Digitizing Embroidery is a vast field. It has many learning curves that one should know to become an expert. There are many questions asked regarding digitizing embroidery. One of the important questions from the list is, “ how much the embroidery design can be resized? Some say avoid resizing, some say resize design up to 10% up or down. Some say to do it up to 20% or 30% and the limit goes on…
One should understand that every design is created for a different purpose. The design created should run well on a large variety of fabric types. The features like density, underlay, and pull compensation can be altered depending on the place for design usage.
Every Design is Created Differently
Before moving on to the answer; how much the embroidery design can be resized? Let’s first set up some foundation. A person should be familiar with some basic theory related to the creation of design along with some foundational rules to start the work. People who are doing embroidery for some time are aware of the learning curve during first practice on the machine.
It is a common observation that people buy the machine, go online, and download all various kinds of free designs. These newbies just load a design without having an understanding and then figure out that design is not created equally. The beginners are not aware of the fact that the design loaded in the machine will cause problems. The list of problems includes the poor running of a machine, birds nesting after every few seconds, and thread breakage.
Due to these situations, the person feels that he might have got the wrong machine or there is some kind of malfunctioning. Make one thing clear here, you will get the end result according to the stuff you have loaded in the machine. It is recommended for the beginners to learn the rules and then try to create the design. There are online sources available from where you can learn the digitizing and practice it for perfection.
The embroiderers who are new should learn about primary stitch types. The three foundation stitch types are as follows:
-Running Stitch
-Satin Stitch
-Fill Stitch
Every stitch type has its own specific rules. For now, we will be looking at the running stitch.
Rules for Running Stitch
In running stitch, you can take control of only one property and this is related to the stitch length. There are minimum and maximum travel lengths done by the needle. The rules for the ranges will vary according to the type of fabric.
Minimum Stitch Length: The absolute minimum value will be 0.5mm. This means that the machine will stitch after every half a millimeter and this value is very small. Remember one thing that machines prefer movement within the frame. If your machine needle is going to stitch within the same place, then there is a great chance of thread breakage.
Small stitches give rise to stitch intensive design. This reflects a poorly digitized design where many stitches penetration is very close. To avoid this situation, you can use some of the best software. Some advanced software has an in-built default setting to filter out the stitch penetration smaller than 0.3mm.
Maximum Stitch Length: In maximum stitch length, there are two sets of rules that refers to a condition either the item is wearable or non-wearable?
We all know that washing of wearable items is done frequently. If the stitch length is long, then the embroidery loses its integrity and looks loopy. The maximum stitch length for a wearable item should be 7mm. To ensure that stitch length remains the same, you can use some software. They have a function that allows the stitch to split if it is more than 7mm.
If you want to stitch longer than 7mm, then do this on non-wearable items because they are not washed frequently. Most of the machines have a feature that automatically trims the stitch length bigger than 12.1mm. The machine will make a single stitch and trim, stitch and trim to formulate an effect known as invisible embroidery.
Resizing of Embroidery Design
Now, you can understand that being aware of foundational rules like running stitch as discussed above, we can analyze the limitations within designs. Point to remember here is that a design with a big size has fewer problems as compared to a design with a small size. If you are planning to digitize the design with small text and details, then the probability of resizing is very less. You will get poor quality when creating such designs.
Let’s consider a case, if you have running stitches at 0.5mm stitch length, then minimizing the overall size will lead to hard stitches and thread breakage issues. The machine, in this case, will be stitching at the same position again and again. If you are looking to get a better understanding of how much the design can be increased or decreased, then you should get knowledge of fundamental rules of stitches. You can get in touch with professionals or find a reliable online resource for learning.
Learning Curve of Native and Machine Format
Now, we will be discussing the two types of format. There are some limitations with resizing when we are going to deal with machine format as compared to native format.
Machine Format: A Machine format like PES in embroidery program has limitation in term of changing properties and stitch type within the design. You can edit the machine file using any software and make the desired changes but the results will be awful. Expanded machine file formats will have more limitations when it comes to editing and resizing the designs.
Native Format: Native file format can be loaded into the program you are having for the work. You can do editing, resizing, and other desired changes. Doing so, the software will give you smooth results. If you are custom embroidery digitizing your own design, then it is very essential to save your master file in a format that is native to your software for getting better results.
Final Thoughts
There is no hard and fast rule regarding the resizing of the embroidery design. A person should learn fundamental rules like stitch length and fabric type to get the desired results.
Moreover, if you are in search of experts to avail the embroidery digitizing services, then you can contact Digitizing Buddy to get the quality work done. The professional team will deliver the end product on time with an affordable price tag.
Price is $1/1000 stitches which makes left chest and cap logos at $10. Contact us to get a free quote and know more about our services.
