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A Very Cool Tool

by / Current Posts, Eileen Roche, Facebook Live, Hooping, MVP, Software Saturday, Uncategorized / 5 Comments

Wouldn’t you agree the planning process is the most time-consuming and challenging part of machine embroidery?  Well, you’re not alone.  One of our team members thought previewing a design on fabric would streamline the planning process and after several months of development, we now have a way to do that.  Check out this cool new tool.

The Maximum View Projector, or MVP, is your solution for intricate design placement. The MVP comes with MVP software that converts any embroidery design into an image – sized perfectly – to audition on your fabric.

It’s so easy to use.  Let’s take a look at the process.  Download and install the software. Attach the projector to a work surface with the included clamp.  Measure the projector’s image area which will be up to 14″. Enter the measurements into the software.

Load the embroidery design (any format).  Then save the design in Color, Silhouette Positive or Silhouette Negative.

Save the image(s) to a USB stick and insert it into the projector.  Use the remote (included) to view the images. Slide your fabric under the image, moving the hooped fabric until you are satisfied with the placement of the embroidery.

The leaves and stem are printed features of the fabric while the flower is the image of the design. Notice the 3-d embroidered flower in the finished block above.

 

Align a Target Sticker (included) with the image’s crosshair.  Attach the hoop to the machine and center your needle over the Target Sticker.  It’s just like using a template without the hassle of a printer.  You can watch a video demonstration here.

I’m sure this will be a hot topic during our Wednesday, June 26 Facebook Live session at 1:00 CST.  Not only will I take questions on the MVP but I have a very special guest joining me – Christine Conner of Amelie Scott Designs and author of Edge to Edge Quilting.  Christine is helping me wrap up Hoopapalooza month as she’ll be sharing tips for edge to edge plus custom quilting.  I can’t wait to hear what she has in store!

Please follow us on Facebook to get a reminder for our Live session.  See you on Wednesday!  https://www.facebook.com/DesignsInMachineEmbroidery/

My 5 Embroidery Pet Peeves

by / Continuous Embroidery, Current Posts, Eileen Roche, Embroidery Techniques, Embroidery Tips, Marie Zinno, Quilting with your embroidery machine, Snap Hoop Monster, Special Offers, Uncategorized / 3 Comments

Machine embroidery is supposed to be beautiful.  And the process of making beautiful embroidery should be fun and enjoyable.  But all of that can be for naught when the experience is dampened by poor results, painful tasks and laborious placement. Enough already!  Let’s get the fun back into embroidery.

I have five pet peeves that annoy the daylights out of me when I’m embroidering.  And since I’ve been doing this for over 20 years, I’ve come up with solutions.  My pet peeves are hoop burn, hand strain, fabric distortion, laborious placement and tedious rehooping. What’s my solution? I ditched the standard hoop about 10 years ago and haven’t looked back.* Let me elaborate.

When knits, textured and napped fabrics are squeezed between two standard embroidery rings, the hoop often leaves a noticeable impression around the embroidery.  Those lofty and delicate fibers are now flattened – and possibly permanently flattened. Yikes!  The flat frames of Snap Hoop Monster leave no hoop burn – they firmly grip the fabrics and hold them in place without permanently damaging the fibers.

Twenty years of embroidery can wreak havoc on your hands, fingers and wrists.  Pushing an inner ring into an outer ring and tightening a screw 5, 10, 20 or maybe 30 times a day is grueling punishment.  No more.  I just snap that magnetic top frame over the bottom and I’m done!

Fabric distortion is a thing of the past because I pull and tug on the hooped fabric while it’s hooped in Snap Hoop Monster.  It’s the inner and outer rings that squeeze and distort fabric – doesn’t happen when fabric is sandwiched between two flat objects – a magnetic top and metal bottom.

I’ve invented all kinds of placement tools but sometimes I want to move the fabric just a smidgen under the needle.  With Snap Hoop Monster, I lift the top frame, slide the fabric, drop the frame back in place and press start!  No hooping and unhooping to move the fabric a millimeter or two.  I like the freedom Snap Hoop Monster gives me right at the machine.

Speaking of the machine, when I use Snap Hoop Monster, I can remove the top frame and advance the fabric to the next hooping without taking the bottom frame off the machine!  Oh my, what a time saver!  If you’re not sure why I love that benefit so much, take a look at this video.  It’s long – about 12 minutes – but you’ll see how I quilt entire quilt (62” x 80”) in one day!  Oh baby – I love those Monster hoops!

If you’ve been following along, this month is Hoopapalooza at DIME and in honor of that celebration, The Hoop It Up book is on sale.  My Stitching Sister Marie Zinno and I co-wrote this handy hooping tutorial.  You’ll find 99 hooping tips in there!  You can check it out here: https://www.shop.dzgns.com/collections/specials/products/hoop-it-up

*’Ditched the standard hoop over 10 years’ is an exaggeration.  I still use a standard hoop on occasion as you’ll see in the Hoop It Up book!

