We take great pride in our designs and make every effort to provide design collections that are very well digitized and that will sew trouble free in your embroidery machine. Besides, we have to stitch them, too!  Contact us if you have a question about a purchase you have made and we will respond as promptly as possible. In the meantime, your question may be resolved in one of the following FAQ’s.

Where can I find instructions on how to stitch a Mylar Embroidery® design?

Included on the CD is folder named Color Change Info. Inside that folder is a pdf with (the name of the collection).pdf or is named Color Change Info.pdf. Here you can find the instructions on how to stitch a Mylar Embroidery® design.  We also have a video that shows the Mylar Embroidery® design stitching process. Click here to view the video.

I’ve opened my package and there isn't any printed instructions inside.  How am I suppose to know the thread colors used in the designs?

The only thing you will find in the package is a CD. Included on the CD is folder named Color Change Info. Inside that folder is a pdf with (the name of the collection).pdf or is named Color Change Info.pdf. Double click on this pdf and you can view the color change charts or you can print them out. This pdf has a color chart page for each design in the collection.

What machine formats are included on the CD?

PES - BabyLock, Brother

VP3, VIP and HUS - Viking, Pfaff

JEF - Elna, Janome

EXP - Bernina

EXP+ - Bernina*

XXX - Singer

DST - industrial format (no color information, just color stops)

 *EXP+ is a file format that provides color information to your Bernina so that it opens in your machine “color correct” or the colors it was digitized in. EXP+ format is made up of 3 files per design. Be sure and copy all 3 files for each design to your USB stick. Once opened in your Bernina, you will see the design is color correct.

What thread brand is used on the color chart and in the design?

The thread brand used in Purely Gates Embroidery designs and referenced on the color change charts is called Poly X40 or Exquisite by DIME. It is known by both names. The color numbers are the same. There is also a color conversion chart to many popular brands of thread available here: Thread Conversion Chart

My designs won’t copy from the CD to my flash stick or embroidery machine.  What should I do?

The designs on the CD must first be saved to your computer. Then you can copy them to your flash stick or send them to your embroidery machine. Embroidery stitch files do not take up much room on your computer so don’t be afraid to load them.

My embroidery machine shows fewer color changes than are on the color chart and my embroidery machine did not stop so that I could lay down my Mylar. What happened?

Save the designs from the CD to a folder on your computer without opening them in any software and they will have the correct number of color changes as seen on the color chart provided on the CD. Many Mylar Embroidery® designs have one color repeated consecutively in the color change order. (For example: color 2: red, color 3: red). Some software programs automatically color sort a design (for your convenience) and consolidates the 2 colors into one thereby eliminating the color stop.  This is why you will see fewer color changes on your embroidery machine than shows on the color chart provided on the CD and your embroidery machine did not stop for you to lay down your mylar.

My largest hoop is 140mm x 200mm and should fit a 5 x 7 design.  Why does my embroidery machine tell me that the design is too large?

The design will fit in a 5x7 hoop which is 130mm x 180mm (which is smaller than your 140mm x 200mm hoop). The design needs to be rotated 90 degrees before being sent to your embroidery machine because it is coming in as 200mm x 140mm and the machine thinks it is too large. Some machines do not automatically rotate a design to fit in the hoop orientation.

What is the product that you are referring to as “Mylar” and what kind do you recommend?

Mylar is what I call the Iridescent Opalescent Tissue found in craft stores and is a much shorter name than Iridescent Opalescent tissue. Mylar® is a trademark of Dupont whereas Mylar Embroidery® is a trademark of Patricia Gates and is the name of the type of embroidery. It is not the mylar you think of when you think up mylar balloons. I only use the Opalescent color of the iridescent tissue. I do not use the colored mylar sheets so I cannot recommend it.  The mylar I use tears away easily, does not shred thread, and does not dull your needle. It will pick up the color of thread that is stitched over it. 

The mylar I use and recommend can be washed, dried and ironed. Your embroidery thread will melt before the mylar will if you hold an iron on the thread too long. I always iron my embroidery from the backside. You can purchase mylar sheets from Purely Gates.

Can I stitch the Mylar Embroidery® designs without using any mylar?

Because Mylar Embroidery® is specifically digitized for the mylar to show through, not using it will allow the background fabric to show through. You may experiment with a design and see if you like the effect without the mylar.  Besides, experimentation is how new techniques evolve!

Can I wash, dry, or iron a project that I have stitched a Mylar Embroidery® design on?

Yes. As long as you use Purely Gates Mylar on a Purely Gates Embroidery design, any item it is stitched on can be washed, dried and ironed. Embroidery thread will melt before the mylar will if you hold an iron on the thread too long. I always iron my embroidery from the backside. I have many, many articles of clothing with Mylar Embroidery® stitched on it and it works well on items that are washed a lot, like baby blankets or burp cloths. The mylar does not flake off or lose it’s sparkle.

Many sites offer mylar designs. Why do your collections have the ® symbol after the words Mylar Embroidery®?

The ® symbol after the words Mylar Embroidery® indicate that a registered Trademark has been filed with and registered by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Patricia Gates is the registered owner of the trademark Mylar Embroidery® U.S. Reg No. 3703769. Purely Gates Embroidery has been producing Mylar Embroidery® designs since 2006 and have over 180 collections that use the technique.  Any Purely Gates Embroidery design collection that has Mylar in the name of the collection is a Mylar Embroidery® collection. (We do have some collections that are not digitized for use with mylar). You will see our trademark Mylar Embroidery® in small letters in the logo at the top of every Purely Gates Embroidery CD case.

How do I stabilize a Mylar Embroidery® design?

You will stabilize a Mylar Embroidery® design based upon the same factors you would consider when you stabilize any other design: Fabric type, Density of design, Will you see the back of the design, Can the item get wet. In other words, use the stabilizers you already love to use and know that will work for any other type of design. Everyone has their favorites.  You can see some of mine and hooping techniques in these 2 videos:

Purely Gates Hooping Tips

Purely Gates Stabilizers Video

Where can I purchase a Purely Gates Embroidery design collection?

All of our collections are available here on our website. Each collection can be purchased as an instant download or can be shipped on CD. Links to purchase any collection is available on the page for that collection.

Where do I look to find out when to apply the mylar to the design?

The color change chart pdf on the CD tells you when to lay down the Mylar and when to tear it away.

You will see a green dot and a red dot. 

These dots will be on a color change number. The green dot means to lay the Mylar over the design AFTER that color has stitched. The red dot means to tear away the excess mylar AFTER that color has stitched. There is a symbol key on each color chart. Find the color change chart pdf on the CD in the folder named Color Change Info. It will be called Color Change Info.pdf or will be named the title of the collection.

Why don’t the thread colors on my machine match the images on the CD or CD case?

Some embroidery machines have various brands of thread loaded into their system and others only hold basic color information. If the thread brand we digitize in is included in your embroidery machine, then it will show up “color correct”.  If it does not, then the embroidery machine will assign to it the closest color it has available making the design look different than what you see on the CD or CD case.  This is why we provide Pictures of the designs (found on the CD in a folder named Pictures) so that you can make get a better look of at the colors used in the design. 

What if I find a problem with the CD I have purchased?

While every effort is made to make sure that what you are buying is the best possible product, sometimes mistakes happen. When a mistake is found, we make sure it is corrected on future CD’s produced.  If you happen to have purchased a CD prior to a correction being made, contact us and we will remedy the situation the best way we can.