The Age-Old Beginning

Although the term may sound simple, the craft of embroidery is anything but. Using a needle and thread to create intricate ornamentation requires a creative mind, an eagle eye and a steady hand. We tend to typically think embroidery was historically only used to decorate fabric, yet there’s evidence to suggest that the technique existed before fabric itself was invented, with early civilizations using the process to repair or “patch” items.

Photo courtesy of John Deere.

The artform of embroidery can be traced back to the Cro-Magnon era, around 30,000 B.C. Archeological discoveries from this time have unveiled serious hand-stitched artifacts with decorations perfectly preserved in fossilization. Archeologists believe modern embroidery’s origin may have been helmed from the ancient Chinese, with fascinating examples from this culture dating back to the “Warring States” period, somewhere between the 5th and 3rd centuries B.C. Interestingly, there’s evidence to suggest the Vikings also practiced embroidery, using one or two techniques to embroider designs on their clothing during the 9th and 10th centuries.

Derived from the French term broderie, meaning embellishment, the art of embroidery, also referred to as textile surface decoration, has indeed been embellished with practice, universally passing down from generation to generation across the millennia.

The Rising Renaissance

By the year 1000, Christianity had taken hold throughout most of Medieval Europe. Embroidery’s popularity was also on the rise during this time being used to highlight the wearer’s status and prominence among the nobility and their religious beliefs. Garments were adorned with heavily embroidered intricacies as well as were large, embroidered tapestries to display various levels of wealth throughout the hierarchy.

The 200-year span between 1100-1350 is notably referred as the “greatest period of English embroidery,” also known as the Opus Anglicanum, a Latin phrase meaning “English work.” And much work was created using golden threads, divine silks and expensive textiles forming historical artifacts and grandeur that can still be seen throughout all of Europe. This trend was echoed around the globe from exotic places to religious states, such as Cairo, Damascus and Istanbul, where embroidery was used to adorn items of all types, similar to what we see in today’s current marketplace.

From Queen Elizabeth I’s reign and beyond, embroidery began to trickle down to commoners as an amateur craft no longer reserved for the elite, an advancement made just in time for the upcoming revolution.

The Revolutionary Industry Turn

As the Industrial Revolution was remaking the rest of the world, it also brought along the invention of first mechanical embroidery machine. Dating back to the mid- to late 18th century, the design for the first embroidery machine resulted in a system that ran on half-automation while simultaneously using hand embroidery to complete the process—not quite the machines everyone can purchase today, but an innovative start on a journey to mass production nonetheless.

Photo courtesy of John Deere.

Over a period of decades, the design of the embroidery machine evolved through the work of inventors such as Thomas Saint, Josef Madersperger, Barthélemy Thimonnier, Walter Hunt and Elias Howe. This passing of the metaphorical baton eventually led to the machinist Isaac Singer, the man mostly commonly associated with the sewing machine and the eventual founder of what became one of the first American multi-national businesses, the Singer Corporation (originally, first established as I. M. Singer & Co.). Singer revolutionized mass production for embroiders, even marketing machines for home use. The company expanded globally, and along with rising competitors, it sped us into the embroidery industry we recognize today.

“Embroiderers are always suspended in time, using equipment whose base concepts stem from the 1800s, a timeless understanding of materials, designs that hearken back to every era of decoration and digital control that only came into its own through the flourishing of modern computing,” says Erich Campbell, program manager with embroidery specialist Briton Leap/Embrilliance.

The Limitless Times

Today’s artform has shifted from the days of old, morphing into a contemporary practice courtesy of technological advancements. Although the basic concept of putting thread to needle has remained the same, embroidery has come a long way with the introduction of the computer completely changing the game for this everlasting industry. The original prototype from the 1800s has now morphed into high-tech, often massive machines consisting of multi-needle, multi-head setups that are a beast for mass production.

“When I first started at the age of 17, I was a ‘puncher’ now known as a digitizer,” says John Deer, owner and CEO of John Deer’s Embroidery Legacy. “With the introduction of computerized systems some 40 years ago, instead of digitizing or ‘punching’ one stitch at a time, we were able to create what are now primitive objects and fill them in with stitches. It was absolutely revolutionary at that time.”

Photo courtesy of Erich Campbell.

Digitizing with computer software ushered in an all-new era for embroiderers to surpass what was once thought impossible, opening the door wide for a juggernaut trend that is continuing to take the world by storm.

“My digitizing course I created is based on 12 hours of theory that I learned when I was 17, and to this day it has practical implication for the newest software that’s in the industry,” Deer says. “There’s two parts of the puzzle when it comes to mastering digitizing and software. There’s the program itself, which is important, and then there’s the theory: the rules of all stitch types, how to correctly map your designs by sequencing all the objects you create. That puzzle is exactly what embroiderers were already doing 150-plus years ago. I never would have dreamed that embroidery would become as advanced as it has. If I look back to the old days where I had my first Ultramatic, it’s fascinating to see how far we’ve come.”

How far we have come, indeed. In 2022 alone, the global embroidery market hit an all-time high at $2.7 billion and is expected to surpass $5 billion over the next five years. A feat that is quite mind-blowing considering this ancient decorating technique was once only used to fix tears in clothing and is now a multi-faceted industry that more than plays its part in keeping the global economy turning.

