First, find an embroidery machine applique pattern compatible with your machine. My embroidery machine takes a PES file. I went to www.planetapplique.com and downloaded a free applique pattern to test it out (there are lots more to buy too but I just wanted to try something simple). On Planet Applique, all of the designs (free or purchased) are provided in all the most common embroidery machine file formats so you shouldn’t have any problem finding something that would work for another machine as well. After I downloaded the pattern, I copied the design file onto the embroidery machine (connected by USB to my laptop). Then I disconnected my embroidery machine from my laptop and selected the pattern I just added. Put the base fabric (shirt, pillowcase, etc) into the hoop you want to use and setup/size the design for your hoop. Once the fabric is ready, tell the machine to start stitching and it will stitch a light outline of the shape that will be stitched first.