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Pending Order/Awaiting Fulfillment
Q I saw an ad on Facebook that a 30% Off Embroidery Design sale is running right now, but I don't see the discounts anywhere on the website ~ where can I find them?
A The first place to look is our "On Sale" page. This page will have a list of all current Sales and Discounts along with how to take advantage of each.
Q What do I need to use these machine embroidery designs?
A All of our designs are Machine Embroidery Designs. You will need an embroidery machine to stitch these designs. You will also need software/hardware to transfer our designs to your embroidery machine. It is the buyer's responsibility to know the format needed and if you have the appropriate software/hardware necessary.
Q How will I receive my embroidery designs?
A If you purchased "Instant Download" embroidery designs, your purchase will be available on the website immediately after your payment is processed. If for some reason you aren't taken to the download page at that time, just click on the "Order Status" link on the top. Sign in using your e-mail address and password, and this page will have a list of all your orders. Click on the "Download Files". NOTE: The only time this won't apply is if you also ordered supplies, software or some other item that isn't available for instant download in the same order. In this case, your downloads will be available once we mark your order as "shipped" in the system and you will receive an e-mail that your order has shipped. At this time you can come back to the website and download your purchases.
Q What Formats are available?
A ART, DST, EXP, HUS, JEF, PES, SEW, VIP, and XXX.
Q Is Appliqué Easy?
A Yes! If you're new to Appliqué, you can download a free applique design HERE and download instructions HERE. Just test stitch on some scrap fabric until you get the hang of the steps. It's so easy; you'll wonder why you waited so long to try!
Q How do you digitize your designs?
A We manually digitize all of our designs. We work very hard to ensure the following:
- Nice, pretty stitch-outs
- Efficient stitch-outs
- As few jump stitches as possible
- As few color changes as possible
- As easy as possible :)
Q Where do you get your artwork?
A We purchase the rights to artwork from many sources so that we can digitize and sell. We also create a lot of our own artwork, so we have a mix of AKD Exclusive and non-exclusive designs.
Q What are the Terms of Use for the embroidery designs?
A AKDesigns Boutique is the sole copyright holder of all of our designs. Once you purchase, you can stitch these designs on any item for yourself or for resell, but you may not resell, copy or share the design file. Please see the full Terms of Use HERE.
Q Can I trim jump stitches?
A Yes, it's best to trim jump stitches on the front as they are stitched instead of waiting until entire design is complete. If you can't trim as you go, at least trim between color changes. This will ensure that the foot does not get caught on jump stitches and it will help with trimming at the end because there won't be additional colors stitched on top of jumps.
NOTE: Don't trim jump stitches on the back too close. Trim in the middle of the jump to leave a "tail" on both sides.
Q I downloaded my files but now they will not open. How can I get them to open?
A This could be a couple of things:
- Need to Unzip - Almost all of our designs are in zip files [or compressed], so they will need to be unzipped in order to use them. Click HERE to download the "How to Unzip Designs" file.
- Need Embroidery Software - You will need to open the files that you purchased on your embroidery machine or with embroidery software. If you don't have embroidery software [like SewWhat Pro], your computer doesn't know what to use to open the files. Or, sometimes if you have embroidery software, you just need to open it first and open the files from within the software.
Q Can I resize your designs with my embroidery software or my embroidery machine?
A Yes. The rule of thumb is to make sure that you don't resize larger or smaller than 20%. That being said, we can only guarantee our designs as they are purchased. So, please make sure you test stitch designs after modifying in any way. Click HERE for a little more information about resizing.
Q What is the differance in the fonts designed for stacking and the ones for just spelling out a name? I do both and have never seen them listed differently?
A The fonts designed for stacking have a much larger capital letter, so you would not be able to use them to spell name without making it smaller because the size difference is too great. The letters in fonts designed for spelling names are all proportional, so you would not be able to use as a stacking font unless you make the capital letters much larger.
Q I just purchased a new machine and need all of the sets that I've purchased in a different format - how do I get them in the new format?
A Follow the instructions below:
- Click on "My Account" at the top of the page
- Click on "Completed Orders"
- Click on "Download Designs" at the end of each set
- Click on the file that has the new format that you need listed in the file name directly before the .zip ~ for example: 520_RibbonTemplatePES.zip
Q Why do my dots look more like ovals?
A When stitching Circles, Dots and Round Objects, the machine is "pulling" your fabric inward toward the inside of the circle. Below are a few things that will help you get better results:
- Have you ever noticed some circles or dots look more like ovals after you stitch them? If so, you probably just need to use a little more stabilizer.
- Use a little extra stabilizer just in case, don't wait until you've ruined something - it's just not worth it.
- Keep in mind that everything stitches best on fabric that is stable - make sure there's enough stabilizer so that your fabric isn't able to stretch, pull, shift or move during the stitching process.
Q Why would I want to checkout as a Guest?
A The only reason you would ever want to checkout as a guest is if you can't login to your account and you don't have time to wait for us to assist you.
Q What are the problems with checking out as a Guest?
A There are several problems that come with checking out as a guest. They are listed below:
- Your order history will not include "Guest" orders. We have record of all of your purchases, but you will not be able to see your order in your history.
- Downloads are a little more difficult
- Like the regular checkout method, you will receive a "Thanks for your order" e-mail that will include links to your downloads. But unlike the regular checkout method, this will be the only way for you to download your designs. Since you didn't sign-in to your account to make your purchase, you won't sign-in to download your designs.