“Digitizers went from punchers that plotted every stitch from a 6:1 scale drawing to a kind of specialized digital artist that blends the understanding of thread, materials and machines with design chops and the ability to steer and explore the functions of modern software as it calculates the stitches we specify as we draw each area of the designs,” says Campbell. “Embroidery really is a timeless art that is bound together with and buoyed by the forward march of technology.”

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Though the highest level of artistic digitizing can take as much education as any other graphic art, quality work is attainable by anyone with adequate desire, dedication and curiosity. The process requires a blend of creative thinking and somewhat scientific attention to how changing variables affect outcomes when our digitized file meets the machine’s movement and the combination of fabric, thread and stabilizer for any given decoration.

By taking a look at what the process of digitizing actually entails, examining how we test designs and dispelling some common myths about what digitizing software does, we can be well on our way to developing the careful and creative mindset that defines the best digitizers in the business.

A Holistic Approach

Successful embroidery requires a “holistic” approach. Digitizing well and making the right decisions is dependent on understanding the materials we embroider and the way they respond to the stresses of the process. We should know how fabrics affect the quality of our stitching, as well as how our machines function and how our files drive them.

We need to know the proper application of stabilizers, needles, support materials, thread tension and machine operation, and how each alters our embroidery to ensure our expected outcome. In short, understanding embroidery is critical to digitizing. You’ll never get great results without well-digitized designs, but no design runs well without using the right materials in the right way. Though anyone can learn to digitize, experienced embroiderers have a head start toward becoming good digitizers, having learned how to prepare garments and run machines, as well as having watched how materials interact.

What does digitizing software do?

At its most basic, digitizing software allows you to create files that instruct embroidery machines where in the hoop and when in the sequence to place stitches and execute the various machine functions required to create a design.

From left: The original design, the prescribed stitch pattern and the final design. Images courtesy of Erich Campbell

Though this was once executed one stitch at a time, modern digitizing software allows you to create shapes via an object-based method very much like that used by vector graphics software, with the notable addition of embroidery-specific parameters applied on a shape-by-shape basis that fill each shape with stitches.

Digitizing software provides the tools not only to draw, but to assign and visualize stitch types, stitch length, stitch angle, density (spacing between lines of stitches that “fill” an area), entry and exit points for each shape, underlay (support stitching), and various other nuanced qualities that govern the look of a block of stitches and the behavior of the routines that fill shapes within them.

The Feature No Software (Really) Has

Despite the best attempts of great minds, digitizing software doesn’t automatically convert an image to a high-quality, efficient embroidery design without at least some additional input or refinement. Though it may happen soon, there’s no process at the time of this writing that can analyze an image and create a design that runs efficiently and keeps all outlines and shapes properly registered with the aesthetic quality and consistency provided by a skilled digitizer.

In particular, no current automation uses the material qualities of thread and the dimensional quality of embroidery to its best advantage. This isn’t to say automation hasn’t improved, nor that it can’t assist you in the creation of embroidery, but that the best quality embroidery is not attained by a one-click process.

At best, automation may help a digitizer create basic shapes or assign stitch values that are a reasonable starting place for editing and refinement when applied to simple images. At worst, it results in embroidery that runs poorly and betrays the lack of care taken in creation. Automation can help us handle simple tasks, but it can’t be counted on for highly detailed designs, subtle shading and details or the interpretation of photographic art into embroidery without compromise. It’s not a bad thing, but it’s also not a replacement for knowing how stitches work and actively choosing where they should go and how they should be configured.

Siren of the Screen

One of the chief problems new digitizers face is the fact that embroidery distorts during the stitching process. This unavoidable distortion means anything that looks perfect on-screen will look distorted at the machine.

The screen is misleading. Any shapes, registration of outlines and blocks of color or otherwise perfectly aligned lettering in your embroidery file will be distorted, out of registration or worse when it stitches. There are two critical lessons all digitizers should learn before they ever set a stitch:

1. All embroidery distorts, albeit to differing levels depending on the design, garment and stabilizer used. All stitches get slightly shorter under tension, meaning columns get narrower, borders thinner and fills pull back from their onscreen edges in what is known as “pull” distortion. Blocks of stitches, on the other hand, will expand in the angle perpendicular to the “stitch angle” at full coverage as the threads cinch down and flatten to a single layer in what is known as “push” distortion. We must therefore compensate for these forces in our interpretation of the art, increasing overlaps, thickening columns and “squashing” shapes.

2. The product of a digitizer is the embroidery, not the file. The file is a means to an end. What it looks like is immaterial if it doesn’t result in efficient, attractive embroidery on the intended garment.

Bottom line: Don’t let the look of the on-screen preview lead you astray. Focus on the stitches, not the file!

How Digitizing is Done

Understanding that digitizing is not simply a process of import and conversion, we can move on to what it really is: a process of determining the best way to represent a piece of art in the medium of thread and then creating an actual interpreted file with that in mind. The process ends only when a final embroidered sample can be reliably stitched on the intended garment in a method that is efficient, technically sound and aesthetically pleasing. What follows is a breakdown of the steps it takes to get from art to embroidery.

