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Original text by Marina Belova 
Recently I've been thinking how one can match a needle and a thread in thickness without consulting any guides. In theory, according to the manufacturers' booklets, everything is very simple: threads should be 40% thinner than the needles. That is, a thread should as thick as a long groove on a needle that plays an important part in forming a stitch. 
This is shown in the following picture: 

In picture 1, the thread is much thicker than the long groove of a needle. This is fraught with the twisting of the thread, skipping stitches, flagging, and thread tension problems. 
In picture 2, the thread fits tightly into the groove, which results in fine, crisp stitches and precise thread tension, because the thread slides along the groove, keeping friction to a minimum. 
In picture 3, the thread is very thin and the groove is too wide for it, which leads to uncontrollable loop formation, stitch skipping and, again, tension problems. 
In theory, everything is clear, but how does one determine it with a thin needle and thread? After all, you cannot see distinctly, whether the thread fits the groove or not. And you are not going to pick up a magnifying glass every time when you need to match a needle to a thread, will you? 
The only system that shows the thread thickness is TEX, according to which we could calculate the thickness of a needle, using the rule of proportions. But if we don't know the thread's TEX as there are no inscriptions on it concerning its thickness, what can we do? 
It turns out that there is an answer to this awkward question. As usual, it is quite simple: 
Cut a piece of the thread with which you plan to embroider, about 45–50 cm long.  Take a needle that seems appropriate and thread it like you do with an ordinary thread.  Pick up two ends of the thread so that one end is 20–25 cm higher than the other (the thread should be at 45°).  If the thickness is chosen correctly, the needle will move slowly down the thread under its own weight. The needle should not stop anywhere (if it does, it's too thin) or to move too freely (in this case it is too thick).  Our task is to find the thinnest possible needle that will slide down smoothly. P.S. I found one more way of matching a needle to a thread. It is very similar to the previous one but I'll describe it anyway: 
Cut a piece of the thread with which you plan to embroider, about 45–50 cm long.  Take a needle that seems appropriate and thread it.  Pull the thread from both ends vertically, as in the picture below. The needle starts to slide down the thread: 
If it rotates a little around the thread, this is a match. And if the needle doesn't rotate or doesn't encounter any resistance on its way, it is a bad match. Frankly speaking, I think that you need some experience to do this test, i.e. you need to watch how the needle behaves on a thread in various cases. It seemed to me that the second method of matching a thread to a needle was in no way representative and somewhat contentious. According to it, you can use an ordinary #40 thread with a #65 needle. 
Original text by Marina Belova 
A needle is the most important part of the stitch-forming mechanism on embroidery machines. 
How the needles are made 
A blank for a needle is a piece of wire that is shaped mechanically, and the ear is formed in it. Then the eye is either chemically or mechanically planarized to remove burrs. After that, a size and a brand are indicated on the needle. The final step involves smoothing and polishing of the surface. The needle is first clad in chromium, then in nickel. 
Chromium sticks better than other metals, it dissipates heat and works well with both natural and synthetic fibers. Nowadays you can find more expensive needles with new kinds of coating, such as teflon, titanium nitride and ceramic, which are much more durable than chromium and, therefore, more longevous. 
Anatomy of a needle 
A needle consists of the following parts: 

Shank, which is the upper, the thickest, part of a needle that is inserted into a needle carrier and is secured with a screw clamp. A needle for industrial embroidery has a rounded shank, and one side of a shank of a needle for home embroidery is flat. 
A blade is a narrow part of a needle that penetrates the fabric. The diameter of a blade defines the size/number of a needle. 
Taper (also called shoulder) is a sloping transition area between the shank and the blade. 
Butt is a dull part of a needle on top of the shank. 
A tip is a sharp end of a blade. 
A point is a part of a blade between the eye and the tip. 
An eye is an opening that is perpendicular to the blade, through which the thread is passed. An embroidery needle has a bigger eye than a sewing one. This allows for the thread to pass through the opening more freely, whereby reducing the number of twists and, consequently, thread breaks. 

A scarf is a short cup-like section at the back side of the blade slightly above the needle's eye, which enables the point of a hook passing right beside the needle's center axis. Here the point of a hook comes very close to the eye and catches the upper thread to form a loop and make a stitch. The depth of the scarf varies in different types of needles. 
A long groove is a furrow along the front part of the blade that goes from the shank to the eye. The cross section of a groove is about 40% of the needle width, which puts certain restrictions on the number of a thread that can be used with the needle of a particular size. The long groove guides the thread into the eye and allows it to pass freely and quickly. 
Basic technical characteristics of a needle 
Needle markings consist of 3 main parts: 
System  Size  Point type  One needs to know these specifications not only to insert the right kind of needle into the machine but also to consider thread type and particular qualities of the fabric on which the design will be embroidered. 
Needle system 
Needle system describes physical parameters: 
needle length  shank length and diameter  distance from the butt to the eye  shape of the beveled edge  Some of these parameters determine the type of embroidery machine, and some – the particularities of a needle. All these specifications are put into numbers and letters. For example, DB x 1, DB x K5. 
Sometimes several different marking systems can be found in one package. If we turn to history, we'll see that these tend toward standardization among the embroidery machines manufacturers. Each of those systems describes the same needles that can be inserted into one machine. 
Needle size (number) 

Most needles have as many as 2 numbers: one pertaining to European metric system and the equivalent USA one (Zinger). There, numbers usually have a slash in them – 90/14, 80/12 and so on. The real diameter of a needle is defined by a European system: 75/100 = 0.75 mm. There are needles from #55 to 130. 
Needlepoint types 
Sharp needlepoint is used for almost all kinds of fabrics except knitwear.  Acute/slim set point (SPI) – a very sharp needlepoint. It is recommended for leather and also dense and coarse woven materials.  Sharp (K or no markings) is one of the most frequently used needlepoints in the industry. It is best for woven materials or dense fabrics that do not unravel; also good for the caps. A sharp needlepoint cuts through the fibers, and that reduces pull & push deformation.  Normal round point (R)  Ball point is used for almost all types of fabrics except knitwear.  Light ball point (SES) – another one of the most popular needlepoints. The point being slightly rounded, this needle can be used not only for the woven materials but also for knitwear – it doesn't leave holes around the embroidery, as it pushed fibers apart, not cuts through them.  Medium ball point (SUK) – the needlepoint is rounded and meant for the coarse knitwear and elastic materials.  Heavy ball point (SKF) – a dull rounded needlepoint. It is designated for stretchy materials.  Wedge point is used with leather and artificial leather.  Narrow wedge point (cutting point, P). The last one is used for leather, vinyl and very dense materials. It leaves a cut instead of a hole, which makes it better for non-woven fabrics.  cross point (CR)  reverse twist point (RTW)  triangular point (TRI)  square point (SQ)  Needlepoint identifiers: 

Some manufacturers offer the needles with Teflon coating. Those needles were created for the dense abrasive materials and watertight fabrics. 
You can find needles coated with titanium nitride. These needles are meant for very dense materials. Also, they can be used during the embroidery that involves sticky materials. This coating prevents the blade from accumulating adhesive and it also warms up less than standard needles. 
Reasons for changing your needle 
A dull needle can be a reason for the fabric puckering and distortion.  A wrongly chosen needle can cause tension problems.  It is not always right to use a needle of a bigger number because it may lead to the thread twisting and breakage.  A thick needle makes unjustifiably large holes or cuts through the fabric, which may result in gaps between the stitches.  A wrongly chosen needlepoint may lead to the cutting of the fibers, fabric distortions, and a sloppy edge.  If you take a #30 thread and try to match it to a thin needle, you may get thread breakage as the result of the thread wearing away.  If you take a #60 thread and try to match it to a thick needle, you may get loops. The reason for this is the thread moving without sufficient guidance from the groove.  How to choose a needle 
One should choose the embroidery thread according to the density and the type of fabric and also the thickness and type of thread. Denser fabrics require needles of a bigger size and thin/loose ones – the opposite. 
How needle size corresponds to the thread thickness and fabric thickness 
Thread

