YES! The best suggestion is PE Design Basic..has the reader/writer box & card that you can use over & again....can view the design images on your computer. You can shop for the best price at Walmart on line, Amazon, Allbrands, ebay---lots of possibles--and it should cost in the neighborhood of $100. Little more or little less, just shop around. It is the best! I have it, my friend uses it with her 8500--it only writes .pes designs, but you should D/L a free format converter so you can change other design formats to .pes. Sometimes you want a design that does not come in your format. Good luck and ENJOY!

I have the same machine and an old version of PE Design. My reader/writer box only has a serial port connection and computers don't have serial ports any more!

I use an Ultimate Box which has a USB connection. It came with the card that fits the sewing machine. I also have a program called Embird that I can use to edit and combine designs before writing them to the card. (There is a full digitizing version of Embird, too.) You can also convert designs from other formats to PES.

I think the Ultimate Box cost around $100 and I think Embird costs around that, too (I've had it for a long time).

Donna

I have the same machine and an old version of PE Design. My reader/writer box only has a serial port connection and computers don't have serial ports any more!

I use an Ultimate Box which has a USB connection. It came with the card that fits the sewing machine. I also have a program called Embird that I can use to edit and combine designs before writing them to the card. (There is a full digitizing version of Embird, too.) You can also convert designs from other formats to PES.

I think the Ultimate Box cost around $100 and I think Embird costs around that, too (I've had it for a long time).

Donna