Machine embroidery is a special type of embroidery, performed by special automatic machines, functioning according to the man’s adjusted program.
This man is designer, constructor. He creates the embroidery program (design) - the machine operation algorithm, which can be in consequence repeated unlimited number of times. The machine following the given program, automatically executes the embroidery on material. In this way, the main features of machine embroidery are the absence of manual labor at the stage of outright embroidery, and the possibility of embroidery samples duplication. The machine embroidery is a recent kind of activity, in contrast to manual embroidery, existing for thousands of years.
The machine embroidery began its existence nearly 50 years ago and in 1980-ies the demand of the profession of machine embroidery designer began to grow. Nowadays the demand is actually as well. During the period of machine embroidery existence, its creation technology has changed beyond recognition. The machines that once used as source of information the punched card, limited in speed and quality of embroidery, were replaced by microprocessor-based, highly productive, multihead machines with advanced technology equipment, optimizing the embroidery process. The process of machine embroidery technologically consists of two closely associated stages:1. The embroidery designing stage, or the construction stage of machine embroidery- represents the process of creation of embroidery machine program. At this stage are developed the construction components of machine embroidery.2. The technical stage represents the direct embroidery manufacture by means of machine. At this stage are developed the technical components of machine embroidery.Both this stages are at the same time quite independent from the point of view of manufacture, which helps to differentiate them and to mark out two different basic types of industrial activity accordingly. It is a question of enterprises that are specialized directly in program creation, or in materially embroidery creation. Each of these manufacture branches develops round itself a branching infrastructure system.
For example, nowadays there are a great number of producers of special program maintenance for machine embroidery, of embroidery machines and special concomitant equipment producers, of outlay materials producers, used for embroidery manufacture. Many companies, in accordance with machine embroidery branch needs are adjusting the directions of its activity. For example, the producers of textile dye stuff make special adjustments of qualities and spectrum, the clothing producers change the construction, adjusting it to the technology of machine embroidery manufacture.
2009年4月27日星期一
2009年4月23日星期四
Stitch types
The interesting thing about stitch types, it that there is really only one type of stitch. That’s right It doesn’t matter what the stitches are forming or how they are being formed, the needle cycles down the same way each time. There is nothing special or different about the way the rotary hook picks up the bobbin or the way the pantograph moves for a satin stitch, compared to a run stitch, A stitch, is a stitch, is a stitch, The designer determines the positioning of each stitch placement and there are certain combinations which have been given names for the ease of description
For example, a run stitch is simply one stitch after another forming a line of stitch in embroidery. A fill stitch is nothing more than subsequent rows of run stitches placed next to one another. From one single stitch type we create all others, but the way the thread lays between these stitches can vary, and that is what we are going to talk about.
Stitch types come in many different colors and flavors. Most types have several names, like Fill, Ceeding and Tatami, which all mean the same thing. The various names have evolved from either early embroidery, manufacturer’s terms or modern references. In most cases people adopt the term that is first introduced to them. My goal is not to persuade you into using the terms I feel most comfortable with, but to discuss the characteristics of each type. I will however use the term I’m Most comfortable with during the discussion, I think you’ll be understanding to this.
For example, a run stitch is simply one stitch after another forming a line of stitch in embroidery. A fill stitch is nothing more than subsequent rows of run stitches placed next to one another. From one single stitch type we create all others, but the way the thread lays between these stitches can vary, and that is what we are going to talk about.
Stitch types come in many different colors and flavors. Most types have several names, like Fill, Ceeding and Tatami, which all mean the same thing. The various names have evolved from either early embroidery, manufacturer’s terms or modern references. In most cases people adopt the term that is first introduced to them. My goal is not to persuade you into using the terms I feel most comfortable with, but to discuss the characteristics of each type. I will however use the term I’m Most comfortable with during the discussion, I think you’ll be understanding to this.
Points of embroider needle
There are six point types commonly used in embroidery needles. The properties of your fabric will determine which point is best suited for your design.
