If you want to choose designs that will stitch out well, you need to take several things into consideration and you need to test the design before putting it on an expensive or time-consuming project.

My first attempt at stitching out a design on a t-shirt was a disaster. I was very kindly offered a free design in .shv format. I did not have any software at the time and only had access to the designs that came with my Designer 1 sewing machine. I sewed out two different designs on t-shirts and was quite disappointed with the results. The designs did not line up properly on the t-shirts and I ruined two, rather expensive t-shirts in the process. I had heard that not all designs were created equally and decided that the two designs I had been given were defective. After all, I used a stabilizer and the correct thread.

When I got my software, I tried editing the designs to make them line up better. That did not work. In fact, nothing worked.

Eventually, I learned more about embroidery and all that it entails. I learned that just stabilizing is not enough. You need to stabilize correctly, you need to hoop correctly, you need to use the right needle, the right thread. There are many elements that work together to create perfect embroidery. When you embroider any design, all of these elements must be working together well.

After all this, I discovered that the designs I had been so generously given were very well digitized designs that sewed out beautifully on t-shirts without any editing required, once all those other elements were finally pulled together correctly.

Note: Before downloading anything, make sure you have your virus protection current and running.

Choosing Designs

When choosing designs to sew out, there are literally tens of thousands of options available. Some designs are for sale and others are free. All designs take time and talent to digitize. However, the level of talent, time and care that goes into designs can vary greatly.

1. After downloading a design, my first step in analyzing it is to take a look at it in a three-dimensional viewing program. Just remember that some three-dimensional viewing programs do not display jump stitches and some long stitches may be misinterpreted as jump stitches and may not show. Here I decide whether or not I like the design enough to go to the next step. Also, it is important to realize that you can make the design any colors you like. Not necessarily the colors that are displayed.

2. Next I take a quick look at the design in either customizing or editing software. This shows me how much underlay was used, how many jump stitches are, what kinds of stitches are used where, how dense parts of the designs are, and so on. This gives me a good sense of the design and determines whether I want to go on to sewing out the design on a sample piece of fabric.

Do not panic if the outlines do not appear to lie right on the edge of the design. Compensation for the push and pull of the fabric is built into many designs. When you view the stitch files there may be overlap or gaps, but when the design sews out, the outlines often do stitch right where they should. Use the three-dimensional viewer for a better indication of where the elements of the design will actually sew out but even this is often not accurate.

3. The best way to know if you will like a design is to do a sample of the design before using it on your finished product. This is true whether you are using a design by a reputable design company or by an unknown entity. However, before you can judge whether a design is of good quality, you must ensure that you have created an environment for success. Make sure that your combination of stabilizer, fabric, thread, and needle is appropriate to the task (These topics will be covered in future installments of the Hints and Tips section of the Artistic Thread Designs web site).

Free Designs

If the design you want to use is free, download the design and try it out using a similar (same is better) fabric, stabilizer, thread, and needle as your finished product. Some people are tempted to use inferior products for the test because they do not want to waste the more expensive "good" products. Using inferior (or even other different) products may not give you a real sense of how your actual design will sew out. If you use the actual (or as close as possible to the actual) supplies you will use in your project, your sample embroidery will allow you to adjust elements to get a perfect sew-out later.

If you are pleased with the sample sew-out, go to your project and sew out your design.

Purchased Designs

If the design you want to use is for sale, see if you can obtain a sample of the digitizer's work. Most web sites that sell designs have sample designs that you can download for free. If there are multiple samples, chose one that resembles the design you want to purchase. Check the apparent density (check the size and stitch count of the design for a quick comparison), check to see if it looks similar.

Again, using a combination of elements similar to your project, stitch out the sample. If you like the way it stitches out, purchase the design you want to use and do a sample stitch out of that before using the design on your project.

If you do not like the way that the design stitched out, then try to figure out why you are not satisfied.

As in the story I shared above, is it the fault of the combination of elements that you used: Did you use the correct stabilizer for the fabric and the design? Did you hoop correctly? Did you baste the fabric sufficiently?

SPAN If you have used the correct elements properly, and depending on the software that you have, you have several options:

• Perhaps the design is not digitized to your standards. You may want to try a different design by the same designer or you may want to try to find a similar design digitized by some other digitizer.
• You may also be able to fix whatever the problem is, especially if you have the right software:
  • If the design is too large or too small, you can resize it.
  • If it is too dense or not dense enough, you can fix that.
  • If the outlines are off only slightly and you really like the design, you can sew the outline (usually the last color) first in a color that matches the design or in a thread that matched the fabric. Then start the design from the beginning as usual. Sewing the outline first may stabilize the design enough so that everything aligns. Do a sample before working on your project.
  • If the outline or other parts of the design are really off, you can move the stitches in editing software.
  • If there is not enough underlay, you can add it or you can add more stabilizing by adding stabilizer, by basting more extensively, by decreasing the density of the design and using it as underlay before you sew out the actual design.
• You may change the compensation of the design. This accounts for the push and pull of fabric during the embroidery process.
• You may decide to use a different fabric or a different combination of elements to make due.