Compiled Embroidery Skill Articles

Embroidery / Digitizing Glossary - 123Digitizing
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information, rendering editing difficult or impossible.
Digitizing Tablet The platen or surface on which original art to be digitized is placed; holds the artwork flat,
allowing digitizer to specify various design characteristics by 'tracing' and otherwise designating them with a
digitizing 'puck' (input device similar to a computer mouse).
Editing Changing aspects of a design via a computerized editing program. Most programs allow the user to
scale designs up or down, edit stitch by stitch or block by block, merge lettering with the design, move aspects of
the design around, combine designs and insert or edit machine commands.
Emblem Also known as Crest or Patch. Embroidered design with a finished edge, commonly an insignia of
identification, usually worn on outer clothing. Historically, an emblem carried a motto, verse or suggested a
moral lesson.
Embroidery Refers to Machine Embroidery here, or more precisely, Computerized Machine Embroidery. A
process whereby a computer-controlled embroidery machine is used to create patterns on textiles. It is used
commercially in product branding, corporate advertising, and uniform adornment. Hobbyists also machine
embroider for personal sewing and craft projects. Most modern embroidery machines are equipped with
computers specifically engineered for embroidery. Depending on their capabilities and usages, these machines
range from signle-needle, single-head sewing machines for home use and hobbyists, to industrial and
commercial embroidery machines that are multi-headed (6 to 20 heads are common), with multi-needles (9 to
15 are common) under each head. They all have a hooping or framing system that holds the framed area of
fabric taut under the sewing needle(s) and moves it automatically to create a design from a pre-programmed
digitizing file prepared by an embroidery digitizer.
Expanded Format A design program where individual stitches in a design have been specifically digitized
for a certain size. Designs digitized in this format cannot generally be enlarged or reduced more than 10 to 20
percent without distortion because stitch count remains constant. See "condensed format".
File Format Embroidery file formats broadly fall into two categories. The first, source formats, are specific
to the software used to create the design. For these formats, the digitizer keeps the original file for the purposes
of editing. The second, machine formats, are specific to a particular brand of embroidery machine. Machine
formats generally contain primarily stitch data (offsets) and machine functions (trims, jumps, etc.) and are
thus not easily scaled or edited without extensive manual work.
Fill or Fill Stitch Also known as Tatami stitch. Relatively large design area covered by series of running
stitches, the pattern of which may be varied in terms of stitch length, angle and density.
Finishing Processes performed after embroidery is complete. Includes trimming loose threads, cutting or