An understanding of fabric behavior is crucial to creating quality embroidery. Photo courtesy of Erich Campbell

Art Analysis: Interpreting art into stitches starts with the source. Digitizers import either a vector or raster graphic into their software, sizing it to the intended finished size of the decoration. Thread has set physical dimensions, making for relatively strict maximum and minimum sizes for certain stitch types to maintain quality and stitch correctly. This means scale is critical. The digitizer will review the art at scale, taking note of design elements poorly suited for embroidery and making suggestions to the customer for potential alterations. The digitizer will then secure approval from the customer for any necessary changes before creating the file.

Planning and Pre-Sequencing: With changes approved, the digitizer plans the sequence of elements in the design, thinking about their sequence and how they layer to enhance dimension and travel efficiently through the design. At this stage, a great digitizer will also consider sheen and texture of stitches, contemplating ways to showcase the qualities of embroidery through subdividing the shapes, order and stitch angles in the design.

Digitizing Proper: Having identified any changes and planned a sequence, the digitizer will proceed in one of two ways:

1. Vector Rework
With vector art, the digitizer may convert imported vector elements into embroidery elements, assigning stitch angles, settings, entry and exit points to each element. The digitizer will then rework the object sequence, optimizing travel and layering. As vector elements created for digital display or print will not be compensated for the natural stresses in embroidery, these shapes can create poor shape fidelity and registration issues if they remain unedited. Proper compensation, sequencing and overlapping must be added.

2. Traditional Digitizing
The second and more traditional way to work, whether the source is a vector or raster file, requires drawing embroidery shapes with the original image used as a backdrop. In this way, shapes are drawn with compensation for distortion and properly overlapped as necessary. Embroidery-specific shapes not present in the original art, can also be created to make the design more aesthetically pleasing in the thread created in sequence for efficient embroidery production.

Previewing: Once the drawing and assignment of stitch variables is complete, the digitizer previews the design, virtually replaying the stitch sequence in their software. Upon finding no elements either doubled or out of the intended order, the digitizer will output a machine file for final testing or “stitching out.”

Sampling: With the “finished” file ready, the digitizer (especially those in training) will sample their own design. Sampling should use a material and stabilizer combination matching that of the final intended garment as much as possible. Material thickness, texture, stretch and the contrast between the design and garment colors should match, thus providing a result that closely mimics what should happen in production.

While testing, the digitizer will watch the run and take note of any poor quality in stitching, missing or doubled elements, excessive backtracking, incorrect or excessive color changes, missing tie-in or tie-off stitches and any other inefficient or incorrect execution or unsatisfactory results in the interpretation. Any errors or quality issues can be addressed with an edit, after which the design is sampled again. If no errors are present, the sample and design are prepared for final customer approval.

A Note on ‘Watching’

The singular, best method for learning how embroidery works is watching embroidery run. This isn’t tacitly “checking in” on designs in progress. Watching means attending the entire stitching process with your eyes on the hoop. No experience is as immediately educational as seeing thread under tension pulling fabric, seeing a material’s surface texture move and change stitches of differing types and angles, seeing blocks of stitches alter each other as they collide. Watching makes you mindful of the physicality of the medium. Take it from an old embroiderer who started on machines without working thread-break sensors for whom being an operator meant walking the multi-heads with my hand floating over the emergency stops. Nothing helps you correct mistakes faster than seeing the process as it unfolds. Sometimes it’s the pain of a mismanaged run that teaches the most poignant lessons.

Isolating Design Problems

This design requires a range of different stitch types to create the desired effect. Photo courtesy of Erich Campbell

If quality is suffering or runs aren’t smooth and continuous, the question becomes whether the file, materials or equipment is behind the failure. It can sometimes be difficult to isolate the issue. Using an inadequate stabilizer for light fabrics or denser designs, for example, might result in registration issues as material and distorts.

Though you can mitigate a missed border by editing the design file to increase overlaps, using the proper stabilizer or slowing the machine might achieve a similar effect, depending on how far your outline misses its mark. You need a good understanding of materials, hooping and operation before assuming the worst of your digitizing. That said, there are ways to tell if digitizing caused, or can at least be used, to address a quality or running issue.

For example, file-based problems should recur at the same point in repeated tests.

A closeup of the stitch patterns specified by the digitizer for the design above. Image courtesy of Erich Campbell

If, on the other hand, thread breaks are occurring randomly, problems with the thread, thread path or needle are the more likely culprits.

When a breakage reliably recurs, look for areas of overly short stitches, tightly packed detail or excessive densities that may be causing undue stress. The exception is when thread breaks are occurring over a problematic seam or garment structure, which may cause abrasion or snagging.

Other issues, like “escaped” underlay or gaps between borders and fills may have multiple contributing factors. If, for example, shifting isn’t regularly happening at the same location in the run or in the same direction, changes in the digitizing will be hard to target and unlikely to help, as edits usually only affect the altered area and files don’t change from run to run. If a fault isn’t regular, it’s likely not the fault of your digitizing, or at least not of your digitizing fault alone.

SMART Digitizing

Ultimately, the secret to editing and finalizing your design is to get “SMART.”

1. Stitch your design using the proper materials, watching the run and noting problems.
2. Measure registration errors or distortions that you need to correct in your sample.
3. Analyze the way the problematic elements were created, determine why the errors occurred and strategize on how they can be fixed.
4. Rework the design, compensating for the measured items that missed the mark by moving or reshaping the elements by the deviation you measured in the second step, taking your analysis into account.
5. Test the alterations with another stitch-out, watching carefully for how your changes affected the outcome.

