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    Needle and thread. Matching thickness

    By Irina, in Machine embroidery materials and technology, , 2 comments, 3,940 views
    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. 

    Boring

    By Irina, in Machine embroidery materials and technology, , 0 comments, 4,259 views
    Original text by Marina Belova 
    Again I'll dwell on the subject of openwork or rather one of its variations – cutwork with holes made with the help of a special device for industrial machines called "bore". Let's call this process "boring". 
    Creating holes by boring is very interesting. But, if I remember correctly, digitizing and testing designs is an extremely laborious task. It may be necessary to perform lots of tests to find the right digitizing settings for the particular type of fabric and, consequently, to modify the design after the tests are over. 
    A bore is a knife that cuts holes in the fabric. It is usually shaped like a pyramid with 4 cutting blades, but some of them have only 3. The device structure depends on the embroidery machine brand. 
    This is how my boring device looks like: 

    It consists of a special foot with a spring that contains a knife inside. The foot is necessary for holding the fabric in place while cutting a hole. My boring device is inserted into the machine in place of the first needle. Meanwhile, the throat plate is substituted for another one, with an opening for the bore. This opening is covered with a pliant material that serves as a cap of sorts. 
    This is how the knife itself looks like. From above: 

    There is nothing difficult in the installation. 
    Let's go to the beginning, to what exactly we want to achieve using this wonderful device. And what we want to achieve is Richelieu embroidery. 
    Richelieu consists of small holes of varying size and shape in the fabric. They can be placed separately or arranged in a chain. The edges of the holes are usually reinforced with thick satin columns. Cores of the flowers are one example. This is what will determine the digitizing settings. 
    The main digitizing principles for the boring device are: 
    Outline the future hole with a running stitch. Stitch length is ~ 2 mm, for fabric stabilization.  Create a path for the bore. There can be variations:  1. If the future hole will be less than 1 cm in diameter, cut the fabric crosswise. The stitch length is 1–1.5 mm. But the stitch length and the number of repeats may vary depending on the characteristics of the fabric: 

    I've seen the recommendations to cut the ovals only along the long center axis. 
    2. If a future hole is over 1 cm in diameter, it should be cut according to its shape. 

    Between the trajectory of the knife and a stabilizing stitch, there should be some fabric left.  Don't forget to activate the bore in the beginning and deactivate it at the end.  After that, you digitize a zigzag that will pull the cut fibers to the edges. The density value here is ~ 0.6–0.8 mm. But I've seen the embroidery sequences where this step was omitted.  Lastly, you digitize a satin column several mm wide so that the inner edge of the column is inside the opening. The density value should remain standard.  There is one more advice concerning the color of the bobbin thread to the color of the upper thread. 
    I myself digitized for boring only twice. If was 5 or 6 years ago. And, as usual, I was reinventing the wheel because there was no information except the Tajima help guide that shortly described the principles of creating a design. As I recall, every time I wasted 4 or 5 hours for testing and altering the design. All of this only to find the right offset parameters, satin densities, and stitch lengths. 
    Nevertheless, the result was achieved by trial and error, albeit not a high-quality one, with fibers sticking from the edges and other unpleasant things. But it was so exciting to do something new. 
    Though, I remember that I didn't succeed in cutting the holes crosswise, so did perimeter-wise instead. You need to test every little thing, you know.

    The many faces of cutwork

    By Irina, in Machine embroidery materials and technology, , 1 comment, 3,354 views
    Original text by Marina Belova 
    I'm writing this article following a request from Tatyana. 
    As I understand, there are at least 3 ways of creating cutwork on the embroidery machine: 
    Manually cutting holes.  Applying a special solution to the fabric that dissolves natural fibers.  Using special tools, such as:  A boring machine (it's only compatible with industrial embroidery machines, to the best of my knowledge). Read a short guide to boring here.  Venere needles (these work on any embroidery machine).  Today I'll dwell on the first issue, i.e. cutting holes manually.

