Machine Embroidery adds beauty and themed detail to anything you sew. The amount you will invest in machine embroidery has become a huge variable, costing from $300 to $8000 depending on the machine options, the software you purchase and the size of the embroidery the machine is capable of stitching out.
Embroidery Machines
Some machines are "Embroidery Only" machines. These machines are solely devoted to doing machine embroidery. They do not do the work of a regular sewing machine.
Other machines, the higher end of the market, offers machines that can do any and everything. They usually have a removable embroidery unit so the machine will meet any sewing need.
As always a local sewing machine dealer can be your best source for training. It's always advisable to know what you are looking for before you go shopping.
What is Hooping?
Hooping is the process of putting the fabric you want to embroider into a machine embroidery hoop. It is not as simple as it sounds. Stabilizing and tightness are very important. Unlike hand embroidery, the fabric MUST stay put in the same position while the machine embroiders the design. If the fabric moves, the design will not stitch out correctly. The border not lining up with the rest of the design is a common tell tale that the fabric moved.
The simplest way to think of hooping, is that the hoop is acting as your presser foot as the machine embroiders. It is the only thing holding your fabric in place.
What is Stabilizer?
As the machine embroiders it uses a darning foot that is not actually down on the fabric and there is no feed dog under the fabric to hold it in place. The stabilizer "stiffens" the fabric to hold it taut as the machine does it's work, working in conjunction with proper hooping.
What Stabilizers Do
There are a variety of stabilizers available with a variety of purposes and uses. Some are used below the fabric you are embroidering. Some are used on the top. Napped fabric, such as terry cloth, needs a stabilizer on top to hold the nap down and prevent the loops of fabric from poking through the embroidery design. Water soluble and Heat Away are commonly used as a top side stabilizer. Water soluble stabilizer will dissolve in water. Heat away turns to ash with the heat of an iron. Either one will leave no trace of the stabilizer but will hold the fabric down to get the job done.
What is digitizing?
The simple answer is that digitizing is the process of taking any image and turning it into a language that the embroidery machine will understand.
What is Free Motion Embroidery?
Free motion embroidery is an art! You create your own design and use the sewing machine free hand to draw and fill in your design. The feed dog is dropped and a darning foot is used. The challenge is to keep your hands moving in unison with the sewing machine to create even stitches.