Done correctly, any basic design issue can be solved by repeating the SMART steps. Watching the design run reveals how stresses in the process affect the end result. One way to track these observations is to take notes on a printed preview copy of your design, circling areas that need attention. Measure gaps, elements that extend beyond borders, overly thin or thick areas and any distortions in the shapes.

Analyze problem areas to see how the construction of each object, the angle of the stitches or any garment related factors that might have caused the issue. Compare the measurements from your problem elements to those same elements in your digitized design. Correct widths, placement or spacing according to the deviations you noticed in measuring and analysis. If you are diligent with your trial and error and take clear notes, you’ll advance quickly, needing fewer and fewer SMART cycles to achieve the look you want and the operation you need.

Reaching the Finish Line

As complicated as all this may sound, the truth for the daily digitizer is that the process eventually becomes second nature. Where once you might have stopped to plan sequences or digitize small testing sections of detail to test an assumption about measurements or densities, experience soon finds you making these kinds of choices without a second thought.

With consistent work at scale, you’ll start to add the right amount of compensation to columns, provide the correct distance under borders, swing outlines past the end of push-distortion areas and sequence elements for efficiency automatically.

As hard as it can be to break the habit of slavishly following the lines in your source art, you’ll also eventually start making the necessary changes for thread behavior without question. Moreover, as these kinds of technical concerns are increasingly addressed by your personal digitizing “autopilot” you will find yourself having that much more time to spend on things like creating interesting textures; regulating how the contrast of adjacent stitch angles changes the play of light across the thread; interleaving lines of color to create blends; and manipulating layers in dimensional decorations.

Whatever you do, don’t be disheartened by any early difficulties you may encounter. Failure is not fatal. Just the opposite. Every mistake, when well-measured, will also serve to help you grow your skill.

Erich Campbell is an award-winning digitizer, embroidery columnist and educator, with more than 20 years’ experience both in production and the management of ecommerce properties. He is also the program manager for the commercial division of BriTon Leap. To reach Erich directly, go to his web site at erichcampbell.com.

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“The Azteca design was created for disc golf bags to carry the disc in for field work,” explains Daniel Cummins, Embroidery Graphix. “The customer’s name is Tree Love. Sometimes you might find your shot veering off the fairway and it hits a tree and gets a ‘favorable kick’ back on to the fairway. That’s tree love!”

The embroidery piece is comprised of seven colors, 55785 stitches, and 43 trims. Detailed outlines over a custom blend of colors finish off the intricate design. The production was as complex and sophisticated as the final result appears to be, according to Cummins. He details each step with precision.

“I started off with an underlay fill in the color of the bag to secure the material to the stable palo. Then I began working with layers; underlapping the first color fill, so that the second color isn’t falling off a hard edge of the first fills. That diffuses the edge. The fills side edges are digitized as elongated zigzags that make the tips a progressively lighter density for the color beneath to gradually show through. The goal was to get three stitches there and back per zig zag. Horizontal stitch directions pull horizontally, which could pull the circle into an oval so compensation for that is done thus pulling itself into a circle.”

“After the fill colors are laid down, the first black outer border is done to immediately secure the border before the inside detail can distort it further,” Cummins says. “And to keep the distortion down to a minimum, I go as light as possible on the details’ density.”

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“The biggest challenge in making such a design is selecting which part would be chenille and which would be regular thread,” says Ria Habib, co-owner, Quality Punch. “The bigger parts are easy to do chenille; it’s the smaller parts that are challenging. Most of the bear is chenille, but the surfboard and the little characters are highlighted with part chenille. The correct combo of chenille and thread gives the design the ‘oomph’ it needs.”

Chenille is temperamental and can be non-forgiving. It must be punched perfectly on the machine to avoid causing multiple thread jams, according to Habib.

“Once a piece is done, chenille can snag and unravel, or it may look inconsistent in terms of the fluff,” Habib says. “This past year, we did a lot of research on chenille and that has helped us tremendously in adding great value in our customers’ designs.”

To achieve the various textures and seamless transitions between each thread color, Habib used contrasting threads for the special look. “The larger area of the bear is chenille; the belly has a different shade of yellow. The garland looks very nice because the pink is chenille and the white is regular thread. The red areas [of the surfboard] are in chenille. This variation gives a look of multimedia [even] though it’s all thread.”

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“Each paw has about 22,000 stitches and five colors,” says Karen Habe, co-owner, Quality Punch. “Most are fill stitches and highlighted with running stitches. Files are then sewn on the cushion with a zig-zag appliqué. The rough appliqué stitches fit in nicely with the overall theme.”

Although the design is simple, Habe explains the most challenging aspect was culminating the idea.

“We wanted to do something fun,” she says. “The challenge was to come up with the concept, which would be simple yet impactful. Complex logos are a routine for us. However, sometimes simplicity — if done correctly — gives the most beautiful result.”

To achieve the realistic animal silhouettes within each paw, color blending was crucial. Densities were kept very light, producing a soft effect for the fur and skin tone, and helping to emphasize the eyes in each image.