Custom Hoops

by / Current Posts, Eileen Roche, Inspiration Software, Uncategorized / 3 Comments

Hundreds of hoops are already in all Inspirations software but you did you know have the ability the edit the list by eliminating brands and adding new hoops?

It’s fairly obvious why you would edit the list.  I think we all agree there’s no point scrolling through dozens of hoops that don’t apply to your machine.  It’s easy to do.  Just click on the Hoop icon and select Filter.  When the hoop list appears, remove the check mark next to each hoop that you want to eliminate. Click OK.

The next time you access the list, you will see only the hoops you want to see.

Let’s explore custom hoops.  In my list, I’ve created three custom hoops: 12″ Block, 12″ Round and Placemat.  I can see at a glance how an array of embroidery designs will fill a 12″ quilt block, a 12″ wooden embroidery hoop for wall decor and a standard placemat.

Click on the Hoop icon and select New.  Select Rectangle and type 12″ in the width and height for the 12″ Block hoop. Click OK.

Instantly, I can see how nicely this embroidery layout will fill a 12″ quilt block.

Follow the same steps for a round hoop but select Round from Frame Type field.  This same array doesn’t quilt fit in the 12″ wooden hoop.

To add the Placemat hoop, select Rectangle from Frame Type and type 15″ in the width and 12″ in the height.  Place the digit 1 before the word Placemat to position it at the top of the list. Click OK.

As you can see, this placemat layout needs some work.

Custom hoops make planning embroidery a breeze.  They provide a quick view of the finished layout.  You can then use the Split Design feature to break up it for the hoop you will actually use.

What sizes would you add to your list of hoops?

Top 10 Hooping Tips with the Stitching Sisters!

by / Current Posts, Eileen Roche, Facebook Live, Hooping, Marie Zinno, Snap Hoop Monster, Stitching Sisters, Uncategorized, Wildcard Wednesday / 8 Comments

Happy HOOPAPALOOZA! My Stitching Sister and co-author of Hoop It Up, Marie Zinno and I just did our first Facebook LIVE as the Stitching Sisters! We shared our Top 10 Hooping Tips and some special news on our hoops this month.

Watch below!

Receive a FREE gift ( our e-book Quilting Continuous Line Designs plus TWO designs) and FREE shipping when you purchase our Snap Hoop Monster 🤩
Use Code: SHIPHOOPFREE 😎

Look Closely…

by / Current Posts, Eileen Roche, Hooping, Inspiration Software, Perfect Embroidery Pro, Snap Hoop Monster, Software Saturday, Uncategorized / 3 Comments

Did you know there’s a speedy auto sizing feature in all Inspirations software programs?  It’s practically hidden but once you know how to find it, you’ll make it a habit to use all the time.

Open a design in any Inspirations software program such as Perfect Embroidery Pro, My Quilt Embellisher, My Block Piecer, Word Art in Stitches and more.  Click on the Hoop icon (on the left tool bar).

Click on the hoop you want to use from the drop down menu.  Use the scroll bar on the right to see all the hoop options.

The design appears centered in the hoop but it’s much larger than the hoop I intend to use.

Click on the arrow under the Hoop icon and select Auto Fit.

Instantly, the design is resized to fit in that hoop! Of course, the stitches have been recalculated so there’s no worry about the design being too dense due to resizing.

Auto Fit is such a time saver!  The feature evens provides a little wiggle room so you don’t have to struggle during the hooping process.

Speaking of hooping, it’s HOOPAPALOOZA at DIME this week!  If you’ve had a Snap Hoop Monster on your wish list, this is the time to take advantage of our low price, free shipping and gift with purchase.  You can learn more here. 

Join me on Wednesday, June 12, 2019 at 1:00 PM CST on Facebook Live. Marie Zinno, my Stitching Sister and co-author of Hoop It Up will be joining me in the studio. We’ll share our Top Ten Tips for Hooping. Follow us on Facebook to get a reminder here https://www.facebook.com/DesignsInMachineEmbroidery/

See Your Designs on Your Hard Drive

by / Current Posts, Eileen Roche, Embroidery Tips, Inspiration Software, Uncategorized / 11 Comments

If you’re like me (or how I used to be), you open your design folder on your computer and begin a desperate search, wasting precious minutes sifting through designs.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could see a thumbnail image of your designs? Without opening each design in embroidery software?

Don’t waste anymore time searching for designs. Install Perfect Stitch Viewer on your computer and let the program work its magic in the background.  It’s not a software program you have to learn, you just install it and forget it.