The shape of the needle has little influence on the resistance of the fabric to the penetration of the needle. Ball point needles will not pierce the threads of the material, but are deviated by them into the gaps between the fabric’s threads. The thicker a fabric, the more need for the point to be rounded Don’t forget, round means sharp. Needles with cutting points are only used for sewing leather or similar thick objects, like some caps.
Most textile fabrics can be sewn well with needles having a slightly rounded point. Therefore, the normal needles for textiles are manufactured with a light rounding of the point (*) These needles don’t have a point designation like the others. The SPI point is a very acute round and is sure to penetrate the fabric threads in embroider. The increased danger of cutting the fabrics threads can be overcome by using the smallest possible needle size.
Textile fabrics which are susceptible to damage (knitted material) require the light balled points. SES point is the best choice. Elastic materials with rubber or elastomeric threads mostly require needles with heavy ball points such as the SUK,SKL or SKF which do not penetrate the elastic threads, but push them aside.
You must be careful thought with these needles, if the fabric is one that doesn’t push aside easily, the needle will flex and risk breaking
The shape of the needle has little influence on the resistance of the fabric to the penetration of the needle. Ball point needles will not pierce the threads of the material, but are deviated by them into the gaps between the fabric’s threads. The thicker a fabric, the more need for the point to be rounded Don’t forget, round means sharp. Needles with cutting points are only used for sewing leather or similar thick objects, like some caps.
Most textile fabrics can be sewn well with needles having a slightly rounded point. Therefore, the normal needles for textiles are manufactured with a light rounding of the point (*) These needles don’t have a point designation like the others. The SPI point is a very acute round and is sure to penetrate the fabric threads in embroider. The increased danger of cutting the fabrics threads can be overcome by using the smallest possible needle size.
Textile fabrics which are susceptible to damage (knitted material) require the light balled points. SES point is the best choice. Elastic materials with rubber or elastomeric threads mostly require needles with heavy ball points such as the SUK,SKL or SKF which do not penetrate the elastic threads, but push them aside.
You must be careful thought with these needles, if the fabric is one that doesn’t push aside easily, the needle will flex and risk breaking
2009年4月20日星期一
Type of embroider needle
The type of needle is more of a personal preference than the size or the points, which are a bit more regimented.
The stepped blade has a telescope style blade that is reinforced and less flexible. This extra firmness is great for thick materials like caps where a straight blade is more likely to flex enough to hit the needle plate and break.
If you’re experiencing a lot of broken needles when you embroider caps, you should consider changing to a stepped blade needle.
In contrast, the stepped needle causes a larger hole and can cause small letters to look more jagged than they need to. The straight blade has a constant lade diameter, creating a smaller hole. This makes them good for knits and improved letter crispness. Needles with larger eyes don’t require your machine to be re-timed, as some people may tell you, because it’s the eye that ‘s larger, not the scarf. Larger eyes are especially good for metallic threads which tend to create more friction with needles with small eyes.
The stepped blade has a telescope style blade that is reinforced and less flexible. This extra firmness is great for thick materials like caps where a straight blade is more likely to flex enough to hit the needle plate and break.
If you’re experiencing a lot of broken needles when you embroider caps, you should consider changing to a stepped blade needle.
In contrast, the stepped needle causes a larger hole and can cause small letters to look more jagged than they need to. The straight blade has a constant lade diameter, creating a smaller hole. This makes them good for knits and improved letter crispness. Needles with larger eyes don’t require your machine to be re-timed, as some people may tell you, because it’s the eye that ‘s larger, not the scarf. Larger eyes are especially good for metallic threads which tend to create more friction with needles with small eyes.
2009年4月17日星期五
Overlapping in digitizing
Fills whose boundaries overlap cam cause a problem in the way they rest against one another. The challenge is for there to be a clean change from one color to the next. In many cases the seam between two fills will be covered by a satin column that cleans up the edge, much the same way as described in the borders section above. Other times there won’t be anything sewn above the adjoining fills and their edges will have to be constructed as cleanly as can be.
