ImagesMagUK_February_2021

www.images-magazine.com 72 images FEBRUARY 2021 TIPS & TECHNIQUES A short circuit to achieving top techniques Number 5 is alive! Dominic Bunce of embroidery digitiser David Sharp shares some good digitising practice that will help bring your embroidery to life. And for those who are under 40 and have no idea who Number 5 is or why he’s alive, this characterful robot is from the classic 80s film, Short Circuit B ringing embroidery to life is an art – every designer has their own take on how it will look, but the fundamentals remain the same. However, it isn’t as straightforward as you might think – this design, which was created for Julie at Cozy2Hugs, shows the importance of good planning and using the right digitising techniques. Working through the design workflow is an important starting point: just like a book, you need your beginning, middle and end. This will ensure that the design runs efficiently, and that you will achieve the best quality finish available. You have to build up levels of stitching and detail, working from each area, completing in sections. Laying down the black outline as the last piece of detail, for example, would create alignment issues, as the design pushes and pulls as it is embroidered. Allowing for push and pull compensation is all part of the design process, and breaking it down into sections ensures that everything will align well. For example, the embroidery file runs each of the tracks of the robot one at a time, making sure the black outlines are finished before moving onto the next section of the design. This ensures the best alignment of the embroidery, with no details spilling out over the borders. This design had a stitch count of 45,000, with a run time of just over one hour. We used 13 colours and four different types of stitches: tatami, satin, running and zig-zag. www.davidsharp.co.uk David Sharp brings Number 5 to life with careful planning