Q. Why do I have to create an account on your website?
A. With our login system, you have the ability to keep track of your past orders and download them at your convenience. This helps prevent duplicate orders and if ever you were to have a computer crash and lose your designs, you can retrieve your designs from our website (see "lost designs" for more information below).
Your information is kept confidential and is secure and no one sees your information but me. For more details regarding our privacy policy please visit our site here.
Q. I don't want to use PayPal. What other alternative do I have?
A. You have 2 Options:
1. Add your items to the shopping cart and during checkout, choose the Check/Money Order option, complete and print a copy of the transaction and snail mail it to the address located on your receipt.
When your check/money order clears, your order will then be released for download. This process can take as long as 10 business days.
2. To use your credit card on the website, add your items to your shopping cart, choose the PayPal option. Follow instructions from Paypal and when it asks if you want to join, decline and continue by choosing the "Don't have a PayPal Account?" option. You may now pay using your Credit Card.
Q. Why do I have two orders for the same thing? Was I charged twice?
A. As it states in the instructions during check out, it is very important that you DO NOT click your back button or refresh your pages as this generates a NEW invoice. If paying via PayPal, I have security features installed so that you are not charged twice for the duplicate order, however this DOES generate a new invoice within our system. You can log into your PayPal account to verify that you were not charged twice.
If the site is busy, or if you have a large order it can take an few extra seconds to take you to your download page.
Rather than refreshing pages or using the back button, it's always best to just go to your account area and order history to view and download orders or use the link that is provided in your emailed receipt.
Q. WHERE ARE MY DESIGNS???
A. Anytime, you have made a payment through PayPal, your order is made available instantly after your payment completion and you are returned to the site.
Q. Can you convert designs to the format I need? What if the format I need is not offered?
A. We offer designs in the 6 most popular embroidery machine formats: ART(v4)-DST-HUS-JEF-PES(v6)-VIP. If your format is not listed, then you will need to purchase the format closest to your machine type and use your embroidery software or programs such as BuzzXplore, BuzzTools, Embird, Pulse, etc. Most of these software vendors offer free trials and you will find links to them here.
Q. What software do you use to create your designs in?
A. All designs were created using Artista or PEDesign software. BuzzTools or Bernina Portfolio were used to convert to various formats.
Q. What sizes do your designs come in.
A. All designs are offered for the 4x4 hoop size unless otherwise noted. We also offer most designs in 5x7 and occasionally designs are available for the 6x10 and 7x12 hoop sizes. It is your responsibility to make sure the designs fit in your embroidery hoops. We do not refund for purchasing the wrong size.
Q. How do you get such great stitch outs? My outlines always seem to be off and don't register properly.
A. All of our designs are thoroughly tested to ensure a perfect stitch out before being placed on our site for sale. If you are getting poor stitch outs or the outlines aren't registering properly, this is most likely due to improper stabilization and or hooping. For lace designs, I recommend 2 layers of Villene or other fabric based water soluble stabilizer. I do not recommend using any kind of "plastic" stabilizer at all with our lace designs. Save the plastic WSS for use as a topper on high pile fabrics.
While none of our filled designs are "bullet proof," they may have high stitch counts. For this reason, I recommend a heavy cut-away and either using a spray adhesive such as Sprayway FastTack89 or basting your fabric to the stabilizer. I spray my fabric with adhesive and stick it to the stabilizer and then hoop the whole thing as one piece. This prevents your fabric from "slipping." It was suggested to me by several embroidery shops that if you're going to keep one stabilizer in stock at all times, it should be a premium grade heavy cut-away- I prefer the 3 oz. Premium Grade Cut-Away from American Embroidery Supply. It is strong and stable, yet soft enough to go against a baby's skin. When a fabric is not suitable for using adhesive, I will baste the fabric or use a heavy sticky back.
Q. Do you offer your designs on CD?
A. Occasionally, yes! However only a limited amount are produced and once they are gone, there are no more. We do offer a digital download of some of our past CD's. Please check here to see what is currently available: Bundle Packs
Q. I lost my designs in a computer crash! How can I get them back?
A. That's easy! All you have to do is log into the The Country Needle website click on "My Account" to view all of your orders and download history. In the event your downloads have expired, please use our contact form to let me know and I will be happy to reset your downloads for you. No more lost designs! Please note however, that I will reset your downloads only ONCE. If you have used the courtesy reset option, you will need to repurchase. Please BACK UP your designs.
Q. My files were corrupted during download. What do I do now?
A. This could happen for a number of reasons. 99% of the time, it is because of an error in Internet Explorer itself. Please use our contact form to let me know your order number and I will email your order to you. You can also use the Firefox (www.getfirefox.com) browser. I've had customers tell me that all of their download problems were solved when they switched. I've also switched to using Firefox and highly recommend it.
Q. I ordered the wrong file format by mistake. What do I do now?
A. It is your responsibility to ensure you purchase the correct embroidery machine format and size. We will no longer replace designs with that of another format if you've already downloaded the order.IF after having completed your purchase, and you think you may have purchased the incorrect set or size, DO NOT download the set. If you need any changes made to your purchase, you need to inform me of your "mistake" BEFORE downloading the incorrect set. Once you have downloaded the set that sale is FINAL. Our system DOES keep track of how many times the product has been downloaded and once the download button has been clicked, there is no turning back regardless of whether or not you saved it to your computer.
Q. I just realized after checking "My Account" information that I ordered a duplicate set.
A. Please email me using our contact form. In the event you do have a duplicate purchase AND both sets were purchased within 30 days of each other, you may choose another set of equal value OR you may have the duplicate item refunded. It is your responsibility to ensure you purchase the correct embroidery machine format and size. We will no longer replace designs with that of another.
IF it has been longer than 30 days, refunds cannot be given. However, you will be allowed to choose another set of equal value to replace the duplicate up to 60 days. Duplicate purchases over 60 days will NOT be replaced or exchanged.
If you click on "My Account" after logging in, you will be able to view all of your orders. This is a very handy feature to help prevent you from making duplicate purchases.
Q. I don't have an embroidery machine, but I do embroidery by hand. Do you sell just the patterns?
A. At this time we do not sell patterns for hand embroidery.
Q. What is your Refund/Return Policy
A. Due to the nature of our online site, and the products listed (electronic media), we at The Country Needle have a strict NO RETURN- NO REFUND policy for any product. No product shall be able to be returned for a like item, or for a cash refund.
If you have a subscription and would like to cancel, you must do so BEFORE the end of your subscription term. AS WITH ALL ELECTRONIC MEDIA- NO REFUNDS ARE GIVEN ON CANCELED SUBSCRIPTIONS.
Customer Service is very important at The Country Needle. Please feel free to email any time should you need assistance. Our business hours are Tuesday through Friday 9AM to 4PM Eastern Standard Time. Emails are answered in the order in which they received. Please allow 24-48 hours for a reply.
