Search Results:

Print Page

Why Digitize?

Author: Lindee Goodall  

With thousands, and probably actually millions, of embroidery designs available out there why would you want to digitize your own? My response is why wouldn’t you?

I love digitizing! For me digitizing is both relaxing and stimulating. And, yes, there are times when it is a bit frustrating too. But mostly I find that it is a creative outlet I thoroughly enjoy. I may digitize a design because I want something in particular for a project or I may digitize just because the design is interesting and challenging and I have no project in mind. Maybe I just want to try a new technique.

Others digitize because they need a certain design and it simply isn’t available. It may be a logo for a company or their kid’s soccer team mascot. Some may resort to digitizing only if a design is not available after a lengthy search, while others don’t even look, they just digitize it to save search time and because they know what they want.

In the recent past, unless you were an experienced professional digitizer, creating your own embroidery was often frustrating and time consuming. Even home digitizing software is expensive—especially if you can’t or don’t use it! Who has time to learn software that is difficult and hard to understand? The manual teaches you how to use the software but it doesn’t teach the theory behind creating a proper design. And where will you learn that? The terminology is foreign. I mean, had you ever heard the word “tatami” before? Maybe you’ve even tried digitizing in the past and just gave up.

Now more than ever you have a reason to digitize because as the processing power of computers has increased, so has the ability to create software that is both powerful and easy to use, software that will make many of the complex digitizing decisions for you. No longer will it take you days or weeks to figure out basic techniques only to forget them by the time you want to create another design. With the right digitizing software, you can simply create designs whenever you need them in a fraction of the time it takes even a professional digitizer using commercial software. (I know, I still occasionally use that software!)

You are unique and you want your projects to reflect you, your personality and your tastes. The best way to do that is by creating your own embroidery to complement your style. So why wouldn’t you digitize?