Welcome to embroidery! You'll find it to be a fun hobby, and useful too, if you're making items for business or resale.
But let us start you off with some information. Embroidery files are not graphics (.JPG, .AI etc.) They are a series of commands telling the machine how to stitch. The process of making an embroidery design to resemble a graphic is called 'digitizing'. This requires a piece of software such as our Embrilliance StitchArtist and some embroidering experience. The image is brought in as a background and stitch-able objects are drawn over the top of it.
It's not hard for a beginner to learn StitchArtist, especially for simple designs, but it can take some time to master if you want to create logos for hire. New embroiderers who want to stitch out a custom logo for hire are best directed to having the design digitized by a professional. This is not as expensive today as it once was. It may be in the range of $25-$75. It may be less.
Next you'll want to embroider it with your machine. And add names, etc. That is where our product Embrilliance Essentials comes in. It adds lettering capability, sizing, colorizing and editing. And on a Mac it will save designs on a stick for your machine in a way that the Mac alone cannot. (Mac adds hidden files that the machines dislike).
So our recommendation is to start with the Essentials and learn the process of hooping, stabilizing and stitching. Your local sewing machine dealer may also have classes and they are worthwhile.
I hope all this helps!
