files in folders. The individual files must be added to “No Name.”
Do not copy more than 12 designs to “No Name.”
A weird thing happens on the Macintosh. The Macintosh system puts invisible system files in “No Name” which the SE400 transfers over. So the amount of memory used can be 16 to 28KB when the machine is first connected to the computer, even before you’ve downloaded any designs. These files aren’t embroidery designs so there aren’t any images. Only the amount of memory used increases. This is isn’t a problem unless you’re pushing the memory limits with large embroidery files.
Retrieve the Embroidery Pattern
Move to the screen that displays the image of the embroidery design you want using the Next Page [<] and Previous Page [>] buttons on the right. Select the design by touching the image. The selected design will be displayed in reverse highlighting.
Then, press the Retrieve key (circled in red in the photo above).
The embroidery screen appears. From here you can check the colors, adjust the pattern, embroider it and/or save it to the machine’s memory.
Embroider the Design
You can either embroider the pattern now or save it in the SE400’s memory to use later. If you want to embroider it now, make any adjustments you like, set the machine up for embroidery, and press the Start button to begin stitching.
Saving Embroidery Designs
Unsaved designs are lost when the SE400 is turned off. So if you want to use a design again without copying it from your computer, you must save it to the SE400’s memory. This is a convenient way to save names and designs that you use frequently. Or if you’re starting a project or several projects that involve several designs, you can transfer them all over at once and save them. I do this so I don’t have to keep moving my computer next to the SE400 because I don’t have a large working space.
You can save up to 12 designs or 476KB of data.
After retrieving the design you want to save by pressing the Retrieve Key and going to the embroidery screen, press the Memory button. “Saving…” appears while the pattern is being saved.
Retrieving Saved Embroidery Designs
From the first menu, press the Retrieve Key.
The saved designs are displayed. Go to the design you want using the Previous and Next Keys. Select it by pressing it. You can then delete it or retrieve it to embroider.
Hope This Helps
I get a lot of questions about how to download designs into the Brother SE400 and the manual isn’t very clear. Being able to easily transfer designs from my computer with USB is very important to me because I’m always wanting something different. So I hope this article helps you do it too.
If you don’t have your embroidery machine yet, check out my Brother SE400 review for detailed information. Click here to see today’s price on Amazon.com.
Hi,
I have an idea to buy SE 400 and currently studying about the machine to know whether it would suit for me. Recently I found your blog and love it!! You are doing a marvelous job, thanks for it……
My question is, can I embroider my own designs with the normal hoop as we do in other Brother machines with a quilting foot? I know that there are special embroidery features but I like to know about this also before I purchase because I’m from UK and have to buy through online. So, I can’t return after purchased.
Thanks
Hi Mafa, I haven’t tried this and I’m not quite sure what you mean. But without the embroidery unit, the SE400 is a regular Brother sewing machine and will do free motion embroidery. The feed dogs can be lowered to allow this. If you need a quilting foot, you have to buy it separately.
Hope this helps. If it doesn’t please ask more and I’ll try to answer.
Kind regards,
Kamala
Hi,
Thank you so much for your reply. When SE400 and LB6800PRW are considered which is the latest model?
Amazon current price of them are almost same so which one will you recommend?
Also which one will do well when technology and future updates are concerned?
Thank you
Hi Mafa,
The SE400 and LB6800PRW are basically the same machine. They came out at about the same time or maybe the SE400 was a little earlier. I don’t think there’s a difference regarding technology and future updates because the hardware and software are the same. They have just been parallel model lines. The SE400 replaces SE350 and the LB6800PRW replaces the LB6700PRW. The only difference between the new models and the older models in both cases is the addition of the USB port for transferring designs.
It’s interesting what’s happened to the price of the SE400 vs LB6800PRW. The LB6800PRW used to be about $100 more and now it’s a couple of dollars less on Amazon. The only difference between the two is the Project Runway Logo and rolling tote bag for the LB6800PRW. So if the tote is useful to you and you don’t mind the PRW logo (and especially if you’re a fan of the show), I would recommend the LB6800PRW.
Hi Kamala, I am in the process of purchasing a new embroidery machine. I have had one and just sold it to upgrade to one that I can use with the computer. I found your site (yeah) and have a couple of questions. I like the SE400 but from the questions and comments on here it seems that the fonts only let you do individual letters, and not whole names? I found several sites online and so in order to be able to use any type of lettering together, I would have to buy a software program also? I was really hoping to find a machine that I could do alot of monogramming with without having to buy alot of “extras” to go along with it. I noticed one of the machines that you could purchase had an embroidery package that came with it that had a cd with designs. Would you have to buy extra software to be able to use the cd also? Thanks for any advice!!!
Hi Beth, yes, to do anything beyond the basics you will need software. You can do whole names and words with the built-in fonts. If you want a different style, you can buy or find free alphabet designs. These are individual letters that are separate embroidery design files. You would need embroidery editing software to put the letters together. You can stitch them one at a time and line them up manually, but for me it takes so long and is so tricky to get exactly aligned that the software is worth it. There is also monogramming software for making fancy monograms, but I don’t know anything about it.
In the Grand Slam package, you can use the designs on the CD without extra software. But if you want to combine designs or add words, you’ll need software.
There are machines with editing software included, but they are more expensive so I didn’t look at them much. The advantage is that you have everything in one package. The advantage of the SE400 is that because the software runs on your computer and only the final design is transferred to the machine, you have a lot more flexibility to get what you need and don’t have to pay for functions you don’t need. Or you can buy them later as you need them. You aren’t limited to the manufacturer’s software, for example.
Hope this helps,
Kamala
Hi Kamala,
I need some trouble shooting help. I’m new to sewing and embroidery…I got my machine for mother’s day this year…and started using it earlier this month. The last couple projects I’m working on … towels… I’ve had major mess ups. The bottom bobbin…not really the bobbin thread but the top color thread on the back side of the project is bunching up and jamming my machine. I have to stop the whole project and pretty much scrap it because the embroidery pattern is off afterwards. What would be causing this? Also, is there a way to go back a step on the embroidery pattern if something messes up and it’s a minor error?
Any suggestions would be helpful.
Thank you,
Angelia S.
Hi Angelia,
Congratulations on your new machine. It sounds like you used to have projects that stitched OK. So it’s not something major wrong with your particular machine. Or even the tension being off.
