Join us for our Intro to Machine Embroidery class, where you’ll learn the foundational skills to create custom patches and direct-to-garment designs using our Brother embroidery machines.
This hands-on class covers the essentials of machine embroidery, including machine setup and threading, fabric hooping, and the use of stabilizers with different fabrics. You’ll also explore various finishing techniques and learn how to bring your designs to life with both embroidery and print/cut software.
By the end of this class, you’ll be able to:
Create your own embroidered garments and patches
Identify and use key tools, materials, and embroidery terminology
Understand thread, stabilizer, and fabric compatibility
Properly hoop fabric in preparation for embroidery
Use print/cut software to cut out patch shapes
Whether you’re interested in personalizing clothing, crafting gifts, or diving deeper into textile arts, this course is a great place to start!
Please bring your own if you have something in particular you’re thinking of! Our machines use .pes format embroidery files, and are limited to a “4x4” hoop size (the design needs to be 3.8x3.8 or smaller).
We don’t have time in the class to do digitization, as it’s a pretty complicated/personal process akin to painting, but there are a ton of services that handle it for very cheap. One of the often recommended ones is Falcon embroidery, however there are tons of options on fiverr if Falcon’s $20 fee doesn’t make sense for a simple design, etc.
I’ll see how painful Inkstitch is – seems to be the go-to DIY solution? – but if it turns out too ambitious I’ll be happy to learn on whatever sample design you have available.
I say this as someone who got started using them. The problem isn’t the instructions themselves (although they’re quite outdated, inkstitch have made substantial QoL improvements since), but more that knowing how to format a vector in ink/stitch is only half the battle.
Stitch density/underlay, stitch angles, and directional ordering are more of an art than a science, and not something that there are good references for. These are where most amateur attempts at digitization fall short, and learning them well isn’t worth it (in my opinion, as someone who bothered to) vs the good ‘ole fiverr $3 special, lol.
