Downloading / Saving Designs   Unzipping Designs Download links “Nothing to download” Expired download keys Can you send me the designs on a card or CD? Can you email the designs to me? I haven’t received my download links. Are these hand embroidery designs?	Troubleshooting   Wrong Format My program/machine doesn’t recognize files I need to convert formats How do I make words out of your fonts? How do I use your designs with my software? I bought a membership but prices are still showing! Can’t login. Help! Having problems stitching designs out…(hooping? Stabilizer?, machine speed?) Tips and Hints Using the correct needle? Using the correct stabilizer? How do I unzip the designs? What is a zip file?
Opening Designs   Error message with Adobe. Machine can’t read design Unrecognized file format	Ordering / Purchases   Order history Do I have to be a member to buy? Do you accept credit cards? Is your site secure?
Terms of Use   Can I sell stuff with our designs? Can I resell your designs? Can I resell your designs if I add to them? Can I resize your designs?	Subscription Club   Is your membership a recurring charge? What are the benefits of being a member? I’m a member but prices are still showing! How long does it take to activate my subscription?
Return Policy   Return / Refund Policy	Registering / Signing in   I forgot my password!
Stitching Troubles   Loops Shifting, gapping, mis-alignment Tips and Hints Using the correct needle? Using the correct stabilizer?	Misc   Do you offer free designs or samples? Contact Us

 

 

What is a zip file?

• Zipping is a compression technology. Having your files compressed allows them to have a smaller file size. The smaller file size translates into a shorter download time. The drawback is the files have to decompressed before using. The compression technology / algorithm allows for seamless compression and decompression without loss of information. This is good. If compressing or decompressing caused information to be lost or corrupted it would not be useful.
• To use a compressed file after you have downloaded it, you will need to decompress it. There are several programs on the market that can be used for free or offer a free trial. Winzip: http://www.winzip.com (free trial but is considered by some to be the standard) or Winrar: http://www.rarlab.com/ (both trial and free versions).
• These programs, and others, will allow you to unzip/decompress your embroidery designs and input them into your embroidery machine or editing software. Typically our alphabets and fonts are zipped twice. Please be sure the files you are attempting to put into your machine or editing software have been unzipped—as they may not recognize the file.

 

How do I unzip the designs, fonts or downloads?

·         Most of our embroidery fonts and alphabets are zipped twice. Each individual size is contained in it’s own zip file to allow of the characters to be bundled together. Then all of the individual sizes are put together in one master zip file to allow our users to have a single download to get each alphabet. Please visit the tutorial we’ve prepared to walk you through the process of unzipping your downloads: http://www.8clawsandapaw.com/how-to-successfully-unzip-your-embroidery-files.html.

Wrong Format. Yikes! Help?

• I bought or downloaded the wrong format. Can you help? Sure we can, log in to your account, pull up your order / invoice from your Orders History. In your order invoice beneath each product you ordered, you will see a button and a drop down menu that will allow you to change your format. Once you have the new format selected, click the submit button and your new download links will be emailed to you as well as having the download links presented to you on the screen on the invoice once the web page refreshes.

 

 

Where are my download links?

• Another option is to check your Order History, registered users only. In your Order History, you will be able to lookup your past purchases/invoices. Contained in the invoice, in the detailed listing of the items purchased, you will find ‘Download Links’ under the products which can be downloaded.
• Check your SPAM filters to ensure the email from our system did not get caught in the SPAM bucket. The subject of the email containing the download keys will read: “8 Claws And A Paw Embroidery: Download keys for order #”.

 

Why does it tell me I have nothing to download when I click on my download links?

• Don’t worry, your products are safe. When an order is initially processed, it generates one set of download keys and links, this set is not always the actual ones that will be used to obtain your products. Your download keys will be sent to via email. It may be required to go to your Order History, look up the appropriate invoice and use the keys contained therein. We apologize for this inconvenience.
• Our download keys are like milk and eggs, they go bad if you let them sit around long enough. As a security mechanism, our download keys have an expiration date.