Thread bunching up like that is usually caused by the upper thread being incorrectly threaded. It’s easy to miss one of the tension discs. Cut the thread near the spool. Pull the thread out of the needle and pull the rest of the cut off piece down though the machine. i.e. remove the thread by pulling it through the machine in the direction that it sews. I always remove thread like this rather than pulling it back up. Because this “flosses” the machine and helps remove any little bits that may be stuck in the mechanism. Then look at the instructions again and thread the upper thread. When you pull on the thread there should be resistance.
If that doesn’t fix it, maybe there are bits of thread or lint in the bobbin case. Take all the thread out. Take the bobbin out. Make sure the bobbin is wound OK, tight, not loose or bunched up. Check the bobbin for scratches, or burrs. Clean the race where the bobbin goes in. See page 152 in the Operation Manual. Sometimes even a microscopic bit of dust can cause problems.
But is it only the towels that are messing up? If you embroider a test on a plain cotton, is it OK? Towels can be tricky. Here is a good video on embroidering towels. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIERfCp5p8Q. I’m going to do my first towel project this week – a hooded towel with appliqué. If I learn any more about tangled thread problems particular to towels, I’ll let you know.
And yes, you can step backward and forward stitches or colors. On the LCD screen with the embroidery pattern selected, press “Adjust”, then press the button that looks like a needle-/+. Then you see buttons for moving back and forward a step (looks like a needle) and a color (looks like a thread spool). See page 149 in the Operation Manual for pictures.
Hope this helps,
Kamala
Hi Kamala,
Thank you so much for your advice. I’m going to check it out when I get home. Now that I think about it … it happens with the same color. I’m so excite I found your site…I’m so bad about reading manuals…so I didn’t realize what the needle -/+ was for. You make my life easy! Thank YOU!
Angelia
Hi Angelia,
Same color is interesting. I had trouble with one color once, but it didn’t tangle, it caught on a rough spot and broke the needle. Yuck! Truthfully, that manual isn’t so easy to read and understand. And even when I know something is there, it’s hard to find. Good luck solving the problem. Let me know how it comes out and it’ll help other people too. Kamala
I bought a cd to make a baby quilt. I have racked my brain and followed every direction as to how to download the desingns to my SE400 Brother. What am I doing wring. I conect the machine to the computer. Insert the cd. Select the pattern I want ,Click on the USB Icon and nothing happens. I thought I followed your instructions but no pattern comes up on my machine screen.
I sure would appriciate it if you can help me.
Hi Ruby, sorry you’re having trouble downloading the design. When you connect the machine to your computer, do you see the “Removable Disk” drive on your computer? Did you copy or drag the pattern from the CD to “Removable Disk”? Then it should come up on the SE400 screen. If it doesn’t download, it’s usually because the pattern is too large. CDs often come with designs in different sizes or formats so they can be sold for different machines. Make sure the pattern is smaller than 3.93 x 3.93 inches. And that it’s .pes format.
Hope this helps,
Kamala
Wow. I’ve been looking for info on embroidery machines and came across your site. Love it!! Unfortunately, it’s also 6am and my eyes won’t stay open any longer. From what I understand, the SE400 will allow me to embroider any design I create (within its max size limit of course) as long as I have an embroidery digitizing software that allows me to create .pes files, correct? So if I draw out my own dragon, I can digitize, convert, upload, and embroider? Software’s I can try would be SewWhatsomething? LOL. For words, Embird or BES, yes? Do you know of any other Brother machines that do this or would you tell me to just go out and buy the SE400? ;o). Thanks!
Hi Jacqueline,
Yes, if you want to embroider designs you create, you will need digitizing software. Embird and SewWhatPro both have digitizing options and let you create words. Also BES for fancy lettering. (I’m not sure exactly what it does.)
All Brother Embroidery machines do this. Which one I would tell you to buy is more complicated – depends on your budget and needs. I bought the SE400 because it’s the best value I could find for my budget. I can’t afford to spend thousands or even hundreds more. Also, I just embroider as a hobby, not a business, so I don’t need a commercial machine. But here are your basic choices:
Brother just released the PE-500. It’s basically a SE400 without any sewing features. That is, it only does embroidery. It won’t do regular sewing. It sells for about $299.99 at Walmart and Amazon. So if you don’t need a sewing machine, it could be a good buy. You can check Amazon’s current price here.
The SE400 we all know about.
The Brother PE770. If I hadn’t needed a sewing machine too (I had to leave my beloved Elna in Italy.) and had a few more hundred dollars to spend, I would have bought the PE770. The significant differences for me are: larger 5×7 inch embroidery area, embroidery-only machine, transfer designs from a USB stick rather than hooking up your computer. I started a site to share my research, so you can read more at http://www.brotherpe770.com.
Large, expensive, high-end machines. These look wonderful, but way out of my price range. They are only sold at dealers. You can see them on Brother’s website. This also includes commercial machines if you have an embroidery business.
Hope this helps,
Kamala
It’s not letting me open the pocket after I downloaded fonts. What can I do?
Hi Melissa,
Did you press the USB icon? Does it show you the images of the fonts? You have to select a font by pressing the image before you can press the pocket icon. Are the fonts zipped? You have to unzip them. Fonts usually have a lot of files because each letter, number and symbol is a separate design. You can only download 12 designs at a time.
I had a question. My file is in PES format and when I try to send it to my machine nothing shows up but just shows the file size but no image. I wondered what I’m doing wrong.
Hi Bernadette,
Usually it’s because the design is too large for the SE400. It has to be smaller than 3.93×3.93 inches. Did you go through the list of requirements in the article? It’s not zipped? Or maybe there’s something wrong with the design itself. Can you transfer a very small, simple design – one from Brother’s website? People ask this question, but it’s hard to know without seeing the design and what you’re doing. When you figure it out, could you let me know so other people could be helped?
Hi, I think I have a simple question for you! I just bought this machine and love it! Question though is when looking at ibroidery.com site they say you need a machine ID. What is this and where do I find it? I’ve been through all the manuals and find nothing except a product code. Probably a simple answer but I dont have it. HELP
Thank You
Tammy
Hi Tammy, You can find the machine ID in the Settings using the Control Panel. I took some photos for you here: How to Find the Brother SE400′s Machine Number. Blessings, Kamala
Thank you for this tutorial. I have a question, maybe you can help? I bought fonts to install on my machine but they only allow me to stitch one letter at a time and not a word. Is there something that I am missing?
