Embroidery

welcome

Details

Originally, working on the embroidery machine was a business idea with myself and two other people. We strayed from this project however because we decided that we needed more time to master the machine. We spent about a 4 weeks learning and practicing how to do different types of stitches, fills, satins, and more.

Worklow

Embroidery Machine Workflow

Daily Journal

Daily Journal

to start

I watched tutorials on how to download InkStitch onto Inkscape, the program we would be using to create designs. From there, I followed the steps and test ran the newly downloaded extension to ensure that it would run smoothly. The other tutorials I watched were on the different types of stitches.

modifications

Embroidering for the first time was a bit of a mess. We were not really sure on how to do each step nor did we really know what came next after what step. The very first thing we learned on the machine was how to thread a string back in and what to do if it came undone while sewing.

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set up

The embroidery machine has 4 key elements for a sew to go smoothly - the thread, the knobs at the top, the needles, and the maintenance box at the bottom. A more detailed explanation of how they function in regards to the machine is in the workflow that a classmate and I created. Specifically for sock embroidery, there is a slate for them to slide onto, so the hoop can slide on easily.

Tools

These are the tools that can be used to repair stitches, threads, and sews. The cutting tool with the red cap is used to cut any connecting threads that were not digitally removed on inkstitch. The glue is used to adhere any lose parts, the tweezers to remove bits of parchment paper from the stitch, and the scissors are also to snip off stray ends.

inkscape / inkstitch

Random design we created. For a more detailed explanation of how we made these designs, please view our workflow.

Tried out lettering by Inkstitch - they currently only have one font, but are planning to make more in the future. As of now, if we want to make another font, we have to trace it.

embroidering

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To the side is a video of my partner and I sewing rectangle into a sock. Unfortunately, we did not place the sock into the hoop correctly and consequently embroidered the rectangle through the sock so that it sewed both sides together. We attempted to use some of the embroidery tools to undo it, but it was of no luck.

The good thing though was that we learned from this experience and never repeated the mistake again. Our biggest mess up was that we forgot to put the sock onto the sock board.

our first stitch

Although I was not present for this because of extracurricular activities, my partners in the former embroidery business created our first stitch. They used a template from the machine and sized it down, so it would fit the frame. As of then, we did not really know about how the frame size affected the actual sewing process, so we had a bit of trouble figuring out how to size our prints.

first stitch from inkscape

This is the final result of the inkscape design shown under "inkscape / inkstitch." We found that there was a correlation between the sewing speed and how tight our material and paper was clasped into the hoop. If the speed was on the slower side and the fabric and paper were not in the hoop stretched as tight as they could be, then the paper would pop up along with the thread. In the picture above, the circle is supposed to be all black. The white that is show is actually the paper from behind the fabric.

first complex stitch

My partner and I chose to use a template from the machine for this because it was our first time switching colors throughout the print. We did not have the colors from the original design threaded through our machine nor did we have them in the lab, so we made do with the colors we had. A more detailed explanation on how we switched out the colors can be found on our workflow.

to conclude

This personal project allowed me to learn about a new machine that I had never tried out before. I was able to test and experiment with different components of it and figure out on my own, by learning from my mistakes, what to, and not to, do. I now have adequate knowledge about the basics of the machine although there is much more to be learned. Not having the stress of this being a business definitely helped me learn more because I was not rushing to understand, so I could start taking orders. I am not sure if I will take part in the business in the future, but if time allows me to, then I am open to it.

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