Thin fabric

Thick fabric

poly/rayon 60

70-75

70-75

poly/rayon 40

75-80

75-80

poly/rayon 30

75-80

90

rayon 12

100

100-110

twist 30

75-80

90

twist 30

75-80

90

cotton 50

100

100-110

cotton 30

75-80

90

cotton 20

80

90

wool/acrylic

90-100

90-100

metallic 50

65-75

65-75

metallic 45

90

90

metallic 40

65-75

65-75

metallic 35

90

90

metallic 30

90

90

metallic 20

100

100

metallic 15

100

100

Mylar

80-90

90

Matching fabrics/point types/needles 
Fabric type

Needlepoint type

Needle #

Home embroidery needles

Commercial embroidery needles

Home embroidery needles

Commercial embroidery needles

Thin satin

H-M, H, H-J

SPI

70-75

65-70

Lycra, spandex, fabric stretching in all directions

HE, H-SUK

SES/SUK

70-75

65-75

Thin cloth, poplin with spandex

H-M, H, H-J

SPI

70-75

70-75

Natural thin leather

H-J

SPI/R

70-80

70-80

Natural soft leather

H-E

SES

75-80

75-80

Thin vinyl

H-J

R

70-80

70-80

Thick vinyl

H-E

SES

75-80

75-80

Transparent natural/synthetic fabrics

H-M, H, H-J

SPI

65-75

65-70

Thin knitwear

H-E

SES

70-75

70-75

Voluminous knitwear

H-SUK

SUK

70-75

70-75

Organza

H, H-J

R/SES

70-75

70-75

Thin nylon

H, H-J, H-E

R/SES

70-75

70-75

Dense nylon

H-J, H-E

R

90

80-90

Polyester taffeta

H-E

SES

70-75

70-75

Corduroy, velvet

H-E

SES

75

75

Terry cloth

H-E

SES

75

75

Piled fleece

H-E

SES

75

75

Fake fur

H-E

SES

75

75

 
Read here how to match a thread to a needle without having these tables at hand. 
Original text by Marina Belova 
Beside FSL and artistic embroidery with complex tone renditions, there is much hype around the various types of openwork (broderie à jour, the word "ajouré" meaning "openwork" in French). 
There are several types of openwork in machine embroidery: 
Cutwork that can be made with "bridges" or without. Cutwork is a pattern in which pieces of fabric are cut out and outlined with satins.  Pulled thread work. Yarns in the fabric are pulled in a specific way to create the lacy effect. It should be noted that the yarns are not pulled out. Various motifs are used to create the interweaving.  Lacework – pieces of fabric are cut out and the holes are filled with lace. In my opinion, lacework is similar to FSL, which looks as if it has been "embroidered" into the openings in the fabric.  Richelieu embroidery consists of holes of varying size and shape. Holes can be stand-alone or arranged in a chain-like fashion. They are usually outlined with thick satin columns.  All of the above types of openwork are widely used in combination with other techniques or on their own, giving the embroidery the rich outer look, which is why they are so popular. 
Almost all of them can be created both in advanced embroidery software and in the simplest one. Although, creating such a design in an ordinary editor will take more time. The same can be said about the type of an embroidery machine: You can embroider on any one of them but you'll use different devices. 
You can do that by either using a color palette from a .EDR file (what's this?) or change the color of every object manually. Today we’ll focus on the second method. It will be handy for those who like to create their own color schemes.
Open the design in My Editor and see that the colors are all wrong. 

Look at the top left corner of My Editor window and find the Color Manager icon. Click on it. 

A pop-up window will appear, divided into several parts. On the left, you see the available palettes and the colors they contain. On the right are the colors used in your design.

You can use a color chart that comes with the order as a reference point or choose any color you like from any of the available palettes. 
The color chart for this particular Bunny is for the Robinson-Anton Rayon threads.
1.Set your cursor at the color you want to change. From the color chart that comes with the order, you know that this object should be painted ruby glint instead of yellow. 

2. Choose Robinson-Anton color palette from the drop-down list.

For your convenience, the items in the palette can be arranged either by name…

…or by colors.

3. Find Ruby Glint on the list, set your cursor at it and click on Set Color.

You’ll instantly see how the embroidery design looks with this new color.

Repeat the steps 1–3 until you are satisfied with the result, then press OK. 

In this example, I used Robinson-Anton color palette, but you can choose any one you like. You can even combine them if you’re going to use different types of threads.
Don’t forget to save the design after you’ve completed tinkering with it!
Free download design 
 
Although the entire topic on our forum is dedicated to mending jeans, I dare to suggest a creative patch of my own design, which I affectionately named the "Hole with the fringe". Generally, we do either what we like or what we need to do. This time I tried to combine business with pleasure. The business in my case involved my husband's jeans in need of a repair (he tried to sit down in them and here you are; someone here sure needs to eat less ), and the pleasure lied in my interest in what I could do with them, so I hoped that he will discard these old jeans entirely and buy a new pair (those were his exact words the moment he saw the design I created in Wilcom). But it didn't work out that way at all. After the work was completed, my hubby refused to let go of his favorite jeans, what's more, my daughter literally demanded to winterize her trendy ripped ones. Which is something that I still have to face. I hope someone likes my idea. 
But let's get to the point. 
What you'll need: 
1. Torn jeans. 
2. A piece of dense fabric (denim is preferable). 
3. A tear-away stabilizer or embroidery paper. 
4. A set of embroidery threads (I use sewing polyester ones). 

5. And your embroidery machine, of course. 
6. I created the design myself for this occasion. 

The making process goes like this: 
Hoop the tear-away stabilizer.  Stick a piece of denim (it can be of a matching or a contrasting color) onto it. 
Embroider the design at a low speed, making 15 color changes instead of all 18 (polyester sewing thread is a bit coarse for such a small design, so it can rip off the stabilizer; also, in my opinion, jeans require stronger threads than the embroidery ones but this is a matter of preferences; the size of the design is fitted to the hole on the jeans). 
Then, there is a stop. Without unhooping the fabric, put the torn jeans on top of the already embroidered fragment and secure them with needles. (If necessary, unseam the jeans prior to that). 
Insert the hoop back into the machine and embroider the three remaining color changes. 

After that, make incisions from the center of the hole toward its edges (preferably at the right angle). 
Fluff up the incisions, picking out the threads you don't need with the blunt side of scissors (the way kids curl strips of paper). 
Cut out the patch from the wrong side, leaving allowance, and remove the stabilizer wherever possible (the rest will gradually wash away).  If you unseamed the jeans, now is time to sew them up.  The "hole with the fringe" is ready for use. 
By the way, this method is good not only for mending accidental tears but also for winterizing ripped jeans. 
In between, I repaired the hems: 
I cut away the frayed parts. 
Divided the leftover denim into strips.  Formed them in two circles matching the hems in circumference: 
Folded these welt pieces in two, stitched them to the hems and serged the edges. 
Folded the hems to the face and added two stitch lines along the serge finish. 
In such a way I repaired the frayed edges without changing the jeans length. 
This is how the jeans look on a person. 
 


And in case they tear again I'll think of some other technique. 
Good luck and good day to all!
Original text by slavyankarusi
Free download design 
 
Today I want to share my first (and, hopefully, not the last) master-class with you
It's called "A kitten in your pocket" and was inspired by a Japanese embroiderer Hiroko Kubota. 

Of course, machine embroidery cannot entirely convey the charm of the hand embroidery, but I tried to create something similar, nevertheless, and you get to evaluate the result. I used Janome 126x110 mm embroidery frame. 
For this occasion, I cut out a blouse with patch pockets according to a shirt sewing pattern, out of cotton calico; you can also embroider this design on a ready blouse with patch pockets, but you need to rip the pocket off before the embroidery. 