Yes, you need embroidery editing software such as Embird or Sew What Pro, to put the letters together into words.
is this something that I have to pay for?
Hi Michele,
No, you don’t need to pay for this. This function uses the system software in your computer and the software built-in to the SE 400 to do the transfer. You don’t need to buy additional software to download designs. The USB cable is included with the machine.
You will probably want to buy embroidery designs. There are many free ones available online to get started. But of course designers have to pay the bills too and a lot of the highest quality designs cost something. It depends on what projects you want to do whether you need to buy designs.
Many people go a long time just embroidering ready-made designs. But if you want to do things like add names to a design, or put designs together, or create words using a font that’s not built-in, you’ll need embroidery editing software. There are a lot of options and prices depending on your needs.
I hope this answers your question,
Kamala
Hi Kamala I have a question when trying to add a design to the emboridery machine, when trying attach it to the removable drive its asking me to insert a cd do you have to add to a cd then transfer to the machine?
Hi Eboni, No, you don’t need a cd. It sounds like the system is confused. Did you have a CD inserted or are you dragging the design to the CD drive instead of the embroidery machine drive? You could try restarting your computer and make sure you are copying the embroidery design to the SE400. I don’t know why it’s asking for CD.
the software dat came with my machine its trial version am unable to transfer file into my machine please tell me what to do, thanks
I don’t understand. To transfer embroidery files into the SE400, you just use the software that is already running on the SE400 and the normal software on your computer. Is it special software that came as a bonus? Did you follow the instructions in this post? You shouldn’t need any additional software to transfer files.
please tell me how to get to the home screen after saving an image – i have to turn the machine off each time!
Hi Carol, that sounds a bit tedious.
You can get to the home screen from anywhere by pressing the key that looks like a hoop with a flower in it.
If you only want to back up some screens, you can use the key that looks like a left arrow reversing.
I have the large brother hoop, it can be used w/the se400 if you move it to embroider on the same piece of fabric, just a separate patter,follow? Anyway, I want to embroider a word across a shirt. Can I rotate the letters to embroider sideways since I have the large hoop? I realize I would have to actually enter my pattern in two parts, but us it possible you think?
I’ve never done this, but it should work.
Kamala,
When using a CD to download patterns should I use DST or PES?
Thank you and Blessings to You!
Rhonda
Hi Rhonda,
I use PES because that’s Brother’s standard format and it gives more information. But some people use DST because they like to see the file name instead of the image in the machine. You could try a sample of one in both formats and see which you prefer. That also might depend on the CD and how the designs are formatted. Blessings, Kamala
The options I was given for the CD designs were PES1 and PES6. Can you tell me what the difference is between the 1 and the 6?
Thanks again,
Rhonda
I’m sorry, Rhonda, I don’t know what the difference is. I’ve never bought designs on a CD. I just buy them for download. You could try asking the CD company. Or what I would probably do is to try stitching one design in both formats on scrap fabric and see which one works better. It’s always a good idea to test a new design first anyway before risking ruining a project.
Kamala,
I took your advice and since you are so good about sharing your knowledge I wanted to share with you the response I got back on PES1 and PES2;
You should use PES1 for most machines. If you have the multiple needles machine you would use PES6.
Thank You and Blessings,
Rhonda
Rhonda,
Thank you so much for coming back with the answer. I don’t have a multi-needle machine (way out of my budget) so I never paid attention to that difference.
Blessings,
Kamala
I love your posts! I, too, just recently got a Brother SE400 for Christmas and have only just started making “creations”. Last night I embroidered a beautiful monogram design that I downloaded from a website and moved it onto the machine using my Mac. My question is in regard to the transfer of designs. Can you change the color choices listed? I downloaded a “monkey” design that I used for a baby bib and noticed the color choices listed on the LCD werent’ anything like the design. I referred back to the website where I got it and used the thread sequence listed. It only used tan, emerald green, dark brown, and black, but my sewing maching was showing marine blue, red, purple, etc. ….. totally, not monkey colors. I saw where I can “check” the colors, but how can I change them?
Hi Brenda,
Congratulations on your beautiful monogram design. it’s a lot of fun. I don’t think you can change the color names on the LCD display. But the SE400 doesn’t know what color thread you load. So what I do is to go through the sequence with “check” colors and then make a chart mapping the colors. So if the design calls for tan and the machine is saying marine blue, I write that and then use the tan thread when it asks for blue. I often change colors this way, because sometimes I just prefer a different color scheme.
Thanks! That’s what I ended up doing …. had to pull up the color sequence and go by that. At first, I thought I downloaded the incorrect design because I couldn’t remember those colors being in the design, then I went through the sequence and knew the design was the correct one but the colors were incorrect. At least I now know to look for that. I just love your site!!
Ok so can this machine do a whole name like “Kyle” or does it do only one letter? I’m confused? And if I wanted to buy a larger hoop later can i?
Hi Beth,
The SE400 can do a whole name at one time if you use one of the five built-in fonts. If you use one of the letters that are part of the built-in patterns, it will only stitch one at a time. You can move the needle to stitch another one. It is confusing about the difference between letters/words that are created with fonts and those that are really embroidery designs which are more like images. If you buy or download a font, you will need embroidery editing software to put the letters together into words to stitch.
You can buy a larger hoop, but you cannot stitch larger than the 4×4 embroidery area with it. The maximum embroidery area is a physical limitation of the machine and does not depend on the hoop size. See my article, Brother SA434 4-Inch-by-6 3/4-Inch Large Hoop for how the large hoop works and the advantages of it.
thank you so much..I was planning on uding the built in Fonts for a name until I decided what software to use. Which software do you use? If you don’t mind me asking. And for applique’s can the machine do that or do you need software or do they make a seperate software for aplique’s? Again thanks your article is a LIFESAVER!
Hi Beth, I haven’t decided on which software to buy yet. Many people use Embird or SewWhatPro. They both have 30-day trials, so you can see which you like better. I was all set to try Embird when I heard about Embrilliance. Some people said it’s not as powerful as Embird, others say it works fine. I’m going to try it because I have a Mac and it runs on both Macs and PCs. Embird only runs on PCs. But then I put that whole project on hold because I moved and now am away visiting my family.