    You can download a book by O.I. Furletova on the Web. It is called The Encyclopedia of machine embroidery, and it is dedicated to free-motion embroidery on an ordinary straight-stitching machine. Perhaps, it is the only book in Russian that reveals as least some secrets of machine embroidery. Why do I say that? Because machine embroidery, whether a free-motion one or created in the special embroidery software for automated embroidery machines, is based on the same principles. There are some dissimilarities, but the basic principles are the same. 
    According to this encyclopedia, cutwork embroidery is a type of openwork. And not only that, it's one of the easiest. Well, let's take the author's word for it. All the more so because, in my opinion, this encyclopedia most fully answers the question of how to create cutwork by manually cutting holes. 
    The embroidery process is simple. You can find tons of master-classes on the Web that describe in details what should be done and how, but I'll write about it anyway: 
    Hoop the water-soluble film.  Embroider all the stitches to which the fabric will be cut.  Take the hoop off the machine and place it onto an even surface.  Trim the extra fabric without touching the stabilizer, in order to make holes. Remove the thread ends that stick out.  Insert the hoop back into the machine.  Embroider the rest of the design.  Wash the ready item.  There may be several stops during the embroidery in order to cut away pieces of fabric, depending on the design. 
    Digitizing for cutwork: 
    First, you digitize the double running stitch outline with the stitch length no higher than 1.5–1.8 mm. The second running stitch outline should be placed near the first one and not on top of it.  Then you lay a zigzag or a satin border to reinforce the edges of the holes, to prevent the fabric from unraveling. Density should be set at about 1.5 mm, 1–1.5 mm. You need to test and choose it in accordance with the type of fabric used, threads and so on.  Then you digitize everything that'll be embroidered inside the holes – "bridges", nets, spiders, etc. For bridges you lay running stitches first (in several runs), which should be necessary linked with the already embroidered zigzag, to prevent fraying. Then this running stitch is covered with a zigzag or satins.  The edge of the fabric in reinforced perimeter-wise with a finishing satin border. Some prefer a dense border, I'd rather have not too dense one.  Here, as in machine embroidery in general, you should test everything, and therefore, a digitizer chooses his/her own strategy of design creation.
    For this reason, all of the settings listed above are just for starters. 
    I personally would advise planning the cutwork sequence so that there are as little trims as possible during the embroidery – the fewer they are, the cleaner the embroidery will look. 
    To me, cutwork and digitizing for it is somewhat similar to the reverse appliqué. But, instead of the fabric, you embroider the back side on a stabilizer that will be heated away or solved in water afterward. 
    I hope this information was in any way helpful. 
    Click here to see the master-class on how to create cutwork on your embroidery machine. 

    The untold secrets of woolen threads

    By Irina, in Machine embroidery materials and technology, , 0 comments, 3,589 views
    Original text by Marina Belova 
    When I began experimenting with acrylic threads to achieve a fringe effect, it became obvious that I didn't know a thing about wool-like threads and how to embroider with them. And this thread is a fascination indeed! So many ideas come to mind when you look at it. 

    In order to save time and to avoid reinventing the wheel, one wants to find clear instructions or recommendations on how to work with it. As usual,
    I surfed the Web. I must say that even Google was of little help in solving questions that arose. But I managed to find something useful. 
    If I do understand correctly, you can buy an acrylic/woolen thread of only two brands here in Russia: Madeira and Gunold. There are two Madeira threads of this kind, Burmilana, and Lana. The first one is composed of 70% wool and 30% acrylic, and the second one of 50% wool and 50% acrylic. Filain from Gunold is 100% acrylic. All of them look pretty much the same. 
    All of the general recommendations on the embroidery with wool-like threads, drawn from a variety of sources, can be distilled down to the following: 
    Use thicker needles. Gunold recommends 90/14 and Madeira – 100/16. But the most common advice is to use a 110/18 needle.  Madeira produces a special needle called Lana that has a bigger eye.  Schmetz recommends using an FHS (Fixed Hook Setting) needle with a deep-seated flat side that doesn't require the adjustment of the hook.  Because of the high yarn hairiness, it is strongly recommended to clean the machine from the litter that accumulates during the embroidery.  In order to thread a needle with this thick thread, tie it to the one that is already in the needle's eye and that you want to replace, with a flat knot, and just pull it through.  The funny thing is that I didn't find any instructions on tension adjustment for thick threads. Some people advise loosening the upper thread tension and some — to tighten it up. Looks like I'll have to experiment.  Bobbin thread tension should not be loosened, just leave it as if you were using the ordinary threads.  Lower the speed a little  Don't forget to use an appropriate stabilizer  Embroider as usually  After the embroidery, you may try to brush the threads in order to fluff them up  Digitizing designs 
    Stitch density should be no less than 0.9–1 mm  Remove all short stitches  Increase the stitch length to at least 8 mm  No or minimal understitching of a very low density and with long stitches  There is a curious recommendation to increase the size of a design, created for an ordinary #40 threads, by 20% without stitch recount. This is true both for the ordinary designs and the cross stitch designs. You can do it without the embroidery software, right on your machine. 
    Nothing better than your own experience in this case. I'll play with crewel work technique when I have time.
    And if you don't want to be confined to the theory, here is my article on how to embroider with a woolen thread. 

