The best places to get free machine embroidery designs are the weekly free designs at Embroidery Library, the free design and freebie sections at EmbroideryDesigns.com and Urban Threads, and the free patterns from thread maker DMC if you stitch by hand. Most free files are licensed to you personally, so you can usually sell what you stitch on a small scale but you can't share or sell the design file itself.
If you run a small embroidery business from home, or you're thinking about starting one, this matters more than which site has the prettiest freebies. Free designs come with the same licence as paid ones on most of these sites, and that licence decides what you can do with the finished item.
Four places to find free embroidery designs
- Embroidery Library: publishes free designs every week, available for instant download in all the main machine formats, including Brother, Baby Lock, Janome, Bernina, Husqvarna Viking, Pfaff and Singer.
- EmbroideryDesigns.com: a browse-all free designs section, extra members-only free designs, free embroidery fonts and free SVG files, plus a format conversion tool.
- Urban Threads: uses a licence that clearly covers selling finished items at craft fairs and online.
- DMC: the thread maker has a free patterns section, best for hand embroidery and cross stitch rather than machine files.
Free embroidery design sources compared
| Source | Machine or hand | What's free | Selling finished items |
|---|---|---|---|
| Embroidery Library | Machine | Weekly free designs, all main formats | Yes, at craft shows, fairs and personal or peer-to-peer online shops |
| Urban Threads | Machine | Free designs and freebies | Yes, on the same terms |
| EmbroideryDesigns.com | Machine | Free designs, free fonts, free SVGs, members-only extras | Check each design's licence |
| DMC | Hand and cross stitch | Free patterns | Check the pattern's terms |
The catch: you can sell the stitching, not the file
Embroidery Library's licence is one of the clearest, so it's a good example of how these licences work. It says you're getting a lifetime licence to embroider the design in a machine, and that the licence allows you, and only you, to use it, including:
- personal use for machine embroidery
- use on products you make in an embroidery machine and offer for sale at craft shows, craft fairs or through personal or peer-to-peer e-commerce websites
Then come the limits. The licence prohibits selling, sharing, trading or distributing the digital design files. You're allowed to edit a design in any way you like, but Embroidery Library still owns the copyright in the edited file, and you can't share or sell that either. If a friend wants the design, the licence asks them to get their own copy. And if you're a business, you need one copy of the design for each person who uses it. Urban Threads uses the same wording.
So the common mistakes are posting free files in a Facebook group, sending them to a friend's machine, or using one download across a team of staff. All three break the licence, even though the design cost you nothing.
How to use a free machine embroidery design
- Check your machine's file format before you download. Embroidery Library offers all the main formats.
- Download the format you need, or use a format conversion tool if your site offers one.
- Read the design's licence and keep a note of where you got it, especially if you plan to sell what you make.
- Do a test stitch-out on scrap fabric with the same stabiliser you'll use for the real piece.
- If you want to change a design a lot, embroidery digitizing software lets you edit or create your own, which you'll own outright.
If you also do other needlecraft, I've rounded up free cross stitch patterns and free sewing patterns with the same licence checks.
Machine designs, hand patterns and SVGs: know what you're downloading
The word "design" means different things on different sites. A machine embroidery design is a stitch file your machine reads, and it has to be in your machine's format. A hand embroidery pattern, like the free patterns from DMC, is a picture or PDF you trace and stitch by hand. And an SVG is a cutting or printing file, which EmbroideryDesigns.com offers in a separate free SVG section. Download the wrong type and it simply won't open on your machine.
EmbroideryDesigns.com also offers a format conversion tool and a Stitch Assistant, which it describes as a way to know before you stitch. If you find a free design in the wrong format, use the conversion tool on the same site rather than a random converter, so the design stays inside that site's licence.
Keep a simple record of every free design you use for items you sell: the design name, the site and the date you downloaded it. If anyone ever questions your right to use it, you'll have the answer in seconds.
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If you teach classes or run workshops, read the licence before you hand out designs to students. Licences like Embroidery Library's are written for one person, so each student would need their own copy.
My advice
Start with Embroidery Library's weekly freebies and Urban Threads: the designs are good and the licences are written in plain English, so you know where you stand if you start selling. Keep every design file to yourself, buy one copy per person if you have staff, and if your little side business takes off, put your best-selling designs on files you've digitised yourself.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I get free machine embroidery designs?
Embroidery Library publishes free designs every week in all the main machine formats. EmbroideryDesigns.com and Urban Threads also have free design sections.
Can I sell items made with free embroidery designs?
Often yes, on a small scale. Embroidery Library and Urban Threads allow products you stitch to be sold at craft shows, craft fairs and through personal or peer-to-peer online shops. Always check the licence for each design.
Can I share a free embroidery design with a friend?
Not under licences like Embroidery Library's, which prohibit selling, sharing, trading or distributing the design files. Your friend should download their own copy.
If I edit a design, do I own it?
No. Embroidery Library says you can edit a design however you like, but it still owns the copyright in the edited design file, and you can't share or sell it.
Where can I get free hand embroidery patterns?
Thread maker DMC has a free patterns section that covers hand embroidery and cross stitch.
