How to Import Embroidery Designs to the Brother SE400
The Brother SE400 sewing and embroidery machine has a USB cable port. This means that you can connect the SE400 directly to your computer. You can then download embroidery designs saved on your computer to the SE400. This article explains step by step how to do it.
Choose .PES or .DST embroidery design file format
Additional embroidery designs for the Brother SE400 can be purchased on CD or downloaded from the Internet. Also, many sites online, including Brother.com, have designs that you can download for free.
The Brother SE400 can only handle embroidery data files in .PES and .DST format. Make sure you get the correct file format.
Check that the size of the hoop is 4×4 inches.
Copy or download the embroidery data files to your computer
I usually keep all my designs in a folder called “Embroidery Designs” on my desktop. I then organize them into subfolders by type. For example, “Flowers” or “Sports”. Make sure that the file names do not contain special characters. It is safer to use only letters, numbers, hyphens (-), and underscores (_).
Connect your computer to the Brother SE400
Plug the included USB cable into the USB port on the right side of the SE400. Plug the other end of the cable into your computer’s USB port. Make sure that both the computer and the embroidery machine are turned on.
You should see the “Removable Disk” icon in “My Computer” on your computer.
Copy the embroidery design data files to a “removable disk”
Copy the embroidery data files you want to use to “Removable Disk”. Do not put folders in “Removable Disk”. The SE400 cannot recognize folders or find embroidery patterns in folders.
Do not copy more than 12 patterns to “Removable Disk”.
Save the patterns in the machine’s memory. Otherwise, the patterns in “Removable Disk” will be lost when you turn off the SE400 and you will have to copy them again from the computer.
Select the pattern you want to sew
Touch the USB icon on the LCD screen. The downloaded patterns are displayed. If you have a .PES file, you will see an image of the design. Move to the pattern you want using the previous and next page keys. Press the recover key.
Tajima embroidery data (.DST) files are limited. Only the first eight characters of the file name will be displayed in the pattern list, not the design image. Also, the .DST format does not contain specific thread colors and will display using Brother’s default color sequence. Check the preview and change the thread colors to your liking.
Embroider your new pattern
Edit the design and start sewing.
For Macintosh users
Although Brother says that the SE400 is only compatible with Windows, it works well with Macintosh. Plug it into your Mac’s USB port. The SE400 will appear as an external hard drive, labeled “Unnamed.” Just drag and drop your embroidery files onto this drive. The rest of the instructions should be the same as on the PC.