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Watch the video: “How to Use the Brother Artspira App with Your Sewing and Embroidery Machine” by Sew Right Sewing Machines
If you’ve ever wished your phone could talk directly to your embroidery machine, this is your moment. In the video above, Mary Ann from Sew Right walks through Artspira—the Brother app that lets you browse designs, add text and fonts, set hoop size, and send your project wirelessly to the machine.
The best part? She starts out nervous about apps, then proves it’s simpler than it looks. If she can do it, you can too.
What you’ll learn
- How to download the Artspira app to your phone and confirm it on a compatible Brother machine
- How to browse free designs, add your own text, and choose fonts
- How to set your hoop size and position elements on screen
- How to transfer a design wirelessly to your machine and save it to memory
- What to expect from the stitched results Mary Ann shows at the end
Introduction to Brother Artspira and Your Machine Meet the Artspira App Mary Ann introduces Artspira as a new Brother app for creating and sending embroidery designs. She opens by acknowledging that apps can feel intimidating—then admits she made a bigger deal of it than necessary after discovering how straightforward the process is.
Is Your Brother Machine Compatible? In the demo, she’s using the Brother Stellaire Innov-is XE1. She notes that many Brother machines with a wireless connection can use Artspira, provided the machine is updated to the latest software. If you’re not sure about your model, check for Wi-Fi capability and confirm software updates before you begin.
Pro tip
- Before you do anything else, update your machine to the latest software version available. The app workflow depends on that.
Getting Started: Download and Setup Downloading the Artspira App to Your Phone Mary Ann shows two ways to get the app onto your phone: search for “Artspira,” or scan a QR code. After download, you’ll launch the app right from your phone’s home screen.
Watch out
- If the app fails to load or crashes, simply restart the app or your phone. Mary Ann keeps it simple here and moves on once the app opens.
Installing Artspira on Your Embroidery Machine On the machine side, ensure your Brother is updated first. After installation, you’ll see an Artspira icon appear on the machine’s screen. Mary Ann navigates to the settings area and points it out to confirm it’s there.
Quick check - Can you see the Artspira icon on your machine’s touchscreen after installation? If not, recheck your update status and try the install again.
Designing Your Masterpiece in the App Browsing and Selecting Free Designs Once the app opens on the phone, Mary Ann scrolls through a gallery of free embroidery designs and selects a heart-and-ribbon motif. This library is a fast way to get started without sourcing anything externally.
From here, she taps Create to enter the editing workspace. That’s where the fun starts: you’ll add text, choose fonts, and adjust the layout before sending the file to your machine.
Adding Personalized Text and Fonts Mary Ann types the word “Happy” to personalize the design. With the text active, she moves it into position, then applies a different font style to the lettering with a single tap. The app applies the change instantly to the selected text.
Pro tip - Make sure the text layer is highlighted before you change fonts. That way, the new style applies only to the text you intend.
Adjusting Hoop Sizes and Design Elements To keep the composition within the embroidery area, Mary Ann changes the hoop setting to 5x7 in the app. Then she repositions the hearts and adjusts the text placement so everything sits where she wants it. This step ensures what you see on your phone reflects the stitching field you’ll use at the machine.
Watch out
- If an element looks close to the edge on screen, it may fall outside the stitching field on the machine. Give yourself a little margin when you position things.
She finishes this stage by testing a new font on “Happy.” The preview updates immediately so you can judge readability and style at a glance.
Seamless Transfer: From Phone to Machine Sending Your Customized Design When the layout is set, Mary Ann taps Done. She opts not to save to her phone files and instead taps Transfer. A confirmation prompt appears, and after tapping OK, the app reports “Data transfer is complete.” That’s your cue to move to the machine.
Quick check
- Look for the “Data transfer is complete” confirmation on your phone before switching gears.
Accessing and Saving on Your Machine At the machine, Mary Ann taps Embroidery and then the dedicated Artspira folder (a cloud icon). The transferred design is waiting on screen, ready to set.
One small but important behavior to remember: the Artspira folder on the machine acts like a temporary inbox. When you send a new design, it replaces the prior one in that folder. To keep something permanently, set it and then save it to the machine’s internal memory. That way, it won’t be overwritten by your next transfer.
Watch out
- Don’t lose a favorite layout—save to machine memory after you set it.
Witness the Quality: Stitched Results Reviewing an Artspira Creation To close, Mary Ann shows a stitched sample: the word “Artspira” and a bird design. It’s a compact proof of how cleanly the app’s designs stitch out when transferred to the machine. While she doesn’t dive into stitch densities or color changes, the sample makes the point—the result looks crisp and well-formed.
Tips for Successful Embroidery
- Update before you connect: Do the machine software update first; it prevents a lot of headaches later.
- Match hoop settings: Set your hoop size in the app to match what you’ll actually use at the machine.
- Position with margins: Keep elements inside the visual boundary with a bit of breathing room.
- Save your favorites: After transfer, save to machine memory to prevent accidental overwrite.
From the comments
- Device compatibility: One viewer asked whether Artspira works on laptop/tablet/iPad. The video only shows a phone workflow; other devices aren’t specified here.
