Once you’ve purchased your embroidery software, you still have some work to. You need to learn to use it! Today’s software can do amazing things, but it is useless until you know how to make it work for you. It’s natural to be somewhat nervous at first, but the sooner you start using your embroidery software, the sooner you will be able to create the beautiful things you’ve been imagining

One of the best ways to start learning about your embroidery software is to simply start using it. Install your software, following all the instructions. Open it up and start pressing pressing buttons to see what they do. If you weren’t able to try the software before purchasing it, this is a good way to start exploring it. You may not be able to get to all the features this way; most packages have some functions that require very specific steps and situations to work properly.

After you’ve played with the buttons for awhile, start work on a small project – just for practice. (It doesn’t have to be something you actually want to finish – in fact, you might be more relaxed if it isn’t.) Make a duplicate of the design (so you don’t accidentally ruin your original) and then close the original. Remember that the Undo option (usually found under Edit, then Undo in most software) is your friend. If you make a mistake, immediately clicking Undo will restore your file to the way it was before your mistake. With hand embroidery software, try entering and editing a small motif.  With machine embroidery software, open a design you already own. Working on a duplicate, play with the editing functions. Things to try include re-coloring the design and converting it to another format. Adding text and re-sizing the design are other simple things you can do to become familiar with your software. Remember that you generally should not re-size by more than 20% larger or smaller, even if your software allows you to do so. Re-sizing can create distortions in the design, and staying within these limits keeps distortions to a minimum.

For digitizing software, try creating a small design. Bring a simple reference graphic into the software and create all the shapes manually. If you have a shape library, you can also try using it to create the shapes in the graphic, adjusting the library shapes to match those in your reference. If your software has an auto-digitizing feature, use it to create a second version of the design. Compare the differences between the two methods and their results. After you’ve created the design, edit it in the digitizing software by changing the start and stop points of the stitching, the stitch order, or the fill and outline stitches. Convert the design into a stitch file and save it.

For both editing and digitizing software, the next step is sewing out your design. Most embroidery software creates a realistic-looking view of how the design will look when sewn out, but the software view cannot show the way thread pushes and pulls fabric when embroidering. There will probably be differences between what you see on the screen and the stitchout, so sewing it out is the only way to be sure it stitches well. If you discover areas that don’t work well, fix them in the appropriate software. (And if your machine complains about stitching it, do not force it! If you do, you could damage your machine. Open the design in the software you used to create it and fix the problem before you try to stitch it out again.) Test stitching may seem like extra, unnecessary work, but it will teach you a great deal about how machine embroidery designs work – or don’t work!

Learning to use your embroidery software is almost like learning a new language. There are many terms that you’ve probably never seen before and it can take time and repetition to make them natural parts of your vocabulary. Sometimes playing with the software isn’t enough to make you comfortable with it. If this happens don’t give up, instead, start looking for more information.