My husband says "you get what you pay for" so I am wondering why do so many people direct us to go get "freebies"? What if the design is exactly that, "you get what you pay for?" I am sorry if I am being a bother, this is more for him than me (I don't mind spending his money lol) all joking aside he really wants to know.

Esadsh, Using freebies is always a trial and error project. I have found many that are excellent. Some of the digitizers actually take a design out of one of their collections to use as a freebie. Experience will teach you which digitizers are good and which are not. As everyone has said, test the design first. You can also use your test squares for greeting cards, scrapbook pages, etc. Good luck, and , most of all, have fun and enjoy your new hobby!...Barb

1 comment

by auntbaba 22 Nov 2009

PS. Welcome to Cute!!!

When I got my first machine I DL anything that said free. I have more wisdom now & most of it from Cute & experience. I still run across a freebie in my cp now & then that must be deleted because of poor digitizing. As the others have explained u need to see a stitchout, U test yourself, I also can run a stitchout simulator of the design with my SW & I use editing SW to take a good look at enlarged design showing all stitchpoints etc. this will show me gaps or holes in designs & other problems I may encounter. Bottom line is all freebies r not great designs.

I do a stitch out of ALL designs, including the ones I buy. I had someone who wanted a deer so I went to a GOOD site that I buy from all the time. The design was terrible. I contacted them and asked them if they stitch out the designs before they sell them and the reply was no. I sent them a photo of the stitch out and they refunded my money. A lot of these free ones are just beautiful. The designers put a lot of time and talent into making the designs. In other words you have good and bad with all. So just be careful and it's worth the thread to do a stitch out instead of ruining a garment.

I would like to thank all the wonderful people on this site for sharing their designs. Lots of talent here.

4 comments

by mops 21 Nov 2009

I never buy or download a freebie that does not show the test stitch of the design, but a computer generated picture or even worse only the clipart. And then I test stitch them myself as well, on a square I can use in a quilt, before I do it on the article I want to decorate.
I don't upload a design in Designs by Cuties that I have not stitched out myself and/or have had others do it for me - I have on occasion uploaded a computer generated picture when my photo turned out to be less good than I wanted it to be. I uploaded some simple appliqué patches of which I have made so many in different sizes that I know they turn out well - but always told that.

by mpo14011 21 Nov 2009

I totally agree with Martine.I, too, refuse to download any design that does not show the test stitch.

by marjialexa 21 Nov 2009

I agree as well. If the designer can't be bothered to do a test stitch, I can't be bothered to download it.

by marjialexa 21 Nov 2009

I agree as well. If the designer can't be bothered to do a test stitch, I can't be bothered to download it.

I do get some freebies, BUT only from sites I would or have purchased from. Thread, fabric etc are much too costly to spoil, I'm cautious too- always. There are a lot freebies offered that I would not want to use so why collect them? Use designers you trust to purchase from and accept freebies to test - say - a design from a set before purchasing the whole set.

Ah the addiction of machine embroidery slowly creeps up on one. I dont think there is a cure. Goodness knows what it would be like with two of you addicted.
Freebie embroidery designs. The more you sew the more knowledge you gain. Therefore you will find out which sites have quality designs and the ones that are awful and after half stitching are not evenworth finishing. Collecting all freebies is a stage that I think most people who have embroidery machines go through before your own quality control kicks in. Happy sewing

I stitch on a fabric square that can be a quilt block if the design is good I save it and when I have enough samples saved up I make a quilt out of the I use a plane cheap white or off white and it will blend well with other fabrice and make a beautiful quilt that way I do not wante thread on a scrap I can not use.

1 comment

by harmzen 21 Nov 2009

wow what a useful tip, tks for sharing

Try the freebies and you will know which sites to buy from and which not to.

Freebees from reputable sites are as good as the designs they sell. It is for them to let you try the quality. You must understand that there are several ways of making designs. the best way is done manually, what takes a lot of time, the worst is automatic. Done very quickly with no time and effort put into it. You will soon see that most freebees are excellent quality.

The freebies should be samples to let you try before you buy.The freebies SHOULD be as good as the bought designs. If you download a freebie that is not very good, you can bet your bottom dollar that the digitizer is not very good,therefore you will never buy from that site. If the freebie is good, you know the digitizer is good and you will buy from that site. Freebies were never intended to fill peoples' computers with designs. They were intended to show you a sample of the digitizers',or websites', quality of designs.

4 comments

by esadsh 21 Nov 2009

May I ask... how am I to know of the quality of the "freebie" design? I do not understand. Do you mean I must try it out on my fabric such as a shirt, blanket or whatever first? Forgive me, but isn't that a waste of materials if the design is not good? I apologize for my inexperience.

by jokin 21 Nov 2009

I usually try a sample of something on a piece of felt or something similar... if it is nice it can be used on something still...could be glued on a card or something... or if I have a t-shirt that got messed up I will stich a practice design on another part of that so I don't waste another shirt or blanket etc...

by mpo14011 21 Nov 2009

That's right. All designs should be tested by you first on a piece of scrappy fabric that is like the fabric you intend to stitch the design on. EG, if you test a design on cotton, and it turns out nice, then you stitch it on a T-shirt and it turns out not so nice, that is because the design was not intended to be used on stretch knit fabrics and would need more stabilizing.
This is not the fault of the digitizer. ALWAYS test it on a piece of fabric that is like the fabric you intend to use.

by marjialexa 21 Nov 2009

I totally agree, Ricky!! And yes, Esadsh, test designs on the same fabric if you don't have digitizing software and know what to look for in a good design. I'm not sure where the term "freebie" came from, because these are actually "sample" designs, meant to allow someone the ability to 'test out' the digitizer's wares before they purchase from the site. Some people will download anything that is "free", but if I don't know the site, and my McAfee virus protection does not say it's safe, I won't go there. There is no point in jeopardizing my computer, and no point in filling it up with bad designs that I wouldn't use anyway. Test your designs, and use the squares for a quilt to give to charity, if not for yourself. It's cheaper than ruining an expensive piece of clothing or blanket. Good luck! Hugs, Marji

Hi Esadsh, I began embroiderying with patterns that I purchased because those were exactly what I wanted. But as you go you will find that there are soooooooo many freebies on line that you will eventually find a freebie of exactly what you wanted as well! I do believe that some purchased patterns are more nicely digitized and sew out better BUT look at the digitizer or site that you find the freebies from, the more well known the site or digitizer the nicer those freebie patterns will be! Good Luck!