Read Please: These tips are original and exclusive to OPW Mall. Feel free to use them for your personal embroidering and quilting needs, however, it is strictly prohibited to publish them without permission.
Watch for new tips as they are added to the top of this list.
Before you start digitizing, print your image out and "plot your course" number the parts of the image in the order that you want to digitize them. this will help you keep color changes and jump stitches to a minimum.
A good way to avoid jump stitches is to hide the travelling stitch lines. This is achieved by hiding the travelling stitches between digitized objects. It is always a good idea make a plan of the sequence of your digitizing.
Jump stitches on a design are sometimes a nuisance. There are times that these jumps are unavoidable. If you use an auto-digitizing program, you will be at the mercy of the software . It is preferable to manually punch your design to minimize or avoid jump stitches and to produce a higher quality design.
When digitizing a design, be friendly towards your embroidery machine. A design that jumps up and down and from left to right will put a great deal of stress on a machine. Try to plan your digitizing to travel smoothly from one section to the next.
Practice and experience is the key factor differentiating the digitizing of a good or an excellent design. Keep a record of all your settings, pull compensation, stitch density, underlay used, etc.
