1.  Check the design's properties

By 'design properties' I mean stitch count, size, and number of color changes. Before you begin to embroider, check the information that is reflected on your machine, and compare it to the information provided for the design by the digitizer.

Color change sheets are provided for all Embroidery Library designs, and those sheets contain not only the colors that we used to sew the design, but also the size, stitch count, and number of color changes. On the example to the right, the relevant sections are circled in red.

You'll find the size listed on the upper right. Check the size listed there, and compare it to the size as listed in your machine or software. If the sizes match, great. If not, check your software or machine settings. Are they set to automatically increase size, or more commonly, decrease size to fit into the hoop? If so, you'll want to change those settings to stop that from happening. Allowing your machine or software to automatically resize designs can cause problems with coverage and density.

The number of stitches in the design is listed on the upper right. Is the stitch count, reflected in your machine, within 1 - 2% of that number? The numbers may vary slightly - different machines have different stitch lengths that are allowed, and the machine or software knows to adjust that number. But it should generally be within 1 - 2% of that number.

The number of color changes should match exactly. For this I don't mean the number of colors used - that number isn't important. But the number of color changes should match exactly. If not, the machine is going to breeze through some of those stops, and you won't get a chance to change thread. If it matches, great, move on to step 2. If not, check your embroidery software. Is it set to merge color changes? Once your software is set to not join or merge color fields, the number of color changes should match from your software to the color change sheet.

If you edit your designs (split, merge, resize) be sure to check the design's properties after editing. Recently a customer contacted us and stated that her design lost color changes - the machine stitched right through a section or two and didn't stop for a color change.

After we put our heads together and retraced her steps, we determined that when she was changing colors in her software, the software combined three color fields, and instead of having 18 color changes, the design had 15. She was able to resolve the issue by downloading a fresh file, and watching closely while changing colors.

Once your design's properties match from the software/machine to the color change, sheet, you're ready for the second step in the checking process.

2.  Choose the right stabilizer

Choosing the right stabilizer for your fabric is essential. Just keep in mind this basic principle: the lighter the fabric, the heavier the stabilizer. The heavier the fabric, the lighter the stabilizer.

When working with heavier fabrics, like denim or canvas, you can use a lighter-weight stabilizer, like tear away.

When working with lightweight fabrics, like cotton, polyester, rayon, use cut away stabilizer.

When manufacturers produce fabric, they don't anticipate that anything will be added to it. Fabric needs the strength and support of stabilizer when we add stitch weight and tension with embroidery. Heavier fabrics, like denim or canvas, are naturally strong, so they just need a little bit of strength - thus the tear away recommendation.

Lighter fabrics, like cotton, polyester, and rayon, are weaker, and they need the heartier support of cut away stabilizer.

Also, consider the weave of the fabric. If it's a loose weave, or a fussy weave, then use cut away. I'm always tempted to use tear away on the back of terry cloth towels because I want the backs to look neat. And for the thick, high-quality towels, tear away works great. But when working with lower-quality towels, with a wider weave, cut away will provide more support when you are embroidering.

Print out or download this handy stabilizer guide and keep it in your sewing room to help match your perfect fabric to the right stabilizer, every time.

3.  Hoop it well

Embroidery has a long and rich history, stretching back through the ages. And although technological advancements make it possible to embroider with machines today, we still need the hoop.

We need the hoop because of physics, and the science of embroidery. As stitches are laid into the fabric, the fabric contracts under the weight and tension of the stitch. What the hoop does is to counteract that action, and keep the fabric taut and even.

Hooping the fabric and the stabilizer together, firmly, is a fundamental part of embroidery. I know a lot of folks prefer to hoop sticky-back stabilizer, and lay the fabric on top. That's great for fabrics that shouldn't be hooped, like velvet or suede. But for everything else - sweatshirts, cotton, polyester, rayon, linen - hoop the fabric with the stabilizer, firmly.

When your fabric and stabilizer are hooped well, they will both be taut, but not stretched. After you have your fabric and stabilizer hooped, resist the urge to pull on it. If you see a loose corner, rehoop the entire combination, because pulling on a corner can mean that you are stretching or skewing the grain.

Anne Campbell wrote a great article about hooping, and if you haven't seen it yet, read it here.

By following those three steps, you will produce great embroidery, every time. Just remember - when inspiration strikes, and your embroidery "muse" is filling your head with ideas and visions and creative burst of color, slow down for just a moment, and perform these three steps for perfect stitchouts, every time.