One easy way to help control the number of stitches in any design you create is by altering the stitch length. Simpy put, short stitches equals more stitches while long stitches equals less stitches. Assuming everything else is the same, lengthening your stitches will give you the same coverage with less needle penetrations. This can be a real plus with more delicate fabrics.

Here's an example of what I'm talking about. The first image below shows needle penetrations in an enlarged section of a 30x30mm design segment. As shown, the stitches are set to a length of 2.5mm. The underlay stitches have been omitted for clarity. In this example, the total stitch count for this segment is 1971 stitches.

The next image shows the same segment, but with the stitch length increased to 4.0mm. Again, the underlay stitches have been omitted for clarity. The total stitch count for this same segment is now 1383 stitches.

By increasing the length of my stitches by only 1.5mm I was able to decrease the total stitch count by 588 stitches in this segment alone. If you combine that amount with reductions to other segments in the design the total savings can be quite significant.

Naturally there will be times when shorter stitches work better in some areas, but if it is possible to lengthen the stitches and still achieve the desired results it's not a bad idea.

Our Embossed Singles Collection continues to grow. With a dozen new designs just added the collection now contains more than 50 unique designs.

If you didn't find what you wanted before, perhaps now we have exactly what you need. Any of our Embossed Singles are perfect for adding a bit of flair to towels or fleece blankets.

Each design comes in two sizes. One for the 4x4 hoop and one for the 5x7 hoop.

Embossed Singles - Click here to see them all

Understanding how embroidery stablizers are made, why they are important and what type to use is often a difficult task. It's so nice when someone explains things in language you can understand.

"All you ever wanted to know about embroidery stabilizers (backing) but were SEW afraid to ask" by Fred Lebow goes a long way toward answering many of those questions. Fred has kindly sent us this article with permission to reprint it here in Thread Times.

The article is very informative and well done. If you really want help understanding embroidery stabilizer, you will surely enjoy this article. Our thanks to Fred for sending it along.

Begin reading the entire article here...

Here's a question submitted to Ask Mary! from an embroiderer seeking help with Designer's Gallery.

Question:  I recently purchased a happy HCD-1501 professional machine. I also own a Babylock Ellegante. I use Designer's Gallery to convert my files. I have thousands of purchased designs in PES format. Because the new machine uses DST I would like to convert my designs to this format and have only one machine. The trouble is that I try to convert and Designer's Gallery tels me that the path is invalid and the file cannot be found. Do you understand this? Please help I'm afraid that I won't be able to use any of my embroidery designs! Help!

Answer:  It sounds as though Designer's Gallery is looking for designs in your catalog that are not actually on your hard drive. If you storing some of your designs on a floppy, CD or other removable drive, that media must be available when you are attempting to access the files.

In addition, Designer's Gallery won't be able to find any designs that you may have moved on your hard drive unless you re-cataloged them.

Your Designer's Gallery catalog does not store the actual design files, only the information required to access the designs when needed.

There are many different types of embroidery needles. The most common are ball point and sharp. These two are the needles you will use most often, but knowing when to use a certain type is the key to successful embroidery.

Sharp needles should be used only on woven and non-woven fabrics. A sharp needle makes it much easier to penetrate tightly woven fabric and to cut through non-wovens such as vinyl, leather and felt. On these type fabrics the sharp needle is the best choice as it greatly reduces stress on the needle.

A ball point needle should be used when ever you are embroidering on knit fabrics. Ball points have much less cutting action than sharp needles. A sharp needle will cut the fibers possibly causing the garment to unravel, particularly after several washings. The ball point needle, on the other hand, pushes the fibers aside and slips between them.

It's not a bad idea to keep both sharp and ball point needles on hand. You can quickly change to the correct type as necessary.

The universal needle is a cross between a sharp and a ball point needle. The point is partially rounded and not nearly as sharp as the point on a sharp needle. Many embroiderers use universal needles for just about everything. That might be OK, but in my opinion there is no one needle that works perfectly in every application. You should experiment on your own with various types of needles and fabrics before you make any final decisions.

Designed to get you in & out of the kitchen fast and back to your embroidery machine.

Recipe Name:  Low Cal Lemon Cheesecake Pie

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: no bake

Serves: 8

Ingredients:
1 pkg. instant (sugar free or not) lemon pudding mix
1 pkg. lite cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
3/4 cup milk (skim is good for low cal.)
1 ready made graham cracker crust
1 container sugar free or lite cool whip

Directions: Beat cream cheese and sour cream until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add milk and instant pudding mix and beat on low speed for about 1 minute or until completely blended. Pour immeadiatly into graham cracker crust. Refrigerate for 20 minutes and spread cool whip on top. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Tips: This is easy to cut if you don't put a lot of cool whip on top and you refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

Submitted by: Ellen Call

Many folks consider these terms interchangeable, but actually they are two separate operations. I often read comments from embroiderers about ironing their fabric before they hoop it to sew out a design.

Ironing is actually moving the iron in a back and forth sliding motion across the fabric. Ironing your fabric with this motion can actually stretch the fabric. This is an undesireable result for fabric you want to hoop for embroidery.

What you actually want to do is press your fabric prior to hooping. Pressing is simply placing the iron on your fabric, holding it there and then removing. Pressing will not stretch your fabric, so it is much more desireable. A press is a bit more expensive than a regular iron, but well worth the money once you realize all that you can do with a press.

We have a press very similar to the one shown here. The one thing that we use it for the most is pressing our test fabric squares. We normally purchase our test fabric by the bolt and it usually comes with some serious wrinkles and creases throughout. The press is ideal for removing the wrinkles and we can press a small stack of the squares at the same time.

Which ever you use, a press or an iron, the object is to smooth, NOT stretch, the fabric.

Our thanks to Pam Wilson for submitting this helpful embroidery tip:

Lossening and tightening the screws on embroidery hoops can make you fingertips sore. This can be aleviated by purchasing those foam tubes that go around pencils for gripping. They can be cut to size and make turning the screws a breeze. They come in fun colors too!!

Want to win FREE designs? Submit your tip or trick to us. If we publish your tip you will win your choice of any downloadable design or design set from our online catalog.

Tips submitted by our readers have not been tested by us. We make no claim to their viability or usability.

• American Embroidery Conference - March 26-30 Atlanta, GA
• Original Sewing & Quilting Expo - March 27-29 Cleveland, OH
• Quilt, Craft & Sewing Festival - March 27-29 Sacramento, CA
• Decorated Apparel Expo - March 28-29 Minneapolis, MN
• Sewing Stitching & Handicraft Show - April 4-6 Auckland, NZ
• NNEP Network 2008 - April 10-12 Columbus, OH
• Original Sewing & Quilting Expo - April 10-12 Worcester, MA
• International Quilt Festival - April 11-13 Rosemont, IL
• The Original Creative Festival - April 17-19 Tucson, AZ
• Creative Sewing & Needlework Festival - April 25-27 Mississauga, ON

Two (2) lucky winners in every isssue!

Today's lucky winners are:

If your email address is shown above, you have won a complete set of our extremely popular Retro Restaurant Advertising design set. Please contact us by email within 5 days to claim your prize. Be sure to let us know what format you need so we can get the designs on their way to you.

Others interested in this very popular set can see it here. Be sure to visit our customer showcase while you're there. See some of the creative ways other embroiderers have found to use this set.

Two Happy Vegetables for the 4 x 4 hoop. Please enjoy them with our compliments.

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