 

If you need to regenerate expired download keys please do one of the following:

Method 1 (Regenerate Key for a single product):

1.      Find the order(s) by searching on date or order number.

2.      Click on the order and click the "Generate New Key for this download" under the product you wish to re-download in the order invoice

Method 2 (Regenerate Keys for an entire order):

1.      Find the order(s) by searching on date or order number.

2.      Select the check box next to the order(s) you wish to regenerate keys for.

3.      Scroll to the bottom and press the "Regenerate download keys button".

Download keys will be emailed to the email address listed in your profile AND download links will be re-created and listed in the order invoice.

 

Why does it tell me the Key I supplied is no longer available or has expired?

• Our download keys are like milk and eggs, they go bad if you let them sit around long enough. As a security mechanism, our download keys have an expiration date. It may be your keys have expired before you were able to download your products.

 

If you need to regenerate expired download keys please do one of the following:

Method 1 (Regenerate Key for a single product):

1.      Find the order(s) by searching on date or order number.

2.      Click on the order and click the "Generate New Key for this download" under the product you wish to re-download in the order invoice

Method 2 (Regenerate Keys for an entire order):

1.      Find the order(s) by searching on date or order number.

2.      Select the check box next to the order(s) you wish to regenerate keys for.

3.      Scroll to the bottom and press the "Regenerate download keys button".

Download keys will be emailed to the email address listed in your profile AND download links will be re-created and listed in the order invoice.

 

Where are the free designs?

• Free designs are located here: http://www.8clawsandapaw.com/free-embroidery-designs.html

 

I’ve lost my download keys and I didn’t download my products yet. What can I do?

 

If you need to regenerate expired download keys please do one of the following:

Method 1 (Regenerate Key for a single product):

1.      Find the order(s) by searching on date or order number.

2.      Click on the order and click the "Generate New Key for this download" under the product you wish to re-download in the order invoice

Method 2 (Regenerate Keys for an entire order):

1.      Find the order(s) by searching on date or order number.

2.      Select the check box next to the order(s) you wish to regenerate keys for.

3.      Scroll to the bottom and press the "Regenerate download keys button".

Download keys will be emailed to the email address listed in your profile AND download links will be re-created and listed in the order invoice.

 

Where can I find my history of purchases?

• You may log into your account, click on the ‘Orders history’ link (right menu) and look up your orders.

 

 

I’m interested in buying a gift certificate as a present.

• We offer the ability to purchase gift cards for use later. You may click on the Gift Certificate link on the left menu and it will lead you through the process. After you’ve completed you will be able to add the Gift Certificate to your cart.

 

What are your Terms of Use?

 

• Our Terms of Use/Condition/Agreement can be found here: Terms of Use

 

Can I use your designs to make and sell items?

• Yes. We ask you honor the Terms of Use. We ask nothing in return. However, if you’d like to kickback a portion of your proceeds, we’d be more than willingly to accept. Just a thought.

 

Do you sell only to businesses?

• No. We sell to anyone: businesses, individuals, dogs that accidentally get your credit card out of our pocket book and managed to “paw” the numbers in the appropriate spots to complete the transactions. We honestly don’t mind. Actually we do. No dogs or stolen credit cards. Sorry, I like my unobstructed view without bars in the way.

 

What is your return policy?

• Our return policy can be found here: Return / Refund Policy

Do you accept credit cards?

• Yes, we accept VISA, Mastercard and Discover via 256-bit secured connection.

 

I need to convert formats.

Wilcom TrueSizer is a good free resource for converting file formats (Registration required): http://www.embroiderystartup.com/FreeStuff/WilcomTrueSizer/tabid/203/Default.aspx

 

Instructions from their support page:

 

To convert files to another format in Wilcom TrueSizer do the following:

1.      Open Wilcom TrueSizer.

2.      Select File > Open. The Open dialog box will appear.

3.      From the "Files of Type" dropdown list at the bottom select the format of the original file such as Tajima .DST.

4.      Browse to the location of the file and select the file.

5.      Click Open to open the file.

6.      Once the file is open select File > SaveAs. The SaveAs dialog will appear.

7.      Browse to the location where you want to save the file

8.      From the "Save as type" dropdown list at the bottom select the format that you want to convert to such as Brother .PES.

