How to Create a Digital Embroidery Design
Creating your own digital embroidery designs will give you the opportunity to develop your embroidery skills. Although digital embroidery machines can embroider just about anything, you will have to design within the constraints of your machine, adhere to set parameters and design within your hoop size attachments. By allowing yourself to sketch freely during the creative process and keeping these few boundaries in mind, your digital creations are limitless.
Things You'll Need
- Sketch pad
- Pencil/eraser
- Color pencils
- Markers (optional)
- Tracing paper (optional)
- Tape measure
- Graphic paper
- Embroidery digitizing machine
- Embroidery digitizing software
- Fabric or garment for embroidery
- Embroidery thread
- Embroidery stabilizer
- Embroidery machine hoop attachment
Instructions
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Sketch your initial embroidery ideas. Use your sketch pad or paper. Look through fashion magazines, photographs and embroidery books for ideas and concepts. Allow your inspiration to surface and sketch freely without placing your machine's restrictions during the creative process.
You can also opt to sketch directly into your image pad if your software has a built-in freehand tool feature. If your initial embroidery idea is from a photo, your software will also need to have a photo conversion tool feature.
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Review your initial freehand drawings and resketch your design with a defined outline. Your new sketch must include your embroidery machine's set parameter dimensions. These measurements will be the width and length set by the hoop size attachment for your machine. Your design will not be able to exceed the preset dimensions to embroider. For example, if your machine can embroider only 4-inch width by 6-inch length, your design cannot be 5-inch width by 7-inch length. Keep these dimensions in mind also when selecting the embroidery placement on your fabric or garment.
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Trace your design onto graphic paper. Make a separate copy to add stitch details and colors. Select your stitch type from your embroidery machine's stitch guide. Your colors will be dictated by your embroidery thread colors. You can opt to add color with your markers or colored pencils to your sketch and use as your embroidery guide.
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Scan your uncolored design image and upload it from your scanner into your embroidery software program. Convert your scanned image into a digitized format. You can do this process only if your embroidery digitizing software has a built-in free-hand conversion tool, image pad and drawing area tool. Make any necessary design adjustments or resizing in your image pad. Your embroidery software will need a resizing tool feature to adjust your scanned image.
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Add your embroidery stitch and color thread placement in your image pad. Your software will need to have a decorative stitch and color tool. For your software to read your design's stitch count, your program will also need a built-in stitch count feature. Review and make any necessary changes in your image pad before writing your embroidery card.
Although each digitizing program offers different features, you will most likely need a separate reader-writer box for writing your digitized embroidery card. This is a separate box connected into your computer's USB port and is often included when purchasing embroidery software. It is important that your software, reader-writer box and embroidery machine are compatible with your personal computer's system requirements. It is also best to use a reusable card, which will allow you to rewrite your design patterns for multiple uses.
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