    In-the-Hoop. Sachet

    By Irina, in Machine embroidery materials and technology, , 1 comment, 4,723 views
    Original text by Marina Belova 
    Time to invent presents for the 8th of March. I need to create several, preferably with the names on them. I've been searching for an idea of hand-made items for quite a long time and settled on this one: monogrammed sachets. But to make them not as packets, as they are usually made, but as small cushions with fragrant herbs inside. Also, to plan the embroidery sequence in such a way so as not to have to use a sewing machine. 
    Here is what I got: 

    Now I'll show you how this was made. I chose a monogram depicting the letter F, which can be easily changed into the Russian letter "Г" and fit it into the sachet. The size of my design is just 13.5x13.5 cm. 

    I created a simple design: 

    Picked a piece of linen fabric. And cotton threads. With them, the item will have a nobler vintage look than with lustrous rayon or polyester ones. 
    No stabilizer can be used here, for I need the embroidery to have a neat wrong side. So I simply hooped the fabric, after having marked it in order to avoid its displacement. On the other hand, it is not so important for an item like this one: 

    After that, I embroidered almost the entire design and the machine stopped because if was time for the back side of my sachet: 

    I took the hoop out of the machine and turned the embroidery the wrong side up: 

    I decided to use the net for the back side (flaps) for better breathing. Another reason was that the net doesn't fray at the edges, which is very convenient. I made two cutouts: 

    Placed them on top of each other and secured them with a painter's tape. I used the tape because temporary spray adhesive proved absolutely useless here: 

    Then I very carefully, so as not to shift anything, put the hoop back into the machine and stitched the net to the fabric with a zigzag: 

    Again, I took the hoop off the machine and trimmed the extra net:
     
    Almost ready. I inserted the hoop into the machine and embroidered the finishing border: 

    The wrong side was very neat, the flap worked alright, the net didn't fray or stick out of the border: 

    I unhooped my future sachet and trimmed it along the perimeter: 

    Here is what I got: 

    The only thing left is to put herbs into my sachet – lavender, for example. I need to put the herbs in a small bag first so that they don't sift through the net. Then to wrap my gift and to give it. 
    Real easy. 
    And if you tinker with the technique a little, you can create such sachet out of the fabric scraps, using appliqué. But you'll need a stabilizer (a water-soluble or a heat-away one) for that.


    An interesting variation of a twisted thread for machine embroidery

    By Irina, in Machine embroidery materials and technology, , 1 comment, 3,672 views
    Original text by Marina Belova 
    Some time ago I encountered an interesting type of threads, which I had never previously seen on the market or in use at all. It is called Lame Stylo. 

    It is produced by an American manufacturer TEXMAC, under control of Japanese from ITOCHU Corporation. This is a twisted thread, which means that it was made of several strands, twisted together, one of the strand being metallic. I've already written about semi-metallic threads, drawing examples from my own practice and describing the basic principles of working with them. 
    But this brand turned out to be special, nothing I've seen before – I've encountered no problems during the embroidery. I didn't even have to use special needles and embroidered with those ones found on my machine. I even got the impression that this thread was better for the embroidery than the rayon one – no breakage, twisting and other mess. And the most intriguing aspect is that I didn't have to digitize in a specific way. I didn't have time to do the tests, so I embroidered right on the item with a design made for the ordinary #40 threads.
    This thread is as thin as rayon and polyester, although a bit hairy. The twist is not tight but rather loose, I would say. As it turned out, neither of these factors is an obstacle. 
    See the comparison in the photo below: standard #30 twisted thread on the top, Lame thread in the center and an ordinary metallic thread at the bottom: 

    If one compares this thread with #40 metallic one and common #30 twisted thread, it is very soft, which is only favorable to the embroidery.
    Perhaps this is the key factor of how easy is to embroider with these threads. 
    This is my first embroidery with this type of twisted thread. The height of the lower-case letters (which is definitive for the embroidery) is 9 mm and the font is not too complex: 

    Then they became even smaller. In this case, the height of the lower-case letters was 6.5 mm: 

    And here only 5 mm – so small. The font is not too bold and the letters are low-case: 

    I didn't have to redo anything; everything was perfect from the beginning. 
    I was also glad to find that the color range of this thread is vast – from black to white through the most bright and vibrant colors: 

    Here's the label enlarged, in case anybody is interested. 