9.      Click Save.

How do I make words out of the fonts and alphabets?

• All of our fonts, alphabets and monograms come in individual letters. This allows you to combine the letters and form desired name, word or letter combinations. You must have one of two things:

                                                              i.      Embroidery/Editing software that allows you to combine the letters into your desired combination OR

                                                            ii.      An embroidery machine that allows you import multiple designs / letters into your machine at once in order to form the desired name, letter combination or monogram

 

Why are all of the fonts and alphabets in individual letters?

• All of our fonts, alphabets and monograms come in individual letters. This allows you to combine the letters and form desired name, word or letter combinations. It would be impossible for us to think of every name or letter combination. This approach allows infinite creativity.

How do I use your designs, fonts, alphabets and monograms with my software?

• There are many different embroidery programs on the market. It would be very difficult to offer solutions or advice for every program. Generally speaking, you will need the ability to import or open the actual unzipped design files into your software or embroidery machine (e.g. PES, PEC, HUS, VIP, etc and not the .ZIP files) in order to arrange them into the desired name or sequence. The best resource for instructions on your particular software would be the manufacturer’s website.

 

I try to import the designs into my machine or software but it doesn’t see anything?

• Typically this is because the designs are still in a compressed format (zipped). You will need to unzip the files to get to the actual embroidery designs before trying to open them directly into your embroidery machine or software
• It is also possible the designs have been zipped twice. The majority of our alphabets, fonts and monograms come in different sizes. As a measure to help keep the files organized in a straight forward method, each size is zipped so the alphabet is in one file. Then all the different sizes are zipped together into a single file. This will allow you to typically have one single download to obtain all files.
• It is possible that the when downloading the file(s) the download was interrupted or did not finish. This would cause the file to be corrupt or incomplete. You should download the file again

 

Contact us.

• God has blessed us beyond our wildest imagination. With thousands of people visiting our site everyday, we created this FAQ to answer as many questions as possible. With the number of people who visit our site everyday, it is virtually impossible to answer every question. To that end, if you have already searched our FAQ section and your question is still unanswered, please contact us HERE. Please bear in mind we will be unable to assist with computer related questions, questions related to your specific embroidery software or general embroidery questions. Those questions are best answered in public forums where the user communities have accumulated a rich foundation of information over years with thousands of users input.

 

How do I use an appliqué design?

• You can find a tutorial on appliqués HERE

 

 

Trouble Shooting Problems with a Design Stitch Out

• Are you using the correct stabilizer for the fabric and stitch count of the design
• When was the last time you changed your needle?
• Needles should be changed every 8 hours of stitching
• Is your fabric actually hooped or are you floating it on top of your hoop using spray adhesive or sticky stabilizer?

                                                              i.      We always recommend that you hoop your fabric to get the best results.

 

• Does your top thread or bobbin thread need to be adjusted?

                                                              i.      Sometimes your thread tension can be off by just a small amount and that can lead to thread breaks, top thread looping, bobbin thread showing through on the top of your design.

 

Can you send my designs on a CD, card or by email?

• Sorry, we do not offer designs on embroidery cards, CDs or by email.

 

Are your designs hand embroidery designs?

• No, 8 Claws and a Paw Embroidery designs, alphabets and fonts are machine embroidery designs that require an embroidery software and/or an embroidery machine to use.

 

My program/machine doesn’t recognize files

• Do you have the correct file format? Embroidery machines will typically only read one file format. (Some will read multiple formats). You should check your user manual or manufacturer to ensure you have the appropriate format. Should you need to change formats, you may do so here: Change Formats
• Ensure your software or embroidery machine hoop settings will accommodate the file size of the design you are attempting to open.
• Ensure your software or embroidery machine can read the number of stitches. Some machines and software have limitations to the number of stitches they can read. These limits vary by manufacturer. Refer to your manual and manufacture for any limits they may impose.

 

 

I bought a membership but prices are still showing!

