ImagesMagUK_August_2021

Even with a very simple letter like this block ‘E’ and with all automated underlay turned off, we can see how software is forced by the inset shape and stitch angle to travel around the shape repeatedly in order to pick up the fill and back out of ‘dead end’ areas without jumping and trimming. Even a letter like this requires all of the curved lines seen here to maintain the fill With the text punched through the background, the numerous travel runs and backtracks are more visible, as are the repeated areas where strange angles, cut corners, and other quality issues rear their heads. In small areas like this, it’s easy to see how cut-out letters can take a toll on efficiency and edge quality overlying satins, it may make sense both aesthetically and technically. That said, for reducing density or simply ‘showing through’ garment colour in small text on a left chest design or cap, cut-out lettering is unlikely to be your best option. to make the edges more regular; this is usually achieved by using supportive underlay under the edge and by adjusting the density to attain coverage. As I mentioned earlier, density is a measure of space between rows of stitching, which in this case is the space between those penetration points, those stitches that line the edge of our character. Therefore, the more even and closer together those points are, the more ‘smooth’ the edge will be. This is where the difference between turning satins and fills is very apparent. Angles, curves, and intersections If all the lines in a letter either align with or are perpendicular to the stitch angle, you may not immediately see the problem with fills, but if at any time your punched-out letter’s edge curves gradually or has a shallow angle just offset from the fill, you’ll see a strange roughness in the edge. When we cut one of these angles or curves out of a field of uniformly spaced lines all at the same angle, as we have in the fill, we see the intersections between the edge of our letter and the lines of the fill aren’t spaced evenly away from each other along the letter’s edge. At some points, the gaps between the penetration points that hit the edge will be much farther apart than our intended density, leaving a stair-stepped, rough-looking edge, even though the rows of fill that surround it provide complete coverage. Moreover, as your software attempts to work out the path around a complex hole, you may find a stray line of stitches within the bounds of your letter, or a larger gap than you indent for a stroke as the spacing of your fill density can’t match up with where you need a stitch or a gap to occur. With overlying satin letters, each stroke is filled as instructed and the density of your satins is calculated to evenly fill along the edges with some added instruction from your stitch angles or inclination lines, and automated short stitching allows you to approach full coverage on the outside edge of the satin stroke’s curve while avoiding excess crowding on the inside edge. Knowing your limits Though I’m strongly making the case for not cutting out holes for complex text, I’m not arguing that you can never cut a complex hole from a filled area. Understanding the best way to use complex fills is key. When a hole is large enough not to suffer unduly from edge quality problems or small irregularities in the shape, and there’s a compelling reason that you don’t want the texture of My most important reason for preferring overlying satin text is edge quality KB TIPS & TECHNIQUES www.images-magazine.com 92 images AUGUST 2021 Erich Campbell is an award-winning digitiser, embroidery columnist and educator, with more than 20 years’ experience both in production and the management of ecommerce properties. He is the programme manager for the commercial division of BriTon Leap. www.erichcampbell.com