ImagesMagUK_April_2021

By isolated an underlay line that runs inside the border of this easily converted patch-style design, you can export a cut line for our plotter or laser cutter if you want to create pre-cut pieces for either custom patches or appliqué fills. Depending on the software, you may need to manually draw this vector, but it’s still a simple process considered multimedia, the addition of appliqué elements can be a simple way to remove large filled areas and reduce stitch count or create textural interest in an otherwise unassuming stock design by replacing them with applied materials. While many stock designs are already created with underlay in mind, any filled area with a substantial enough border can easily be converted to appliqué using basic digitising software. Some editing software can automatically create cut-lines for your plotter or laser from existing straight-stitch run elements in your stock design. If you are one of the multimedia makers excited by the last element in this list, you can even employ rip-away appliqué by placing heat-press films in satin-bordered areas and tearing away any excess without altering the existing design. There’s no limit to what you can do with stock designs, except your imagination. Though stock is great to kick-start that indecisive customer, it can also be the perfect thing to add accents, event-specific, seasonal, and holiday imagery to standard logowear, or to provide framing for other custom designs as well. Don’t count stock out, even if you, like me, are a fan of totally bespoke embroidery. In the right context, a ready-made design can be made into much more than it might have seemed at first sight. particularly if your software can remove overlapping areas intelligently. Even without overlapping, designs can be used to create frames or accents around other elements with ease; play with orientation, rotation and combinations to make something new. ■ Reuse discrete design elements If you have editing software, and particularly if your design is given to you in a ‘working file’ format that has the original digitised shapes, you may be able to pull apart your design elements and reuse or combine them to create a new treatment. ■ Make a patch Add placement and border elements to create a free- standing patch from any stock design. Combine stock, text and your patch border shape to create an entirely new look and a useful, non-sized item that can be used to decorate almost anything. There are a host of other objects you can create on-machine to increase your offerings too. A favourite with some of my customers were key-fobs and luggage tags. Similar to patches, some of these speciality stitch-only items can be created in-house for small-run production or outsourced to emblem producers if demand increases. ■ Make it multimedia There are myriad treatments you can combine with stock designs to create something more eye-catching than the original. Depending on your shop’s equipment or the time you can afford to wait for outsourced supplies, it’s simple to stack your stock designs on top of any range of prints from heat-press films to traditional screen printing or sublimation. If you have an in-house sublimation set-up or can source sublimation transfers, sublimating on white polyester thread as part of the design or on heat- pressed materials like glitter flake can create full-colour elements you can pair with your embroidery. Adding either pre-set or hand-placed rhinestones can also dramatically increase the impact of the right stock design. ■ Add appliqué Although this could be To convert this fully filled, centre element into a patch, the major background fill was removed, then a line from the border underlay was isolated and converted into a line used to create the placement and tackdown runs for either an appliqué or patch treatment as shown by the simulated fabric preview. With either a quick session of drawing in even the most simple digitising software and/or using editing software with appliqué tools, a filled area can be quickly converted into cut files and simple tacking stitches for use with the existing satin border Simulated fabric preview There’s no more classic use of stock than this: iconic imagery related to an interest, team or sport with text above and below www.images-magazine.com APRIL 2021 images 71 KB TIPS & TECHNIQUES Erich Campbell is an award-winning digitiser, embroidery columnist and educator, with more than 20 years’ experience both in production and the management of ecommerce properties. He is the programme manager for the commercial division of BriTon Leap. www.erichcampbell.com