Auto-digitizing
If you have graduated this far in exploring your machine and embroidery software, you are doing well. You can already achieve a great deal without having to actually do your own digitizing. However, if you have got this far, that is probably exactly what you want to do!
One of the quickest ways to get started is to use the automated techniques that the software provides. While there are limitations to what can be done this way, auto-digitizing nevertheless allows you to prototype design ideas relatively simply and may be sufficient for your purposes. At least for now!
For a brief overview, watch the video. Click the CC button for captions. Designs, fonts and other elements used in this video may not be available in your software, depending upon purchased options.
| Use Artwork > Prepare Artwork for Embroidery to prepare selected bitmap artwork for automatic digitizing. |
Using artwork
To create good quality embroidery, you need to choose suitable artwork. Possible sources include:
- samples in the Picture folder
- books of embroidery patterns and children’s story books
- printed table cloths or tea towels
- business cards, post cards and wrapping paper
- clip art libraries of your word processing or graphics program
- Internet or CD clipart libraries
- original artwork – e.g. children’s drawings.
Artwork that is not in digital format needs to be scanned correctly to produce good quality images. For both manual and automatic digitizing purposes, ‘clean’ artwork with a limited number of solid colors and well-defined outlines works best. The Artwork toolbar contains tools for inserting, scanning, and preparing artwork for automatic digitizing. See Electronic artwork.
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| Clean picture with well-defined outlines | Clean picture with well-defined color blocks | Complex picture, needs editing to create clean color blocks |
Unless you are an experienced digitizer, don’t use artwork which is too complicated.
 | Use Artwork / Auto-Digitize / Standard > Insert Artwork to import vector or bitmap artwork into current design as a backdrop for manual or automatic digitizing. This tool is also available via File menu. |
Insert artwork
You can load bitmap images of various formats for use as digitizing backdrops. Go to the Artwork toolbox and select Insert Artwork. See also Electronic artwork.
 | Use Auto-Digitize > Click-to-Fill to digitize large artwork shapes with tatami fill, preserving any holes within. |
 | Use Auto-Digitize > Click-to-Outline to digitize boundaries of shapes with run stitching using current properties. |
Bitmap artwork conversion
Bitmap artwork consists of colored dots or pixels. When you zoom in on a small area, outlines become jagged and ‘pixelated’. The Click-to-Fill tools in the Auto-Digitize toolbox provide everything necessary to digitize bitmap shapes automatically. See Digitize with Click-to-Stitch.
 | Use Auto-Digitize > Auto-Digitize Instant Embroidery to automatically digitize whole embroidery design directly from the imported bitmap artwork. |
| Use Auto-Digitize > Auto-Digitize Embroidery to automatically digitize prepared bitmap artwork, optionally with user's choices. |
An extension of this technology, Auto-Digitize makes decisions about the most suitable stitch types to use and can digitize whole designs. See Auto-digitize embroidery.