To simulate how fill objects interact with one another, hold your hands out in front of you flat on a table and spread your fingers. Now slide your hands together so that your fingers interlock with one another. Notice how your two hands remain on the same plane, that of the table and all fingers are completely visible. Now take one hand and rest it on top of the other so the top fingers are perpendicular to the bottom fingers. The fingers are no longer on the same plane and the bottom fingers are blocked from view by the top fingers. These relationships are important to understand, because they illustrate well, how two fills should be constructed depending on what digitizing effect you’re trying to achieve. Let’s take a closer look.
When the stitch direction of the two fills are in the same direction, the ends of the stitches, like the fingers here, extend into one another. The change in color between the two fills will appear a little jagged, but because both fills rest on the same plane, the transition from one fill to the other will be very smooth. This method is best suited when a satin stitch object will be sewn over the seam where the two fills meet, because the jagged color change will be covered by the satin object and the satin will rest nicely on a single plane, than if there was a ridge to contend with.
When the stitch direction of the two fills are perpendicular to one another, the top fill will block out the bottom fill and a fairly crisp change in color will result. The disadvantage to this method is that the top fill will ride
To simulate how fill objects interact with one another, hold your hands out in front of you flat on a table and spread your fingers. Now slide your hands together so that your fingers interlock with one another. Notice how your two hands remain on the same plane, that of the table and all fingers are completely visible. Now take one hand and rest it on top of the other so the top fingers are perpendicular to the bottom fingers. The fingers are no longer on the same plane and the bottom fingers are blocked from view by the top fingers. These relationships are important to understand, because they illustrate well, how two fills should be constructed depending on what digitizing effect you’re trying to achieve. Let’s take a closer look.
When the stitch direction of the two fills are in the same direction, the ends of the stitches, like the fingers here, extend into one another. The change in color between the two fills will appear a little jagged, but because both fills rest on the same plane, the transition from one fill to the other will be very smooth. This method is best suited when a satin stitch object will be sewn over the seam where the two fills meet, because the jagged color change will be covered by the satin object and the satin will rest nicely on a single plane, than if there was a ridge to contend with.
When the stitch direction of the two fills are perpendicular to one another, the top fill will block out the bottom fill and a fairly crisp change in color will result. The disadvantage to this method is that the top fill will ride
2009年4月15日星期三
How to use underlay
Underlay should be applied, when we digitize a artwork.
The border can be wider than 1mm if your taste is such, but the border should still remain around 80% on the fill and 20% off the fill.
At times, this might require the fill to extend to the outside edge of the border instead of to the inside edge of the border. As long as the border cleans up the edge of the fill, this will look good. If the border sits too much on the fabric, one side of the border will look different than the other. The 80% / 20% rule will place just enough on the outside of the fill to ensure the fill won’t be seen, but place the majority on the fill for a uniform look.
The border can be wider than 1mm if your taste is such, but the border should still remain around 80% on the fill and 20% off the fill.
At times, this might require the fill to extend to the outside edge of the border instead of to the inside edge of the border. As long as the border cleans up the edge of the fill, this will look good. If the border sits too much on the fabric, one side of the border will look different than the other. The 80% / 20% rule will place just enough on the outside of the fill to ensure the fill won’t be seen, but place the majority on the fill for a uniform look.
How to solve the lose registration
It’s typical when the border is a different color than the fill when we digitize something, for the border to appear thinner in some areas, and exactly how you intended for it to look in other areas.
This is because when the satin boarder stitches line up the fills stitch direction, the border’s stitches sink into the fill, making the border appear thinner than it is.
When the border’s stitches are more perpendicular to the fill stitches, they bite into the fill and stand out better. This can be corrected by first adding center run underlay, and if this doesn’t correct the problem enough, a double zigzag
This is because when the satin boarder stitches line up the fills stitch direction, the border’s stitches sink into the fill, making the border appear thinner than it is.
When the border’s stitches are more perpendicular to the fill stitches, they bite into the fill and stand out better. This can be corrected by first adding center run underlay, and if this doesn’t correct the problem enough, a double zigzag
2009年4月14日星期二
How to solve the lose registration
It’s typical when the border is a different color than the fill when we digitize something, for the border to appear thinner in some areas, and exactly how you intended for it to look in other areas.
This is because when the satin boarder stitches line up the fills stitch direction, the border’s stitches sink into the fill, making the border appear thinner than it is.