• It is possible your membership has not been activated. All memberships are activated within 10 minutes of purchase. Give it a couple of minutes. Call your friends and tell them about the great membership deal you just got. By the time you get off the phone, you should be good to go.
• It is possible you are not logged in. The easiest way to check is to look at the right hand menu to see if there is a link that says ‘secure login’. If you see that, you are not logged in. Once you are logged in, you will see a message that says ‘ is logged in!’ on the same spot in the right menu.
• You may also try logging out and logging back in. To log out please click the log out button on the right hand menu. If you do not see a log out button, there is a good chance you are not logged in. Which would be the cause of prices showing. (Closing your browser is not the same as logging out)
• If it’s been more than 10 minutes, you are logged in, you purchased a membership and the prices for the embroidery fonts and alphabets still show, send us an email and we’ll get things squared away for you. This email should included the email or username used to purchase.

 

Can’t login. Help!

• Triple check the password you are using.
• Ensure your CAPS LOCK key is not on
• Usernames and Passwords are CaSe SeNsiTiVe. A username of jdoe is not the same as Jdoe.
• Signing up for our newsletter is not the same as creating a user profile. So signing up for one does not create an account for the other. Our newsletter only asks for your name and email address while a profile for our store requires additional information such as address.

 

 

Error message with Adobe.

• This error is perfectly normal. Adobe Acrobat is a document reader which reads word processing files in PDF (Portable Document Format). Adobe is not able to read embroidery files. The easiest way to ensure your files are opened with the appropriate software is to open your embroidery software and open your embroidery designs through its’ menu structure.

 

Unrecognized file format

• Your computer seems to be trying to open the embroidery designs with a program that does not understand embroidery files. The easiest way to ensure your files are opened with the appropriate software is to open your embroidery software and open your embroidery designs through its’ menu structure.

Order history

• You may view your order history at any time by using the ‘Orders history’ link on the right hand menu at any time. This will allow you to retrieve all of your orders you’ve made. Additionally, you do neat things like get your download links for your order, regenerate expired download keys or change file formats for your designs.

 

Do I have to be a member to buy?

• No way. You can buy anything you like without being a member. But, being a member does have its benefits. Free embroidery alphabets and periodic member only sales. Embroidery Font Membership.

 

 

Is your site secure?

 

• Yes, your order is secured 256-bit encrypted connection. We start the secured encrypted process on the first page of the checkout process that requests credit card of sensitive information.

 

What is your return policy?

·        Instant Downloads:

1. All sales are final for all electronic goods purchases.
2. We will replace any corrupt file but cannot offer a refund after product has been downloaded, sent via electronic means or has had a download attempted. Our servers monitor downloads very carefully to ensure the appropriate products are delivered to our customers.

• Product Replacement:
• You MUST contact us within 48 hours of receipt of goods to initiate an RMA. Contact after 48 hours for a product replacement will not be honored. Receipt of goods is defined from the time and date of delivery by mail services as verified by delivery confirmation.
• Customer must return original item. RETURN SHIPPING FROM CUSTOMER MUST INCLUDE DELIVERY CONFIRMATION
• Customer is responsible for return shipping. 8 Claws and a Paw Embroidery will pay for reshipping of replacement from our facility to customer location at the lowest available cost that provides delivery confirmation. No express, priority or expedited shipping unless customers agrees to pay shipping charges upfront.
• Delivery confirmation on return shipping must be purchased by customer and provided to 8 Claws and a Paw Embroidery.
• RETURN SHIPPING FROM CUSTOMER MUST INCLUDE DELIVERY CONFIRMATION
• Failure to purchase and provide delivery confirmation may result in forfeiture of right to receive replacement or refund if item(s) are lost in transit back to our facility.
• Upon receipt of returned good(s), we will inspect, investigate item damage and begin replacement.
• If our investigation finds that the damage was incurred by misuse, normal use or any other defect not originating from our craftsmanship, return claim may be denied
• Items involving any customized embroidery do not qualify for REFUNDS.
• Items will be replaced per original specifications of the original order. No modifications or adjustments allowed.
• Replacement item(s) will be made with original or similar material in quality, colors, threads and craftsmanship as the item(s) initially purchased.

Can I resize your designs?

• You may resize our designs for personal use and for items to be sold. Designs may not be resized and as embroidery designs. All usage must adhere to our Terms of Use.
• While you may resize our designs, we do *not* recommend doing so. Resizing designs can introduce errors into the designs and produce undesired results. To this end, we can not offer any assistance or support for any design that has been altered from the original condition and state it is sold in.