The design consists of two parts that are printed. (Beside the stitch files, there 3 .jpg files in the folder: the first and the second parts of the embroidery and the entire kitten, with the enter line and center lines, full-size, for printing). 



On the placket the sewing line is drawn, the first part of the design is put on top of it; the lines on the pattern and on fabric should match together.



Center lines are marked with chalk, and the fabric is hooped in accordance with them. (On the wrong side is the adhesive tear-away stabilizer). 



Embroider the first part of the design, with the alignment crosses, unhoop the embroidery and sew on the pocket. 


Put the second part of the pattern on top (the paw that "lies" on the pocket) so that the alignment crosses superimpose. Join them with pins and adjust center lines. 


The crosses are embroidered first; they should exactly match with the ones embroidered previously. 

When embroidering the second part, I lowered the machine embroidery speed 400 SPM because of pocket's thickness. 
You be the judges of the result. I'm sure not a superpro, but I hope that you'll like the cat and also that someone will have a go at the embroidery, too. It would be splendid if you shared your results with us.  


Alternately, you can stick the design onto Filmoplast and embroider the paw separately, then sew on the pocket so that it can be opened. 
 
Original text by Marina Belova 
We often search for the ready scenario of what and how to do in order to digitize successfully. But we never touch the subject of getting prepared.
It is, perhaps, our biggest mistake. 
Last year I was surprised to hear a few tips on how to digitize in a more effective way from several embroidery veterans. Those were 2 simplest actions that should be taken before digitizing starts: 
1) to print the design in the full size 
2) to create the embroidery sequence on paper even before you sit in front of your computer. 

Isn't it ridiculous? Not it the very least. I tried these myself. 
Printing the design on paper gives you the opportunity of taking an unbiased look at the design. I, for instance, conceptualize my future embroidery by looking at the size of the design and the number of stitches in it. First, I determine what stitches and stitch directions I'm going to use. Then, I assess the small details: is it possible to embroider them all or should some of them go. After all, you can draw the stitches on paper.
And then many things will become clear. 
Outlining your future embroidery sequence on paper saves a lot of time. The only thing left is to digitize the design as planned. You won't have to modify the design afterward, set the start/end point of every object and do such routine tasks. Except perhaps for some small things that escaped your attention. But in general, it makes the project much quicker to carry out. 
A not-so-unknown pro by the name of Ed Levy states that preparation is 75% of digitizer's work and is done without a computer. I think we should listen to these words. Besides, he's not the only one who says so. 
Original text by Marina Belova 
I want to return to the question of digitizing efficiency raised in my previous article. Today I want to add 2 more methods that I learned from the
Western embroidery professionals and tried out myself – they do indeed work. 
These methods are standard regardless of the software you've chosen: 
you need to digitize all designs at a scale of 6 in 1 (i.e. increase them 6 times in size)  and avoid drawing too many points on the curves  A 6 to 1 scale is a legacy of the pre-computer digitizing era. So why do modern punchers, operating in the up-to-date software, stick to that standard? 
I think the answer is, "They got used to it". When you digitize on the same scale over and over again, you get in the groove. 
So you can work out every object in detail and estimate the distance between the elements by the naked eye. To reckon whether there is enough compensation to counter-balance push&pull. Actually, many parameters can be worked out in advance. Therefore, an experience of using one and the same scale can help to prevent a lot of mistakes. 
On top of that, with this scale, you can avoid drawing too many points. Superfluous points > unnecessary details > waste of stitches. 
When digitizing on a big scale you'll get lots of possible points defining the shape of an object, whether you like it or not. You'll need some time to mark the object out. To substantiate my statement here is the classic example: To define the circle, 4 pairs of points will enough (image A).
But you can go overboard and draw a lot more of them (image B). 

The result will be the same in both cases. Therefore, as the commercials put it, "Why pay more?" 
That's where goes the lion's share of the digitizer's effort – additional points. As a consequence, they have low digitizing speed and low efficiency, and the design needs modifications after testing. 
To be honest, I had trouble growing out of a habit of zooming. I had to reconfigure my embroidery software so that there was no zooming when I spun the mouse wheel. You can always see how the design looks in the preview window. But I liked the result – my digitizing speed went up. 
Original text by Marina Belova 
Padded appliqué that creates volume is an ordinary appliqué with a special material under the appliqué fabric called padding. 
3D Puff (Foam), polyester batting, foam rubber and other materials can be used as such. The number of layers in the padding can vary depending on the thickness of the material and the desired effect. According to my experiments with trapunto, knitwear is the best appliqué fabric that does not crumple the padding too much. 
I didn't find the process of creating a padded appliqué too different from the one of the traditional patched appliqué. 
It is simple and includes 3 steps: 
First, a running stitch outline that will show where to put the "layer cake" (the appliqué fabric together with the padding). Having embroidered an outline, the machine stops and the frame comes out. It is necessary for the better placement of the fabric and the padding.  After that, a running or a zig-zag stitch joins the appliqué fabric and the padding together. Having stitched them to each other, the machine stops and the frame comes out for trimming of the fabric and the padding along the perimeter of the running stitch or zig-zag.  The finishing border that covers the edges is embroidered next.  There can be a slight variation to the process. It involves first stitching the padding to the main fabric and trimming it, then stitching the appliqué to them and trimming all three together. Everyone should choose what is more convenient for them: stitch and trim all the layers together or separately. 
If you ask my opinion, there are not too many variations to a finishing border: 
Satin  Fill  Digitizing a padded appliqué by hand: 
Create a running stitch outline that will show where to place the fabric and the padding.  Insert a stop so that the frame will come out for positioning of the appliqué fabric together with the padding. The way of adding commands depends on the type of your embroidery machine.  Create an outline that stitches the appliqué fabric to the main one.  Insert a stop so that the frame will come out for positioning of the appliqué fabric together with the padding. The way of adding commands depends on your embroidery machine type.  Create a finishing stitch column border.  The width of a finishing border should be no less than 4–5 mm. It is necessary because it is rather hard to trim extra fabric with the padding so that the edges of this "layer cake" didn't show from under the thin outline. Therefore, you can't be too cautious with the width of the finishing border. 

Original text by Marina Belova 
The checklist is the terms of reference a digitizer should stick to. A freelance digitizer gets terms of reference from a client and a hired employee – from a manager. A checklist contains the input parameters of a design which a digitizer should consider even before getting to work. 
Terms of reference usually contain: 
the image that will become a design  the size of that image  type of material on which it will be embroidered  where on an item the embroidery will be placed  the number of colors in the design  thread type and thickness  number of supposed stabilizers and their type  and, of course, the customer preferences.  Also, one should not forget a very important thing – the time frame. 
Taking all the factors into account will help a digitizer to decide how the design will be digitized. And whether it will be possible to modify the image to get the embroidery of a high quality. 

