At Secrets we understand how passionate you are about Embroidery.  So, we have lifted the restrictions on our blog to enable you to write your own posts.  Do you have some amazing advice or tips you would like to share with our readers?  Maybe you are excited about a new project you have completed, or a great new Embroidery Product you have discovered.  We would love to hear all about it.

Conditions of Use

When writing your post we ask that you consider our readers and keep to Embroidery related topics only.  All posts submitted will be moderated to ensure they are appropriate prior to publishing.  Feel free to state your honest opinions - we don’t mind if you have a good moan (it sometimes helps to get a load off your chest) whereas it is equally good to share exciting news with others who understand your passion!

Post vs Comment

Please be aware that a Post is considered a new topic, not already covered on the Blog.  If you wish to add your advice or opinion to an existing post, please use the Comment option instead, to avoid duplicity.  Also, if you just have a query for us or one of our experts, please email questions@secretsof.com rather than creating a post.

How to Write a Post

Scroll down to the Login option at the bottom right of the Secrets Blog screen (under Archives) - Click Login.  Enter the following:

Carolyn is asked:

Is there a way to take a design from Embird Editor to Studio and change the motif fill?

Carolyn replies:

You can take an existing design from Editor to Studio and change the fill. However you will not be changing the original fill. You need to re-create another fill object exactly the same as the previous one then move the new fill into the correct sewing order and finally delete the old fill. The easiest way to do this is to do the following ?

In Editor, open your design and go to Edit/Edit Stitch File in Studio - The design will open in Studio and all the objects will be showing as Manual objects in the Object order screen on the right hand side. Select the object you wish to alter in the Object Order screen and right mouse click and choose Show/Hide/Hide all except selected. Now take the tool you wish to use, zoom in on the design, and recreate the shape completely over the old shape.

Once finished and the new parameters have been selected, drag the new object from the last position up to the new position. Then select the object you don?t want and delete it. One thing to check is the Connection stitches before and after the new object though ? as a change in stitch directions etc may have altered the previous connections. Then Show all your objects once more, join and save and take the design back to Editor.

Kind regards,
Carolyn Keber
Tutorials for Embird and PE Design

Carolyn Duncan of Sew What Designs has created these vibrant Applique Fuchsia designs and gorgeous cushion project for the Grand Hoop, but they have been tested on a range of embroidery machines and are included in a variety of formats so that you can assemble them no matter what size hoop you have. The free 28 page Applique Cushion Tutorial which comes with these designs, includes valuable instructions on hoop appliqué embroidery designs, Grand Hoop instructions, crazy patchwork, embellishing with machine stitches and invisible zipper insertion.

Birdhouse Cottage Crafts has a wonderful new project that has been inspired by the typical styles of the Arts and Crafts movement. The stunning Classic Arts and Crafts Quilt features floral squares created using the traditional method of appliqué done in the embroidery hoop - no templates, no registration marks! There are 20 blocks in all, including some that need to be hooped more than once - easily achieved with the full instructions that Heather has included. Download the freebie to try out first.

I was wondering if you had any advice on machine embroidering on ribbon.

The hardest part of embroidering on ribbon is stabilizing it. It must be kept perfectly flat and smooth or the results will be skewed. I have used sticky stabilizers with some success, and also temporary spray adhesive and basting. I guess the best results I’ve had were when I sprayed regular tear-away stabilizer with temporary spray adhesive (it doesn’t leave as much sticky residue on the ribbon if you spray the stabilizer) and then machine basting the ribbon along both edges to the stabilizer as well.

To be perfectly honest, I have never been completely satisfied with the results of any of my embroidered ribbon projects. The ribbon always seems to pucker and ripple along the edges after the stabilizer is removed. I think that is caused because a satin ribbon (just like satin fabric) is an unstable environment for embroidery to begin with, and grosgrain ribbon is not much better.

I hope you have better luck than I’ve had!

Evy
A Bit of Stitch

I have had my embird studio and tutorial for a couple years and have not really had too many problems.  Except when it comes to fill, I have tried every possible fill pattern and it is still not solid.  There are a lot of gaps.  It is like there is not enough rows.  Every time I try to add stitches there are more in each row but not more rows.  I look at store bought items and you can not see the shirt under the fill but you look at my digitized design and it is very “thin” looking not nice and “thick” like store bought clothes or even designs that I buy.  What am I doing wrong?  I am about to go crazy!  I have been working on one design since Feb. and have stitched it about 40 times and still it always looks the same or worse.  PLEASE HELP! - Sevena

Hi Sevena

The first thought that comes to my mind with regards to your fill issue is that you do not have the density set high enough. Density is calculated by the distance between each stitched row and if the rows are not close enough then you may need to increase the density setting. To increase the density you need to lower the density number. 4mm is Embird’s default density but most folk digitize for home embroidery machines at anything between 4.5 and 5mm which is a lighter density than Embird’s. If your rows are too far apart then you need to consider closing the gaps more and adjusting the density to a figure lower than 4.  Also check that you are adding underlay to your designs.

