Secrets of Embroidery Blog

Trimming jump stitches in embroidered text is one of my least favorite  tasks. I will share a little short cut with you that saves some time and keeps stitching clean.

I used to trim jump stitches between each letter as they stitched. That is monotonous, starting and stopping the machine to clip thread. Now, I cut that time in half with this technique.

When fonts stitch, the thread typically jumps from the end of one letter to the beginning of the next. Here, after the “S” stitches, it ends at position 1 and jumps to position 2.

I let the “a” at position 2 stitch a couple of stitches to secure the thread, stop the machine, and clip the jump thread at position 2.

Tension on the thread lets it stand up straight, out of the way. Start the machine back up and continue stitching the “a.” That covers up the spot where the jump thread was clipped quite nicely.

When stitching finishes on the “a” (position  3) and jumps to the “n” (position 4),  let the machine stitch a couple of stitches, stop the machine, and cut the thread at position 4.

Continue until all text is stitched. So long as the trimmed text stitches do not fall in the embroidery field, you can wait to trim them completely until you are done.

This works best with fonts that are not extremely small. In projects with small text, trimming is often done after embroidery and tweezers help to secure threads.

 

While I was embroidering the designs for my new quilt project, I have seen how much I needed the colour charts for my designs, especially for the large 30cm x 30cm designs where there are quite a lot of colour repeats. I also needed to include these colour charts with all the other design information with my design sets. That inspired me to create the PDF document for easy reference and because it is so easy to do it with the Artista V8 programme, I decided to share it with you.

I will explain to you how to create a PDF colour chart (Design Worksheet) document in your Artista V8. This can then be inserted in your embroidery files for future reference. You can also print the colour chart if you wish to have a printed copy.

The design I am using here is part of a selection that has been digitised for a quilt project. The project will be available in a few months as a PDF eBook that will be available for purchase on the Secrets of Embroidery website.

INSTRUCTIONS

• Open your V8 software.
• Open the embroidery design for which you want to create a colour chart.
• Select Design and click on Properties in the dropdown box that opens.

• When the Properties dialog box opens, you will see that you can enter information there.
• Enter any information in the dialog box that you wish to save with the design such as who you bought it from and when or what you digitised it for.
• Click Apply and OK once you have entered all the information you want to keep.
  
  
• In the Print Preview page, select Portrait as the orientation.
• Your Print Preview page will now look like this. Note all the information that you have entered under the Design Properties will also reflect in the page.
• All the other info such as colour threads and brand of thread, sequence of embroidery and design information will be there.

• Your Print Preview page will now look like this.
• Note all the information that you have entered under the Design Properties will also reflect in the page. All the other info such as colour threads and brand of thread, sequence of embroidery and design information will be there

• Close the Print Preview page. You will be taken back to the design page.
  In the Print Design dialog box that opens, select the printer of your choice.
• NOTE: If you want to print a paper copy, simply select your printer and click print.
• To create the PDF document, select a programme that you can create a PDF document with such as Microsoft Print to PDF.

• Click OK.
• A PDF document will be created.
• Select the folder in which you want to save it.
• Name the PDF document and click Save.
• The PDF document will be created and saved in the selected folder.

ALTERNATE PDF SOFTWARE SUCH AS PDF FACTORY PRO BY FINEPRINT

• Select File/Print.
• Select PDFfactory Pro.
• Select Properties in the dialog box that opens.

• Select the Metrics tab in the next dialog box.
• Change the Resolution to 1200. (this will give you a better quality printout)
• Click OK.

• The PDF document will be created.
• Save the document with all the relevant settings of your choice.
• Save the document in the folder of your choice.

This is what the final document will look like.

I hope this information has helped you in some way to make your embroidery experience more enjoyable!

Lodia

Into Embroidery

 

 

When piecing a quilt or wall hanging, you often stitch embroidery designs into pieced blocks. That means changing the thread colors in your designs so that they match the colors in the coordinating fabrics.

I discussed how to match thread colors to printed background fabrics in this blog. What if you have a plain background mixed with other print fabrics?

In creating a wall hanging for Designs In Machine Embroidery Magazine (Vol. 110) I combined the  Rippled Dragonfly design by One by One Embroidery with some gorgeous fabric,  Essence of Pearl by Kanvas Studio for Benartex in Dragonfly Dream.