Original text by Marina Belova 
Embroidery navigation is planning the embroidery sequence from the beginning to the end. 
In Russia this is usually described as follows: 
Navigation  Sequence  Embroidery process  Arranging the objects in a sequence from the first to the last   In English-speaking countries this process is called by the following names: 
Pathing  Sequencing  Routing  Mapping  The goal of all this planning is to create an optimal sequence of embroidery elements so as to reduce the production time. 
Sequencing starts even before digitizing, with studying of the image that is to become the future embroidery, printed in full size. Mapping your embroidery will allow you to become more productive: 
you spend less time creating designs  you need to modify them less often  you reduce the number of stitches and, therefore, limit the production time  Main factors that should be regarded as a foothold when mapping a design: 
The logic of the embroidery path  Using as few color changes as possible  Using as few trims as possible  The rational embroidery path is in many ways defined by the start/end points position. The start/end points should be at a minimum distance during color changes and trims, and also between connector stitches. This minimizes the hoop trajectory and the time spent on the embroidery. 
It is often necessary that all elements of the same color were embroidered before color change. The reason for this is that every color change can be equaled to 130 stitches. So, by using as little colors as possible, we save time. 
Having as few trims as possible is also closely connected with the time saving because every trim is equal to 65 stitches. Therefore, digitizers try to avoid trims with the help of several tricks. 
For example, you can substitute a trim for a connector stitch if the distance between two outlines is less than 2 mm. A jump stitch is not visible at such a short distance. That is, if the threads are not contrasting to each other in color. Another way involves hiding a connector stitch of one color behind the objects of another color in case they will be embroidered later. 
Unfortunately, you cannot always follow the "minimize everything" motto. The designs differ from each other, and the fabric on which these designs are embroidered are also different. To give you an example, the aforementioned factors are less important for the embroidery on stretchy fabrics or a rounded surface of a cap. In that case, the quality standards are in the foreground – the embroidery should have no defects. The minimization requirements are often sacrificed in favor of quality. 
Besides the minimization factors, there are also general recommendations on sequencing. They are: 
Begin the embroidery from the biggest object in the design and move to the smaller ones.  Begin the embroidery from the center outwards.  Studying the designs digitized by others help a great deal. You can view the designs created by others in a sewing simulator software or during the embroidery. Also: you yourself should embroider, embroider again and then embroider some more. 

 
Original text by Marina Belova 
There are numerous names people give the process of transforming an image into a design. Just as with naming software, everyone is saying whatever he or she can think of: 
punching  digitizing programming for machine embroidery  embroidery file creation  planning a stitching sequence  pattern creation  design development  design creation  So what is this process, whatever the name you use for it? Does it mean converting analog data into numeric one? Transforming a regular image into a file an embroidery machine understands, with the help of special tools? A complex technical process that includes a row of steps, based on the profound knowledge of theory? A creative process that requires artistic training and a great talent? All of this is unclear and boring. Too hard to understand, too. 
Whatever highfalutin definitions others give this process, I like John Deer's one the most: "All that you need to do is to look at the image and apply stitches to it. You merely choose an appropriate stitch type and direction and use various gimmicks and tricks." These words inspire hope. A hope that everyone with basic digitizing knowledge can create a machine embroidery design. There is only one thing left to decide: where to obtain the knowledge and from whom? One needs to remember that gaining skills requires practice and time. 
This knowledge should help you answer these questions: 
How to give consideration to all of the input parameters of the image before digitizing?  What types of stitches to apply?  How to make an efficient embroidery sequence?  What tricks to use so that the embroidery is by all definitions a work of quality?
Original text by Marina Belova 
Chevrons (labels, badges or embroidered patches) are a wonderful thing. It is a patch of varying shape and size that helps to adorn (and not only adorn) such parts of a garment and such fabrics that are hard to embroider. Chevrons should be loved if only for that. 
They are one of the main products of many embroidery companies if I'm not mistaken. Among those who do home decor machine embroidery, there is a common opinion that can be described in a succinct phrase: "Pshaw, chevrons! Anybody can do that." 
But if you ask my opinion, reality is quite the opposite: home decor machine embroidery is something anybody can do, even a green as grass digitizer. Why do I think so? Because all those flowers, leaves and flourishes are easier to digitize: any slip will look like a feature. 
Lettering is a different story. A little mistake in compensation, kerning or size, and it's a complete wash-out. And what about geometric objects?
They don't come out as conceived at the first try. Try to recall the ovals that were meant to be circles and rectangulars that were set to be squares. 
So it's hard to escape the conclusion that digitizing and producing chevrons and logotypes requires knowledge, a flawless technique, and skills.
As Stephen Batts rightly put it, a chevron is a puzzle for a common digitizer. Therefore, if chevrons are so mysterious, one should dig into the subject a bit, in order to unveil their mystery. Isn't it interesting? 
So, back to our chevrons. As I found out, there are only 2 types of chevrons: 
Completely stitched ones. There are so-called "chevrons deluxe".  Chevrons embroidered on a background stitched less than 100%. These are standard chevrons.  Methods of their production vary depending on the number of stitches. 
For patches that are completely stitched there are only a few variants: 
Embroidery on 2 or 3 layers of a very dense tear-away stabilizer.  Embroidery on a special film. Gunold offers its 80 microns water soluble film for this purpose, and Madeira — a 100 microns MadeirAS Film. All of these films should be applied in several layers. Manufacturers advise using 2 or 3.  Patches that are not completely stitched can be embroidered on a variety of materials. Those can be woven fabrics like gabardine, non-woven like felt or special ones like Step, Twilly or Gunold Canvay. 
These chevrons can be reproduced in the following ways: 
Embroider, cut out, serge the edges on a Merrow machine.  Embroider and cut along the edges.  Embroider on a badge blank.  After the embroidery is completed, there is only one step left in making of a chevron of any type — sticking an adhesive foil (like BSN, for instance) to the wrong side. 
As for the choice of threads, one should pay attention to the future use of the item. If it is going to be washed in hot water or whitewashed, you'd better use polyester threads. But you can also use metallics rayon and acrylic threads as well as threads with "special effects". Thread thickness may range from the biggest numbers to the smallest for tiny details and texts. 
As for the software, well, in my opinion, there is no special editor that was meant for creation of the embroidered patches. It is easy to digitize a design for chevron in any embroidery editor, but you need to understand what you're doing and why. 
Here, I covered the basic concept of this embroidery goods. Nevertheless, I call your attention to the fact that all kinds of embroidered patches and the ways of creating them deserve a closer look. Which what I plan to take to in the nearest future. 
Original text by Marina Belova 
Today I decided to elaborate on the making process of a completely stitched chevron. To learn about the types of chevrons, click here. I once read that chevrons of this type are the easiest to embroider. 
The method itself is good because is allows one to create a chevron of any shape. 
After three unsuccessful attempts and modifications to the design I got this (see the photo below): 


This is my first chevron. I've never digitized and embroidered chevrons before. I simply followed the rules listed below and kept an eye on the embroidery process in order to see what needs to be corrected. 
Digitizing seems quite easy at first: 
Create a first strengthening layer – a running stitch along the perimeter.  Create the second strengthening layer – a full grid at 45 and 135°.  Create a background for your chevron. This is usually a Tatami fill.  Create everything that will be visible against the background: letters, logo, emblems, etc.  Create a finishing border. The latter is usually made with satins no less than 2-3 mm wide. But there can be variations that have embellishments or are of a different width.  Naturally, this type of embroidered patches is not compatible with any kind of design. You can't use designs with separate elements. The main secret of digitizing chevrons of that kind is to plan the embroidery sequence in such a way that all the elements are interlinked, otherwise, the embroidery will fall apart. This is usually achieved with the right kind of underlay, with the stitches arranged in a criss-cross manner. 
The technique is not overly complicated: 
1. Hoop or frame one of these stabilizers: 
2–3 layers of a dense 100 m2 tear-away  2–3 layers of a thick (80 microns) water-soluble film  2–3 layers of a heat-away 100 microns film  2. Embroider the design. 
3. Detach the chevron from the stabilizer. 
In case you used the tear-away one, you should singe the edges in order to prevent fraying.  Water-soluble film leftovers can be removed with a damp cloth.  As for a heat-away stabilizer, you can get rid of it by using an iron or a press.  4. The final step is to put glue on the wrong side of the chevron that will attach it to the garment. 
Gunold offers a special BSN thermofoil for that. This foil can be of 2 types: The 1st is meant for commercial use, it is glued to the garment with an ironing press, and the 2nd can be glued with an ordinary iron. 
This is all, in a nutshell. 
P.S. Not so long ago I've read that it's possible to embroider chevrons of this type on polyester organza with a layer of a tear-away stabilizer. Would be interesting to try that. 
Original text by Marina Belova 
I'm back on the topic of chevrons and today I'm going to examine the basic technology of creating a badge. Woven fabrics like gabardine or twill, non-woven fabrics like felt and special materials like Step, Twilly and Canvay may serve as a background. 
These special materials were manufactured for appliqués and patches. They often have an embroidery-like texture. This helps to save on stitches. For example, you don't have to embroider the background. This is Gunold Step viewed from the right side: 

Its wrong side is made of something similar to adhesive spunbond (poly mesh). I think it's done not only for sticking it to the fabric but also for better stabilization. 

