The Role of Design in Machine Embroidery
In machine embroidery, it's not just about choosing the right fabric or purchasing a stabilizer that significantly improves the process and outcome. The design also plays a crucial role, as not all designs can be embroidered on every type of fabric. Each category of material has its own design parameters to ensure the embroidery looks neat and of high quality.
Examples of Choosing Embroidery Designs
Let's consider a few key options when selecting a design:
- Linear Technique Designs: Suitable for materials without a pronounced texture and with slight looseness.
- Richelieu Embroidery: It's not advisable to embroider on knits or highly elastic fabrics.
- Cross-Stitch on Stretchy Fabrics: Designs with large elements should be avoided as they can affect the fabric's elasticity.
- Thin and Transparent Fabrics: Avoid designs with dense fills and large elements.
- Appliqué Designs: Consider the properties of both the base fabric and the appliqué material.
- Chevron and Patch Designs: Choose with regard to the specifics of embroidering on non-elastic, dense materials with a stabilizer.
- Lace Designs: Keep in mind that they are embroidered on water-soluble or heat-sensitive stabilizers, as well as on organza or tulle.
How to Choose Design Parameters
Design parameters are usually set based on the properties of the materials used for embroidery. For example, if you’re working with textured, pile, or elastic fabrics, a stabilizer alone might not be enough. In such cases, design adjustments are necessary to achieve a high-quality result. When working with materials that are prone to tearing, be cautious with dense designs and frequent stitches.
Experts recommend being cautious with designs downloaded from unreliable sources. This is because settings may have been altered, and the design might contain defects. Every time a file is converted, it loses some of its original quality, so you might need to refine and adjust it before embroidering.
The original design creator takes into account factors such as fabric density, thickness, elasticity, shrinkage, weave, and chosen stabilizer. Therefore, even when downloading a high-quality design from the internet, you’ll need to make adjustments according to your chosen materials. It's essential, whenever possible, to test a portion of the design on a scrap piece of the same fabric.