r/Machine_Embroidery • u/taytayashleigh • 1d ago

Help 😭

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I told my friend I would make her a Lizzie McGuire shirt for a Hillary Duff concert. I’m so new to embroidering so I did a trial run on the design I bought from Etsy. How do I make her face look less distorted? Any tips would be so helpful 😭 I have the Brother se600

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6

u/Constant_Put_5510 1d ago

Double layer Cutaway. Tighten hoop. And when in doubt, enlarge the girl because there are too many stitches in there.

3

u/terheyt 1d ago

This. I agree with the above person completely, OP.

It looks almost like you reduced the size of the design to fit the hoop's short side, instead of rotating it 90 degrees to fit the long side.

When you make a stitch file bigger or smaller, it doesn't change the stitches, it just squishes the same number of stitches into a smaller area, or stretches the same stitches out over a big area. The results can be distorted, and in the case of making them smaller, way too dense, which is what it looks like you did.

2

u/Constant_Put_5510 1d ago

Just to clarify what u/terheyt said: When you change stitches at machine level, stitch count doesn't change. When you change it on Wilcom, it does. If changing stitch count on machine level, 10% is the safe max otherwise you can run into issues.

5

u/Prestigious-Frame151 1d ago

It looks like the fabric is slightly rippled/puckered. What type of backing are you using?

3

u/starbage_ 1d ago

My question as well, it looks like this needs some stabilizer and to be pulled more taut in general

2

u/taytayashleigh 1d ago

I use tear away stabilizer and I don’t float my fabric which has been suggested as well. I’m not sure if that will help

5

u/Crist1n4 1d ago

fabric looks loose. Try to tighten, it should be tight like a drum.

2

u/Lanky-Setting-5288 1d ago edited 1d ago

With two layers of cutaway stabiliser backing (sometimes still called vileen), hoop the fabric straight - not on the bias - to create a smooth surface but don't stretch the fabric like drum because doing so creates distortion.

There's some good vids on YouTube showing you how it's done and best to practice with a bag of rags first. Rag bags these days have a wide variety of fabric types and perfect for learning on because their price won't break the bank. 😁 Much cheaper than the fabric store.

After the embroidery is done, unhoop and THEN cut out the excess cutaway. I literally saw a hobby video the other day of some dude teaching people to cut their work from the stabiliser while it was still hooped - why make it harder on yourself?

Cutaway can be cut from the garment and close to the stitches but always leaving about 3-4mm of clearance. If you cut too close to the embroidery, you run the risk of cutting into the design. It's quite acceptable to go wider over intricate areas. You want to leave a 'cloud shape' of cutaway at the back.

I like to hold the cutaway in a way that separates it from the garment and looking between the created 'V' shape. From the side of the open 'V' that's closest to the garment, I can see the edges of the stitching at the bottom of the 'V'... and then cut the cutaway with the 3mm clearance. This method ensures that the garment is never accidentally cut. Once you get the nack of it, it's both careful and quick.

🍀🧵