    As for the price, it is high, of course, but, judging from my experience, this thread is worth it because it's easier to embroider with it than with metallic threads, and you need to buy #50 for small letters anyway. And it is as much joy for the eye as metallic threads. 

    Working with Supertwist threads

    By Irina, in Machine embroidery materials and technology, , 1 comment, 3,290 views
    Original text by Marina Belova 
    Nowadays you can buy Supertwist threads made by a variety of manufacturers. But, if I'm not mistaken, Madeira was the one that started making them. 
    The textured threads give the embroidery a very effective outer look and are capable of enriching even the most simple design. 
    I first encountered them about 4 years ago, and I had to find a way of working with them by myself. Today there is a variety of materials on the subject on the Web. The only thing you need to do is to put it into use. 

    This thread is composed of 30% metallic polyester and 70% of polymeric amide, therefore, the items embroidered with it can be washed at 60°.
    These threads come in two numbers: #30 and #12. This means that the embroidery will be denser and coarser even if you reduce the density of the design. 
    I've seen different recommendations on how to decrease density. For example, #30 Supertwist requires 10-20% less density than usual. That is, if your usual density value is 0.4 mm, you should set it at 0.44-0.48 mm for these threads. And if you cannot reduce density, as in a machine-created file, you can increase the size of a design by 10% instead. For #12 Supertwist, you need to reduce density ~ by 50%. 
    It's better to use over 3-4 mm long stitches both in running stitches and in fills. Understitching should be kept to a minimum so that not to pose problems during the embroidery process. 
    To embroider with Supertwist threads, you need to prepare your machine first: Change needles – you should use #90 for #30 Supertwist and #100 for #12 Supertwist. Besides that, you need to readjust your tension: loosen up the upper thread a bit. But don't loosen it too much so that not to get loops on the right side of the fabric and "birds nests" on the wrong side. Change bobbin thread for a thinner one. As for the machine speed, Madeira recommends to lower it to 650-700 rpm. 
    No extra stabilization is needed. When choosing a stabilizer one should pay attention to the type of fabric, as usual. 
    Nothing difficult, as you can see. 
    I've covered an interesting variety of these twisted threads, convenient in both digitizing and embroidery, in this article. 

    Cording, part 2

    By Irina, in Machine embroidery materials and technology, , 0 comments, 5,361 views
    Original text by Marina Belova 
    I decided to try cord embroidery and digitizing for it on my embroidery machine. I have a cording device but has so far been standing idle; I should start using it. The only thing I lack to begin practicing is the cord winded on plastic spools. But I just looked it up on the internet – it won't be hard to purchase one. When I buy it, I'll write a separate article on how to use cord in the field, so to speak. 
    As for today, I decided to sift through the mass of material on cording and digitizing designs with a cord that has accumulated in the course of time. The big plus of cord embroidery is high productivity level. Also, if one uses imagination, amazing designs can be created by combining traditional embroidery techniques with cording. I saw some examples in Bonnie Nielsen's book Punch and also in the photos on the Internet. 
    The cord is commonly used for creating lines and rarely for the fills. Classically, cord is used in flowers, spirals, and alphabets. The outer look of the embroidery with a cord has a splendid 3D effect to it. 
    I've tried cord embroidery once 5 years ago. Then I was inventing the wheel and made quite a few of test pieces. 