 

 

What are the benefits of being a member?

• Check the membership product page for a detailed listing of all the things you get with your membership: http://www.8clawsandapaw.com/claws-and-paws-membership.html

 

 

Is your membership a recurring charge?

• No, our memberships do not automatically renew. We leave that up to you. Check the membership product page for a detailed listing of all the things you get with your membership: http://www.8clawsandapaw.com/claws-and-paws-membership.html

 

Do you offer free designs or samples?

• Why yes we do. We offer free designs and free samples of our embroidery alphabets. http://www.8clawsandapaw.com/free-embroidery-fonts.html. Our free designs and samples are machine embroidery designs, not finished pre-embroidered letters or designs.

 

How do I use your designs with my software?

• With so many different types of embroidery software on the market, it would be impossible to be fully versed in everyone. We must humbly defer those questions to your software manufacture and manual for the appropriate way to open, use and transfer designs within your embroidery software and embroidery machine.

 

 

Tips and Hints

Hooping and using the proper stabilizer is probably the most important aspect of embroidery. Having the wrong foundation can easily have your project going straight to the scrap pile.

Here are some tips to stitching out great projects:

1.      Make sure your hoop screw is tight

2.      The fabric should be taught, but not stretched-if it is stretched while stitching, when you unhoop your project you will have puckers

3.      Use the correct stabilizer for your material

Stabilizer	Recommended Use	Special Notes
Tear-Away	Light to medium weight woven fabrics	·         Typically used on cottons, canvas, satin and corduroy ·         If using a large design/ high stitch count, we recommended using two layers of tear-away to improve stabilization ·         Carefully pull the fabric away from the stabilizer to ensure you do not pull on the stitching
Cutaway	Stretchy, unstable fabrics	·         used for knits, fleece, stretch denim, velvet, towels ·         use with large filled designs ·         Trim excess from around the design when finished
Iron-On	Can use on any fabric – Works very well with lightweight fabrics	·         Follow manufacturer’s instructions to iron on (usually printed on the back of the stabilizer)
Water-Soluble	Free Standing Lace Designs, topping on towels, fleece, corduroy, velvet	·         use on top of fabric with knap to ensure fabric nap does not show through embroidery ·         excess is removed by soaking in water ·         For Free Standing Lace designs

 

 

 

 

 

Are you using the right needle?

*Please note that the larger the needle size the wider the needle
* Thicker fabrics need a larger sized needle for best results
* It is recommended that you change your needle after 8 hours of stitching

Fabric	Recommended Needle Size
Canvas	80/12 sharp
Corduroy	75/11 sharp
Cotton	70/10, 75/11
Denim	75/11 sharp
Dress Shirt	70/10, 75/11 ball point
Leather	80/12, 90/14 sharp point
Nylon	70/10, 75/11, 80/12 ball point
Satin	75/11 ball point
Velvet	65/9 ball point
Vinyl	75/11 Sharp point

 

 

Stitching Troubles

• Looping
• Looping can be caused by a couple of different issues. The first being a barbed needle. The second being a presser foot with a barb or bur. Barbs or burs can cause the thread to snap on the needle or presser foot causing the loops on your project. A quick test is change the needle out to see if the problem is resolved.
• Shifting, gapping, mis-alignment: This can be caused by a number of different things.
• Designs that have been resized will often times result in gaps or misalignments
• Shifting and gapping commonly occur with an improper combination of fabric and stabilizer. Stabilizer must match the project design and fabric.
• Thread tension can also produce gaps and mis-alignments. Upper thread tension and bobbin tension need to be set at the correct settings for your machine, needle size and thread weight.
• Improper hooping or not hooping. A lot of people we advise you can embroidery without hooping your project. We always recommend hooping the project/fabric you will be embroidering on. Ensuring your project is taut in the hoop will reduce the amount and chance of fabric shift during stitching.
• Ensure there are no loose areas of fabric within the hoop. Sometimes the middle portion of the project will be taut but the edges may have some loose bunching.