When the border’s stitches are more perpendicular to the fill stitches, they bite into the fill and stand out better. This can be corrected by first adding center run underlay, and if this doesn’t correct the problem enough, a double zigzag
This is because when the satin boarder stitches line up the fills stitch direction, the border’s stitches sink into the fill, making the border appear thinner than it is.
When the border’s stitches are more perpendicular to the fill stitches, they bite into the fill and stand out better. This can be corrected by first adding center run underlay, and if this doesn’t correct the problem enough, a double zigzag
2009年4月9日星期四
Knowledge
Knowledge is a treasure, and we should value our treasures, for if we don’t, nothing, not even life itself will be of any use to us. I’m intrigued with knowledge, and I use to share so much of what I thought I knew, until I discovered much of it wasn’t completely accurate. I decided I wouldn’t speak out of turn, and if I spoke, it would be on a subject I knew well. I began listening. At that point I became a walking sponge, soaking up any bit of knowledge that came my way. I was doing this for my own pleasure, it never dawned on me this philosophy would be a valuable business quality.
Listening more than talking sounds easy enough to do, but actually putting this into practice can be difficult. Being motivated to succeed in the embroidery industry gave me the patience to put this into practice, and I was amazed at the results. Listen to what knowledgeable people have to say, take it all in, and you’ll have their knowledge to fall back on. Listen to what the customer has to say and use the knowledge you’ve obtained to formulate a action plan to solve their dilemma.
When you’ve obtained enough knowledge about a particular subject that you can accurately solve other peoples problems, you will find they will come back to you for more assistance in other situations. If you have knowledge, you should offer it, you may decide to charge for it, however if you’re not knowledgeable, then you should say so. It is always best to admit when you’re not able to assist in a given area, than to offer poor advice. In these situations, you can retain your status as a person of knowledge by knowing where to look for the information they are seeking.
Listening more than talking sounds easy enough to do, but actually putting this into practice can be difficult. Being motivated to succeed in the embroidery industry gave me the patience to put this into practice, and I was amazed at the results. Listen to what knowledgeable people have to say, take it all in, and you’ll have their knowledge to fall back on. Listen to what the customer has to say and use the knowledge you’ve obtained to formulate a action plan to solve their dilemma.
When you’ve obtained enough knowledge about a particular subject that you can accurately solve other peoples problems, you will find they will come back to you for more assistance in other situations. If you have knowledge, you should offer it, you may decide to charge for it, however if you’re not knowledgeable, then you should say so. It is always best to admit when you’re not able to assist in a given area, than to offer poor advice. In these situations, you can retain your status as a person of knowledge by knowing where to look for the information they are seeking.
2009年4月8日星期三
Archiving of Digitizing
There are many different views on what responsibility a designer has to archive their customer’s work. My views on this topic might seem contradictory, because I draw a line between what I should be expected to do, and what I’m willing to do as a service to our customers. As with most other industries, when you walk out the door with your product, it is yours to have and to hold. If you lose it or drop it, that’s extremely poor luck, but you can’t return to where you purchased it and say, “I’m really sorry, but I lost the (blank) I purchased from you, can I have another one?” On the other hand, I feel a designer is best suited to safeguard embroidery files, even though their customers should value their own investments enough to safeguard them.
To properly archive files requires a quality backup system, time and attention to detail. When the customer calls in a panic, hoping we have a copy of their file, we tell them it’s highly likely, because we do archive all of our customers work as a service to them. There is a fee to retrieve a file though, because there is a considerable amount of time involved in locating the file, restoring it to disk, saving it to a disk and mailing the disk or in most cases emailing it. These are all small tasks, but together they can take 15-30 minutes to complete. We safeguard our customer files, but we also charge for this service when the customer needs to use it. Customers understand this and are so grateful we have a copy of their file, that they never question our services.
