Sewing Techniques
Machine Embroidery 3 – Customising
We look at using a computer to really get creative and show you how some simple customising software can create yet more beautiful embroideries.
Using a PC and design software
A computerised embroidery machine has some in-built editing capability that is ideal if you just want to make minor adjustments to a standard design, but if you really want to become your own designer there are lots of PC software packages available that will open up a world of opportunities.
Computer choices
All software requires a computer to operate it. This need not necessarily be state-of-the-art equipment but if buying new, a typical specification for an entry level PC would be:
* Microsoft Windows XP operating system
* Fast processor (1.7 GHz)
* Hard-drive (40GB)
* Plenty of memory (256MB)
* CD-ROM drive
* One or more USB ports
* Internet access
This will far exceed the requirements of any design software currently on the market. Internet access is very useful because most software providers and machine manufacturers have websites providing online support, tutorials, and software upgrades. The other advantage of internet access is that there are absolutely loads of free designs available to download (more about this later).
HANDY HINT: If you are not very confident with a computer it is worth taking a short course or night class to get more familiar with the terminology, and the standard Windows tools and screens that you will be using.
Software choices
All the main sewing machine manufacturers provide software for their range of embroidery machines and there is also a number of independent companies who offer embroidery software for use on any machine. It is really a matter of preference so it is worth trying to arrange a demonstration at a dealer or asking if a demo disk is available.
Two of the most popular types of software are customising and digitising:
* Customising software is relatively low cost and easy to use. Typically it allows the operator to import designs, group designs together, create very large embroidery, edit parts of a design, mirror and rotate design, and add text.
* Digitising software is more advanced editing software that allows embroidery designs to be created from scratch and manipulated down to individual stitch level. It can ‘break’ apart purchased or imported designs for editing, and provides a range of manual and automatic tools to create original designs. This type of software requires more patience and skill to learn, and is used by professional designers to create top quality embroidery. We will look at digitising software in more detail next month.
HANDY HINT: Many machine manufacturers and dealers offer on-site courses to support their products. These are a great way of getting to grips with the basics, particularly for those who prefer a ‘hands-on’ approach.
Customising software
Customising software varies from one manufacturer to another but we will look at some typical features. Some software incorporates lots of features within one bundled package; others are supplied as a range of separate modules that can be purchased separately. Our sample screen shots were taken from Janome’s Customizer 10000 Plus.
Combining/importing designs
Customising software is designed primarily to allow the user to ‘personalise’ designs rather than simply stitch them out. The first step in this process is to be able to import designs from a variety of sources. The customising software usually includes a range of designs; others can be transferred from cards, disks, or the internet. All of these designs, however, must be in the correct file format when they are transferred to the embroidery machine to be able to stitch them out.
Each brand will have a different ‘extension’ after the dot in the name:
Janome files should have the extension .jef
Brother/Babylock/Bernina PEC .pec
Brother/Babylock/Bernina PES .pes – version 2,3,4
Husqvarna/Viking .hus or .vip
Singer .xxx
Pfaff .vip (the old format was .pcs)
Bernina Artista .xxx
Bernina .pes or .pec
Many customiser packages can convert designs from one format to another, but do be sure to check first, as this is by no means standard in all software. To import designs:
* Open a new file and select the hoop size you intend to use.
* Select ‘import designs’ from your software’s menu and choose the relevant designs.
* ‘Activate’ each design by clicking on it (typically it will be highlighted or have a box round it)
* Move, copy or rotate each active design until you are happy with the placement.
* Add text or monograms as required.
* Combine parts of the design together if you want to move them as a ‘group’.
* Save the final design and transfer to the machine as directed by the manual for stitching out.
HANDY HINT: Get into the habit of managing files so that designs can easily be saved and found again. Create a couple of new folders on the computer’s hard-drive (‘C’ drive) with easy to remember titles such as ‘My Designs’ and ‘Downloads’. When saving any design use a descriptive name such as ‘butterfly’ rather than ‘Pattern01’ because it makes finding it a lot easier! Software is also available specifically for organising and displaying designs.
Rotating/centering/cornering designs
Most customising software has the ability not only to rotate designs, but also to automatically centre designs or to place mirror images in each corner of a layout. This is particularly useful for large designs when it can be difficult to manually line up a repeating design accurately. In the samples above we used the auto corner and centre features to create different designs. A ‘kaleidoscope’ effect is achieved that is ideal for creating different versions on a theme e.g. use a single repeat of a pattern to embroider a napkin and multiple repeats to create a co-ordinating tablecloth. Another idea would be to use the ‘centre’ feature to create a large design and then frame it with a matching corner design.
Layouts/large designs
A great feature of customising software is the ability to create large embroideries that require several hoopings to stitch out, such as cushions, tablecloths or embroidered fabric for garments. Templates can be printed out to enable accurate placement on fabric and to align the relevant sections of the design. To create a large design:
* Select or set the area of your design depending on the size of the project.