The machine can appliqué. There are some built-in appliqué designs. Look in the quick reference for the designs with the stars. The instructions in the user’s guide are a bit confusing. I’m going to write a tutorial as soon as I get back home and have time.
Kamala,
I purchased a Amazing Designs CD – it is giving me a choice of DST, PES1 and PES6, since these machines will use DST or PES, which one do I use?
Also, would you have any idea as to why the colors the machine is telling me to use is way off?
Thank you again for your useful site that is helping so many of us,
Rhonda
Hi, I have the Brother SE 400 and am confused on several sites when looking to purchase an embrodiery card. They don’t give the 4 by 4 size and some say: Brother/Babylock ? Is there a site where they sell specifically cards for our machine and no others? I find this so frustrating, I don’t want to purchase a card then try and use it to find out that it won’t suffice. Thank you!
Hi Heidi,
I’m sorry I don’t know of a site that only sells embroidery cards for the SE400. But down in the fine print or description, it should say for 4×4 or all Brother/Babylock machines. If it says 5×7 or larger Brother machines, it won’t work.
Blessings,
Kamala
Thank you for your helpful site! I’ve owned my SE400 less than 3 months and I want to buy a embroidery cd, the cd has designs on it that will work for 4×4, but they require a transfer medium – would this be the USB Cable that comes with the machine?
Yes, just put the CD into your computer’s CD drive. Then you can either copy the designs to your computer from the CD first or upload them directly to the SE400 from the CD. Connect the SE400 to your computer using the USB cable that came with the machine. Follow my instructions in the article above. Have fun, blessings, Kamala
Thank you for your quick response! After your response I ordered a CD, received it today and just tried it out. The first question is it listed a Dst, pes1 and pes6… not knowing the difference between a 1 or 6 I downloaded the DST.
Can I use a pes 1 and a pes6?
Second, I was disappointed that my black and white cow design turned out red and green, any idea as to why it called for wrong colors?
Thanks again,
Rhonda
Hi Rhonda,
Sorry this response isn’t quick this time. I just got back from a long visit with my family to find a lot of emails and comments piled up.
I don’t know why the colors are wrong. Somehow the designs don’t match Brother’s color names and it gets confused. So what I do is to go through the sequence with “check” colors and then make a chart mapping the colors. So if the machine says red and green, but you know the cow should be black and white, I write that down and then use the black thread when it asks for red. I often change colors this way, because sometimes I just prefer a different color scheme.
Blessings,
Kamala
Kamala,
I would like some advice. I am embroidering names on grograin ribbon that is 7/8″. I would love to have a “prettier” font than what came with the Brother se400. Perhaps a script, or curlz font? I saw one website that said she used the “pharmacy” font. I need it to be able to have the entire name programmed in, so I don’t have to do individual letters. any suggestions?
Thank you,
Becky
Hi Becky,
You need embroidery editing software to put the letters together to create the name. Here there are many choices. Many people like Embird or Sew What Pro. Both have free 30-day trials, so you can try and see if you like them. I have a Mac so I’m going to try Embrilliance as soon as I finish a few other projects. It runs on the Mac as well as PC. Blessings, Kamala
I think I just wasted $12…I bought a Circle Monogram applique font In a rush without thinking, now i have no clue how to download a 3 letter monogram put together , it just gives me the option to download one letter at a time, is there a way to put all 3 letters together on my pc first and then tranfer the file to my se400 so that i can have the traditional circle monogram applique? Thanks!
Hi Jenn, You basically have two options. You can stitch the monogram by stitching each letter separately. If the total monogram is less than 4×4 you can line up the letters by adjusting the layout on the SE400. If it’s larger than 4×4, you would have to rehoop. But then it’s much more difficult (and I’ve never succeeded) to get the letters lined up and spaced correctly. The best option is to put the letters together with embroidery editing software. Here there are many choices. Many people like Embird or Sew What Pro. Both have free 30-day trials, so you can try and see if you like them. I have a Mac so I’m going to try Embrilliance as soon as I finish a few other projects. It runs on the Mac as well as PC.
Blessings,
Kamala
Hi I am so excited to see a post about this! I have a MAC and a SE-400. I have succesfully uploaded some PES designs to my sewing machine before (a few months ago). I recently tried to do this again but when I drag and drop it into the “No Name” file the memory on my SE-400 changes but there is no image to click on. Do you know how to fix this problem? I tried it with several different images, including the ones I had previously successfully uploaded. I am quite frustrated with it right now and would love any help/advice you can offer! THANKS SO MUCH!
Kendall
Hi Kendall,
I’ve never had this happen, but other people have. I would love to know the solution. Would you turn the SE400 off and on and restart your Mac? Press the USB key on the SE400 and drag and drop the file that worked before to “No Name”. Do you see “Transmitting . . . ” flash on the SE400 screen? What does the memory on the SE-400 say? If you upload three designs, does the P1/P1 change to P1/P2? Check “No Name” — only .pes files — no folders, etc. It seems like somehow the designs don’t really get uploaded. The memory on the SE400 can change even if the designs don’t get uploaded because the Mac system is putting an invisible file in “No Name”. Let me know what happens. Several people have asked this question and I would love to be able to give them a better answer. Blessings, Kamala
Hi! I have just purchased the SE-400 for personal and for use to try to get into my own crafting business. My question is; Can you take a photo from your computer and load it into the SE-400? My son is a deputy sheriff and would like his badge embroidered onto a shirt. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!
Hi Lou Ann,
Yes, you can do it. But you’ll need digitizing software or special software that converts the photo into a PES embroidery data file. There are many choices and I’ve never done this. So I can’t say which is the best one. Many people like Embird and they have a photo plugin for it.
Blessings,
Kamala
I too just purchased my SE400 and came across your site. I have two questions. First, what is the difference between downloading files in .PES verses .DST? Secondly, what programs would I look for to open them on my computer? I saw in another comment that it is not required in the beginning but you didn’t meant what do look for it that is what you want. Thanks.
