Turning It On
Before turning the machine on, plug it in. The Cable for the machine can be found in the Brother PE800 Accessory tote. To turn the embroidery machine on, locate the power switch on the side.
Securing Fabric
Select the fabric you would like to embroider. Once the fabric is selected grab a piece of interfacing to place behind the fabric. The fabric is now ready to be secured into the hoop for embroidery. To secure the fabric, place the fabric and interfacing on top of the inner hoop. Then loosen the outer loop and place it over and around the fabric on the inner loop. Once the fabric is placed there, tighten the outer hoop enough so that it is snug around the inner hoop, but loose enough that you can pull on the fabric. Pull the fabric to add tension. Once enough tension has been added, tighten the hoop completely. After the hoop has been completely tightened it can be placed onto the embroidery machine carriage
Making Preset Designs
Select a design on the screen. The screen is a touch screen. To scroll pages use the arrows on the control panel. Click Set once you’ve decided on a design. Click “edit end”, after selecting and editing the design. Once completed click embroidery. After editing click ok. To begin embroidering click the down arrow button shown below.
Text
The text tool can only embroider one letter at a time. Use the same steps as above to load and embroider a text design.
Changing Thread
The computer will beep when the thread color needs to be changed. Thread the fabric as instructed above.
Making Custom Designs
For any custom design, the file must be uploaded as a .pes file to a USB drive and the USB drive must be inserted into the sewing machine. Once it is inserted click the usb symbol in the lower right corner. Select your design and follow the same steps you would for a preset design.
Downloading software
The free software that has been found for sewing machine files is Inkscape. Inkscape is a digital design software that can be used to create custom embroidery files. To download the software visit: https://inkscape.org/release/inkscape-1.1.1/
Once inkscape is installed you will have to install an extension called inkstitch. To download inkstitch visit: https://inkstitch.org/
YOU MUST INSTALL AND RUN INKSCAPE BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO INSTALL INKSTITCH.
Follow this video tutorial for help with installation. (for windows) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SoGm4lUr7w
Making a Design from an Image
To make a design from an image, insert the image into your workspace on InkScape. Once the image is inserted into your workspace. Use the pencil tool to trace over the image. You can also right-click the image and click “Trace Bitmap.” If it’s a black and white image, using brightness cutoff will give you the best result, otherwise playing around with the settings can give you a good result.
This video can give you a step-by-step tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Igh4pSg6he4&t=900s
Exporting Files
So, you’ve completed your custom design and now you want to embroider it, well there’s one more step and it’s exporting the file. Go to the file drop down menu and select “save copy as…” select your USB as your save location and then save the copy there as a .pes file.
Note you may also want to save a backup of your design as a .svg file on your device’s storage.
Threading the Machine
Before threading the machine select a design. The design will give you the color of fabric you will need for the design
First pick out your selected thread and matching bobbin. The bobbin must match otherwise you will get a spotty effect on your design. Thread your top thread following the solid arrows on the machine. At arrow 4 make sure the needle is up. Use the wheel on the side to move the needle to the up position. Once the needle is up make sure the thread loops into the metal ring. Lastly thread the needle and loop the thread through the presser foot.
Threading the Bobbin
Remove the plastic covering from the bobbin spindle. ( The bobbin spindle is located underneath the foot of the sewing machine. Place your bobbin in the bobbin spindle. Hold the bobbin down with your pointer finger on your non-dominant hand and with your dominant hand take the thread from the bobbin and slide it into the metal clip shown below.