Embroidery Digitizing
How It Works

First it is important to realize what embroidery digitizing is and the best description is that it is an art. It is having a computer perform conversion of artwork into a form of data that your embroidery machine can recognize. Thus, whatever the computer tells the embroidery machine to make, it will make, no matter how often you tell it to make the same thing, such as let’s say 100 baseball caps with the same logo on it.

With embroidery digitizing, making a work of embroidery has become superbly simple, and thus it is no longer the tedious work that hand embroidery has been. It is now not only easier but also much faster. One can use either a scanned image or a digital file, telling the computer what your preferences are as for stitch types, density settings, directions and then making any adjustments that may be necessary to make perfect embroidery. One can also use a pre-made pattern, and pass it along to the embroidery machine by giving it a code.

Just as doing anything on a computer, one must have the software to accomplish the task. There are a lot of specific embroidery digitizing software available via the Internet. Once you have the software, you may then scan the artwork that you have chosen for embroidery and begin to digitize that particular image. What is truly interesting is that you may wish to utilize a personal drawing, or even something you’ve scanned from a magazine. The software will make adjustments to its settings so that you end up with a perfectly embroidered job.

Your job is to verify the settings that the digitizer is using, as you’ll need to program it to lay out the project as well as make adjustments on density settings, stitch directions and the different stitches that the particular work will require. You will also need to make adjustments for the particular type of fabric used. “Pathing” is a term you will learn about, and what it means is that the computer will actually map the starting point, and the path it will follow to the end of the path. Some people call this punching too.

You will be able to preview the outcome of your digitized artwork following any of the necessary changes you deemed necessary such as adjustments, alterations or additions. What you are seeking is an ultra-clean image. When you are satisfied that you have a truly clean image then you may proceed with the actual embroidery. You will of course make sure your embroidery machine is proficient at reading your file in order to properly transform it into the proper stitches. Finally verify that your specific machine code has been properly introduced into the embroidery machine.

What is truly exciting about embroidery digitizing is that it is not difficult to learn, and after you’ve done your first piece, you will gain proficiency rather quickly and make personal changes to the digitized images you desire, thus adding a personal touch to the embroidery. The hard part, if there is actually a difficult part, is learning how to select the right digital image for whatever it is you are stitching.