There is always such a quest for information and answers when the subject of digitizing arises. A friend of mine calls digitizing education a quest for “elusive knowledge.” How true. The variables are numerous and compounded by the fact that our experience (our best teacher) and that of others brings us many answers—not one being the definitive but all contributing to the “practice” of digitizing.

The simplest concept can call for a lengthy explanation that is still not sufficient until the homework is done and the Aha! moment experienced. I have selected a few of the most often-asked questions, then provided some wayfinding information in hopes of guiding you toward a few of your own Aha! moments.

Editing a design for knits

If a design has been digitized for stable fabric such as denim and you decide to sew it on a stretchy knit, you may find that the fills distort and outlines pull away, causing a loss of registration. There are things you can do to make the design friendlier to the new substrate.

You need more underlay beneath a fill destined for a knit, than for a woven. Using your insert function, just before the fill stitch begins, place a line of running stitches around the fill segment, just inside the border. Then insert a light density fill, in the form of a grid––a crosshatched affair––after the running stitches and before the fill. Choose directions for the underlay that are different from the final fill. End this underlay pattern where you began your original editing so there will be no movement back to the origination point.

You may also find that your satin stitches don’t sit up as well on the knit. Increase the width of the columns or add pull compensation. You can usually select a fixed width or choose to increase by a percentage. An increase of 10-15 percent is usually enough to make the satins stitch well on the new fabric. I have found that increasing by a percentage works better than selecting a fixed width. Sew out your newly edited design and keep notes of what you’ve done in case you need to tweak the design some more.

Re-sizing

You can usually change from a left-chest to a cap-size embroidery (with some editing to accommodate the cap) but, when you change from a left-chest to jacket-back size you need to change stitch types. Outlined lettering and fill give the most trouble. 

Satins might need to become fills, running stitches may need to be changed to satins; they get bumped up to the next level. You may have to change outline stitches to satin on lettering.

Satins can be resized by changing underlay, pull compensation and density, but you will reach a width where they may have to change to a fill or a split satin. Remember to move the lock stitches, if necessary, if you decrease the size of the design, so they are farther away from each other. And remember that fill stitches pull and push differently as they get larger.

Reducing cost and run time

Appliqué saves stitches, but adds labor and time. Be sure to charge for your time. Vary the idea of appliqué. Instead of making it a detailed replacement of the stitch elements, reduce the density on a fill by putting a matching piece of stable fabric under the stitches for the look of fill without the heavy stitching. 

You may hear advice similar to this about dark shirts with white fill stitches, urging the use of a piece of tearaway backing under the fill to help the design be more opaque. I personally don’t use tearaway in an application that is supposed to be permanent and that will be laundered. If you decide to try it, use only a quality tearaway. Cheaper tearaways wash away after a while. What a nasty surprise for your customer to eventually find the shirt showing through the design—not an advertisement of quality work.

Appliqués can also be used as underlay in small parts of the design to reduce stitch count as well as eliminate stitch-on-stitch thread busters. Place a piece of white appliqué fabric under an American flag design to stand for the white stripes, or under an automobile that has white highlights and windows. Stitch the design factoring in the fabric as the white areas, reducing the chance of gaps between elements. Place a piece of blue appliqué fabric under a light-density yellow fill to give the look of green. Red over that same blue will say purple to the eye.

If you have the capability in your editing software to change stitch direction, experiment with your designs. Changing the direction can make a color look different in a design. A leaf with one stitch direction on one side and a different direction on the other will appear to be sewn of two different shades. This technique will add flair and interest to your designs.

Gaps between segments

The push and pull of the fabric and the thread cause segments that have no overlap but are butted up against each other to spread apart and show a gap of uncovered area between them. Stitches pull in so overlapping segments can help the design sew correctly. Overlapping satins and fills can help the design cover properly in spite of any play in the fabric.

Faulty editing may also cause gaps between segments—such as if the design size was increased but not the density.

Here’s a trick to know if the gaps or unevenness between segments fall at the feet of the digitizer, the machine, or your own as the one who prepared the garment for stitching. Turn the design on the machine (from the control panel) 90 degrees. If a gap you discovered is still there, it’s the digitizing. If the gap is gone, it’s the preparation or machine. Remember that your inexperience with hooping (if you are just beginning) can impact the sew-out.

Puckering and bubbling

Back your goods and hoop them correctly. Stretching a garment in the hoop can cause it to pucker when the hoop is removed. A garment that is too loose in the hoop may result in movement of the fabric, which can cause bubbles. If the hooping is right, check the underlay. Too many stitches cause puckering and poor registration as well as thread breaks and holes in garments. Stitching that is too thick on a light fabric can cause puckering or tears or create holes around the design.

Stitching over existing stitching

More underlay and less stitching on top is a softer combination. Try not to use multiple layers of stitching. If your editing system can address the density of any multiple layers, reduce the lower layers to a lighter density. A lower-density fill with normal underlay, followed by a normal-density fill with no underlay, both in the same direction, will create a soft cover that will hide dark garments under light thread and cover light garments better when using dark threads. If there is lettering or detail going on top of the fill, the two layers will prevent the stitching from separating as the detail is stitching, and will provide enough underlay so that the top details won’t need any additional underlay.

Practicing digitizing

Just like law and medicine, digitizing is an on-going learning process, an experience that never ends. We do ourselves a favor if we listen to and try different techniques offered to us by chance or by thoughtful questioning. I have found many golden-nugget ideas in give-and-take sessions with those new to the digitizing field. Eyes unclouded with “rules” and minds open to innovation are often the most fertile fields.

Sometimes we find a solution that works better than one we have chosen in daily practice—or we find a derivative that works best in a particular situation. This all adds to our knowledge base and gives us a plethora of choices when we face a digitizing challenge, whether it is fabric-, backing- or stitch-based.

Hug a digitizer this month, new or experienced. They all have great ideas to offer.

––HHM