by sewmom 10 Feb 2013

Does anybody have any digitizing advice for making small circles look good. I have a design that I'm working on that has eyes and buttons that are about 2mm. Even though I start with a circle it doesn't always turn out circular. I'm using Masterworks II. Thank you.

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Comments (4)

by marjialexa Moderator 15 Feb 2013

Sewmom, it doesn't matter what program you're using, if you start with a perfect circle you'll end up with an oval because of the push/pull of the thread. The thread always pulls in the material in the direction the stitches are going, and pushes it out 90degrees from the stitch direction. This is something you really have to compensate for manually, I don't know of any program that does it adequately by itself (no matter what they tell you on the box, hee hee hee). Dragonflyer has given really good advice about putting the objects on top of the other embroidery, rather than cutting holes, and the stitch direction, especially for small objects. Good luck! Hugs, Marji

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by sewmom 11 Feb 2013

Still wondering about small shapes though. I'm doing the inside of an eye in a teardrop shape. The left eye and right look different.

5 comments

by dragonflyer 11 Feb 2013

Did you try to digitize both left and right separately...or did you digitize one and copy and paste it to the other side? Are you using a fill stitch or a satin stitch to fill the tear drop? How small is small? I know, too many questions...are you placing over a totally filled "face" or are you trying to cut a hole to place in the teardrop "eye"...

by sewmom 11 Feb 2013

They were digitized separately because the face wasn't straight on but I have considered taking the good eye and copying it. It would have to be a mirror image too. I used a fill stitch I'm pretty sure, I can check later. I cut a teardrop hole in the face for the eyes. The teardrop eye has a hole in it for the pupil. The eye is about 1 cm by 4 mm. The pupil is about 3 mm x 1.5 mm.

by dragonflyer 12 Feb 2013

Here's what I suggest...copy,pasteand mirror the eyes..if you want them to be a tad different you can adjust one's shape after or rotate it slightly to give a difference... and you might want to try a satin stitch...also, if these are small, I wouldn't cut holes for the parts of the eyes...embroider over the fill under them...You will have better results not cutting holes...small objects tend to sink in when placed in small holes and can be troublesome. Cutting these small hole object will really increase you stitch count as well...My teacher frowns on cutting holes in fills for small objects for these and many other reasons..it won't hurt to stitch the small second object directly over a fill...it will really help to stabilize the smaller objects and prevent distortion...hope this helps...

by dragonflyer 12 Feb 2013

Also, forgot to mention...the stitch direction should be different for the under fill and the small objects you are placing on top...hope this makes sense...if you have the same stitch direction, the top object tends to blend into the base fill..changing the stitch directions help to keep the objects sitting up rather than sinking in. In small eyes, you should not have any problem with the base face fill with no holes...then the eye...then the shine mark all layered on top of each other.

by sewmom 12 Feb 2013

Ok. I understand. I will try again. Thank you for your advice.

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by dragonflyer 11 Feb 2013

I have used the candlewick option as well, but for a 2mm detail, I use the 5 point star made with the run line tool and a 2mm stitch...you can repeat it if you need a bolder "circle"...this is used also for the white shine mark in an eye. If you need a "fuller" look, take the second 5 point star and rotate it to off set it from the under one...hope this helps.

2 comments

by sewmom 11 Feb 2013

Thank you. I will try this.

by spendlove 11 Feb 2013

So will I!

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by spendlove Moderator 11 Feb 2013

I use Embird so I'm not sure if this is any use to you, but I use one of the candlewick stitches (rather than a filled shape). I find that if I fiddle with this on length and width I can make one small circle which makes great buttons.