OESD

Nearly all of them are digital downloads. You receive access after checkout rather than a package, and the design files go onto your own USB stick or straight to your machine. A small number of older titles still ship on physical media, and those say so on the listing. Step by step help is on our OESD download instructions page.

OESD supplies its collections in the common machine formats, so the question is usually which format your machine reads and whether the design fits your hoop. Check the listing for the formats included and the stitch dimensions, then compare those to your largest hoop before buying. If you are unsure what your machine takes, bring the model number to any store and we will check it with you.

Freestanding lace stitches a design dense enough to hold its own shape once the backing dissolves, so the finished piece is the stitching itself with no fabric behind it. It needs a wash-away stabilizer rather than a cut-away or tear-away, because anything left behind stays visible in the open areas. We stock OESD AquaMesh and AquaMesh Plus for exactly this.

Match the stabilizer to the fabric and to what you want left behind afterward.

General guide:

• Cut-away: Knits and anything that stretches. PolyMesh CutAway stays soft against skin.
• Tear-away: Stable woven fabrics where you want the backing gone.
• Wash-away: Freestanding lace and any open design. AquaMesh and Badgemaster AquaFilm.
• Adhesive: StabilStick and HydroStick for pieces too small or awkward to hoop.

Browse the full range in OESD supplies.

Within a small range, yes, but not freely. Scaling a design up or down in most machine screens moves the stitches without recalculating how many there are, so a design pushed much beyond about ten percent either thins out or packs solid. Proper resizing needs digitizing software that restitches the design at the new size. If a collection is close but not quite right for your hoop, look for the size you need rather than stretching one that is not.