It's amazing how often machine embroiderers search for free embroidery designs. At first glance, you may think that this is a great way to expand your design library and offset the price you paid for that high-priced embroidery machine. Free designs from the right sources are indeed a nice bonus but the bulk of these designs are poor quality and some may actually cost you dearly in legal fees. Find out what you need to know before you download or accept any free design!
What Are Free Embroidery Designs?
For purposes of this discussion, I'm talking about free designs you can download from the internet. Other "free" designs might be a special bundle you get with the purchase of a product. Most often these bundles consist of collections that are normally offered for sale but are added as a special bonus offer to entice you to buy. Free designs on the internet include a design that might be free this month only but then go to a regular price and designs that are perpetually free of cost.
How Free Are Those Designs Really?
"Free designs" which virtually litter the internet, may or not be truly free. With these designs, there often is no experienced and knowledgeable digitizer standing behind them. You must be the one to verify and (usually) fix them. When people bring problem sew-outs to me for help, most of the time they are these "freebie" designs. Often they have three, four, or even more sew-outs with different fabrics and backings. Good embroidery starts with a good design and a poor one will not be fixed by altering external factors. You may not be using your credit card to purchase these designs but you still pay for them in time, frustration, and supplies.
Types of Free Designs
There are four types of free designs you're likely to come across on the internet:
1. Sample designs from professional digitizers to allow you to experience their skills
2. Sample designs from machine companies to add value to their product
3. Free designs shared by home embroiderers who may or may not have any skills and may not understand copyrights
4. Bootleg copies of copyrighted designs
Are All Free Designs Poor Quality?
Absolutely not! Reputable digitizers often provide free samples of their work. But just like the free samples at the grocery store, they are just a tasty little bite, not a full course meal. A professional digitizer will apply the same high level of skills to a free design as they do to any design they create. They do not want a poor quality design to represent them. Don't expect the design to represent their most intricate complex work though!
Do recognize that there is a skill and quality range in professional digitizers and just because they charge for their work does not necessarily mean they are great digitizers. Designs provided by machine companies may have been digitized by a professional digitizer, a knowledgeable educator, or someone of lesser skills.
Designs on sites that allow anyone to contribute and share their embroidery design work also demonstrate the full gamut of digitizing quality. Some of them may not even have been sewn before they were uploaded! No matter the source of your design, you should always test sew that it will work for your purposes. If it is truly a bad design--not just a bad sew-out---get rid of it. Bad designs will not get better with age.
Copyrights and Free Designs
Just because you acquire the design for free doesn't mean you have the freedom to use it however you please. Free designs do come with intellectual copyrights and usage limitations so make sure you know what they are or that free design could suddenly become very expensive. Do not distribute these designs--they are often used as an enticement to bring new visitors to a website. If you interfere, then you can be depriving the original distributor from income.
Protecting Yourself from Bootleg Designs
Be careful from whom you accept free designs; it may be an entrapment ploy. Make sure that the provider of the designs is the original copyright owner or has free distribution rights. Some companies have been known to offer "free collections" through a third party in order to take legal action against those who accept the offer. Also, be careful about the design subject. I've seen free designs for Roadrunner, Pooh, Tweety Bird, and Dr. Seuss characters to name just a few. These are licensed characters and are heavily protected. Do not download these! If you sew them and a company representative should spot it, you will need to prove where you got it. If it didn't come from a approved licensed company, you will be facing legal action.
Should You Completely Avoid Free Designs?
No, but use caution when accepting them and using them. A little paranoia can be a good thing! Free designs can be a nice bonus to your design library when they come from a reputable source and they sew well. Why litter your hard drive with hundreds or possibly thousands, of free but poor designs? You can buy individual designs for less than a cup of coffee. Wouldn't you rather start with quality?
Lindee Goodall is the founder and former owner of Cactus Punch, the first independent company to design embroidery specifically for the home market. Combining a degree in art, a life long love of sewing and crafts, and a background in programming, Lindee melds the art with the science of creating a smooth running and creative design. With 15 years of digitizing experience, she now owns and operates Lindee G Embroidery, providing quality embroidery designs and educational products. Visit Lindee G Embroidery: http://lindeegembroidery.com
By Lindee Goodall
What Are Free Embroidery Designs?