    The biggest problem was to buy a right kind of cord. Therefore, I had to buy various threads in a shop that sold knitting paraphernalia, rewind them manually and combine them with various machine settings. This method is only good for those who have a lot of spare time and enthusiasm. That's because it's full of riddles and puzzles. In those days there was no knowledge on how to work with all that. 
    As it turned out later, cord embroidery is simple: 
    Insert the cord into a special device on your embroidery machine (the way of doing so depends on the machine's brand).  Position the foot.  Embroider the design.  I've seen contradictory recommendations on the machine's speed – some people think that it should be lowered to almost 400 rpm, and some believe that you can work at the usual speed. If I'm not mistaken, the speed depends on the embroidery machine.  In the end of the embroidery, the cord is cut by hand.  Ways of finishing the cord ends: 
    Tuck the ends of the cord to the wrong side so that they don't stick out. 
    They can be hidden under the embroidery. 
    The cord ends also can be secured with a zigzag or satins. 
    There are numerous types of cords in use. Braided cords embroider well, as do the twisted ones. But where the cord bends to a small radius, the yarns may unravel. 
    A cording device can be configured to do loop embroidery, which creates a wonderful 3D effect, especially in large areas. Loop embroidery of an area of an equal size consumes much less time. This method of cording is often used for hair, fur, leaves and so on imitation. With some practice, loop embroidery with a cord on an ordinary embroidery machine can be as effective on one of special loop stitch devices. Hence, there is a room for improvement. 
    A monofilament yarn (fishing twine) is commonly used because it is transparent and will suit any cord. But, in my opinion, an ordinary polyester embroidery thread can be used for soft cords. 
    Digitizing for cord embroidery is not difficult either. But choosing of the design is a task that requires diligence. 
    The entire design is digitized with running stitches. The recommended stitch length is 1–2 mm. Reduce the stitch length on bends in order for them to fit the curve. 
    The design should have 1 start and 1 end point and no trims. You should get a line, drawn as if in one stroke on a pen. 
    Get rid of the tie-offs. 
    Avoid sharp angles, repeats, superimposition, sharp turns – everything should be smooth and flowing. Although, now, after having practiced cording embroidery, I would call that last one quite a disputable statement. 
    The machine should make a stop before and after cord embroidery as the cording device is adjusted, prepared and removed manually. 
    P.S. I already posted an article about me practicing cord embroidery. 

    Understanding fleece

    By Irina, in Machine embroidery materials and technology, , 0 comments, 3,344 views
    Original text by Marina Belova 
    Fleece is considered a dense pile knitwear fabric, and that makes a certain impact on digitizing and embroidery processes. Fleece differs in density, quality and pile height. But, in any case, it's very stretchy. On that basis, you need to have individual settings in every particular case.

    Nevertheless, there are some general recommendations on digitizing and embroidery. 
    The embroidery process is the most ordinary one: 
    If you want to avoid any unforeseen defects, hoop the fabric together with the stabilizer. To prevent fabric from shifting during the embroidery, you can additionally sprinkle the stabilizer with temporary spray adhesive. I've seen the whole series of recommendations on stabilizers:  For the items in which the wrong side is visible, use a water-soluble film or 2–3 layers of tear-away stabilizer.  Otherwise, a cut-away stabilizer is the optimal choice. Not only will it secure the fabric in the course of embroidery, but also won't allow it to lose its shape during washing or cleaning.  Of all the hoops that suit the size of the embroidery, use the smallest one. Keep an eye on the fabric during the hooping so that it doesn't sag down. It is very easy to do: slide 2 of your fingers over the fabric surface. If there is a hump, the fabric is too loose, so you need to rehoop. But don't stretch the fabric too tight or the embroidery will become distorted after unhooping. You should pull fleece only in the direction in which it is the least stretchy in order not to damage the structure.  As any pile fabric, fleece is notorious for hoop marks. In order to prevent their appearance, it is advisable to put a piece of paper between the fabric and the hoop. 
    In essence, you need practice for everything.  If the pile is high, you may cover it with a thin water-soluble film that will help to trample the pile and to avoid stitches sinking into it.  Set the appropriate needles: 70/10 or 75/11 with a ball point.  Use the ordinary #40 embroidery threads. For small details, #50 or 60 can be used.  The embroidery speed should be standard.  Adjust your thread tension so that the upper thread doesn't form loops.  General recommendations on digitizing for fleece, which will define the quality of the future embroidery:  The design should be either created by you or, in case you have a ready one, modified according to fleece particularities. You should pay attention to the following aspects:  Understitching:  Under the satins, an outline along the perimeter, made with short stitches (2–2.5 mm), low-dense zigzags or double zigzags (3 mm) and up to 3.5 mm stitch length. That depends on the satin width and pile height.  Under the filled areas, a Tatami fill of a very low density – a 2–4 mm dense full grid. This will help to stabilize the fabric and reduce the density of the outer layer of stitches.  For such a stretchy material, it's better to set your density at a slightly lower value than for the ordinary fabrics.  You need to increase pull compensation so that it comprises 10% of the column width, especially if a satin column is narrow.  Avoid less than 1 mm wide satins.  All the small elements that will be embroidered with running stitches, should be repeated 3 times. For this purpose, bean stitches, and not the triple running stitches, should be used. I wrote about it in my article on decorative running stitches.  Substitute as much running stitches for satins as possible.  Avoid stitch direction that is parallel to the grain line. It is usually vertical on items.  Borders should be approximately 3 mm wide.  Try to plan your embroidery sequence in such a way so that overlapping of the segments of one object is kept to a minimum, to prevent the appearance of gaps.  And one last thing, plan your embroidery sequence from the center of the hoop toward its edge. 
    In theory, many machine embroidery editors have preset parameters that can be used as a starting board. But in machine embroidery, one should never take anything for granted. Every little thing needs to be tested and retested. 
    See how I used fleece to create a bag for paper tissues and a heart for sweets (both step-by-step master-classes with photos). 