Hi Vanessa,
Sorry to take so long to answer. Your question sent me off into a couple of things and I got really distracted. For your first question, I wrote this post and made the difference between .pes and .dst files clearer. Please look above. Secondly, I didn’t really talk about software in that other comment because it’ll a complicated subject. Which software you need to open the embroidery files on your computer, depends on what you want to do with them. I’m sure I saw a reference to a free program that would let you view and organize embroidery designs. But I can’t find it anywhere now. If you also want to edit the files for example to combine letters to make words, you need embroidery editing software. Many people like Embird or Sew What Pro. Both have free 30-day trials, so you can try before you buy. There are other choices. I’m going to look at Embrilliance. I read it’s not as powerful as Embird, but it runs on the Mac which I would really like. Blessings, Kamala
I am using a software called Sofie’s Sew. It was a free download and was incredibly more user friendly than the Brother software I bought through amazon. It jut takes some getting used to. The biggest issue is to save for a Brother machine, it gives the wrong extension so you have to save it as a .dst file.
Another question. Can you tell me ABOUT how many designs the 4M blank memory card may hold? I understand it will depend on how much space each takes. But just a round about number.
Hi Susan,
I don’t know. I’ve never used the cards. I organize all the designs on my computer and just transfer them to the SE400 for whatever project I’m working on. Another thing, the SE400 has 12 memory slots that you can store your own designs in. Just be sure to Save the design after you transfer it over. So that’s what I do. I save frequently used designs in the memory. Or if a project needs more than one design, I transfer them over all at once, save them to memory and then call them up when I’m ready to stitch them.
Sorry for not answering your question, but I hope this helps,
Kamala
Hello Kamala,
This information is so needed by me. I just found you today. I will try this as soon as I can. Probably tomorrow. Do I need the PE-Basic to do this?
Santa (hubby) brought me a Brother SE-400 this year. My first embroider machine. I have been sewing since Santa brought me fabric scraps, and sewing notions for Christmas when I was only 6 years old (53 years ago) ;o) . Been sewing every chance I get since then.
I purchased and downloaded, to my computer, a couple of designs from sellers on Etsy. I can not open them on my computer and view them. Can they be transfered directly from my computer to my SE400 and viewed there and embroidery them? Or, do I have to purchase the PE-Basic and use it? I’m not clear on how the PE-Basic works either. Someone told me I need it also.
I’m afraid to do anything. Afraid I will mess up the computer in my embroidery machine.
I would appreciate any help you can give me.
Thank you,
Susan D.
Hi Susan,
Your sewing sounds a lot like me.
And now it’s way fun to get into machine embroidery.
You don’t need PE-Basic. PE-Basic is used to write embroidery cards for older machines that do not have a USB port.
You can’t open the designs on your computer without special embroidery software. But it doesn’t matter for now. Just connect your SE400 to your compeer and transfer them over. You’ll be able to see it on the SE400 (but not in very high resolution). Stitch it out on a test fabric.
Don’t worry about messing up the SE400. For embroidery did you try one of the built-in patterns on a scrap fabric? Follow the Quick Reference Guide. Just to get a feel for it in the simplest way.
Later you may want embroidery editing software or software that lets you view and organize the patterns on your computer. Some people never need additional software, but particularly for embroidering names it’s useful. But for now all the software you need is built into the SE400 and your computer. Just hook it up and copy them over.
I’m in the process of updating this article to be clearer and answer everyone’s questions in the main article so other people can find it easier.
Blessings,
Kamala
Thank you so much for this info. I just received the SE400 for Christmas. My biggest desire for a embroiderer is to be able to embroider names onto projects, but I was disappointed in the default font selects, so I’m happy to be able to download some new fonts!
I found a site that offers some awesome fonts at very reasonable prices. Could you tell me if you’ve ever used this site? http://www.8clawsandapaw.com/font-starter-pack-embroidery-design.html
And can you see any reason why these wouldn’t work if I downloaded the PES? I checked the sizes, and most show 3 sizes (1 inch, 2 inch, 3 inch) and some start at .5 and even one (Curlz) starts at 1 inch and goes up to 6 inch. Obviously I know the 6 inch wouldn’t work on the 4×4 hoop, but do you think it would affect the machine recognizing the others?
Hi Amber,
Thanks for the site link. I’ve never used that site, but I always like to know about new ones. It looks like a very good package at a reasonable price. You get the letters as 2028 individual files. So the larger sizes won’t affect the others. Just don’t transfer over the larger ones. And be sure to get the PES format.
These are individual letters. Each file is one letter in a particular font and size. You’re going to need software to put the letters into names. You can stitch each letter separately which would allow you to embroider larger names. I’ve never been very successful at getting them lined up and spaced nicely. But it might work for you.
Which software is a complicated subject — I should write a review section on it. Many people like Embird or Sew What Pro. Both have free 30-day trials, so you can try before you buy. I’m going to look at Embrilliance. I read it’s not as powerful as Embird, but it runs on the Mac which I would really like.
I have the SE-400 with the 885-V32 product code. The Operations manual for the PC 885-V31/V32/V33 which came with it has nothing about how to use the sewing machine to computer USB cord that also came with it. In fact, the picture of the machine on page 11 does not even show the square USB plug-in on the machine. Do you know if there are newer versions of this manual, or a different manual available that covers this?
Thank you very much for your article that explains it. I have not had a chance to try it yet. I was just wondering why Brother has omitted anything on this important feather (one of the main reasons I bought it) from the manual they ship?
Hi Judy,
You should have another manual that came with the SE-400, very thin, teal and white called “Instruction Manual: USB Connections.” I think Brother did it this way because the SE-400 is identical to the older SE350 except for the USB port. So rather than create a new manual, they just shipped a little add-on.
If you can’t find it, you can download it from Brothers web site: USB Manual.
I recently purchased the Brother SE400 and now I’m interested in purchasing software so I can create words with different fonts on my computer. I’ve downloaded the Embird trial and I was also looking at the BES Embroidery Lettering Software. Embird seems to be a lot less expensive but I like the look of the BES software. What type of software would you recommend to a beginner? I want to purchase something that I can use for a long time. Thanks!
Question about bobbin thread. SE400 instructions say to use bobbin thread provided, I am unable to get the top thread to be solid, the white bobbin thread shows through. I have adjusted tension according to instructions and re-threaded. What else do I do?
