it AIMED at any ONE person. It is meant purely as sharing little tips I have learnt along the way that I think may help others improve the skills they already have.

Tip 1, please remember to lessen the density on designs for home embroiderers as a lot of domestic embroidery machines do not stitch out well when the density is too tight, which is the common default in most programs.

Tip 2, Running stitches are best set at a minimum of 2 - 3 mm, if they are too short they can actually act like scissors and cut the design right out of the fabric.

Tip 3, PLEASE don't forget to use tie on and tie off stitches on EVERY element of a design. There is nothing worse than having the stitches come undone when you start trimming the thread ends.

Tip 4, Plan your design stitch out. Start and end points of design elements are crucial to whether your customers will come back for more of your designs. It's easy to create the elements first, then tell your program where you want your starting and ending points to be so that the stitch out flows smoothly and there are no unnecessary jumps from the end of one element to the beginning of the next element.
There is nothing more annoying than jumping across an element to start the next one when it could be avoided with a little thought and proper planning.

Tip 5, Is along the same line as tip 4, but it is segment order planning, which is even more important. Placement stitches, especially, need to be carefully thought out. When are they needed in the design? at the very beginning, somewhere in the middle, will they hold the material in place when it is needed?

I use a notebook and make a map of the segments, changing their stitch-out order and thinking how each segment will appear in the finished design.
Then I will go back to the design and try the new stitch order using the sewing simulator.

It takes time doing these extra few steps, but the end result will not only look good, it will stitch out more professionally.

If you want to be a good digitiser, and not just another mediocre digitiser with great ideas and poor execution, you need to have some lessons on digitising with the software you use. There is so much to be learnt from the professionals, it will amaze you just what your software can do to make your digitising efforts stitch out perfectly and look fantastic. So many simple little tricks, like shading & stitch direction, that can help turn your designs into masterpieces. We all need instruction as new techniques are thought up every day and it makes all the difference to whether your designs have that "professional" looking edge to them or never improve from when you created your very first design.

One thing to always remember, if you don't really LOVE the whole process of digitising designs, then you shouldn't be doing it.

I have discovered that I actually prefer to be digitising than embroidering, or doing anything else, these days and I really love watching digitising tutorial videos, as I pick up so many ideas and I know they have helped me improve my skills, even though I still think of myself as a beginner.

Hugs and roses with the best of intentions, Meganne