Embroidery Machine Tutorial
Step 0: Watch our intro video
Watch the intro video below to get a visual guide to the embroidery machine, or skip to the text steps if you prefer.
Step 1: Machine set-up
Make sure the machine is off before proceeding through the setup steps.
1.
Check that the machine is set up for embroidery
The machine has different parts for sewing or embroidery. Please get an intern for help with any of these steps.
a.
Check that the embroidery attachment is on
The embroidery attachment unit is shown at right. It slides on and off the left side of the machine. If the sewing attachment is on the machine, slide it off and slide on the embroidery attachment. Grab a makerspace intern if you need help finding the correct attachment.
b.
Check that the embroidery foot is attached
The presser foot is the small metal piece surrounding the needle, that has a purpose of smoothing the fabric as it is fed through the machine. There are different styles of presser feet for different purposes. You need the embroidery presser foot.
An intern can help you with these steps to change the foot, if needed:
Raise the presser foot lever
Loosen the presser foot holder screw and remove the current presser foot holder. Put in a safe place.
Slide the embroidery presser foot into place. Holding the embroidery foot with your right hand, tighten the presser foot screw. Notice that the embroidery foot bar needs to be over the needle clamp screw.
c.
Check the needle
Make sure you have a needle that isn't bent or broken. To replace a needle:
Hold the needle with your left hand and unscrew the needle clamp screw.
Find a new needle
With the flat part of the needle facing away from you, slide it into the needle slot.
Tighten the needle clamp screw
2.
Prep the embroidery frame
We use an embroidery frame to hold the fabric.
a.
Find an embroidery frame
Find an embroidery frame that is the correct size for your project. Use a frame that is the size of the embroidery that you want to make.
Hats have a special attachment! Refer to the Hat Section of this guide for more help using the hat attachment.
Unscrew the frame.
b.
Add embroidery stabilizer to your fabric
Find the role of embroidery stabilizer. Cut a piece to match the size of your frame. Stabilizer should be slightly bigger than the frame.
Stick the stabilizer to the back of the fabric.
c.
Reconstruct the frame
Place your fabric, with the stabilizer on the back, between the two pieces of the frame, with the inner hoop under the fabric and the outer hoop on top. Consider the orientation of your embroidery design.
Reconstruct the frame making sure there is sufficient tension in the fabric.
d.
Attach the embroidery frame
The embroidery frame will slide onto the embroidery attachment via two screws on the attachment.
3.
Thread the top thread of the machine
Decide on the color of your embroidery design
Put your colored thread on the spool holder. Make sure to add the spool cap (the small white disc) to hold the thread in place.
Follow the instructions printed on the sewing machine for threading the machine. Make sure to hit each numbered point.
After the final threading steps, put the thread through the eye of the needle. Make sure the thread goes through the front and out the backside. Note: **leave 1-2 inches of slack in the thread beyond the needle. Do NOT tie the thread in place.
4.
Check the bobbin thread
The bobbin thread is in the bottom thread. There should be a small spool of white thread. If not, follow these steps to load a new bobbin:
Slide the bobbin cover latch to the right, remove the bobbin cover. Put in a safe place!
Hold the bobbin with the thread feeding counterclockwise (there is an indicator on the machine)
Insert the bobbin so the end of the thread is on the left, then pull the thread through the guide.
Turn the hand crank one rotation, so that the upper and lower threads are connected
Replace the bobbin cover
5.
Turn on the machine
Turn on the machine with the button near where the power cable enters the machine. The machine will move. Keep all hands away from the machine.
Step 2: Pre-Loaded Design
If you just want to embroider text, use the designs that are already in the machine. It is *much* more simple to use the pre-loaded designs than to make your own.
1.
Navigate to design
Once the machine is on, use the LCD screen to navigate to one of the first 3 tabs on the home menu. The first two tabs allow you to pick from a variety of preloaded designs, while the third tab allows you to add lettering to your embroidery.
2.
Select your design
If you select one of the first two tabs, you will be taken to a menu where you can cycle through the designs using the arrows under the screen (Left arrow to move left, Right arrow to move right).
If you select the lettering tab, you will be prompted with a keypad on the screen. From there select which letters you would like to be embroidered.
3.
Place your design
Center the fabric in the carriage by selecting “Adjust” → “Layout” → using the arrow pad to adjust by hand, or by selecting the image with a needle and arrow square to begin auto-detection of the parameters.
4.
Size your design
Adjust the size and rotation of the embroidery using the same menu.