I just purchased the Brother SE400. What program can I download that will open the dst and pes files? I recieved a amazing designs cd with my embrodery thread but I cannot open any files. Please advise and thank you.
I forgot to mention that I do have Windows 7.
Hi Janet,
If you just want to stitch a design on the SE400, you don’t need additional software. You can just connect the SE400 to your computer with the USB cable and copy the pes files over. You can’t open the files on your computer, but you can see the file names for copying. Did the CD come with an index or anything for choosing the designs? If not, you’ll need some kind of viewing or cataloging software. I think there are some free ones, but I don’t know anything about them. The more expensive editing programs will do this, but it’s overkill if all you want to do is choose a design from a collection.
If you want to combine or edit the designs, you’ll need embroidery software. Many people like Embird or Sew What Pro. They both have 30-day free trials so you can try it and see what you like and what you need.
Thanks for your site! It has been so helpful.
I am trying to download designs from my computer to my machine. I follow all of the steps correctly, but when I move the files to “removable disk” I cannot “see” them on my machine. I can see that they are there by the increased disk space used on the machine’s screen, but there are NO images to select to embroider..I am so confused and do not know what to do??
Hi Kimberly,
I’m so glad you’ve found this site helpful.
When you can’t see the images on the machine, it’s almost always because they’re too large or the file format isn’t right. Are you sure that the images are for a 4×4 inch frame? The actual maximum size is 3.93 inches.
Are the files in .pes format? Make sure it’s not a zip file or folder. Do not create any folders on “Removable Disk”. Are there more than 12 files?
There are also limits on the number of stitches and colors and the file size. Try one very simple file just to get the process working.
Most of the time, when the image won’t display, it’s because the file format is wrong or zipped, or the pattern is too large.
Hope this helps,
Kamala
Hi Kamala, I have a brothers se 350 and it has a usb port on it. I got it from overstock.com. It was refurbished. Now from what I understand SE350 do not have usb ports. I read what you said about the usb icon on the lcd screen but I do not get that icon
Hi Lydia,
I read in a comment from someone else that her SE350 had a USB port hidden behind a cover plate. My best guest is that Brother was making the HE-240 for HSN with a USB port at the same time as the SE350. And since the two machines are otherwise identical, it made sense to only manufacture one basic model and just disable the USB port on the SE350. Maybe in the refurbishing of your machine, the cover plate didn’t get put on. The function would also have to be disabled in software which is why you don’t see the USB icon.
Regards,
Kamala
Hi Kamala,
I am very interested in the SE400, however, I am not sure it has the ability to use a software stitch ‘n edit and stitch ‘n digitze from amazing designs that I have been researching. Also, could you advise me if any of the Brother Embroidery Software is capable of doing the same things that amazing design software like resizing and hooping format. I’ve tried but cannot find any information on the Brother Software and, if the SE400 would have the capability to use the software.
Thank You for your advice and look forward to your reply.
Diane
Hi Diane,
I’m not familiar with the stitch ‘n edit and stitch ‘n digitze software. But embroidery software runs on your computer, not the embroidery machine. So to be compatible with the Brother SE400, it only has to be able to save the embroidery files in .pes format for a 4×4 inch frame. This is a very common format and all embroidery software that I know can do it.
The Brother PED Design software also does editing and digitizing depending on the package. It’s all compatible with the SE400. (The SE400 doesn’t need the Brother PED Basic software which only writes memory cards unless you want to store embroidery designs on cards instead of your computer. Also the SE400 can store 12 additional designs in its own memory.)
You can find out more about the Brother Software on http://www.Brother-USA.com.
Hope this helps and have fun embroidering,
Kamala
I am trying to applique using my Brother SE400. I haven’t appliqued before so it is all new. The instructions tell me to hoop it and stitch. I put it in the embroidery hoop and attached it like I was going to embroider, but I can’t fidn the options for appliquing. What am I doing wrong?
Hi Cindy,
I’m a bit embarrassed to say, I’ve never tried appliquéing (yet??). I just looked it up in the manual and found it very confusing. You do need to select an applique design. The machine knows to stitch the outline first and do all the steps automatically. Have you selected an applique pattern? I’m not sure there are any built-in.
Here are a couple of links I squirreled away that might help:
http://www.sewswell.com/applique_instructions01.html
http://www.windstarembroidery.com/embroidery-information.cfm?File=Applique
Hope this helps,
Kamala
Cindy – Did you figure this out? The machine says to change it in the “settings” but when I go to Name of Color (as instructed) nothing happens. What are we doing wrong?
Adriane
I purchased my first “font” for my SE 400 & was excited to import the individual letters over for monogramming. However, I did not find any “removable disk” icon under “my computer”. I downloaded the font in PES & followed all the other directions. What did I do wrong? Please help.
Hi Lisa,
It’s hard to know what’s wrong without seeing it. You should see “removable disk” when you hook the SE400 to your computer. You could try this which often solves a bunch of mysterious problems. Make sure that the USB cable is firmly plugged into the USB ports on both ends — the SE400 and the PC. Then restart both the SE400 and the PC. Sometimes they get in a funny state and don’t communicate. (just like people LOL). If that doesn’t help, I don’t know what to say. It should just work. “Removable disk” should show up even if you don’t have any fonts downloaded. Or try looking for another name. Maybe it calls it something else. I don’t know about all versions of Windows.
Wish I could be more help,
Kamala
i am trying to learn how to do a monogram on my machine with the fonts provided. I want to do it in the format of aBc (where the middle letter is actually the last initial and larger). Is it possible to do it on the Brother SE400 without purchasing additional software? Thank you.
Hi Shannon,
You can’t create a monogram with a large middle letter. You need software such as Monogram Wizard or Embird.
The other option is to stitch each letter separately. Try this on a scrap for testing.
Draw three blocks, one for each letter, marking the center of each block.
One at a time, select a letter & size. Center in the appropriate box & stitch. Use the grid on the hoop to help line things up.
This will give you an idea for spacing.
When doing your project, use the measurement from the test sample for spacing and mark the center of each letter with a fabric marker that disappears or use 3/4″ round stickers and mark a cross-hair on them for centering. Blue painter’s tape is also a nifty tool to temporarily mark a straight line.