You can take advantage of our special offer this week and download Perfect Stitch Viewer.  Once purchased, you’ll receive an email thanking you for your purchase.  It will look like this:

You’ll receive a second email with your activation number and a link to download the program.  It will look like the image below.  I added the red box and arrow to call out the serial number.

Click on the link and this window appears:

Click on Perfect Stitch Viewer (1) and the program will download and appear at the bottom of the screen. Double click on the download (2).

The Install Wizard will appear.

Follow the prompts to install and click Finish.

Double click the PSV icon on your desktop.

Fill out the Registration form with the serial number (case sensitive, include dashes) you received in your purchase confirmation email.  Click Register Now.

Open a design folder.  You have two options for changing your view in explorer. Click on the View tab (1) and select Large icons or click on the thumbnail icon at the lower right corner of the screen (2).

Now you see all of your designs!  It’s like magic!

Before Perfect Stitch Viewer, my neckline designs looked like this:

Now, I don’t waste any time for searching for my designs.

You can learn more here.

Worth the Wait!

by / Current Posts, Digitizing, Eileen Roche, Inspiration Software, Perfect Embroidery Pro, Software Saturday, Software Updates, Uncategorized / 3 Comments

The May, 2019 FREE update for Perfect Embroidery Pro will be available on Monday, May 6.  When you open the software on May 6, you’ll receive a notice to update.  I strongly encourage you to do it because the updates are fantastic!  Here’s what’s in store for you on Monday!

PEP Ver. 12.92

New Features:

Hi-Resolution Displays: New hi-resolution toolbar icons for 4K displays.

 

General Options: New look to Tools/General Options:

Realistic view option: (Optional) Increase double and bean run thickness in Realistic view; Tools/General Options/View.

Default Colors: Set default colors on a new design page:

  • File/New
  • Set Colors
  • Click on “Make Current Default”
  • Click “Yes”
  • Go to File/New, notice that the new default colors appear.
  • May also click on an empty box on the color bar for the option.

 

Print Preview: Print Preview screen is set to “Size to Fit” as a default with a new look.

Eye is sequence view: The eye icon is darker.

Drag and Drop: You can Drag and Drop image file into the center of the work field.

Note:  If you have an image on the screen like above, it will transfer to “Auto Digitizer Wizard” If selected.

Hoops: Added filtering to the Hoop feature; remove or add a check mark for the desired hoops. Jumbo Hoop is now fully supported and new hoops have been added:

  • BabyLock-Brother 240×240
  • BabyLock-Brother 270×400
  • BabyLock-Brother 240×360

Trim: A fast way to add a basic trim to the end of an object.

  • Click on object
  • Click on the “trim Icon”

When using this feature, it will:

  • Add the trim and basic tie off to the end of the selected object.
  • Add basic tie in to the next object.

Trim Branches: A new trim function giving you more control on how you want the trims to be added.

  • Auto: (default):  Trim if the stitch is longer than 2 mm.
  • Always: Will always trim
  • Never: Will never trim
  • Longer than: User can set the distance

Trim, Weld, Intersect: These three functions have been moved to “Shaping” and can be used with a right click when two objects are selected.

Auto Save/Recover: Setup can be found in Tools/General Options/Environment and File/Recover.

To use this feature: go to File/Recover.

Raised Satin: adds multi-layer satins on top of each other.  The default is 4.

Radial Fill can be found in Complex Fill.

Special Files:  We have moved Inspirations special file formats out of the standard Open and Save.  It has its own selection under File called “Special Files”.

Auto Digitizing: Improved color reduction, tracing, support for transparent PNGs, direct victor files (svg, ai, etc.) conversion without tracing. You can try the new same images in c: /dime/Images (Autodigi_*.png and Vectors_*.svg).

 

  1. Effects panel: One click conversion to various stitch types:

Batch Conversion (Updated): New Batch Conversion options, several additions including conversion embroidery format to PNG. Note:  it will convert in 3D realistic mode with no cross hairs. Select by File, Select by Folder.

New and improved curve editing: A new mouse icon appears when editing a curve in an object when the Shape tool (F9) is selected.

More Efficient Editing: The Shape tool (F9) now remains in active mode while selecting new objects for editing. To return to the Select tool (F7), left click on Select.

All Inspirations software programs will have the free update on Monday, May 6.  If a feature is standard in that software module (My Block Piecer, My Quilt Embellisher, Word Art in Stitches, etc), then it will be updated on Monday.  This software gets easier and easier to use!  It’s like the developers know exactly what we want before we do!  Enjoy your free updates!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They’ll Never Guess You Made It

by / Current Posts, Eileen Roche, Software Saturday, Uncategorized, Vintage Embroidery Software / 12 Comments

People will never believe you made these clutches on your embroidery machine.  They look like they were purchased in a high-end artsy boutique.  But they were stitched with our polyester matte embroidery thread – 40 wt. and 15 wt. That chunky 15 wt. makes all the stitching look like it was done by hand.  But nope, the secrets in the digitizing!  Just take a look.