    2 more methods of color blending

    By Irina, in Machine embroidery materials and technology, , 1 comment, 3,702 views
    Original text by Marina Belova 
    Recently I came across some more methods of color blending in machine embroidery on the Web. Theoretically, all of them have the same basic principles, but the technique varies a bit. The designs in one of the online shops that had been made in a similar way instantly sprang to my mind.
    But then I didn't give the matter much thought. 
    Just to refresh your memory, all basic color blending techniques in machine embroidery are based on the notion that the stitch direction is the same in all layers. It is precisely this condition that will allow the stitches of the outer level to sink into the ones below and to create tonal gradation. 
    The methods described below are somewhat different in that the stitch direction varies in the filled area of all layers. I suppose, the result is not so much a color blend but more a moire pattern. That is, some colors are visible through the others due to the reduced density of the upper layers and to each next layer rising slightly above the previous one. 
    I haven't yet tried these methods myself, but I definitely will when I find a proper design, and I'll publish the results. 
    Blending 2 colors 
    This method is very easy to put into practice. It works best for colors that are similar to each other: red + orange or yellow + orange. Something like that. 
    You should do as follows: pick 2 objects of the same shape (copies, in fact) and place one on top of the other. 
    The first one will be our background. Fill it with an ordinary flat pattern. Set the density at an ordinary level or slightly lower. I don't mention numbers here because everyone has their preferred density: some like it higher, some lower. 

    The second object will work as shading. But the stitches should lie not in the same direction as the ones in the background layer but completely at random. This is achieved by arranging the stitches in the upper layer in a circle. Also, you should find a suitable density value, and don't forget about stitch shortening or you'll sure get a hole in the center. 
    You can do it manually in any embroidery editor, and in Tajima, there is a Radial fill tool. At a final stage it should look somewhat like this: 

    The center of the circle needn't be placed exactly in the middle of a shape you're filling. This matter should be individually decided in every particular case. 
    Blending 3 colors 
    This method is real easy as well. It can be done in any machine embroidery editor. 
    Pick an object, copy it and place the copies on top of each other. You'll have 3 layers as the result. Set a different stitch direction in every layer and add gradient density. Set your density at half of the standard value or less. I got these pictures: 
    1st layer 

    2nd layer 

    3rd layer 

    The final look: 

    Of course, you need to experiment and see what can be achieved as the result. 
    Playing around with stitch direction, density, and effects, you can achieve an interesting outer look without using any tricks or advanced embroidery software. 
    I think that these methods can be used to blend more than 2 or 3 colors. The main thing is to find a right density value for each layer and stick to the rules of working with colors. 

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      APPLIQUE BEE
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    Month

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         542   1
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         184   1
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         172   1

    Year

    1. More information about "Cushion Snowman with a bell cross stitch free embroidery design"
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         1,329   0
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      Christmas reindeer cross stitch free embroidery design
      By Berez
         1,141   1
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      Christmas garland free embroidery design
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         1,046   0
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      Christmas owls cross stitch free embroidery design
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         1,021   1
    5. More information about "Owl chick free embroidery design"
      Owl chick free embroidery design
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         902   1

    All Time

    1. More information about "Snowball game cross stitch free embroidery design"
      Snowball game cross stitch free embroidery design
      By Berez
         39,937   25
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         37,034   27
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      Free embroidery decoration for dress
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         27,540   8
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         27,289   3
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         21,266   8

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