Regards,
Kamala
Quick question to your response… Even if I purchase a new font/monogram and download it to the machine; I still can’t do one larger letter? If not, then what exactly will the Monogram Wizard do for me?
I actually have not purchased this machine yet…but have narrowed it down to this one. Looks like you love yours!
Thanks for your help and your blog is so helpful
Hi Adriane,
Yes, buying a font has the same problem because all the letters are separate designs. Without software to put the letters together, you have to stitch them individually which is tedious at best and impossible to line up right at worse.
Monogram Wizard allows you to string the letters together to make words and edit the letters individually. So you can have a proper monogram with a large middle letter. It also has embellishments and different styles for the monogram like fitting the letters in a circle or diamond. So you can create very fancy monograms. Then you save the design to a file, upload it to the SE400 and stitch it out at one time. I don’t know much about Monogram Wizard because I want to do more than monograms and it’s expensive, but many people in the forums like it. Brother also sells software for monograming and there are others, but I haven’t used any of them.
I’m so glad you found the blog helpful. It’s a lot of fun.
Kamala
can you please send the instructions on how to use the multi position hoop is is not in my manual. I have a Brother 1200 invois machine and I have also just recently purchased the SE400. I love them both. Please help me on the 1200 how to use the multi position hoop, wanting to connect designs.
Hi Judy,
I don’t know anything about the 1200, but the multi-position hoop must be similar to the one for the SE400. Look on the side. There should be four pins or guides instead of the normal two. Then there are three ways of attaching the hoop to the embroidery unit — using the top two pins, the middle two, or the bottom two. This will let you stitch in the top, middle or bottom of the hoop without re-hooping. The trick is to position and line-up the designs properly. It doesn’t really connect designs. It just lets you stitch several designs without re-hooping. For example, you could stitch a design in the top part of the hoop, move it to the bottom position and stitch a name underneath. Hope this helps. It’s hard to explain.
Hi I own a Brother SE-400 and am having problems with a .PES file that I purchased. I have had no other problem copying it to my machine as you state above but only this one..it will not read it! Any clues as to how to fix this..the creator of the design has tried to send me multiple corrected designs but it will not read it..please help if you can
Hi Danielle,
When you say it won’t read it, do you mean it won’t copy it or that that it seems to copy OK, but then won’t display the design so you can select it for embroidery. The number one reason people can’t see the design is that it’s too big. The maximum actual size is 3 7/8 inches because there has to be room left in the 4 inch hoop for the the embroidery foot to travel. Maybe the designer is making it exactly 4×4 inches thinking that would work the SE400 hoop size. Other than that, there are limitations on the number of colors and the file size itself.
Since you don’t have any trouble with your other designs, I think this one must be too big in some way. Hope this helps. Good luck. Kamala
Thanks so much. But how do we upgrade the software using a mac?
That would be so helpful and I can’t figure it out.
Hi Diane,
While the software built-into the SE400, will transfer embroidery files from a Mac just fine, the more advanced embroidery software programs only run on PCs/Windows. I think I saw a reference to a Mac program once, but I can’t find it. Neither Embird, Sew What Pro, or Brothers design software will run on a Mac. I have a Mac, so I need to solve this problem too.
There are a couple of ways, Mac users solve this problem:
1. Buy a small, cheap PC and use it only for embroidery. People like this because they can keep it next to the SE400 and not have to move the Mac around. I don’t really like this for myself because I might really want to get into embroidery design someday and all my graphics design files and programs are on the Mac. Besides not wanting to buy and use a PC.
2. You can run Windows software on the Mac using Parallels Desktop or VMWare Fusion. I have used both to run a couple of Windows programs I use very seldom. It works OK. Basically, it runs Windows on top of the Mac in its own window. This is the method, I’m going to try first.
I haven’t tried any of this yet because I’ve been traveling and didn’t get that far before I left home. I was still quite happy with the built-in designs and designs downloaded from the internet. I didn’t have time to get into editing and combining designs before I left. But I will when I get back home this summer.
Kind Regards,
Kamala
I have many designs saved in a vip format. How can I change them to the pes format so I can download them to my Brother 400?
Hi Jacqueline,
You will need embroidery software to convert the file format. The free Wilcom Truesizer converts many formats but I couldn’t find out if it does VIP or not. Both Sew What Pro and Embird will convert VIP to PES format as well as other useful functions like editing and combining designs. They also both have a 30-day trial. There may be other programs, I don’t know.
Kind Regards,
Kamala
I love Stitchbuddy. You get a free trial. Works great with my Mac and my brother SE400.
I was having trouble downloading also so I called Brother.
I was told that you can only use designs with 30,000 stitches or less for the
SE-400. With a 4×4 hoop size and the stitch limits it really limits the designs you can use. But I am enjoying my new SE-400 I hope this information helps.
Debbie
Thank you for this information, Debbie. The manual says “.pes files saved with the number of stitches, the number of colors and the number of combined patterns exceeding the specified limits cannot be displayed.” But nowhere can I find exactly what those limits are. So it’s very helpful to know the stitch limitation.
Also, if the file name contains special characters, it won’t display. I forgot about this one.
I’m going to make a list of all these little gotchas.
Kamala,
Thanks again for the information. You’re right about the editing software. I can already see the need for it, especially for the fonts. Brother has made the built in fonts so easy to use. It would be so nice to be able to add new fonts and use them the same way.
I did come across the free cataloging program but didn’t realize how useful it would be at the time. Will definitely be on the lookout for it.
I will try your suggestion in regard to loading the image & adjusting prior to attaching the hoop to the machine.
Again, thank you so much for getting back to me. I truly appreciate it.
Teri
Kamala, Thank you so much for the quick reply. I suspected that may have been the problem (image too large). Is there any way to determine the size of the designs I have already downloaded or prior to downloading any further images?
Sorry this reply isn’t so quick. I’ve been having a lot of Internet problems. Prior to downloading an image, the site should tell you the hoop size the design is made for. After, you will need some software that can read the images on your computer. You will eventually probably want editing software that can edit the images and put images together. For example, to create a name or word using image fonts or to add a word to a design. Many people like Embird and Sew What Pro. They both have a 30-day free trial. I know I read of a (free?) program for cataloging image files on your computer. It lets you see the image as a picture and how big it is and generally organize them. But I can’t find the reference now.
