Images_June_2020_Digital_Edition

P erhaps your business is closed during this health crisis, or you are on furlough, or a smaller order book is freeing up some spare time – either way, now is the perfect time to focus on education and learning new skills. For embroiderers, an obvious area to focus on, as it doesn’t necessarily require you to spend time on your embroidery machine, is digitising. With that in mind, the following article sets out a pathway to achieving digitising proficiency, which will stand you in good stead once your business is back up to operating full speed. Machines and materials As you embark on your digitising journey, it’s essential to keep in mind that your end goal is not a well-executed digitised file – it is the embroidery itself. Don’t overlook the need to fully understand the embroidery process in your rush to learn new technology – the two are inseparable. Put succinctly, a digitiser should know how machines, materials, and embroidery techniques interact, and how that interaction affects the way an embroidery file runs. If you don’t already have this knowledge, you need to acquire it. These are the basics a digitiser should know about: ■ How embroidery machines work on a basic level ■ How thread behaves during embroidery. This includes how specific threads, needles, and fabrics interact while stitching ■ How materials deform due to the stresses of embroidery and how stabilisers mitigate movement and distortion ■ How thread tension affects stitch formation and look, as well as how to maintain the balance between the bobbin and top thread tensions ■ How tight a garment should be hooped, and how hooping with too much or too little tension can be detrimental Keep in mind that your end goal is not a well- executed digitised file – it is the embroidery itself Digitising and embroidery conventions Once a basic understanding of embroidery is in place, there is a further category of knowledge to attain that isn’t directly related to software operation. This includes an understanding of industry terminology, the way stitches are formed, and the difference between the work viewed on-screen and the eventual stitched design. From art to embroidery via digitised file If you don’t know how a machine works, learning to digitise will be difficult. Even when you are locked away from your machines, studying basic machine functions and even how your particular machines work can help inform your digitising. After all, digitising is all about controlling machine functions and movement www.images-magazine.com JUNE 2020 images 41 KB BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Learning digitising during downtime Now is the ideal time to learn new digitising skills. Erich Campbell tells you what you need to know and where to find relevant educational resources