“We made many paws — dog, bear, feline, panda,” Habe says. “We made about eight to 10 embroideries, threw them together and saw which combo looks best. The cat, tiger and lion are a family, and then we threw in an elephant.” — Dustin Shrader

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The design also should be a crisp, clean, well-running, true representation of your customer’s art. All of this can be achieved with proper digitizing and editing.

Some embroiderers simply don’t understand how stitch density and length correspond to the “push-pull” phenomenon. When you see a design that “rolls” or looks like a piece of cardboard on a garment, it’s the result of too many stitches fighting for room in the same area, thus pulling in and pushing out.

Also, when you see small letters that are distorted — pushed above or below the line of the lettering — you are seeing the manifestation of push-pull. Stitching at a high speed on thinner fabrics makes this even more of a challenge. Rather than take a particular design and show you how to digitize it, let’s look at techniques that work with high-speed machines and thinner garments.

Computer Screen vs. Machine
The secret to executing a good design on thinner fabrics is placing the right number of stitches on the garment — not so few that you lose the design’s clarity and not so many that you overpower the fabric. Also, use techniques that control those stitches to prevent distortion.

If you’ve digitized a design yourself or received a digitized design that looks perfect on the computer screen — as shown in Figure 1 — then you know the frustration of embroidering that same design and getting results that look like Figure 2.

To avoid this, it’s important that you first remember not to rely on default
density settings. There’s a reason they can be changed. Longer run stitches will pull in more, whereas shorter ones will be more stable and allow for more detail. This also is true for stitches in columns and fills.

In column stitches, especially when used in lettering, you’ll find that the smaller the letters or the narrower the column, the lighter the density that should be used. This also means that the lighter the density, the wider the column must be. The wider column will pull in, giving the lettering a rounded, full look. The more those stitches are allowed to pull in, the more they’ll fill in.

If you digitize the letters using the default density value in your embroidery software, you’ll find the results to be overstitched and the design will be distorted. Sure, following the rules and copying what you see will give you a clean representation of the lettering or art on your computer screen. However, for thinner fabrics, what you see on the screen is not what you will get, as shown in Figure 2.

Density and Columns
Starting with the predigitized font in your software or the digitized letters that you have created at full density — which look perfect on the screen — lighten the densities and widen the columns. Reduce density until you have 75% of the original number of stitches. If the letter is less than .22 inches, delete the underlay, then widen the column by 40%.

This works in any software system and you’re now using push-pull to your advantage. You’re causing the stitches to pull in by making them wider (longer) and giving them room to fill in by lightening the density. Figure 3 shows the same letters stitched on a thin fabric. It contains 500 fewer stitches than Figure 2 (900 vs. 1,400).

In Figure 4, the lettering may not look as good on the screen, but how it stitches matters. As each column in the letter is stitched, it pulls and fills in, creating room for the next column. This not only works, but it also allows for fewer stitches and easier production.
The third group of stitches, the fill or tatami, also needs the stitch length and densities addressed. To ensure no rolling or cardboard effect, layer the fills. Prevent the pulling and pushing by gently adding stitches to that thinner fabric. By “gently,” I mean a little at a time.

Start with the fill or tatami, set up at full density and placed at a horizontal angle instead of the default. The horizontal angle is advised because the grain of most fabrics runs vertically; a horizontal angle will result in the best color with the fewest number of stitches.

For density and stitch length, use the software’s default values. See how many stitches are included in the full-density object with no underlays. Reduce density to one-third of the stitches. For example, if the original object had 1,500 stitches, the goal should be 500 stitches.

This “layer” or object will appear to be transparent. With only one-third of the stitches needed for full coverage, you will need to add two more layers. This is done by duplicating the first layer twice. If the first layer starts at the top and ends at the bottom, change the “start” and “stop” functions of the second layer so that it starts at the bottom — where the first layer ended — and ends at the top. The third layer is set up just like the first layer and will start at the top, where the second layer ended.

Next, shorten the stitch length by 15% for greater stability. If you need a clean edge on this layered fill, an edge-run under the second layer should do it. This will result in a “thin” fill or tatami that doesn’t pull in or push out; accepts detail; and doesn’t look like cardboard.

Altogether, with careful attention to stitch length and densities on each of the three groups of stitches — the run, column or satin stitches — as well as the fill stitch, you will have a successful product that you and your customer will brag about for years to come.

Lee Caroselli-Barnes, owner of Balboa Threadworks Embroidery Design, is known for her innovation and excellence in embroidery digitizing. She has more than 30 years of experience in the embroidery industry. For more information or to comment on this article, email Lee at balboainfo@aol.com.

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Designs and Digitizing
Choosing the right design plays a key role while working with thin fabrics. Always keep in mind the fabric type, required design size, the artwork and any additional requirements. Most designs need to be modified to some extent. In some instances, outlining may need to be eliminated and small text may need to be rearranged, especially with thinner fabrics. It is also important to test run the design to see if making any necessary adjustments to the digitizing are needed.

Thinner fabrics are much more susceptible to puckering and distortion, therefore, properly digitizing these designs are crucial. Improper digitizing, overall, produces poor results. The more stitches that are loaded into the design will most likely cause more distortion. Avoid high stitch counts at all costs when working with thinner fabrics. Keep it simple and ensure that the stitch density is to a minimum.

