STITCHING OUT DESIGNS

Once the embroidery design is transferred to your embroidery machine you can sew it out. If you have problems stitching out a design from our website, it is very likely that the problem is in your process rather than in the design. 

I say this not because I am being arrogant, but because we sew out every design as a test before it is offered to the public.  Once it is put up for our members to download, it is downloaded and sewn out by hundreds of people in the next few weeks.  If a design ever gets past our test sewing step with a problem in the design, it is brought to our attention very quickly by our members.  In the 10 plus years we have been selling designs we have had 3 or 4 that got past our testing process and out to the public with a mistake in it.  With 4 mistakes out of 20,000 attempts, it is not likely that there is a problem with the design we released. 

If you DO have a problem with a design from our site, it could be one of the following reasons...

1) A bad download...  Sometimes a file being downloaded from the internet will get corrupted.  This can be caused by a hiccup by your internet service provider's access lines or by other problems.  The first step when a problem design is discovered is to download the design again and see if it is now correct.

2) Re-sizing...   Software for editing embroidery designs is often used to make a design larger or smaller to suit the users needs.  Unfortunately, resizing a design often causes the design to no longer stitch out correctly.  If you have resized a design, all bets are off as to how well it sews out. 

3) Improper Stabilizing...   Fabric will shift and / or stretch when an embroidery machines starts pushing it around and adding thread to it. That is why the process of machine embroidery requires a stabilizer be used to support the fabric.  If stabilizer is not used, or if it is used but used improperly, then the design may stitch out with problems.  Members of our website will find an excellent tutorial video on stabilizing properly on our website in the TUTORIALS section under BASICS OF MACHINE EMBROIDERY. 

4) Hooping technique...  Both fabric and stabilizer must be secured in the hoop properly in order to get a good stitch out.  Many people do not tighten the hoop enough to hold the fabric securely. Both the fabric AND the stabilizer must be hooped and the hoop tension screw must be finger-tightened until the screw is fairly snug.  NEVER use a screwdriver to tighten the hoop tension screw as the plastic hoop WILL break.

Another hooping problem occurs when people hoop the fabric then pull on it to get it smooth.  NEVER pull on the fabric once it has been hooped.  This will hold the facric in a stretched position while the embroidery design is sewn out. When you release the fabric from the hoop, it will un-stretch and immediately pucker up around the edges of the design. 

5) Fabric preparation...   Before hooping fabric, it is a good practice to iron it smooth. A design applied to wrinkled fabric will hold the wrinkles permanently.  This isn't a good way to present your embroidery work.

6) Thread tension settings...   The tension settings on an embroidery machine are often a challenge. There are two settings, one for the bobbin thread and one for the top thread.  When properly set, the bobbin thread should NOT show on the top side of the fabric. The top thread should show on the bottom side of the fabric.

7) Threadnests...   If a bunch of thread balls up under the fabric, it is what we call a 'threadnest". Try changing the needle as a first step to correct the problem.  If the new needle doesn't fix the problem, try another new needle.  If you still get a threadnest then it is most likely either a bur in the threadpath or in the throat plate.  Check with your repair technician to solve the issue.

8)  Thread problems... Embroidery thread is normally made of polyesther in today's world.  It it possible to get a bad spool of thread or a poor quality brand of thread. It is also possible to get thread that is old or has been exposed to sunlight for too long.  Old or overexposed thread will break often.  Replace bad thread with good quality thread made by major thread manufacturers for better results.  

9) Machine mechanical problems...  If your embroidery machine will not sew out our design, try sewing out another design on your machine that you have sewn out successfully in the past. If the old design sews out okay but ours doesn't and you have tried steps 1 through 5 then please DO contact us with the design number that you are having problems with and the format that you are using.  The design number will be something like this...  ATG1234 and the format is the three letter code after the design number.  It will be ART, DST, HUS, JEF, or PES.   oftware" as it is often used to sort and inventory your embroidery designs.  You can find more information about cataloging software as a member of our website under TUTORIALS in the "COMPUTERS AND SOFTWARE" section.