This material is dense and nice on the touch. 
I won't labor the point of producing chevrons with serging the edges after embroidery. For I don't have an overlock machine of that kind, how am I supposed to write about it? Additionally, I don't see any sense in doing so. That process is simple: embroider, trim perimeter-wise and serge the edges. I'm more interested in trimming the edges of a fully embroidered chevron and embroidering a chevron on a blank. 
First, I'll tell you about a chevron created on a blank, where the edges are already serged. The digitizing process: 
You create a pattern of your future chevron. To do this, you scan the chevron and digitize its shape along the perimeter with a running stitch. In the end of this stitch, there is a stop and the frame comes out.  Create a design on the blank.  The embroidery process is simple and somehow resembles the creation of a traditional patched appliqué:  You hoop the stabilizer with an adhesive layer on one side and something akin to Filmoplast on the other. The adhesive side should be facing up. You remove the protective layer from the stabilizer. If you don't have such a stabilizer, you can use an ordinary one but with a temporary spray adhesive.  The sequence is loaded into the machine. The machine embroiders the first outline, makes a stop and the frame comes out.  The blank is glued to the stab, fitting in the outlined area.  Embroider the entire design.  Unhoop the stabilizer and tear it away from the badge.  Apply the adhesive.  The interesting point is that they don't sell these blanks where I live. Or I just haven't heard about them. Although there is a variety of shapes and sizes in the USA and Europe. Here I only saw them once, at the Textillegprom exposition. To me, it seems strange to make them by hand instead of just embroidering the chevron and not overcomplicating things. 
Let's get to the completely stitched chevrons. I've seen two variations of a technique: 
In 1 go.  In 2 steps.  The first one goes like this: 
Hoop the fabric together with 1–3 layers of the dense tear-away stabilizer. The fabric may be strengthened with a fusible interfacing material. You may additionally hoop the buckram with the fabric. In other words, you can play around.  Embroider the entire design.  Unhoop and trim. You can either trim by hand or use a laser cut. Some additionally singe the edges using various devices ranging from a lighter to even a blowtorch. Each in their own fashion.  Then you apply the adhesive.  To embroider a chevron in one go, you digitize it in the simplest way possible: 
First, digitize the entire design.  Then, add a finishing border. The border should be no less than 3 mm thick. You can also do a double layer border. The second layer is laid along the outer edge. It is thinner and half as dense as the border. It will work as a protective layer in case you accidentally damage the stitches while trimming. I wrote about it here.  This is a badge of some European soccer club I embroidered on fabric. I used Step as a base. This is my second chevron; that's why I picked a simple design for it. Everything here is easy except the letters at the bottom. These letters, they didn't come out as planned at all. They are only 2 mm high. But I think I can tinker with them a bit more to make them readable. 

Embroidering a chevron in 2 steps is very much like making an appliqué to a ready pattern: 
You hoop the fabric together with the dense tear-away stabilizer. If necessary, it may be additionally strengthened, as described above.  Embroider the entire design. Stitch the running stitch instead of a border.  Then unhoop the whole thing and trim along the perimeter.  Hoop 1 layer of the tear-away stabilizer.  Stitch a basting stitch. The machine stops and the hoop comes out.  A blank that was made and cut out prior to the embroidery is glued to the outlines area of the stabilizer with a temporary spray adhesive.  Embroider the finishing border.  Detach the chevron from the stabilizer.  Apply the adhesive.  Digitizing for the embroidery in 2 steps: 
First, digitize the entire design.  After that, digitize the stitch according to which the chevron will be cut out.  Copy this stitch to the new file. It will be a guideline for positioning of the chevron. After that, you add a stop command and the hoop coming out.  Digitize the finishing border. The border should be no less than 3 mm thick. The recommendations listed above also apply here.  Actually, there are many ways of creating borders, you only have to choose the one suitable for your purpose.  P.S. I think that digitizing chevrons is hardly different from digitizing ordinary designs. The same principles are applicable here: you consider compensation values, use underlay, pay close attention to the areas where the objects meet, and so on. Only with chevrons, you have to choose the values more carefully in order to achieve a high-quality result. This is true for all types of chevrons, whether the completely stitched ones or the ones embroidered on a background. 
Of course, you don't always use a special fabric because of its cost. Consequently, you have a reason for looking around and trying a sharkskin (a tent-cloth; you can also consider slicker fabrics), a gabardine or an ordinary blended diagonal fabrics (or a blended/completely synthetic twill) – all of the materials on the list being substantially cheaper than the sewing twill mentioned above. 
Original text by Marina Belova 
Today I decided to summarize all knowledge about knitwear that I learned from various sources. For me, this is a rather interesting subject because I don't have much experience in working with knitwear, that is, I have literally none. For that reason, I always regard good embroidery made by others with respect and admiration, and that kindles a desire in me to do something like that myself. 
Lately, I've been trying to study the theory before starting work in order to make fewer blunders when in comes to practice, and also to reduce the time loss. 

So, let's take another step to machine embroidery on knitwear. The first step was my general overview of knitwear as an embroidery basis. 
Embroidery on knitwear is simple but requires a few skills: 
You need to choose a right kind of stabilizer. Density and weight are the key factors that influence the decision: the thinner is the knitwear, the denser should be the stabilizer. According to the most common recommendations, a cut-away or even an adhesive stabilizer is best. For knitted garments of a rough texture, a polyester organza of a matching color will be a good choice. Alternately, you can use a dense tear-away stabilizer, either with a temporary spray adhesive or without it. Spunbond is also an option as the most tactile of all the stabilizers. All of these recommendations should be tested because different embroiderers use different stabilizers. A water-soluble film can be used to get the neat right side, especially if the design abounds with small details and letters.  You should always test the fabric prior to the embroidery, to see in what direction it stretches better.  When hooping you can pull the fabric only slightly and only in the direction it stretches least. It's important to remember that too tightly hooped a fabric will return to its natural condition after the embroidery and this will result in puckering (deformation) around the design.  Knitwear: to hoop or not to hoop; that is the question. The first advice goes like this: you should hoop it only with the stabilizer, not place the stabilizer under the hoop for costs or whatever other reasons. 
An argument to the contrary is rather wide-spread. It is simple – do not hoop the fabric but glue it with a temporary spray adhesive instead, and additionally secure it with a stitch along the perimeter of the embroidery. 
This is something that everyone should figure out themselves. As for me, I tend to the hooping. Especially after I've tried to embroider a knitwear pincushion and a stuffed toy. 
If there are hoop marks, you'd better wrap the hoop into something soft. I've read that there are even special materials for hoop wrapping. Here you can read how I removed the hoop burn.  Correct hooping is important for the designs that contain over 5 thousand stitches and many colors. I've written an article on how to check the quality of the hooping, and I also mentioned it in my article about the embroidery of the pincushion.  Reduce the machine's speed.  Adjust thread tension in the right way so that the upper thread isn't too tight.  Soft rayon threads are preferable.  You'll need ball-pointed needles (SUK), their thickness depending on the thickness of the fabric and may be anything between #65 and #75. Read more about choosing a right kind of needle here. 
The basic principles of digitizing for knitwear and knitted garments: 
You should choose a right kind of design or create a new one in accordance with the fabric type. The main criterion is as follows: the embroidery should not change the basic knitwear characteristics – its softness and the ability to arrange in folds.  The design should not contain too many details and stitches or be of a large size.  If the fabric is loosely spun, it's better to use an applique or chevron.  Don't make the embroidery too dense.  Be sure to avoid large filled areas.  Also, it's better to do without outlines, especially the running stitch outlines.  A rightly chosen underlay is immensely important. For large areas, an overarching underlay is recommended. It should be a full grid at 45/135° in relation to the finishing layer, not too dense with not overly long stitches (2.5–3.5 mm). Zig-zags and double zig-zags for the satins.  Avoid too thick satin columns with great stitch length.  Pull compensation should be increased compared to the standard value.  Planning an embroidery sequence, follow this rule: from the center outwards.  Nothing difficult, just practice. In future there will be an article on my attempt at embroidering on one of the knitwear varieties – pique. And also one about embroidery on dense knitwear. 
Original text by Marina Belova 
Today I'll continue my article about padded appliqué and show the simple yet effective technique of making it on an example. 
I'll make this teddy bear: 