Digitize your thinner, stretchy garment designs to stitch from the center out, from the bottom up. This helps to reduce stretch and helps to prevent distortion and puckering.

Push and Pull
Assign embroidery stitch types to specific areas while considering factors such as the fabric type and “push and pull” of the garment. The push and pull of the garment is a phrase that you will hear frequently in embroidery digitizing. A design may move when being embroidered and this tends to cause stitches to shift. When digitizing, one must account for the possible effects of the push and pull factor. This typically occurs when using long stitches, large areas of thread and tighter bobbin thread. The pull effect is enhanced on a long stitch or a stretchy, thin fabric. Managing this effect is considered the pull compensation.

Sequence
The sequence that the machine embroiders the design is very crucial. When embroidering the design, the machine should first begin with the placement stitch, the underlay and then the top stitch. The sequence is extremely important and if it is not properly followed, it will not effectively stabilize the design; that will result in distorted and poorly stitched designs.

When digitizing, you must decide how the “pathing” will run. Pathing is the sequence of stitches in the design from the start to finish. This will also determine how an embroidered design will lie once it is finished. If the design is not embroidered in the proper sequence on the garment, you might have some unwanted spaces or the text may end up uneven. In the long run, the pathing will affect how the design will run on the embroidery machine.

Proper Underlay & Stitch Density
The underlay is the foundation of your design as it secures the backing and fabric together. It also provides a firm foundation to build the design on top of. There are many different types of underlays that give the stitches a smooth surface to embroider on and minimize distortion of the design. Embroidering on these thin fabrics that are stretchy without and underlay would cause the design to distort. The wrong underlay on these thin fabrics won’t stabilize the design, resulting in a very difficult embroidery process such as the stitches sinking into the fabric.

Keep in mind that too many jump stitches cause some issues. These jump stitches happen when the needle tends to travel from one part of the design onto another and dragging the thread along as it goes. Sometimes, jump stitches can occur due to a poorly digitized design where the needle moves randomly from one part of the design to the other. This is usually an occurrence when the design sequence isn’t thought of during digitization. Jump stitches can cause a lot of different obstacles during the embroidery process including puckering, distortion, low quality performance and having to manually trim them.

The stitch density is critical because it has a large impact on the overall embroidered design. When embroidering on thinner fabrics, keep stitch density to a minimum. When there is less density on the design, the stitch time is shorter and reduces the odds of broken needles and thread breaks. Adding more underlay in the fill will allow you to reduce the overall fill stitches.
Backing

Thin garments and lighter materials can be tricky to embroider because of the flimsiness can pull the garment together, causing unwanted bunching and puckering. A trick to preventing some puckering with the lightweight fabric is to add some adhesive spray to start and then add a low profile No Show Weblon or Performance backing. Then, add a light weight tear away for more stability and crispiness to the overall design. Adhere the layers of stabilizer to the thinner fabric using the adhesive recommended above and hoop it all together. Try to avoid overstretching the fabrics inside of the hoop. You want the fabric to be nice and taut to give yourself a nice space to embroider your design.

Digitizing is such a major key to embroidery and without it, there would not be any designs to embroider. With these simple tips and tricks, you will create high-quality designs that you and your customers are going to love! Digitizing doesn’t have to be difficult or bothersome, it is important to follow these simple tips and the rest will be smooth sailing.

Talia LeBlanc is the product marketer, specializing in embroidery thread and bobbins at Madeira USA. Skilled in embroidery and communications, Talia manages the marketing of Madeira thread from the company headquarters in New Hampshire. For more information or to comment on this article, email Talia at tleblanc@madeirausa.com.

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Lettering can go on any area of a cap: the front, left panel, back, closure strap or side. It also can go on the keyhole, which is the void area above the closure strap. Text generally is curved to match the contour of this void.

Hooping for the keyhole usually is done with a standard embroidery hoop. The bill also can be embroidered, but it needs to be done before the hat is assembled via a flat panel program.

However, when it comes to embroidery digitizing, each placement location has its own considerations. First, it’s important to think about the cap’s attributes. For example, is it structured or unstructured? The former has buckram, which stiffens and stabilizes the front panels, allowing it to stand on its own.

Profile height — low, medium or high — and hooping method also must be considered. The profile dictates the design’s height. If hooped in a flat hoop, there will be more even tension on the cap’s fabric and the stitching order will be less important for good results. Unstructured hats or the back of caps can be hooped flat. A cap hoop holds the hat by the sweatband so it’s most stable near the brim.

Center-Seam Embroidery Placement

Let’s start with the most common placement location for headwear lettering: the center over the seam. When using a cap hoop, the lettering needs to be ordered so that it sews from the center of the design and outward. I prefer to digitize the tie-in or lock stitch with a center-run underlay to control the location in which the letter begins to stitch. The objective of the design is to smooth the fabric from the brim of the cap and upward, and from the center seam and outward.

Manually digitizing underlay allows you to control the tie-in stitch; secure the fabric to the stabilizer; secure the center seam and bridge it if necessary; and allows the thread to stay tight on the fabric, resulting in clean and crisp letters. Bridging is when you sew across the seam, keeping stitches from falling into it. This only works if the letter will fully cover the center seam. If the edge of a satin stitch falls on the seam line, adjust the kerning — space between letters — to shift the satin stitch to either fall directly over the seam or off to either side. If this adjustment isn’t made, the stitches will disappear into the seam, giving the letter an uneven look.