* Import and combine designs, making use of auto-centre and cornering features described above.
* Save the finished design, in this instance it will be saved as a ’layout’ so that the embroidery machine will stitch the sections out in the correct sequence.
* Print templates for the design to assist with accurate placement of the relevant sections of the design.
* Transfer the finished design to the machine as directed by the manual for stitching out.
Resizing
Designs can be resized within most customising software to some extent but usually this involves stretching or condensing the existing number of stitches. Resizing is generally limited to a maximum of 20% as more than this can affect the quality of the design. The easiest way to check is to compare the new and original stitch count to check for any changes. Some software providers offer separate packages specifically for resizing designs that do recalculate the stitch count and maintain the integrity of the original embroidery. This is also a standard feature on most digitising software.
Lettering
Adding text, selecting from a range of fonts and using common symbols is a standard customising feature and most packages allow the manipulation of text into arcs or circles. You can have a great time playing around with this feature and really personalising designs by adding poignant messages and names. Samplers, special cards or pictures can all be created quickly and easily using this feature. Separate lettering packages are also available which allow the user to convert standard computer fonts for those who want to extend their repertoire.
Auto-digitising/using clipart/scanning images
Some customising packages allow graphic images such as clipart or scanned images to be used as the basis for designs. These can then be ‘auto-digitised’ to convert the image to an embroidery design. This is super fun and provides great opportunities to create original work. Take a look at ‘1000 Motifs for Crafters’ in this month’s ‘bookshelf’ as an example of artwork that is ideal in quality and size for conversion to embroidery. This type of ‘auto-digitising’ does have limitations, however, as you cannot make the subtle changes to perfect a design in the same way that a full digitising package will allow. But it is ideal for simple designs, where the image is a clear shape or outline, and the design is not too detailed. ‘Cartoon’ type drawings, logos, and crests are good examples of designs that will convert easily to embroidery. There are also software packages available for converting scanned photographs into embroidery. We will look in more detail at graphic images and artwork next time when we explore digitising software.
HANDY HINT: Look for ‘royalty free’ designs, as these are available for personal use in craft applications, without infringing copyright laws.
This peacock feather is from a royalty free clipart collection, auto-digitised and edited using Customizer 10000 Plus
Stitch editing/changing stitch order
Stitch editing and changing stitch order are useful functions to improve the appearance of a design and to make it stitch out more efficiently. Again there are limitations compared to digitising software but some customising software allows a range of stitch types to be selected and resequenced. We have made use of these features in our ‘Peacock Feather’ design above. Examples of editing would be:
* Creating running stitch or satin stitch outlines (ideal for creating appliqué or cutwork as described in last month’s issue).
* Varying stitch types, e.g. from horizontal weave to cross-stitch.
* The ability to angle stitches diagonally to create ‘shading’, which looks particularly effective for petals, leaves, animal fur etc.
* Changing stitch order to minimise thread changes by grouping sections of the same colour together.
* Re-sequencing parts of a design, e.g. to ensure that a satin stitch outline is stitched last as it needs to overlap the other parts slightly to create a neat finish.
Getting designs from the internet
There are thousands of designs available on internet sites either to purchase or sometimes as free downloads or samples of a designer’s work. These are usually downloaded as ‘zip’ or compressed files. To receive and unzip them requires appropriate software on your computer such as ‘Winzip’ which can be downloaded from the website www.winzip.com. To download a design:
* Click on it, and save it in your ‘zip’ software archives.
* Open the relevant archive and select the design.
* ‘Extract’ it to your ‘downloads’ folder for editing and stitching out.
Don’t forget the design must be in the correct file format, or converted to the file format, for your embroidery machine to be able to stitch it out. Many machine manufacturers also offer sample designs on their websites that can be downloaded in the same way.
HANDY HINT: The quality of these designs will vary enormously, so always, always test before stitching on expensive fabric.
Sue Tallantire used an in-built design on the Elna Xquisite to create this box cover. The bird and floral image was resized and mirrored to produce the two facing birds.
We hope this has given you a brief introduction to the type of software available for embroidery machines. Next time we’ll look at digitising software features.
Further information
Janome tel: 0161 666 6011
Brother tel: 0161 330 6531
Bernina, Singer, Elna tel: 0207 253 1198
Husqvarna Viking/Pfaff, tel: 01527 519480
Hobby & Gift Collection box (rrp £30), for stockist information, contact Groves + Banks, tel: 0118 973 5196
Ruth Cox is a freelance Computerised Machine Embroidery expert who writes for Sewing World magazine and runs courses on computerised machine embroidery for Janome Sewing machines. For further details or to contact Ruth email: ruthcoxtraining@yahoo.co.uk.
NB: This article first appeared in Sewing World, March 2004. For further details of Sewing World magazine, tel: 01684 588500.