By playing with the buttons in the screens shown in the picture below, you can watch your design change on the screen to what you want as well. Always test the design layout button to make sure it fits in your designed area before starting the embroidery.
5.
Lower the presser foot
Once the design, location, and size are set, lower the foot. Doing so should change the button above the needle from red to green.
6.
Start your embroidery!
To start the embroidery process, press the green arrow button.
7.
Change the thread color, if needed
Some preloaded designs have built-in stops in the embroidery so that you can change thread colors. Once one of these stops happens, refer to Step 3 of the Machine Basic Setup section to properly change thread colors.
8.
When you're done
Remove your finished product by raising the embroidering foot, lifting up the embroidery frame lightly from the base, and slide it out from under the foot. Then cut any excess thread.
Using the Hat Attachment
The hat hoop will make embroidering hats easier. It's designed to work with an existing 4x4 hoop or larger. These instructions are compatible with the se270D 2 knob hat hoop. No hats with plastic backing should be used. Only floppy hats work.
Pull shiny backing off of adhesive stabilizer. Adhere to the bottom of the cap hoopster. Make sure stabilizer is taught and firmly attached to the hoop. If the stabilizer has a hard time sticking, allow it to wrap around the edges of the hoop.
Determine where design should go on the cap. Use a water soluble pen to help center the design. Just make a vertical and horizontal line intersecting at the center point of the design.
Loosen visor clamp by turning thumbscrew. Attach a clear template with two holes to the small pegs on the visor clamp. Loosen back strap on cap and slide the visor under the template and visor clamp. Center the area of the cap that will be embroidered. The markings on the hat and template will help you do this.
Make sure the sweatband is pulled back before you tighten the thumbscrew. You mysct prevent the sweatband from being stitched to the cap. Taping or pining the sweatband may be necessary. Backing also needs to be pulled back with a sweatband.
Press the cap down against the adhesive backing starting in the middle and working out. The cap must be as flat and smooth as possible.
Clamp the cap hoopster to the outer machine hoop on the side opposite where the machine hoop attaches to the embroidery unit. Shown here without hat for placement purpose.
Turn your machine on and set up for embroidery as usual. Turn the embroidery unit on and attach a machine hoop. You may have to remove the foot and or shank to do this. Use the cursor keys to center the needle and begin to embroider onto the cap. Remember the design must be rotated clockwise a quarter turn.
Step 2 (alt): Executing a Custom Design
It is much more complicated to make a custom design for the embroidery machine but it is possible!
1.
Create/download your design
Your design will need to be a vector graphic.
You can convert a raster design to a vector graphic using Image Trace.
Or you can create a design from scratch in Illustrator, using the shape, text, and pen tools.
Save your design as an .svg
2.
Inkscape
Install Inkscape (https://inkscape.org/ -> Download -> choose your device -> if windows choose the .exe option (not .msi !!!)
Install Ink/Stitch plugin (https://inkstitch.org/docs/install-windows/ -> Download )
Run both installers (Inkscape first)
Open your design in Inkscape
3.
Prepping your custom design
Select the object (Ctrl-A)
In the upper file menu, select Path -> Object to Path
Select the node tool and select any object (the pointed arrow with the purple line)
In the upper file menu, select Edit -> Select Same -> Object Type
In the upper file menu, select Extensions -> Ink/Stitch -> Params
When the window pops up wait 30 seconds to a minute to see if the file will auto generate
Another window with the stitching path (what the embroidery machine will do) should come up
Should look like the image below
If you get a red error message and it does not pop up the window - your stitch will not work
This generally means one of three things
One of your shapes does not have proper color filling
This is sometimes because there's invisible shapes in your files
Your file has too many colors to calculate the paths
You did not properly convert your object to a vector in illustrator or you did not convert the object to a path in InkScape
You can play around with the setting but generally the default work!
Hit “Apply and Quit”
Save your .svg file
Then do File->Save a Copy
Make sure you save the file as a “.pes”
It will often freeze for a bit before saving because it is a complicated file type
The “.pes” can then be moved to a flash drive and put into the embroidery machine
Step 3: Cleaning up
1.
Remove all scrap pieces of thread from the machine and throw them away.
2.
Put all reusable scrap fabric back into the bins in which they were found.
If the fabric was brought in, do not leave them in the makerspace. Take them with you.
3.
Place the machine itself back where it was found and place the protective cover back on top of it.
Step 1: Machine set-up
Make sure the machine is off before proceeding through the setup steps.