I chose this particular image of a teddy bear because its simplicity perfectly suited my goals: 

So I digitized the image and got a machine embroidery design. It's a very simple design, an ordinary patched appliqué. See the preview below: 

I chose a stretchy and fluffy knitwear fabric for the teddy's body – namely, fleece. For the face and the belly, I took out trims of fake fur that remained of a stuffed toy I hadn't made. I used polyester batting for stuffing it. Despite the batting being thin (1 cm), I nevertheless decided to use only one layer of it. Now I realize that I could have used 2 layers to make the embroidery puffier. 
So, let's proceed to action. I hoop the fabric together with the stabilizer: 

Load the design into the machine and start the embroidery. The first step is the simplest – a guideline for positioning of the appliqué: 

When creating an embroidery sequence, I planned to sew on the belly first. Because the fake fur itself has volume and also does not stretch, I will not put a polyester batting under it. I'll only use fur instead. I place the fur where the belly is intended to be: 

I start the machine and sew on the fur with a small zig-zag stitch: 

Now I pick up the scissors and trim the extra fur along the perimeter as close to the zig-zag stitch as possible so that the fur won't show from under the finishing border in future: 

Right after trimming I place polyester batting on top of the embroidered outline of the bear: 

Fleece goes on top of that: 

I start the machine and stitch one more zig-zag stitch. This time it outlines the body of the bear. 

I take the hoop off the machine, pick up the scissors and trim the entire "layer cake" perimeter-wise: 

After that, I embroider the outline showing where to put the face: 

I put the fur on top of that outline: 

Stitch the fur with a zig-zag stitch and trim the extra material: 

Then I start the machine again and embroider the rest: finishing borders, eyes, nose, and so on. 
I decided against the water-soluble film, despite fleece being a piled fabric, but I used a plastic bag when embroidering the heart on the fur (I tore the leftovers prior to embroidering the border around the heart): 

The resulting embroidery is quite neat – nothing shows through the satins, and that indicates that I chose the right border width, 5–6 mm). 
That's all that is to it. The whole thing isn't much different from an ordinary appliqué, except perhaps trimming – I had to trim the layers of the "cake" separately: first polyester batting and then fleece. 
Original text by Marina Belova 
I've long wanted to embroider with two threads in one needle, being mighty curious how the whole thing would turn out. So a couple of days ago I saw a video on Gunold's Youtube channel in which Debora Jones demonstrated the way of doing it and shared basic recommendations for those who are going to repeat it on their own machines. 
Below are her recommendations to which I added a few things that could be guessed from the context: 
Use standard #40 rayon or polyester threads.  A 90/14 needle has a large enough ear to accommodate both threads. The point type depends on the type of fabric, I suppose.  You should increase the thread tension to prevent looping.  And reduce the design's density by at least 20%.  The issue of underlay wasn't specified but the understitching was present, therefore, you'd better use it. I also think that the stitch length should be increased in relation to the standard one.  The important thing to remember is that a thread supply failure detector won't work in this case because the second thread will remain intact even if the first one snapped.  In my opinion, pull compensation needs to be increased substantially, for two threads will distort a design a great deal in spite of the reduced density.  What else one needs to do to master this not too complicated a skill, according to the video in question? Not much – to create a design in the way that was suggested and go to the machine: 
So I threaded my needle with 2 threads: 

Adjusted the tension – I had to tighten all the screws all the way in so that to prevent loops – and went to the machine: 

Nevertheless, there were some loops during the embroidery of the twig (done with satins). The leaf is very puffy and looks like it had been embroidered with a multicolor thread made of 2 different strands (below on the right). Judging from the result, the stitch density could be reduced even more that by 20%. For reference, here is the same leaf embroidered with one thread at a time – each half with a different color. I used my standard density values (below on the left): 

The most interesting aspects of this technique are: 
You can choose the colors you like and not the ones in the multicolor palette.  You don't need to use (almost) any special tricks when digitizing in order to successfully mix the two colors.  This technique is excellent for the embroidery of flowers, leaves, hair (fur) and whenever you need things to look natural. 
Original text by Marina Belova 
Not so long ago I saw a flat metal foil thread in a shop and decided to try it. It is basically a polyethylene + polyester tape dyed in shiny colors that reflect light on both sides. This thread reminds me of tinsel that is used to decorate Christmas trees, although cut in narrower and longer strips. About 5 years ago I tried to embroider with this thread but failed to understand its advantages and disadvantages. 
Metallic foil threads are made by almost all manufacturers, big and small alike, but it cannot be easily bought just anywhere. The one I'm using today is a Chinese WonderFil. 

Manufacturers tend to use different words for this type of threads: Glitter (Gunold), Sulky Holoshimmer (Gütermann), Hologram (WonderFil), Spectra (Madeira). But no matter how it is called, it looks pretty much the same: a thin sparkling strip that glitters in the light. The only thing that varies is the way of winding it on a spool/bobbin (straight or cross). To know how the way of winding affects the embroidery, click here. This is directly relevant to what I'm talking about because all manufacturers except Gunold wind their bobbins straight, which leads us to buying a winding device or making it ourselves. 
This is how the thread looks from the front: 

This is how it looks from the side: 

As usual, what intrigues me the most is that there is no information on how to work with such threads if you discard generalizations. But you can learn something from the open sources as well, there is no need to reinvent the wheel every time: So, the technical recommendations are the following: 
In case a spool is straight-winded, make sure that the thread comes off of it in the right way.  If the spool is cross-winded, you can cover it with a net like the one used for metallics, because the thread will twist a great deal. See the Gunold's video on the subject. There you can find some instructions that may interest you before you start working on your first test piece. For example, a needle should be marked DBx7 instead of a DBxK5 all of us are accustomed to. Reduce the tension.  Bobbin thread thickness: 120–150.  A #75–80 needle (like the one used with metallic threads) is preferable. Madeira even suggests using #90.  Design creation and digitizing tips: 
Use big designs  And long stitches  I would also advise reducing density a little bit, as one does when working with metallics.  So, I created a design and embroidered this Christmas tree: 

While digitizing, I didn't include any extra steps except making stitches longer, but it took me a great deal of time setting the right tension because this thread behaves in a different way from the ordinary ones, and you have to pay close attention to prevent breakage. But the resulting look of the embroidery is worth it – it's much more lustrous than the one embroidered with metallic threads. The very thing you need for Christmas and New Year designs. 
Original text by Marina Belova 
Linen is a perfect natural fabric for embroidery and there is a huge variety of items made out of it due to its special qualities. I consider it one of the most convenient, stable and non-tricky fabrics for machine embroidery. But linen, too, can sometimes lead you to a trap no matter what you do and how you do it. Like any other material, this rather coarse, textured fabric that crumples easily has basic recommendations on how to work with it. 