To properly archive files requires a quality backup system, time and attention to detail. When the customer calls in a panic, hoping we have a copy of their file, we tell them it’s highly likely, because we do archive all of our customers work as a service to them. There is a fee to retrieve a file though, because there is a considerable amount of time involved in locating the file, restoring it to disk, saving it to a disk and mailing the disk or in most cases emailing it. These are all small tasks, but together they can take 15-30 minutes to complete. We safeguard our customer files, but we also charge for this service when the customer needs to use it. Customers understand this and are so grateful we have a copy of their file, that they never question our services.
2009年4月3日星期五
THE PUNCH ZONE
So how do you get in “The punch zone”? I’m not sure. I’m really not, but I do know it wouldn’t be possible without an open mind and a creative spirit. I’m not a doctor, I haven’t spent years researching this topic and I certainly can’t put my finger on scientific evidence supporting my statements. In fact, I made up the term, “the punch zone”. I couldn’t think of a better way to describe the phenomenon I have experienced time and time again.
Please don’t misunderstand. This isn’t some new age thinking, where if you think positively you can do anything you want. “Get in the zone and you’ll be a great puncher” is positively goofy. However, I can’t emphasize enough how important I believe this is to punching: not the getting into “The punch zone”, but being creative.
Serious runners experience what is referred to as a runner’s high. The runner’s high wasn’t the goal, but after months of training, one day they find themselves in this mental state, where they feel they can run forever. The first time you experience this you’re taken by surprise. You then thirst for the sensation and begin to recognize when you’re experiencing it.
The punch zone is much the same way in that you shouldn’t make it a goal. After you have developed your creativity and learned to apply it to your technical knowledge one day it will hit you that you were in the zone. Then over time you will know the sensation enough to know when you are there and you too will begin to thirst for this high.
I doubt there are champion runners or Ironmen that have not experienced a runner’s high, but it’s certainly not a requirement to being a runner. The punch zone is not a requirement to becoming a puncher either, but it takes you to new levels and keeps the fire inside alive. The fire not only produces champion designs, but brings you back to your digitizing station hungry each day.
Please don’t misunderstand. This isn’t some new age thinking, where if you think positively you can do anything you want. “Get in the zone and you’ll be a great puncher” is positively goofy. However, I can’t emphasize enough how important I believe this is to punching: not the getting into “The punch zone”, but being creative.
Serious runners experience what is referred to as a runner’s high. The runner’s high wasn’t the goal, but after months of training, one day they find themselves in this mental state, where they feel they can run forever. The first time you experience this you’re taken by surprise. You then thirst for the sensation and begin to recognize when you’re experiencing it.
The punch zone is much the same way in that you shouldn’t make it a goal. After you have developed your creativity and learned to apply it to your technical knowledge one day it will hit you that you were in the zone. Then over time you will know the sensation enough to know when you are there and you too will begin to thirst for this high.
I doubt there are champion runners or Ironmen that have not experienced a runner’s high, but it’s certainly not a requirement to being a runner. The punch zone is not a requirement to becoming a puncher either, but it takes you to new levels and keeps the fire inside alive. The fire not only produces champion designs, but brings you back to your digitizing station hungry each day.
2009年4月1日星期三
Creativity
Most of my talent I attribute to creativity. There is plenty of technical background found in every design I punch, but it’s the creativity that sets the designs apart. The most technically perfect design can be flat, lifeless and void of any “pop”. For this reason, I place as much importance on the development of creative talents as I do technical talents.
I’ve punched designs that were so exciting I jumped around the room as their first sew outs were completed; designs that I was in awe of myself, so beautiful I couldn’t believe I had punched them. As I would look at these first runs I would wonder,” How did you I do that? What was I thinking? This could be my best ever!”
As I look back at those designs, I still don’t know the answers to these questions, but I have come to the conclusion that I enter a zone. A “punch zone”, where my creative mind applies my technical knowledge and the result is a masterpiece in thread.
I’ve punched designs that were so exciting I jumped around the room as their first sew outs were completed; designs that I was in awe of myself, so beautiful I couldn’t believe I had punched them. As I would look at these first runs I would wonder,” How did you I do that? What was I thinking? This could be my best ever!”
As I look back at those designs, I still don’t know the answers to these questions, but I have come to the conclusion that I enter a zone. A “punch zone”, where my creative mind applies my technical knowledge and the result is a masterpiece in thread.
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