Embroidery Software

I finally installed some embroidery software and have been playing around with it today so I can get something produced for a forthcoming birthday.  Of course it would probably be a lot easier if I RTFM but that’s not the kind of person I am lol.  I like to play first and then if there’s something specific that I want to know how to do, then I RTFM!  At first glance it was a little scary, only because the software was new to me but I am happy to report that I did manage to successfully create one new design and convert one design all on the first day and without the aid of a manual!  Hurrah!  They were pretty simple designs though, but it has given me a bit of a taste for it and maybe I can create something more complex later on.

Zazzle and Cafepress have been doing embroidery for some time now but they do use different systems.  Cafepress seems to just convert any of your existing designs to embroidered designs using InfiniStitch embroidery, however just because you can do it doesn’t mean you should and some of the designs really don’t look that clear when done in embroidery.  On the other hand Zazzle gives you three options.  The first is to create a text design using the text tool on the website; the second is to submit one of your own designs to Zazzle for conversion and they will calculate how much this will cost (and whether your design is suitable for conversion) and then you can choose to proceed or not; and the third is that you use your own embroidery software to create a design which you can then upload in the correct format and use straight away.  This option for me is preferable since you have control over the design and you don’t have to pay to have it converted.  You will however have to pay for software or find a free one.

I found a free one and downloaded it.  It’s called Design Era and although it does seem to hog computer resources, it does seem to work pretty well so far.  As I said, it has inspired me to think about creating designs specifically for embroidery rather than converting designs as I like how the end result looks.

More later when I have more time to play with it.  I have a TMA due on Tuesday for my design course so I need to focus on that over the weekend.