The embroidery process goes as follows: 
Hoop linen together with a stabilizer. This should be of a tear-away middleweight variety. Additionally, you can use a temporary spray adhesive.  #70/10 (#40 for standard threads) needle with sharp point type.  Any kind of threads, from polyester to cotton, can be used. I myself prefer lusterless cotton threads wherever possible because they make the embroidery look more refined.  Linen is a textured fabric that can be very loosely spun, which leads to the necessity of using a water-soluble film topping.  This fabric is considered to be one of the easiest to digitize, though I've encountered some designs that would be difficult to be adapted for linen. Nevertheless, the main rules of creating a design are:  Density should be set at a standard value of 0.4 mm (for the ordinary threads) in almost all the satins and fills.  Pull compensation should be set at ~0.5 mm in the satins and ~0.3 mm in the fills.  Underlay: edge run + center run under the satins, full grid at 45° and 135° in relation to the stitch angle in the finishing layer.  The embroidery should go from the center outward, as usual.  Of course, these parameters will be changed to suit every particular design. For example, in this modern design with the photo (see above) I didn't use any underlay – neither under the satins nor under the fills. I set stitch density at 0.45 mm in the satins and 1.2 mm was the average density in the fills. A thin #60 polyester thread and #60 needle with a light ball point (SES) were used on a middleweight tear-away stabilizer with a temporary spray adhesive. No water soluble film was applied on top despite the satins being 1.1–1.5 mm thick on the average. The fabric was not distorted and the stitches didn't sink. Thick #30 cotton threads are generally good for the embroidery on linen: you make fewer stitches and the embroidery looks fine. But then again, the choice of threads and digitizing style depends on the design. 
Original text by Marina Belova 
A few days ago I needed to embroider an abstract logo for a close-up. Naturally, the embroidery had to be of a sufficient quality so that I wouldn't be too ashamed of how the stitches looked when highly magnified. 
Here's what I noticed when scrutinizing the resulting look of my logo: the tie-offs visibly stood out in almost all of the satins. You may even say they detach themselves from the object and continue on their own life, distorting the object's edges and damaging the whole look. One simply can't fail to notice them, as the photo below illustrates: 


This is just an automatic tie-off inserted after the last stitch. I can only imagine how a butterfly or a star would have looked! Here, look at them: 

It's not that I didn't know that tie-offs tend to behave in that way. That I certainly knew. I also know ways of hiding them but each of those requires drawing every tie-off (a manual stitch between the satins) by hand. But as I am a rather lazy person and as I, to put it bluntly, don't have any time to deal with every tie-off separately, I thought that moving a tie-off 1 or 2 stitches inside the object and farther from its edge (and from the last stitch as well) would, perhaps, be enough. Something like that: 

The tie-off stitches are marked red here: 
Of course, I do a test piece hoping that it will come all right. 
Alas – no such luck, my little trick doesn't save the situation, although it improves it a bit. 

All of this because the tie-offs flatten the last stitch, so to speak, and stand out for that reason. The embroidery looks fine from a distant but doesn't stand up to scrutiny in a close-up. And besides, this "little" problem occurs every time I embroider letters, causing a lot of trouble. 
These inoffensive squares result from inserting the tie-offs manually at the end of the satins just as John Deere had suggested. This is particularly true for the long satins. 


 
Conclusion: if you don't get too lazy, dedicate more time to you project to do some manual work and don't rely on the automatic functions offered by modern embroidery software, the result will be more pleasant to the eye. What's more, a tie-off inserted in this way will not only look good on the edge of an object but also in the center. Though I need to say that I've only seen 2 digitizers who insert their tie-offs by hand and don't use the embroidery editor capabilities. 
And what about you? In what way do you hide your tie-offs so that they don't spoil the outer look of the satins? Do you, perhaps, play with the settings, such as a tie-off stitch length and the number of runs? Or does your embroidery editor automatically insert the tie-offs in a neater way? 
Original text by Marina Belova 
A jigsaw puzzle called "machine embroidery" is gradually building in my mind. Now I've reached the highly interesting free-standing embroidery piece. Free-standing embroidery is not always lace – that much has stuck in my head. 
There are several kinds of free-standing embroidery: 
Free-standing lace, beloved of all, embroidered on a water-soluble or a heat-away stabilizer.  Ready-made pieces embroidered on transparent fabrics.  Ready-made pieces embroidered on non-transparent fabrics.  I would also put into a separate category the so-called in-the-hoop pieces that are embroidered and sewn completely in the hoop and the ready item can be rather complex as a result. These are, to all intents and purposes, free-standing embroidery. 
The key feature that distinguishes them from other embroidery projects no matter how they were made is that these are the end products. Not only two-dimensional laces, various pendants, and decorations but also manifold 3D items, such as baskets, vases, bells, flowers, trees, etc., fall into this category. To put it shortly, anything you can think of. 
In our first case, the FSL embroidery should be sequenced in a particular way – all the elements in the design should have a shared underlay so it will not disintegrate after the stabilizer has been removed. What you can use as a backing: 
For the big projects with a large number of stitches – a water-soluble stabilizer.  Dense water soluble film  Heat-away film  Heat-away fabric, like Gunold Thermogaze, for instance.  Here you can read about my attempts of creating FSL on three of those materials. In the photo below is an FSL lozenge that I digitized myself the other day. It took me a great deal of time and effort but in the end gave me an insight into how this kind of lace is created. But I see that I still have a lot to work on: 

Everything here needs polishing, and besides, I should adjust the thread tension on my machine. The embroidery looks splendid before removing the stabilizer and after it – like in the photo above. 
Synthetic fabrics that can be successfully singed (one layer of polyester organza, for instance) are commonly used for the free-standing embroidery on a semi-transparent base. A satin border should run along the perimeter that will hold the embroidery in place and prevent it from slipping but you may try and do without it. Just pay attention to the stitch direction near the edges of the embroidery – the stitches should be perpendicular or almost perpendicular to the edge. After the embroidery is completed, organza or other material is trimmed along the perimeter of the design and the leftovers are burned in a variety of ways. On organza, you can embroider designs completely filled with stitches and do openwork as well. There are plenty of examples, beginning with the simplest 3D flowers that are supposed to be used as brooches. 
The free-standing designs of the third type are created on dense non-transparent fabrics. You can choose any one that you like but felt is by far the most popular. Such items are embroidered and then cut out of the fabric perimeter-wise. I'll name, perhaps the most popular free-standing embroidery of that kind – various chevrons (emblems). But there is also a wide range of decorations, such as flowers and butterflies that are sewn on or glued to something. 
As for the in-the-hoop projects, I've expanded on the topic more than once. So many things can be created all in the embroidery hoop! There is no limit to the imagination: decorations, bags, all kinds of accessories, etc. Not only fabrics but also ribbons, zippers, and other things can be used. Free-standing designs are digitized in a special way and the whole creation process is often a big adventure. 
That's pretty much all that can be covered in such a short article on a broad subject. 
Original text by Marina Belova 
Long ago, maybe 5 years back in time, it was a sheer torture for me to embroider on stretch velvet. I vividly remember how I shed bloody tears every time when I was trying to hoop this wonder of a fabric. Especially in view of the fact that with this tricky fabric, stabilizers could not be used except for the water-soluble film topping. As a result, you could stretch it a great deal so as to make it tight in the hoop. And it is just about as stretchy as knitwear. In essence, it is knitwear – if you turn this velvet the wrong side up, you'll see the loops knit together: 