The fabric contained ivory and tan background colors accented by shades of blue, mauve, and teal.

Embroidery designs are digitized in certain colors, depending on the creator. That doesn’t mean that you can not substitute your own. In fact, I never use recommended thread colors. I always use threads that match my preferences or the materials I am using for the project.

The original design was digitized using more greens. I wanted to incorporate more blues. The fabric also featured pearlized accents that I wanted to complement. That determined the color palette that I pulled from my thread stash.

On solid colored fabrics, especially neutrals like ivory and white, thread colors tend to stand out more. Threads may match your accent fabrics perfectly, but may be too bold when stitched on a solid color. It is always a good idea to test stitch the design on the same or a similar color fabric to try out your new color choices.

Not that there is anything wrong with it but, had I stuck with the original thread colors, the center of my wall hanging would not have blended as well with the other fabrics.

 

 

 

Ever wonder why the area under your needle plate gets so dirty? Regular maintenance is important, especially with embroidery machines.

These machines are calibrated to such tiny tolerances that it doesn’t take much dust to alter the quality of your stitching. Routine cleaning helps avoid a multitude of problems and it’s pretty easy to accomplish.

Tips for Routinely Cleaning Your Embroidery Machine:

Warranty

My dealer requires a yearly cleaning in order to guarantee the machine’s warranty. It’s a good idea, even if it isn’t a manufacturer’s requirement. Repairs not covered under warranty can get quite expensive. We routinely get medical check ups and vehicle maintenance, right?

Better Stitching

Removing the needle plate and cleaning under the bobbin case helps your thread feed better. That makes for better tension and results in nicer stitching and beautiful projects.

Lint Buildup

Some cotton threads, and textured fabrics like felt and fleece, can create a lot of lint during embroidery. Lint accumulates in your bobbin area and can cause problems with stitch quality and tension.

No Expensive Equipment Required

You should routinely clean between maintenance appointments. Most machines come with a brush to remove thread clippings and lint from the bobbin area. You can also use a cotton swab or the loop made from a pipe cleaner.

Embroider a beautiful fabric cover for your machine and embroidery unit. That will keep residual dust from accumulating on the machine and electronic components.

Whatever you do, do not use canned air to blow dust and lint from your machine. All that does is blow the dirt somewhere else. Instead, use a mini vacuum or a small nozzle from your floor sweeper.

Make it Routine

Don’t wait until you have a problem to remove lint buildup. Clean the bobbin area every time you start a project or, at the very least, every time you change the needle. Preventive maintenance avoids a lot of sorrows. Embroidery is supposed to be fun!

When you are stitching out several similar items, you can avoid hooping the stabilizer for every separate embroidery piece by creating a stabilizer window.

Which Stabilizers Work?

This technique works well when embroidering on items that are floated in the hoop, like felt shapes. You can use tear-away stabilizers and spray temporary adhesive on the back of the shape and the stabilizer patch but adhesive or sticky-back stabilizers work particularly well.

How It Is Done!

Start by hooping your stabilizer and drawing the horizontal and vertical centering lines on it.

Add the item to be embroidered. Apply temporary spray adhesive or glue stick to the back of the item if you are not using a sticky-backed stabilizer that will hold it in place.

Embroider the design. This one is from the Shining Stars collection by Designs by Celeste.

When the embroidery is finished, remove your hoop and place it on a safe cutting surface. Use a sharp cutting tool to completely cut around the design so that it creates a “window.”

Cut another piece of stabilizer (sticky-backed stabilizers work extremely well) larger than the hole you just cut out of the hooped stabilizer. Peel away the protective paper layer and smooth out the sticky patch over the window.

The key is having a patch large enough to hold securely to the hooped stabilizer.

If you add the sticky stabilizer to the back of the window instead, it helps hold the next piece that you will embroider in place on the stabilizer. Just draw your centering lines and continue.

When embroidery is done, just peel off the sticky stabilizer patch from the window and it should take your embroidered item with it. If the items are not identical in size, you may need to trim some of the hooped stabilizer to release the embroidered piece.

Make sure that the stabilizer remains snug in your hoop. After a couple of times using the window technique, you will want to start with a new piece of stabilizer in the hoop as the framework will tend to sag.