Embroidery Design Software - Ouch!

One of the areas that I purchased the embroidery machine for was to be able to make my own embroidered fabric. The problem was that it was not as simple as just hooping up the fabric. I wanted to be able to embroider repeating motifs or even a repeating border print onto fabric, but was not sure how to do it with this machine. It seemed quite complicated.

One of the ladies mentioned that it is possible to do it manually if I made a template. I need to ask her more about it.   There seems to be tutorials on line for it too.
Multi hooping
Digimad who posts often on the Janome forums also has a fascinating video on split designs here

There's also a few threads on Janome about it.
No hooping for large fabric embroider

Anyway, the owner had just gone to Janome Institute. This is apparently a yearly event for machine dealers to learn about their machines. She mentioned that I needed to order software to do what I was suggesting.

I had done some research and then someone asked exactly the same question I did on the Janome forum and even posted a video for how to do multiple hoops. Then I found out that the application can cost up to $1500. Ouch!.

The owner has offered to let me try it out in the shop. I'll do that, but boy, I'm going to have to think long and hard whether I want to spend that kind of money. . .

Ran into my fitting teacher

I took classes with Christie last year. We had two sessions only and she helped me with a McCall's pattern, I think. I never really finished it and still need to look at it again. The bust pattern needed lengthening with the FBA.

Anyway, it was good to run into Christie. She asked what I was doing and I mentioned the Sarah Veblen book and my attempts to refit a previously tried pattern to see what else I could learn, do with it.

She encouraged me to contact her for help with fitting, since I had confessed that it's much harder to fit myself. I should also raise the idea to get a dress form for me.

I'm looking forward to it, but she mentioned that she would only do it this Friday and then be out for October (when I'm out too). I will have to reach out in November.

Today, tried out a few more things with embroidery.

Used the borrowed Isacord thread. It does stitch out nicer.  I'm going to have to see how much the 1000m spools cost. Used the tear away again. Then I tried out some of the smaller sized designs which I think would look lovely repeated over an expanse of plain fabric.

Then I threw all the samples into the wash . . . wow. They all shrunk up. Since the Isacord is polyester and so is the embroidery thread, the only thing I could think of is that it's the tearaway OR that the cotton isn't completely shrunk up. When I pre-washed it, it was cool and dried cool.  This time I threw it in with the towels. I may have to try embroidery on some very washed and dried cotton.

I will try ironing out the samples to see if it does anything. . . .

Taking embroidery to the experts

Took both samples to the shop.  Got some good tips.

"Why does my embroidery machine sometimes 'thunk' during a pattern?"

Areas where there are dense stitches sometimes grab hold of the needle, and the 'thunk' is the needle pulling out and the fabric and hoop hitting the machine.

He recommended that I try Isacord thread.  They were nice enough to let me take a couple of spools to try, to compare it to the Mettler embroidery thread. I found out that Mettler embroider thread was not UV-proof and is apparently less suited for machine embroider and more for quilting.  He thought that was why there were some loops on top of the embroidery.  Also, I was advised to use a Microtex needle. I bought some there because they were having a 30% sale as it was Anniversary week. 

Apparently OESD stabilizer products which are sticky (or 'pressure sensitive') apparently have a 'Plus' on the label. Have to remember that. Also apparently some of their products are sensitive to high humidity and may stretch. 

This week I'm going to have to try the Isacord thread. I'm going to just do it with the tear away stabilizer that I used with the earlier sample to keep everything else the same. 

Inspiration: Embroidery Design PacksUTP1145

Urban Threads Design Pack UTP1145

How lovely, a whole design pack on constellations. Would be quite eye catching to create a dress from fabric that has been covered with these designs. 

  I think this pack could have a lot of possibilities.

Urban Threads Design Pack UTP1113

Doable with the existing designs on MC11K?

Inspiration: Coral skirt

Urban Threads UT 6584 Branching Coral

I have some coral fabric left, and when I saw this photo from some fashion show (should have noted who the designer is) a few months ago, I knew it would be something I would like to recreate.  Urban Threads has this design. I think the small one (3.86" x 3.43") would work. 

A skirt would be lovely (I don't have that much fabric).

Dart placement after removing center back seam?

The muslin came together last night. Front looks good. Back not so much. Which is strange considering I would have sewn the CB seam and the darts should be the same distance away. BUT, I think this may be a case that since I took away from the sides seams to compensate for the cut on fold back, the existing dart placement would be a little closer to the side seams than in muslin #2, which would look strange.  Having difficulty 'looking at my back' I'll have to ask husband to check or take a photo of both muslins to see what's wrong.

With the HBL drawn in, the waist seems lower than it should be too. Have to take photos and post.

