Help with embroidery library designs!! Please read
 

I have a question for everyone.First let me say, that I am not trying to deflame anyone in this message. I am truly trying to get a grasp on what I am doing wrong. And who better to ask, than a room full of quilters,some who I am sure, like me, enjoys doing embroidery designs on their quilts. Here is my problem.
Second let me say, that I LOVE Embroidery library designs. I have been buying designs from them for years.
However EVERY TIME I go to sew one out...I end up feeling like picking up my embroidery machine and throwing it through the window. The designs are SOOOOOOO dense!My machine sounds like it is about to start throwing parts around the room. Last nite I was working on one, and I had 2 needles break. I have tried increasing the amounts of stabilizer under the design. I have tried different sizes of needles. So....help,help, help! Have any of you figured out how to sew these out without killing your machine? I am starting to think that their designs are meant for industrial type machines, not the home sewing machine.
I have sent them letters on this issue, I have friends that have sent them letters on this issue. And the only response any of us recieve is that we aren't stabilizing them correctly. So have any of you figured out how to stabilize them correctly.
Tammy

I have the same issue with them. I love their designs, but they are very dense and if not stabilized extremely well will pucker. If you have a program like Designers Gallery Density Works, it will remove some of the unnecessary background stitches, which will help.

I own an embroidery business. I do think the designs are make for the more commercial machines. Hope this helps

So, since you have a embroidery business, you have the industrial type embroidery machines? Do you have the problem with these designs on those machines?
Tammy

Will your machine reduce the density of the design? I believe mine will - up to 20% - which is what I do with their designs.

I haven't really had a problem but I have a pretty serious noncommercial machine...a babylock ellegante2..they are dense but they always stitch out nicely for me. I use tear away stabilizer that I buy from Joanns, a pretty light bobbin thread, but don't really do anything special. I use schmetz embroidery needles usually a 75. They are quite stiff, but I honestly never thought too much about it because they look so nice and other designs I've tried end up leaving gaps so you see the material through the design.

They stitch out fine on my Janome MB4 and on my Janome 11000. I don't do anything much special to them. I use stabilizer according to what fabric I'm sewing. I do slow the speed down on the more dense designs. I have never had needles break though....threads yes, but not needles.

The older EL designs were extraordinary dense most of the time and have far too many stitches to be cost effective for selling. In addition, they had just too many color changes. I mean, geeze - 40,000 stitches in a bit over 4x4 space with 12-25 color changes? Ridiculous! I just stopped buying their realistic designs. However they do have some newer designs that are much more reasonable. I have finally started buying a few things again, but I am very careful to look at the stitch count and number of color changes before I buy it!

Pam

I have heard a number of people recommend that you enlarge the design by 10% or so without changing the stitch count. That will reduce the density, but I would do a test sew before using it on something important.

I have had a few problems along the same lines... I have a low end Brother emb machine.. I love the machine.

I enlarge anything overly dense, I switched to lighter wt bobbin ( that alone helped alot) and I found they work out better in a Polyester thread than it did with a Rayon thread......

Best of luck... I'm still learning emb machine myself...

I used to buy all my designs from them and my Designer1 sews them very well. Lately I have passed on all but a few designs because of the extremely high density and I don't think my background fabric can handle it without so much stablizer the item would stand up by itself. Maybe if we all e-mailed them about our concerns they would realize that they are losing business.