Impressions - March 2012 - (Page 50)

talking SHOP Embroidery Design & Digitizing Short Stitches and Controlling Corners The interplay between corners and short stitches is something that embroiderers must be aware of to control distortion and create a design that runs ﬂawlessly when being sewn. By Ed Levy, Contributing Writer Fig. 1 he interaction between needle, thread and garment can seem like a cruel joke to novice embroiderers. The image that is viewed on the screen is almost never the same as what is sewn on the embroidery machine. To compound matters, no two materials and no two backings are alike. The result is an endless set of guidelines designed to control these factors. Digitizing truly is the art of controlling distortion. Every challenge in embroidery requires a gameplan to overcome it in order to create a beautiful design that runs ﬂawlessly on the embroidery machine. Corners and short stitches are two factors that usually go hand in hand. The focus of the article will be on four primary cornering types, along with an explanation of short stitches and why we have them. 50 Impressions | March 2012 Fig. 2 the inside edge. By alternating standard and short stitches, the garment ﬁbers are taking much less of a beating and have less of a chance to knot up or break threads. Short stiches often are controlled within embroidery software and can be set to various settings. A way to control the amount of short stitches used is to expand the amount of space the corner has to make the turn. For example, starting the turn for the corner a little sooner and ending the turn a little later creates a longer inner corner space and reduces the amount of short stitches needed. Notice how much more space there is on the inside of Figure 3 vs. the inside of Figure 1. So, while short stitches help control the amount of stitching in an inner corner, they are a defense mechanism and should be used with care. Just imagine what the impressionsmag.com t USING SHORT STITCHES The problem with corners in embroidery is that the outside and inside edges of a corner have the same amount of stitches; however, the space in which they have to turn the corner is signiﬁcantly different. In Figure 1, the red line indicates the turning space available for both the outside and inside edges. You can clearly see that the outer edge has quite a long distance, while the inner edge takes up virtually no space. Imagine the pounding that the inside corner is getting by having all those stitches in such a small area. Consider short stitches a tool and defense mechanism to help control the inside of a corner. In Figure 2, the short stitches are represented by the black dots. Notice how those stitches do not come all the way to http://www.impressionsmag.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Impressions - March 2012

Impressions - March 2012
Contents
First Impressions
From the Show Director
FYI
ISS Conferences
Product Gallery
What Women Want
Fashion Meets Function
The “Blingifi cation” of Decorated Apparel
Online Directory
Shop Spotlight
Shop Spotlight
Embroidery Technique
Embroidery Technique
Embroidery Design & Digitizing
Embroidery Design & Digitizing
Tech Tips: Embroidery
Tech Tips: Embroidery
Screen Printing Production
Screen Printing Production
For Screen Printers Only
For Screen Printers Only
Tech Tips: Screen Printing
Tech Tips: Screen Printing
Digital Decorating
Digital Decorating
Business to Business
Business to Business
Classifieds
Classifieds
Ad Index
Ad Index

Impressions - March 2012