Panel Placement: Embroidery 

When sewing on the left or right front panel, I prefer to start lettering embroidery on the center seam side and work toward the outside seam, pressing the material away from the center seam. If sewing on the side of the cap past the brim using a cap hoop, remember to secure the fabric to the stabilizer to ensure smooth stitching. This area has no structural reinforcement; thus, securing it to the stabilizer will prevent movement and loss of registration.

I typically lay down a manual center-run underlay to control the tie-in point, then do a contoured or edge-run underlay to secure the edge, followed by a zigzag or double zigzag to add loft to the lettering. Again, the order must proceed from the center and outward in this situation, as the fabric is only held tightly by the cap-hoop band, which is pressed into the sweatband where the cap material and brim meet.

Profile height will dictate lettering height. For example, a design digitized at 2 inches tall may be too big for a low-profile hat; similarly, a low-profile cap design will look too small on a high-profile cap. A design that’s too large will cause the material to stretch on the end of the stitching arm and throw off registration.

Wider lettering tends to sew better than thin lettering. The extra width allows for more underlay stitching to attach the fabric to the stabilizer, which results in better registration.

Stitch Type and Size, Run and Fill Stitches

The majority of lettering on caps, including 3-D puff, is done using satin stitches. Fill and run stitches sometimes also are used. When digitizing small text for a cap, a center-run underlay is almost always needed. The underlay’s stitch length needs to be short — about 1mm — to ensure it doesn’t poke outside of the finished satin.

I don’t digitize satin text smaller than 5mm, or with satin columns narrower than 1mm. Anything smaller will prove difficult for producing clean, legible text. If embroidering a fill-stitch letter, plan on outlining it using a satin stitch, which gives the fill’s edge definition.

If you use a contrasting thread for the outline, it can help make the text stand out against the background fabric. Keep in mind that the satin outline should be at least 1mm wide. Set your lettering up to run one complete letter — the inside and the outline — to maintain registration. When doing an outline on 3-D puff text, it’s better to do the outline first and the puff text second. This will keep the outline from distorting the puffed letters’ edges.
These are the many things to consider when digitizing for embroidery on caps. The design dictates the sewing order, but using these methods ensures a successful finished product.

Jeff Fuller is the owner of Fuller Embroidery Works LLC. Article updated May. 28, 2025

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Pique
Pique, tees’ knottier cousin, has a certain weave to it that gives it it’s unique texture. However, this bumpi¬ness can wreak havoc on embroidery. For digitizing I recommend increasing your density only slightly and if room in the columns for satin stitching allows, then increase the type of underlay.

Whereas you may normally use zigzag underlay, try using double zigzag instead. It helps keep the satin stitches on top, limiting how the texture of pique can influence the edges of the columns.

The texture of pique can show through the top stitch¬ing more than tees or twill. Water soluble topping can help clean up the edges of the embroidery while also improving the vibrancy of the stitches.

Towels
Linen kitchen towels can just be treated like twill. Your standard bath towel is the terry cloth variety and can have different heights of loops. This looped fabric can separate the stitching of embroidery and even fall over the design and cover your design.

Increasing the density of your top stitching and using more underlay will help as long as your column width is on the bolder side. The fabric’s pile may cover your design or small letters even with water soluble topping.

A knockdown or tackdown stitch can be your friend. This is an open fill stitch with another open fill under¬lay that crosses in the opposite direction (also known as Tatami or Lattice.) This effect should be made the same color as the fabric so as not to be obtrusive. Cre¬ate a shape that extends past the desired area by about one-eighth inch or more, if the pile of the fabric is extra-long. This can be a simple block shape or more of a contour shape around the letters or design.

Fleece
I know it’s summer time and talking about fleece may seem premature, but as I write over here in the Pacific Northwest, it is currently 54°F, and we’re all bun¬dled up right now. We will discuss the different types of fleece.

Sweats
The typical sweatshirt is a heavy fabric with a fuzzy inside and has a considerable amount of stretch. Although sweats have no pile, they do have a certain amount of sink to it. Pull compensation should be increased to around .22-.26 mm. Density should be increased by 10-15% in addition to almost doubling the underlay. Double zig zag underlay for wider satin columns and double layer of tatami underlay for areas with fill stitch.

Polar Fleece
This is the most common type of fuzzy fleece. It is fuzzy with a high pile, usually around a quarter or more. This fuzziness can fall over the embroidered design covering up essential parts. Both polar fleece and mi¬cro fleece tend to be really stretchy, so cut away back¬ing may be necessary to add support.

Like pique or towels, the underlay will need to be increased. For satin stitches you will need to double up the normal underlay. Edge run is less necessary on polar fleece. Increase your pull compensation and your density.

Although solvy can be used on fleece I find it more dif¬ficult to steam out in post-production. A knockdown/tackdown stitch is going to help with any small letter¬ing or important detail that otherwise may get covered by the surrounding fleece.