On the embroider front. Pulled out the MC11K SE. Based on the shop's recommendations, the best way to learn how to use the embroidery machine is to just USE it.  So picked the same embroider pattern and stitched it out twice, once just hooping the muslin and then gluing another muslin scrap on top (called 'fabric sample'). The second one I hooped thick stabilizer and then glued the muslin scrap again on top ('stabilizer sample').  I baste stitched both samples.

There was some thread jumping, but overall turned out okay. On close inspection, the fabric sample did show more tendency to 'tunnel' for some areas. The stabilizer sample did not show as much buckling. Although the buckling around the pattern almost looks like quilt 'embossing'.  I'm not sure if I should do this, but I slowly snipped out the stabilizer leaving just small pieces.

I wonder what other people do with samples. Maybe I'll be able to use it as an applique for a pillow case or something.  Something else to research.

By the way,  read somewhere that some have had success using glue sticks instead of using spray adhesive to stick fabric on top of the stabilizer. I tried it with the Basting Glue I bought from Creative Feet when they were in town at the Del Mar Quilt Show last year.  Seemed to work very well. The glue is water soluble and does not gum up sewing needles, so no worries.

What to do with no Center Back seam?

So my last post about the 3rd tunic muslin was my confusion on what to do about the CB seam after the sway back adjustment. That adjustment would be fine if I maintained the CB seam, but because I didn't want to I have to figure out how to transfer the deviation to the side seam.

I've not seen 'official' instructions on how to do this, but my thoughts are that as long as I maintain the side seam length after I move the CB deviation over, I should be fine. That also includes walking the match points on the side seam to make sure they still would line up.

So I laid the back pattern against a straight line and then marked where the deviation from original CB started and ended, and then drew horizontal lines where the deviation was 1/8 of an inch, 1/16 of an inches and estimated where they would be taken out at the side seam. I smoothed as much as needed to make a clean seam and then measured the original side seam length and the new side seam. I subtracted the difference from the bottom side and drew the hem to that point.

I believe that would maintain the same side seam length. And no CB seam.  I still need to walk the match points however. . .

Visited the local sewing machine dealer. The sewing machine technician there wasn't sure why my serger would sew the wide 3 thread overlock fine, but not the narrow.  He asked me to bring in my serger.

Also bought thread for embroidering the collar of the fashion fabric tunic. Had trouble matching colors, so finally had one of the nice ladies help me. Strangely although the color I was trying to match was green, the tiny spots of blue ended up being more in line with the color.

Yardage Town had laces on clearance. I purchased 5 for 99 cents each. Looks like at least a yard or two each, so a great bargain.  My stash grows.

Finally broke out the blue tracing paper purchased from Richard the Thread. They accept phone orders and will take smaller orders than online.  LOVE the paper. Works much better than the chalk ones. And the large size makes it much faster.

Lovely clean easily seen lines. MUCH better than the small chalk papers from Dritz.
Richard the Thread is my go-to source for tracing paper now!

Tunic Muslin # 3 : Establishing Fitting Lines

The Sarah Veblen 'Complete Photo Guide to Perfect Fitting' calls for horizontal balance lines (HBLs) and other landmarks to use as fitting references.  I've already established the HBLs for the waist and hips, but for the center back, I'm a little stuck.

Since I've decided to  fold out the center back seam from my last muslin, I realized that I'm now left with a center back seam that is not straight. After my original muslin, I took out a 'closed wedge' as Veblen describes it to deal with the sway back. It worked, and I transferred the alteration to the back pattern. But it meant that the back pattern does not line up completely at the back. It did not matter when I had a center back seam, but now that I folded the seam allowance out, I'm not sure how to easily establish the center back.

I guess at a pinch I could make a dart at the center back and then copy out the new back as a full pattern.

Before I do that I should try tracing out the section which is superfluous and seeing whether I could take it out of the side seams. However, I'm not entirely sure if that's a great idea since I'll have to check if the side seams are even between the front and the back of the tunic.

Revisiting New Look Tunic again?

Over the Labor Day holiday I ordered two fitting books. I have the Palmer/Pletsch 'Fit for Real People' purchased when I started sewing.  As I plan to start pants shortly, I got the Palmer/Pletsch ' Pants for Real People' and also Sarah Veblen's 'Complete Photo Guide to Perfect Fitting'.

I was planning to just use fashion fabric for the next version of the tunic with minor pattern alterations (other than the sleeve head). However, I think I may just go back and make another muslin of the tunic, this time working in the fitting axis instructions from the Sarah Veblen book. I'm particularly interested in working with the Horizontal Balance Line (HBL) which I've previously read about online, but not done.  It would be interesting to see how the fit is with those reference points first as there may be more alterations that aren't obvious without those markers.

Besides, I'm still stuck on the fashion fabric version since I've planned to underline with white Batiste and have not gotten it as yet. Also want to play with embroidering on the facing.