There’s the Floral Spray

 

And the Geometrics.

And possibly my favorite (it’s so hard to choose), the Stacked Loops. 

Best of all, they’re on sale this week!  And they come with the thread, instructions and designs to make all three!

This collection is just in time for Easter, Mother’s Day’s and grad gifts.  They are fresh and new and stitch up in no time.  Start it at lunch and wear it to dinner! You can learn more here.

Which one’s your favorite?

I’ll hope you’ll join me on Wednesday, April 17, at 1:00 PM CST on Facebook Live!  I’ll be talking about My Lace Maker and all things lace.  How to hoop, what stabilizer, thread and needles to use!  And don’t forget to enter the contest…there’s still a chance to win.

Luxurious Lace

by / Current Posts, Eileen Roche, My Lace Maker, Software Saturday, Uncategorized / 8 Comments

Many of you asked where you can purchase a copy of My Lace Maker software. We are shipping My Lace Maker software this week to dealers.  So if you want to jump into the industry’s easiest, most exciting new design maker, call your dealer and ask them to reserve a copy for you.  You can find a list of dealers by clicking here.

If you read Thursday’s blog, you know we’re opening up another lace contest with Angela Wolf this week.  Look for details on that in the next post.  And on April 17, 2019 at 1:00 CST I’ll be talking about lace on Facebook Live.  I’ll delve into the secrets to success in thread, needle, stabilizer and design selection.  So mark that date on your calendar and join me!  It’s more fun when you’re there because I’ll read your comments and answer your questions during the broadcast. It’s like being in the same room and learning about embroidery together!

I’ve had so much fun playing with My Lace Maker.  I created this layout in no time.  And you’ll find all the tools you need to do the same in My Lace Maker.

But it’s not just fashion, there’s so much more you can do with lace.

One of a kind linens are just the beginning!  Stay tuned…more to come.

Lace!

by / Current Posts, Eileen Roche, Inspiration Software, Lace, My Lace Maker, Uncategorized / 135 Comments

I’m so excited to reveal a unique collaboration with Angela Wolf of AngelaWolf.com.  Angela and I have been working on this for several months and finally – we can show you what we’ve been up to. If you don’t know Angela, you’re going to love her work.  A fashion designer at heart, Angela has created a new embroidery collection for dime – Angela Wolf’s A Touch of Lace Collection 1. She came to this task with a true designer’s eye and designed lace elements to fill hemlines, sleeve inserts, pant legs and more.  She told me she’s always been on the lookout for just the right lace to add to her garments. Instead of shopping, she starting drawing and the results are fantastic!

Whether you use a single-needle machine like Angela did here.

Designs in Machine Embroidery

Or a multi-needle machine, the results are beautiful!

Designs in Machine Embroidery

 

And who wouldn’t want to wear this?

Designs in Machine Embroidery

This week, Angela and I are giving you a chance to win her collection ($79.99) and a copy of My Lace Maker software ($499.99)!  Why both?  Well, the beauty of having both is you can use Angela’s pretty lace elements and design your own custom lace arrangements for your garments.Designs in Machine Embroidery

 

No digitizing skills needed! In My Lace Maker, design your own beautiful lace from over 1100 motifs. Plus, you’ll find all the tools you need to transform any embroidery design into free standing lace. Select from more than 280 shapes, fill them with motifs, add an airy grid and column connections.  You’ll learn more about My Lace Maker in Software Saturday blogs.Designs in Machine Embroidery

 

For now, jump into the contest. You will have three chances to win by tagging friends and commenting via our blog, Facebook, and Instagram.

  1. Subscribe to our blog at dzgns.com and then leave a comment at the end of this blog.
  2. Follow/like the Designs in Machine Embroidery page on Facebook and Instagram
  3. Once you’ve finished steps 1 and 2 then tag a friend in the comments and say “Done!” (If you do not have Facebook or Instagram, complete step 1 then comment on the blog saying “Done!” If you are already a subscriber to the blog, make sure to do the bonus entry by subscribing to our Youtube channel and comment “Done”! on the blog after subscribing)

Bonus Entry: Repost/Share this giveaway with the hashtags #dimegiveaway #mylacemakersoftware and make sure to tag us! (If you do not have any social media, you can still join the bonus entry by subscribing to our Youtube channel at dzgns !)

For ONE more chance to win, click here https://contest.app.do/dime116 and fill out a quick form from Angela Wolf!

Giveaway ends on Wednesday April 3 and the winner will be announced on April 4 at 4:00PM.

 

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