And after the embroidery was completed, both the fabric and the embroidery puckered. What a mess.&
Only now, after having started to experiment with stabilizer and different kinds of fabrics, it dawned upon me that such materials should be glued directly to the stabilizer. Even the thinnest tear-away one will give you a wonderful result. Also, you can't think of this fabric as velvet when digitizing for it. 
In other words, it appears that:
Stretch velvet should be glued to the stabilizer so as not to overstretch it in the hoop. There can be several ways of attaching it to the stabilizer: 
Sticking it to the hooped Filmoplast. Don't forget that Filmoplast in and of itself is a very bad stabilizer, it is really an additional measure, and you'll need to place a layer of stabilizer under the thing. A tear-away, for instance.  Stick a piece of a fusible adhesive stabilizer to the velvet and hoop them together. But you should test it first to see whether it doesn't leave the hoop marks.  Hoop the denser tear-away stabilizer and glue the velvet to it with a temporary spray adhesive.  Additionally, you can fix it with a running stitch along the perimeter of the embroidery so as to prevent the velvet from detachment.  The embroidery threads vary greatly in composition and thickness.  You should use the most ordinary SES needles. Their thickness should correspond the thread thickness.  The digitizing recommendations will at the same time be similar to the ones for the knitwear and those for the ordinary velvet.;A cocktail of sorts:
A design that has areas not filled with stitches is preferable. This will help to maintain the pliability of both the fabric and the embroidery.  Avoid small details, especially the ones embroidered with the running stitches – they will sink into the pile and you'll have to retrieve the film from under them.  Avoid big areas filled with lots of stitches – there is no stability in gluing the velvet to the paper, it will begin to detach, and the embroidery will be distorted as the consequence. This means that you'll need to substitute these fills for something less demanding like an applique or motifs comprised of satins instead of running stitches: The underlay should be of the most ordinary kind, in respect to the size of the elements and stitch lengths. Zig-zags are the most like candidate for the satins, and a grid or a full grid for the fills. The density of the finishing fills should be reduced to a minimum, with 0.45 mm as a starting point. Play with density and stitch length setting so that pile doesn't show through the stitches. Stitch length in the underlay should be increased to 3–5 mm. Pull compensation value should be increased compared to the standard one.  Such are the most basic concepts that will perhaps help someone to make a successful embroidery on the knitted velvet.
Original text by Marina Belova 
Today I'll tell about the way of adding volume to the embroidery with the help of several layers of understitching, which is considered one of the oldest in machine embroidery. 
This method is good because it requires less skill and precision while digitizing a design and besides, you won't need any consumables apart from the threads. However, it demands a great deal of effort and, consequently, time. But it is worth it because you get a soft, clean and pleasant in wear embroidery as the result. On top of that, it doesn't involve any additional manipulations after the embroidery is completed. 
To achieve that effect, one can simply digitize a design in any machine embroidery editor of any level. Only the satins are used: 
First, you draw the main outline (the outer one). The outline's recommended width is no less than 6 mm. 
Inside the outline, at a distance from it, at least 1 or 2 more are drawn. The offset is necessary for the fabric not to be perforated along the outline. You get the following picture: 
Each layer is filled with 3 layers of stitches. 
Under them, go 2 layers of underlay, the stitch direction in them perpendicular to each other – these are made of double zig-zags with large stitches. You can create them automatically (if the editor has such an option) or draw by hand. Having done that, you cover the whole thing with a finishing layer of satins at a standard density, the stitches in it being perpendicular to the outline, and along the perimeter, you add the edge run. You should get something like this in each layer: 
All layers together will look something akin to this, if you discount the fact that they will be of the same color: 
Now you're done with digitizing for the additional volume. 
A design with so many layers has a high stitch count, and the production time increases sufficiently as the result. On the other hand, the embroidery process is easy: you hit the start button and the embroidery proceeds on its own. 
There are some tips for successfully using this technique: 
The stitch density in the inner layers depends on the desired height of the embroidery.  On thin fabrics, the number of layers is better to be kept to a minimum.  If you use #40 threads, you'll need 6–9 layers of stitches (a "nest" of 2 or 3 outlines with 3 layers in each).  In case of using metallic threads on the outside, you needn't necessarily use them in the lower layers as well. You can replace them with another kind of threads matching in color.  For the inner layers, thicker threads (#25, #30, etc.) can be used. This will give you an opportunity to save on stitch count.  Loosen the upper thread tension.  Lower the machine's speed a little.  You can see some examples of this technique in my articles on cording (one, two) and making a bag for presents. Another method, similar to this one but with some key differences, can be found here. 
Original text by Marina Belova 
I found an old sweater and decided to practice digitizing and embroidery on thick and textured knits. It's out of season now, of course, but you use your old garments to explore new techniques. 
Basically, one look at this fabric makes clear what you'll have to face: 
A textured, very uneven embroidery surface.  Puckering.  Difficulty in matching the outlines and objects to each other.  Sinking of the stitches and small elements.  The pliability of the fabric should not be damaged. This "bullet-proof vest" is the result of my first attempt: 

To make up for the extra density, nothing was displaced. 
When you've defined your goal, it becomes apparent exactly what you'll need to do during digitizing and embroidery. 
Here's the embroidery technique: 
Everyone I read recommends to hoop thick knits instead of gluing them. But the hooping process should be slightly different from the usual, and you need to be very careful so as not to screw the hoop too tight, otherwise the hoop marks will appear.  Knits should be hooped only slightly, the rings of the hoop should not fit tight, they should not be fixed.  Hoop the knitwear together with the stabilizer. As the custom goes, a heavy-weight tear-away stabilizer or a spunbond (non-show mesh) is suggested for knits. But you can use an organza of a matching color if the knitwear has many openings and there is a possibility that the stabilizer will show through. You can additionally sprinkle it with a temporary spray adhesive.  In order to prevent hoop burn, you should either wrap the hoop as I showed here or use cigarette paper/soft thin cloth between the fabric and the outer ring of the hoop.  Only after that, you can tighten the screw.  Put a water-soluble on top and, preferably, hoop it.  Embroider the design.  Loosen the hoop screw and take your item out.  Whether you need to stretch the knitwear, depends on the circumstances. If it will be stretched in wear, you need to stretch it in the hoop as well, and if not, leave it as it is.  The choice of a point type is defined by the thickness of the knitwear but in any case, a point should be rounded, ranging from the light ball point to the heavy ball point type. Use #70/10 – 75/11 needle (for #40 threads).  Soft threads (rayon, cotton) are preferable. Digitizing a design from scratch or modifying an existing one is very similar to digitizing for loop fabrics and is based on the following principles: 
For thick knitwear, choose designs of the openwork variety that don't contain big objects, and on a more loosely knit one, heavier designs may come out good.  Sequence your embroidery from the center outwards.  The objects should not contain the elements that are too thin. Satins should not be wider than 7–8 mm and narrower than 1.8 mm. Simple, bold letters without hair-strokes are preferable.  When the stitches are over 8 mm it is necessary to compulsorily split them or apply short filling stitches to this object.  Consider increasing pull compensation up to 20–30% of the stitch length.  Better to manually digitize your underlays and not use the automatic option:  Put an edge run under the satins.  Put an edge run + double zig-zags under thick satin columns.  Put an edge run + a full grid at a different stitch angle from the one in the main layer under the fills.  Density should be set at 0.35–0.45 mm.  To prevent the stitches in the small letters from sinking into the fabric, you may put a low-dense fill under them (analogous to a full grid).  You should increase the amount of overlap between the segments to 2 or 3 rows at least in order to avoid gaps between the stitches. You also need to make certain that the fills are embroidered in one direction. Read more about it here.  In my opinion, one should not cut down on color changes, for it is better to finish one object before embarking on another instead of embroidering all the objects of the first color, then all the objects of the second color, and so on, like I did and got my dark green outlines displaced as a result: 

But for the first time, the embroidery looks quite decent. 
I came to a conclusion that you can do anything after a few test pieces, and all of the mistakes I made could be corrected without difficulty. 

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