- Very small hoops: A question came up about editing for very small hoops that fall out of frame. The video demonstrates changing the hoop to 5x7 and repositioning elements but does not cover very small hoops.
- Artspira vs. Artspira+: A commenter asked if the demo uses Artspira+. The video simply refers to “Artspira,” without distinguishing versions.
- Subscriptions: Commenters shared differing experiences—one mentions a monthly fee and expanded content; another notes a free option with limited designs. The video itself does not confirm subscription details.
- Model ID: A viewer asked which machine appears in the tutorial; another replied that it’s named at the start. The demo uses the Brother Stellaire Innov-is XE1.
- Importing designs: Someone asked about importing designs and fonts. The video shows adding and editing text/fonts within the app, but doesn’t demonstrate importing external files.
Troubleshooting and FAQs grounded in the video
- I don’t see Artspira on my machine screen. Make sure your machine is updated to the latest software and that installation completed. The Artspira icon should appear on the touchscreen after setup.
- My transfer didn’t arrive. Confirm a stable Wi-Fi connection and that you saw “Data transfer is complete” on your phone. Then check the Artspira (cloud) folder on the machine.
- Did my last design disappear? New transfers replace the prior file in the Artspira folder. Set the design and save it to machine memory to keep it.
- Can I change fonts after placing text? Yes—highlight the text layer and select a new font. The change applies instantly.
- What hoop size did the demo use? Mary Ann selects 5x7 in the app and positions elements accordingly.
Conclusion: Embrace the Ease of Artspira Why Artspira is a Game-Changer Artspira removes the friction between your ideas and the stitch-out. You can browse designs on your phone, personalize them with text and font choices, size them to your hoop, and send the file wirelessly—all in a few taps. The stitched sample at the end speaks for itself.
Visit Sew Right for More Support If you’d like hands-on help, Mary Ann invites you to stop by the store. In the meantime, try the workflow as shown: install the app, confirm your machine’s update and Wi-Fi, choose a design, add your text, set the hoop, and transfer. You’ll be ready to press Start.
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Micro-guide: Re-creating Mary Ann’s workflow in 8 steps 1) Update your Brother machine to the latest software release. 2) Install Artspira on your phone (via search or QR code). 3) Confirm the Artspira icon appears on your machine’s screen. 4) Open Artspira on your phone and browse free designs. 5) Tap Create, add text, and pick a font. 6) Set hoop size to match your machine’s hoop (demo uses 5x7). 7) Tap Done and Transfer; confirm prompts until you see “Data transfer is complete.” 8) On the machine, open Embroidery > Artspira folder, set the design, and save to memory so it isn’t overwritten.
Quick glossary (based on the video)
- Artspira folder (cloud): The machine’s inbox where transferred designs appear. It holds only the latest transfer until you save it to memory.
- Hoop size: The stitchable area the app uses to preview your layout and boundaries. Mary Ann selects 5x7 for the demo.
- Set vs. Save: “Set” loads the design for stitching; “Save” writes it to machine memory so it stays there for future use.
Idea spark: Personalizing a seasonal motif Mary Ann picked a hearts-and-ribbon design and added “Happy.” You could follow the same flow and replace the text with a date, name, or short phrase, then preview a couple of fonts to find the most legible option at your selected size.
Note on scope The video focuses on browsing a built-in design, adding text and fonts, changing hoop size, repositioning, sending wirelessly, and finding/saving the file at the machine. It does not specify subscription tiers, importing external files, or support for devices beyond a phone.
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Helpful crossovers for hoop planning If you prefer to plan projects with Brother-focused terminology, remember to align your app hoop setting with the physical hoop you’ll use at the machine. For example, Mary Ann shows the 5x7 choice in-app to match the stitch field you’ll load. brother embroidery machine
When you’re designing monograms or short phrases, that 5x7 selection keeps text readable without crowding the edges. It’s a practical, repeatable baseline for many small to medium designs before you step up to larger fields. brother sewing and embroidery machine
If your project is tuned to a 5x7 stitch field, naming your file with the hoop size can prevent confusion later (e.g., adding “_5x7” to the filename before transfer). That tiny habit keeps your layout aligned with the physical setup. brother 5x7 hoop
Planning to alternate between different frames? Keep a small note of which frames are on hand so your on-screen choice always mirrors your physical hoop. That removes last-minute resizing and reflow. brother embroidery machine hoops
Because Mary Ann positions a short word and a compact motif, the 5x7 area offers comfortable margins. If you ever scale up your layout in the app, just remember to adjust to a larger stitch field at the machine, too. brother embroidery machine large hoop
When dialing in spacing between text and motif, try a simple visual check: place the text so it “breathes” evenly within the boundary box on your phone screen before you transfer. That quick pass can save time re-positioning at the machine. brother stellaire hoops
Finally, once you’ve set the design on the machine, save it to memory so it won’t be replaced by your next transfer into the Artspira folder. That way, you can revisit the same layout for multiples without rebuilding it on the phone. brother magnetic embroidery frames