Micro Fleece
The other type of fuzzy fleece is micro fleece. Mi¬cro fleece has a low pile but tends to be really dense. Program your design the same way you would polar fleece. If small lettering or detail is in the logo, instead of using a tackdown stitch, use your normal fill stitch (keep it the same color as your fabric.) The pile of micro fleece tends to want to stick out more despite the lower height.

Columns not looking wide enough on fleece? Don’t just increase you pull comp, also increase the column width. Look to see if your software allows you to increase the column width without using pull com¬pensation. What’s the difference you may ask? Your underlay’s location is based on the edge of the shape. Increasing the pull comp will further the distance from that underlay. The underlay can become less useful the further away from the edge of the top stitching.
(put photos of pull comp and underlay here)

In conclusion, don’t just try increasing your density, instead, increase your underlay and pull compensation. Water soluble topping can be helpful on towels and pique but can be difficult to pick out in post-produc¬tion. A knockdown stitch can be helpful in keeping the pile of your fabric at bay.

Jesse Elliott is digitizing production manager for Ignition Drawing.

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Monograms are a natural endeavor for smaller shops that cater to customers as individuals. But monograms also can be a lucrative addition to corporate logos in larger shops. Because they are so personal, the price can be flexible and offset some of the other more competitive types of embroidery.

Also, your customer will want a selection in an array of colors and sizes that makes him feel as if you are thinking solely about him. Ensure your options will cover everyone’s taste, and that you have the time needed to put the order together.

You don’t have to offer every monogram available; offer a few good ones that are set up so you only have to change the letter or letters, not the layout. Colors also should be limited, unless you are offering tone-on-tone on linens or upscale garments. In such a case, let the customer know you will match the thread to the fabric.

Scaling Tips
Some of our industry’s most beautiful monograms are stock offerings from companies that specialize in monogramming. Figure 1 is showing the “H” monogram (style AOL701H) that is offered by Embroidery Arts, Philadelphia, and can be found at embroideryarts.com.

Because monograms are used for different garments, linens and even framed pieces, these stock offerings must be scaled from large to small. Also, they must run like a dream without destroying the art’s integrity.

Doing this requires software that recognizes the original artist’s commands. If your software only allows stitch-by-stitch editing, then it is best to run the monogram at the size, or sizes, provided.

Most stock monograms are offered in two sizes; in the case of Embroidery Arts, there is the “XL version” of some of its more popular styles that allow for scaling from 7-10 inches. When dealing with stock monograms, you primarily are working with a satin or column stitch.

Small and Wide
To scale this design, the first rule is that the smaller the monogram letter, the smaller the satin-stitch column will be. The length of the stitch in the column has to be wide enough so that there is material between the two needle penetrations at each end of the stitch. If the two needle penetrations are too close with no material in between, you will lose that stitch.

Also, that wider, longer stitch results in the gloss that makes this embroidery beautiful. So, as with any satin or column stitch, scaling down the monogram requires widening the column.

Second, with a wider column, the thread will pull and fill in. If you don’t allow for the resulting increased density, the stitches will begin to push against each other. This will compromise the column’s beauty and cause it to “wobble.” To give those stitches room, simply lighten the density or increase the space between the stitches.

You will find that the default density values initially should be lightened by about 10%. This is because the software usually reinterprets the column stitch to be about 10%-15% more dense than the original artist’s programming. As you decrease the monogram’s size, the density or spacing needs to be decreased proportionately.

When you get to the very small column, you will find that if the default is .40mm, you will be running the column at .80mm. When shown at 100%, you will see that this fills in nicely and the design’s beauty isn’t compromised.

The next step is addressing the column’s width. These stitches love to pull in, which is an advantage. Not only does it allow you to run a very small column without thread breaks, but the pulling forces the stitches to fill in and be more rounded, adding beauty and dimension to the monogram.

To edit this particular monogram effectively, take it color by color, as each section has a different look or texture and needs to be addressed separately (see Figure 3). Starting with the small areas you see in color No. 1, check the density of the objects within it and lighten that density in proportion to the size you will be running.

If you have scaled that design down to 50% of the original letter size, you must lighten the density at least 60% and widen the column. When measuring the column (the length of the stitch), if you find that the length is 2.9mm and the needle width is .8mm, you will have material to work with. But I would still widen the column by 30% and lighten the density by 60%. Thus, if the default is .40mm, it should be .60mm.

The objects in color No. 2 are slightly larger. However, they stitch from the center and out, resulting in a shorter stitch. If that stitch length is 1.6mm and the needle’s width is half of that, there is no material between needle penetrations — so widen the column by at least 60%. The density then should be at .80mm, or a 90% decrease.

The last color, No. 3, is the letter itself. Here, the goal should be to keep the beautiful sheen. This still will require lightening the density as you reduce the size, but also widening the column for that all-important gloss. If these columns measure a little wider than 2mm, then make them twice as wide and reduce the density to .65mm.

These two steps — lightening density and widening columns as the stock monogram’s size is decreased — are the keys to success. Following the above tips will ensure a smooth-running, beautiful monogram at any size. In fact, these two steps will help you perfect other designs you are editing.

Lee Caroselli-Barnes, owner of Balboa Threadworks Embroidery Design, is known for her innovation and excellence in embroidery digitizing. She has more than 30 years of experience in the embroidery industry. For more information or to comment on this article, email Lee at balboainfo@aol.com.

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