Another idea, if the designs are only a little big. Make sure you don’t have the hoop on the machine when you copy the design into the machine. If the hoop is on and the design is even a tiny bit over the hoop size, it won’t show up on the screen. I think the largest actual size is 3 7/8 inches because there has to be room left in the 4 inch hoop for the the embroidery foot to travel. If this works, you should be able to resize it down to fit the 4×4 to embroider. Just a thought to check out.
Hello:) I have recently purchased the Brother SE400 and am very impressed with its sewing & embroidery capabilities. I am new to machine embroidery and decided this would be a good starter machine based on the excellent reviews. I am having the same issues as Carol P. I have sucessfully embroidered several of the built in designs & a few downloaded designs. However, several of the downloaded designs(all .pes files) do not show up on the sewing machine’s LCD screen. I have followed the instructions in the manual although they seem a little vague. I have downloaded & saved the images to a laptop, copied whatever one I intend to use to the sewing machine, pressed the USB button on the LCD screen of the sewing machine but no image shows up. The screen lists the # of KB, P1/P1 & the symbol w/the up arrow. Wondering if perhaps the machine doesn’t recognize the image if it’s programmed for a larger hoop. . . Carol, have you been able to figure this out???
Hello, Teri,
The machine definitely won’t recognize the image if it’s programmed for a larger hoop. Are you sure the design is for a 4×4 inch hoop? Since you say, you have successfully embroidered a few downloaded designs, I think it must be something wrong with the design itself — too large, too many colors, or too large a hoop are the most common ones. Kamala
A little more info for the puzzle … regarding your suggestion that the actual size of the design must be a little smaller than 4×4 to fit. I now went and downloaded another design, PES format, and this design was 0.68 x 2.25, and shows 13kb, 1763 stitches. I was hopeful the design would come up on the Brother screen this time, but same results as before. This time it shows 16/476, P1/P1, and the symbol with the up arrow.
Hi Carol,
I’m sorry, I just don’t know. When I’m on that screen and see memory used, P1/P1, I’ve always seen the images of the designs underneath.
I’ve edited this reply because what I wrote before was wrong. I wrote it in Italy relying on memory which is always a bad idea.
I would love to try your pattern and send you some screen shots, but I’m traveling in Italy without my machine until the beginning of July. And I’m sure you can get it figured out by then. Actually so many people ask this question, that I’m thinking of shooting a video as soon as I get home.
All the best,
Kamala
Kamala – Thanks for responding. To answer your questions, plus a little more info, here goes: I downloaded file from internet as a PES file, unzipped. No other files are downloaded into my Brother. This particular design uses 2 colors, size is 3.86×3.12, and it is 9751 stitches. This design shows on my computer that it is 59kb.
I go into my computer and click on the removable disk icon. It shows “476kb free of 476kb”. I open the folder on my computer which stores the embroidery files, go to this particular design, and right click. Then I tell it to “send to: removable disk”. On my Brother screen, it says “Transferring from USB” (or something similar – can’t remember exactly). Next, on the Brother screen, it shows “60/476kb’”, “P1/P1″, and a symbol that looks kind of like a pocket, with an arrow pointing UP. Back to my computer screen, and for the removable disk, it now shows “416kb free of 476″. When I click on the removable disk, it shows that the file is in there.
Last evening when I was fooling with it, I thought to myself that maybe the design would embroider even though I could not see it. But it wouldn’t. As I said before, I also tried it as a DST file, but had the same results.
I love this machine, but I’m at a complete loss!
Oops, meant to say DST and PES …
Hi Carol,
Both .pes and .dst formatted data files will work. But the .dst format has some limitations, among which is that only the file name will be displayed in the pattern list screen. A picture of the image will not be displayed.
So better to start with a .pes file.
It’s hard to say remotely, but here are some ideas of things to look at:
1. in .pes format and make sure it’s not in a zip file or folder. Do not create any folders on “Removable Disk”.
2. Can you see the .pes file in “Removable Disk” from your computer? Are there more than 12 files?
3. Make sure that the design is for a 4×4 inch hoop. The actual size of the design will have to be a little smaller to fit.
4. The number of stitches or colors might be too large. Try a very simple file just to get the process working. Or the file could be too large for the memory.
Then when you press the button that looks like a USB symbol and computer, what does it say? The number of pages (images), amount of memory?
Most of the time, when the image won’t display, it’s because the file format is wrong or zipped, or the pattern is too large.
I hope this helps. Good luck and let me know how you make out because your solution could help someone else.
Kamala
Have a new Brother SE400 and having no trouble embroidering stock designs from the machine. But when I download DST designs, no picture comes up in the display screen. Any idea what I need to do? Thinking perhaps DES file might work better, I downloaded one of those also, but same results. Says it downloaded, but no picture. Help, please !!!
I would like to know if I can embrodiery a design that I have designed and have on paintshop on my brother embrodiery machine? If I can, how do I do it?
Hi Wendy,
I don’t know for sure because I haven’t started embroidering my own designs yet. I’m pretty sure you can, but you’ll need digitizing software to convert your design from paintshop to an embroidery file format that your Brother embroidery machine can use. The embroidery file has to contain all the stitching and color information so the machine can stitch it out. I’m sorry that’s all I know. You could ask on one of the forums. One forum that I’ve found helpful is http://www.sewforum.com. You’ll have to register and log in to see the topics, but it’s free and easy. They have a very active and knowledgable embroidery group including a section on Digitizing Programs that you might find helpful.
Good luck,
Kamala
I just got my SE-400 a few weeks ago, and am still trying to figure things out. Thanks for letting me know that the .dst files will work on it!
Hi Christine,
Glad it helped. Have fun with your SE-400.
Kamala
Thanks, Marcia. I’ll check Stitchbuddy out. I’d love to have something that runs on my Mac.
Hi Jenny,
You’ll be able to use both Embird and the BES Embroidery Lettering Software for a long time. Which one to buy depends on what you want to do. Many people like Embird. It’s a modular system that you can add-on to as you need to. For creating words from fonts on your computer, you’ll need the Font Engine module in addition to the Basic module. There’s a 30-day free trial, so you can try it and see how you like it. I’m not familiar with the BES Software. It’s a special purpose lettering software, so is probably easier to do fancy lettering. Embird will be more general purpose — the basic program + the font engine.