For purposes of this discussion, I'm talking about free designs you can download from the internet. Other "free" designs might be a special bundle you get with the purchase of a product. Most often these bundles consist of collections that are normally offered for sale but are added as a special bonus offer to entice you to buy. Free designs on the internet include a design that might be free this month only but then go to a regular price and designs that are perpetually free of cost.
How Free Are Those Designs Really?
"Free designs" which virtually litter the internet, may or not be truly free. With these designs, there often is no experienced and knowledgeable digitizer standing behind them. You must be the one to verify and (usually) fix them. When people bring problem sew-outs to me for help, most of the time they are these "freebie" designs. Often they have three, four, or even more sew-outs with different fabrics and backings. Good embroidery starts with a good design and a poor one will not be fixed by altering external factors. You may not be using your credit card to purchase these designs but you still pay for them in time, frustration, and supplies.
Types of Free Designs
There are four types of free designs you're likely to come across on the internet:
1. Sample designs from professional digitizers to allow you to experience their skills
2. Sample designs from machine companies to add value to their product
3. Free designs shared by home embroiderers who may or may not have any skills and may not understand copyrights
4. Bootleg copies of copyrighted designs
Are All Free Designs Poor Quality?
Absolutely not! Reputable digitizers often provide free samples of their work. But just like the free samples at the grocery store, they are just a tasty little bite, not a full course meal. A professional digitizer will apply the same high level of skills to a free design as they do to any design they create. They do not want a poor quality design to represent them. Don't expect the design to represent their most intricate complex work though!
Do recognize that there is a skill and quality range in professional digitizers and just because they charge for their work does not necessarily mean they are great digitizers. Designs provided by machine companies may have been digitized by a professional digitizer, a knowledgeable educator, or someone of lesser skills.
Designs on sites that allow anyone to contribute and share their embroidery design work also demonstrate the full gamut of digitizing quality. Some of them may not even have been sewn before they were uploaded! No matter the source of your design, you should always test sew that it will work for your purposes. If it is truly a bad design--not just a bad sew-out---get rid of it. Bad designs will not get better with age.
Copyrights and Free Designs
Just because you acquire the design for free doesn't mean you have the freedom to use it however you please. Free designs do come with intellectual copyrights and usage limitations so make sure you know what they are or that free design could suddenly become very expensive. Do not distribute these designs--they are often used as an enticement to bring new visitors to a website. If you interfere, then you can be depriving the original distributor from income.
Protecting Yourself from Bootleg Designs
Be careful from whom you accept free designs; it may be an entrapment ploy. Make sure that the provider of the designs is the original copyright owner or has free distribution rights. Some companies have been known to offer "free collections" through a third party in order to take legal action against those who accept the offer. Also, be careful about the design subject. I've seen free designs for Roadrunner, Pooh, Tweety Bird, and Dr. Seuss characters to name just a few. These are licensed characters and are heavily protected. Do not download these! If you sew them and a company representative should spot it, you will need to prove where you got it. If it didn't come from a approved licensed company, you will be facing legal action.
Should You Completely Avoid Free Designs?
No, but use caution when accepting them and using them. A little paranoia can be a good thing! Free designs can be a nice bonus to your design library when they come from a reputable source and they sew well. Why litter your hard drive with hundreds or possibly thousands, of free but poor designs? You can buy individual designs for less than a cup of coffee. Wouldn't you rather start with quality?
Lindee Goodall is the founder and former owner of Cactus Punch, the first independent company to design embroidery specifically for the home market. Combining a degree in art, a life long love of sewing and crafts, and a background in programming, Lindee melds the art with the science of creating a smooth running and creative design. With 15 years of digitizing experience, she now owns and operates Lindee G Embroidery, providing quality embroidery designs and educational products. Visit Lindee G Embroidery: http://lindeegembroidery.com
By Lindee Goodall
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