Judie

Can some of you experienced machine embroiderers help me figure out a problem and how to avoid it, please.

I was making a clothespin bag and decided to embroidery some little "clothes" on a clothes line.. I have an endless design that I had chosen these things from. It's an Anita Gooddesigns pattern..

I chose the clothesline with pins attached, and 3 little pieces to hang on the line.. two t-shirts and a pair of jeans..

To save thread changes I merged the thread colors.. I began the stitch out, it did a part of the first shirt, then went down to do a part on the last shirt hanging on the line. It came back and did another part on the first shirt, then as the hoop moved across the embroidered part to the shirt, I heard a clunk, but did not see what happened.. After that the rest of the stitch out was off a bit so things did not line up. You can see in the attached pictures that the cuffs are misaligned, as is the sleeves of the first shirt and the designs on both shirts are no longer centered.

The jeans that are in the middle was stitched out in completely different colors so they were not part of the 'going back and forth'.. if that makes sense..

When the piece was finished I did go and look at the pattern, magnifying it up to see how the stitches were programed.. they are exactly where they should be.

My question is two fold.. first, What happened? did the needle hit that first part of the embroidery and that cause it to get misaligned? or does that happen when you merge thread colors?? and second, is there anything I can do to get it back in the place it should be once I discover this is what has happened??

Thank you for your insight. I'm still too new to machine embroidery and haven't figured out all of these problems.

Nanamoms

Judie, if you heard a "clank", it probably means that the needle hit something it didn't like, maybe it was pulled by the fabric or stabilizer. Since you purchased the design from Anita GoodDesigns, the digitizing should be ok. I don't think the color sort has much to do with the outline being off "unless" the digitizer "intended" for the colors to be stitched in order and the underlay, etc. needs to stitch out in order (if you understand what I mean). Also, there can be outline issues with the stabilizer used. If the fabric pulls or shifts at all, it will create a problem. Was your fabric hooped too tight? It appears to be a woven fabric (?) and the weave/threadcount will make a difference. And sometimes, even tho the designer is a good one, a design will just be "off". I just stitched out a design using my Disney designs and it was off...and I stitched it with the correct stabilizer and the fabric was a light canvas. I do "test stitch" most of my designs unless they are very stitch intensive.

If you go to www.emblibrary.com, there are free tutorials on how to fix this type of problem and many other stabilizer/fabric/thread/needle recommendations. A lot of embroidery is "learn as you go". If you need any further info or have any more specifc questions, you can PM me. Carolyn

Becky Mc

I had that happen to me once and it was because my hoop hit a dead end my wall forgot I was using my large hoop and didn't pull my machine forward.............. could that have happened to you?

Judie

Thank you Carolyn, that was very helpful information..

I did go to emlibrary (one of my favorite sites) and looked at their information. I did not realize they have that many tutorials! What a find, thanks for that suggestion.

Tink's Mom

It sounds like your frame may have bumped into something behind the machine...I have done this many times, even though I KNOW to make sure the machine is clear.

nangars

That is very cute anyway. I have bumped my hoop and it knocked the alingment off. I can say if that happens, you can't fix that. But sometimes that happens, lets say that people will just think that is the way it should be unless you tell them otherwise. You created a new design all by yourself.

What do you have this design on, it looks pretty big??????

momto5

While you're looking, make sure your hoop is tight in the holder...sometimes the screws work loose and the piece slides in a way you hadn't intended, making parts of the design appear in different places than they're supposed to. And no.don't ask me how I know 'cause I ain't gonna tell ya!