- If you also order supplies or anything other than an instant download in the same order, your designs will have to be e-mailed to you.
- You will not receive the Repeat Customer 10% Off Discount.
Q How will I receive my embroidery designs?
A If you purchased "Instant Download" embroidery designs, your purchase will be available on the website immediately after your payment is processed. If for some reason you aren't taken to the download page at that time, just click on the "Order Status" link on the top. Sign in using your e-mail address and password, and this page will have a list of all your orders. Click on the "Download Files". NOTE: The only time this won't apply is if you also ordered supplies, software or some other item that isn't available for instant download in the same order. In this case, your downloads will be available once we mark your order as "shipped" in the system and you will receive an e-mail that your order has shipped. At this time you can come back to the website and download your purchases.
Q I have not received my order, so what do I do now?
A If you didn't receive your Order Confirmation e-mail, four things could have happened:
- You ordered instant download designs and items to be shipped or e-mailed in the same order. Click HERE for more details.
- You entered the wrong e-mail address when you set-up your account. Please e-mail us at customerservice@akdesignsboutique.com so that we can correct your account e-mail address.
- The Order Confirmation e-mail may have been routed to your Spam or Junk folder.
- Your paid with a Paypal e-Check. Your order will be processed once your eCheck clears (may take up to 4 days; see note in e-mail from Paypal for details)
Q What are your shipping costs?
A You can view an estimate of shipping costs by viewing your cart. However, final shipping costs will be displayed on the Invoice you see before confirming your order. Shipping costs will never be more than $10.00.
Q I live close to AKDesigns Boutique and would like to pick-up my order to save shipping costs ~ is that possible?
A I'm so sorry, but we don't have a store front, so order pick-ups aren't possible. ~ We appreciate your understanding :)
Q Sometimes the shipping cost seems kind of high when I just order a few packs of needles?
A Thank you so much for asking about our shipping cost. It's sometimes hard to justify spending almost as much for shipping fees as what you are spending on the actual purchase. I hope this explanation of how I price my supplies and shipping will help it make a little more sense. First of all, I have very low profit margins [they are very low!], but I cannot afford to lose money [of course, because that would be silly]. So, here's my method - I mark-up the item very little and try to make sure that the shipping cost covers all of the actual shipping supplies (1. packing material & envelopes, 2. paper & ink [for printing packing slips & postage slips], 3. paypal fees, and 4. actual shipping cost). Of course, this is not an exact science and seldom comes out right to the penny, sometimes it's a dollar in my favor and sometimes I lose a dollar. I'm sure that you'll find if you order a pack or 2 of needles from almost anywhere, you won't find that you're total cost will be less than what I charge. I'm just a small, one person business, trying my best to make sure that I make enough money to stay in business. So, I can't afford to make any part of the supply order any cheaper. I really hope this helps and would love to hear your feedback! Shipping costs will never be more than $10.00, so just add a few more items to make it worth the cost :)
Q I had a problem with the design that I stitched.
A Please click HERE for more information.
Q How can I view the status of my order?
A Click on the "Order Status" link on the top. Sign in using your e-mail address and password, and this page will have a list of all your orders. Click on the "Download Files" to download any of your instant download purchases.
Q I've emailed a question, but not received a response ~ what should I do?
A Sometimes, our e-mail responses are re-routed to your Spam/Bulk/Junk folder by your e-mail provider. Please login to your e-mail account to check the appropriate folder for our response. Once you find it, please mark it as "Not Spam/Junk/Bulk" so that future correspondence will be routed to your inbox. If you can't find it in one of those folders, please call us ~ 678-863-6714. We try to respond to all e-mails within 24 hours, so if you don't receive a response within that time frame something has probably happened.
Q I forgot my password and I tried to change it, but it doesn't seem to be working?
A I'm so sorry that you're having problems. You have 2 options: 1. E-mail us at customerservice@akdesignsboutique.com, or 2. Follow these instructions ~ Click HERE.
Pending Order/Awaiting Fulfillment
Q I can't download my designs or My order says it's Awaiting Fulfillment?
A Please click HERE for more information.
Q How can I view my previous purchases?
A Follow the instructions below:
- Click on "My Account" at the top of the page
- Click on "Completed Orders"
Q I've purchased from AKDesigns Boutique in the past, but no orders are showing up?
A Sorry about that ~ I have all of your orders prior to June 6, 2011 handy. Please send us an e-mail [ angie@akdesignsboutique.com ] with your name and e-mail address and let me know what you need ~ for example: do you need all of your designs again because your computer crashed or do you need to know what kind of stabilizer you ordered last?
Q I just purchased a new machine and need all of the sets that I've purchased in a different format - how do I get them in the new format?
A Follow the instructions below:
- Click on "My Account" at the top of the page
- Click on "Completed Orders"
- Click on "Download Designs" at the end of each set
- Click on the file that has the new format that you need listed in the file name directly before the .zip ~ for example: 520_RibbonTemplatePES.zip
Q I just realized that I ordered a set that I purchased previously - what can I do?
A You will never need to pay for a set of designs more than once at AKDesigns Boutique! Just send us an e-mail to angie@akdesignsboutique.com to let us know what set you duplicated and we'll issue a store credit or send you a new set that's of equal value.