Title:
Machine Embroidery Designs Enhance Wearables & Crafts
Word Count:
561
Summary:
Looking for a new way to add decorative touches to your ready-to-wear items or crafts? Author describes how to begin researching machine embroidery and what types of machine embroidery designs are available. Explore how to change thread colors and fabrics to make designs more versatile. Even use machine embroidery to create a home business.
Keywords:
Sewing, Machine Embroidery, Quilting, Design, Creative, Embellish, Digitize, Home Business
Article Body:
Has the machine embroidery bug bitten you yet? Do you want to get into machine embroidery, but just don’t know where to start? Do you wonder if the investment is worth it?
About four years ago, I purchased my first embroidery machine, and I have been hooked to the art ever since. I’ve slowly built a library of designs and I’ve learned how to hoop, stabilize, and choose the right thread!
I started by researching the vast array of embroidery machines available, many of which also do standard sewing. Machines are priced anywhere from $400 up to many thousands. Search the Internet or go to your local Sew Vac or fabric store for a demonstration! Choose a machine based upon how much embroidery you want to do and what your budget will allow.
To tell the truth, I felt weird about using machine embroidery at first. I wanted to be the designer and I didn’t want to depend upon someone else’s creativity to make my work look beautiful. Then, I discovered that I had lots of choices and I couldn’t resist the designs that are available. I found quilt embroideries that you can use to quilt blocks in the hoop and get better results than using free-motion or a long arm machine. I found all sorts of vintage looks in redwork, bluework, and even lace that you embroider right on a dissolvable stabilizer in the thread color that matches your project best. Of course there are many modern detailed designs in every theme from babies and kids to holidays and weddings.
Embroidery designs are “digitized” from artwork. While most sites sell artwork that can be picked up by many digitizers, some sites selling machine embroidery files such as SWAK Embroidery and You Can Make This also have designs from original hand-drawn art. This means that those designs can only be purchased from those sites and therefore, you won’t see them just anywhere.
One great thing about embroidery designs is that they have a color palette selected for you in advance, but you can also adjust the colors to your specifications by choosing from color families and tones. Filled designs are those made up of all embroidered stitches. Appliqu
