Working with alphabets
Using Purchased Embroidery Alphabet Files
Working with alphabets can be straightforward, depending on the machine and software you have. Even if you don't have specific software, there's still a fantastic way to manage your fonts.
Many software options—such as Hatch 3, Embird, Floriani, Embrilliance, PE-Design, Bernina, and DesignShop—offer the capability to map purchased letters to the software as if using a keyboard font. If you don't have any of the software mentioned above, here's what you can do.
Unzipping Your Font Files
The first step is always to UNZIP the download folder.
How to Unzip on Windows
- Right-click the .zip folder.
- Select "Extract All..."
- Make a note of where you save the files for easy access later.
How to Unzip on a Mac
Simply double-click the .zip file to decompress it automatically. The unzipped items will be placed in the same folder as the compressed file. For a visual guide, you can watch this short video tutorial:
How to Use the Alphabets
There are several ways to use your purchased alphabet files:
-
Directly on Your Embroidery Machine
Select the individual letter files you would like to stitch in the format compatible with your embroidery machine. Save them to a USB flash drive, and then combine them on your machine using its ADD or MERGE function.
-
Using Embrilliance Express (Free Software)
Another option is to use the BX files included in your download folder, which allow you to type out text easily. This requires the free Embrilliance Express software. After designing your text, you can save your projects in formats like DST, PES, or any other file format your machine uses.
- Software Link: Download Embrilliance Express
- Developer's Video:
- Short Tutorial on Installing and Using BX files:
-
Using Other Embroidery Software
Here are video tutorials for mapping fonts in other popular embroidery software:
- Embird Embroidery Software:
- PE-Design 11:
- Hatch 3:
- DesignShop: