I have a question for the Wilcom Experts.  When I digitize a large monogram for a shower curtain, towel etc., the overlaps have a gap.  I can fix this by saving it as a .dst and editing the .dst file because it shows where the design will have these gaps.  I can pull the points to make it sew over the gap in the .dst.  How can I avoid this step by fixing the problem in an .emb format.  Is there a setting I can set to correct this.  In the .emb format, I can't see where the overlap is unless I do a travel and I don't know how to edit it from that point.

Thanks, Onrie

Hi Onrie,

I've heard many types of solutions from various digitizers. Some swear that overlaps only occur if the incorrect underlay is used, some swear you need X amount of stitches overlapping... Anyway to your question...

So given above to help avoid overlaps you could create an edge run underlay on the monogram which might stabilize the fabric to the backing a little better.

Firstly, are the Monogram designs actual lettering objects or shapes (Input A, B, Fusion Fill, etc) that look like lettering?

If you are manually punching them you can try using Fusion Fill to build your patches as Fusion Fill has an overlap option like complex fill, but Fusion Fill allows turning satin and with holes unlike Complex Fill.

Secondly if you created them with Input A or B objects you can use the Split Object command instead of saving them to a .DST.

1. Travel to the stitch where you want it to be split.
You can travel to a stitch inside a Satin, Tatami, Run or Manual object. You cannot split an object at the first stitch.

2. Select Edit > Split Object.

The object is split into two objects at the needle position marker.

You can also attach designs to this forum if you want anyone to take a look.

Hi back at you, Brendan.  The object is a keyboard letter or letters.  Fanci Monogram to be exact.  When the monogram is saved as a .dst, it creates a gap or several gaps.  I usually fix them by bringing it back and editing it because as a .dst the letters are broken into objects.  I just drag the points to make an overlap over the gaps.  I was looking for a solution to avoid this step.  I will try your suggestions.

Thanks, Onrie

Hi Onrie,

I believe, you are talking about gabs which may occur when a column of a keyboard letter is stiched e.g. half from top, then travel stitches to the bottom and then Satins backwards to form one line?

In this case fabric may be forming a little "wave" in stitching direction, firstly in downwards direction and when the second satin part is stitched in my example this wave is pushed up and they meet where the stitches are supposed to meet. The more volume a fabric has (polar fleece, battened wovens and knits etc.) this problem occurs in my experience.

In complex fill we can solve this problem with the overlapping row function but in keyboard lettering object I sometimes wished to have such tool.

A solution for this problem, in addition to Brenden's recommendations, might be following work around without the neccessity to save in dst.

Create your keyboard lettering and adjust it until it looks ok. Then ungroup it - you will loose the lettering porperties including automatic underlay beyond the whole letter but you will have single input A objects which can be edited as you like. Depending on the fabric it might be wise to digitize the underlay manually for the whole letter instead of using the auto-underlay for each single object forming the letter.

Be aware, you can't go backwards easily to get the lettering properties back. It is only possible with the back button but in case you edited single objects this will be lost, of course.

One hint I often use: I duplicate the lettering object before ungrouping, "de-generate" the stitches for one lettering object and ungroup the second lettering object with generated stitches.

This way, I have the original lettering object with all information  without stitches in my emb file and in case I need to go back I just generate the stitches.

HTH

Here is another thought...

It will take a little "work" but if you have your favourite font you might want to consider this.

Basically, convert the font patches from Input A which they are by default to Fusion Fill, and set an overlap. Here is how you would need to do it.

1) Type the character set on screen: ABCDEFGHJIKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890

2) Select the font and Ungroup it (Arrange > Ungroup)

3) As Barbara points out this will break the lettering object into many little Input A objects and essentially throw away the lettering data.

4) Right click on each patch and convert it to a Fusion Fill object (Right-Click > Convert > Fusion Fill)

5) Click Enter to accept the default settings. It will automatically adopt the stitch angles from the original Input A patch

6) Once you have completed one letter, select all the patches and go the Special Tab > Fusion Fill and change the 'Overlaps' value to a value you like, such as 3 rows.

7) With all the patches of a single letter selected you can now save that lettering away as an actual Wilcom lettering object:

   i) Select the patches for one letter
   ii) Special > Alphabet > Make Letter
   iii) For the first one you will need to make a new font so click "New"
   iv) Give the font a name. Set the default spacing to 10%. Set the Default Join Type to Closest Join. Click OK to accept.
   v) Enter the letter you are creating such as A
   vi) Check "Digitize Reference Height" and "Remove Functions"
   vii) Click OK and follow the status bar prompts to create the lettering object

[See page 622 "Creating custom alphabets" of the Online User Manual for ES 2006 for complete steps.

Do this for all characters and in the end you will have your own font with turning stitching, closest joins and more importantly the satin column overlaps you want.

Sample .EMB file attached with the original Fancy Monogram M and a Fusion Fill font M.