ImagesMagUK_November_2020

www.images-magazine.com NOVEMBER 2020 images 61 EMBROIDERY ZSK: Boring Device, Hot Air Cutting Device and Cording Device from Stocks Embroidery & Sewing Solutions Annette Ratti, designer maker Tell us a bit about your business I make original artworks and designs that are applied to the surface of fabric using graphic print, embroidery and embellishment. I work mainly in womenswear, in the prediction area of the fashion industry. My work follows trends on the catwalk and in popular culture to meet the demand of the marketplace. As well as independent commissions, I work under the umbrella of a design agency in London who show and sell my designs all over the world. The customers are mainly design house/ labels, prêt-à-porter and couture designers. What embroidery attachments have you bought? The ZSK Boring Device, to make eyelets – it’s great for the broderie anglaise technique; the ZSK Hot Air Cutting Device, which is used for cut work – it saves time rather than trimming by hand; and the ZSK Cording Device ZigZag, which is a spool that you can wind on ribbon and cords for machining. All were bought in November 2019. Why did you choose these attachments? To offer something different and unique in my designs. It also saves a huge amount of time and money for me and my customers in producing samples for production. What are they like to use? Do you have any tips on how to get the best out of them? The borer takes time to get the holes cutting correctly, and this really depends on the fabric I’m using. I created a test library of successful borings, and made a note of setting and fabric combinations. The cording can sometimes be tricky to start; I find if you do a short row of back stitches close together at the beginning of the cord it helps it to start off smoothly. The air cutter is still in the testing stage. The cutting rate and burn marking can really vary between fabrics; I think I will keep a library of fabrics with the successful heat settings. Is there anything you’d like to see in an upgrade or don’t particularly like about them? The boring device is fitted as one of the needles and works well with the correct programming on the design. I use Wilcom design software, which is one of the best design software programs to use, and my machine is a ZSK 7XL, which stitches beautifully and has good quality components – the only problem is there is a missing bit of code that helps them talk to each other when it comes to the boring device. I currently have to program twice – once in the Wilcom design software and then again into the machine. It’s time-consuming, and creates space for errors. The cording device works very well, happy with this one. The hot air cutter would be better if it had an on/off switch on the side as it heats up when I turn on my machine. I don’t use it that often yet. What size runs and type of work are they used for? I use this machine for individual pieces that can be very detailed. Depending on size, I generally manage about three designs per day. The ZSK 7XL machine is capable of machining 1,200 stitches per minute, but it’s the reliability and quality I need for my samples and an industrial machine like this can deliver the right look and feel. What would be your advice to others thinking of buying embroidery attachments? The attachments can be quite expensive, so it’s worth researching if they are suitable for you. I suppose bespoke work like this is perhaps pushing the capabilities of this hardware to the limits of what it can do, and I’m really using a wide variety of techniques and effects. There is no reason why creative artists and designers like me can’t use high-volume machines like this. I’m selling more designs than ever and creating textures, stitches and effects I never could before so I’m very happy with the results. www.newmodelembroidery.com Annette Ratti uses multiple ZSK attachments in her design work