Not sure how many stitches are in this design or what type of stabilizer was used but from the puckering evident on the design, I'm wondering if the gaps are a digitizing issue or poor registration due to the fabric or stabilizer combination used. Embroidery Library has a pretty good reference that explains this issue under the tab 'Helpful How To's, in an article called 'Mind The Gap'. I will try to include a link to this article but if I'm not able to get it to work it should be fairly easy to find at the Embroidery library website. Not sure if this will help but it may be worth checking out.
http://www.emblibrary.com/EL/ELProje...oductid=PR1405