However this may not be the only problem. There are other factors to consider. These are the weight of thread you’re using, the stabiliser you are using and even the type of fabric that you are stitching on - is it a knit fabric or a woven. Knit fabrics will stretch more when they are being embroidered and can cause the gaps that you refer to whereas a woven fabric is more stable. A good stabiliser will also make a huge difference. Also the way a design is stitched on fabric will make a difference as if the design is stitched when the fabric is on an angle (perhaps bias) then the fabric will also stretch.

So if it’s not a density issue then perhaps you could check your thread, fabric and stabiliser. Without seeing your designs stitched out I can only guess.

I hope this helps

Kind regards
Carolyn Keber
Tutorials for Embird and PE Design

The new Key Fobs from The Purple Hat have two designs - a plain key fob and a pocket key fob with flap - both quilted and almost completely made in the hoop. These projects are really easy, useful and inexpensive to make. Use up your pretty fabric scraps, holiday prints or add a monogram for a personalized gift. They’re also great as bag tags. Complete instructions are included.

Re-purpose lace for an unforgettable silk camisole (pictured below in Part 1) that will turn heads. The ingredients for this blouse include Hope’s Nashville Lace embroidery designs that are re-embroidered over lace fabric. This is the Part 2 where Hope shares more of her designer details.

Detailed instructions for this project will be published in the March/April issue of an embroidery magazine. We will let you know when the magazine is on the newstands. 

Shoulder Overlay Panels

Create a shoulder overlay pattern by tracing the original pattern and add a point at the bottom. After the embroidery & decorative edging stitching are complete, topstitch the overlay onto the front pattern piece leaving the bottom point loose.

Cut a block of wide nylon lace larger than the overlay template and trace the horizontal and vertical placement lines on the lace. Hoop the lace with one layer of mesh water soluble stabilizer and embroider design “Apl7″ with ivory rayon thread using ivory heirloom cotton lace as the appliqué fabric (detailed appliqué directions can be found on the PDF file that accompanies the Nashville Lace Embroidery Collection).

Dip panel in water to remove the stabilizer and let dry. Trace the template on the lace block but do not cut out until bottom point has been satin stitched.

The bottom point of the overlay needs to be finished with decorative stitches before cutting out the pattern. I used stitch number N1:11 (pictured above) on a Viking Designer SE with a heat away clear stabilizer underneath the stitches. Use seam sealant on the stitches and then trim away the excess lace.

Embroidering Nashville Lace Embroidery Designs over a lace foundation fabric, give a romantically elegant look to any project. Fabrics and laces can be found at Martha Pullen Company.

Another fun colorful idea for the Nashville Lace Embroidery Collection is to machine felt scraps onto cotton organdy and then use that as the appliqué fabric. Design “Apl 2″ is shown in the photo below.

I have PE Design 7.0 and I bought the Genius PenTablet with PenSuite Pro software-I can get it to work in some programs, but I can only annotate in PE Design. I want to be able to draw with it, for digitizing purposes, directly in the PE Design program. Is this possible and if, so do you know how to configure it? Thanks in advance, Lora Chaney

Hi Lora

I have a Tablet also and I just tried it for you and it works fine with PE Design V7. I just used the pen to select the tool in Layout and Editing that I wished to draw with and then just drew as per normal on the Design Page.  I didn’t do anything like configure it for PEDS, it just worked on its own. I do not know why yours won’t work, sorry.

Kind regards,
Carolyn Keber
Tutorials for Embird and PE Design

Carolyn is asked:

My question is why do I have so many colors in the color order?  I think there are 31 where as in your tutorial you have 12.  I have run across this in my designs before and I think I am missing a step where I group like colors together.  I would be most appreciative if you could advise me as to what I may be doing wrong.

Carolyn replies:

You may not have a certain command checked. Open Embird Editor and go to Options and make sure that you have Join Same Consecutive Colors checked as that will mean all those separate color blocks will now join to each other if they are the same color. I am sure that this is the answer to your problem.

Kind regards,
Carolyn Keber
Tutorials for Embird and PE Design