Earning A Living With Embroidery Digitizing

You originally bought an embroidery machine to embroider your own items and to make gifts. Then you buy an embroidery digitizing program as you couldn't find your patterns already digitized. With the cost of the program, the only way you could justify the purchase is to start an embroidery digitizing business.

You make sure you get plenty of practice. Not wanting to leave anything to chance, you learn to hand punch your own design so you can make sure the program is doing the embroidery digitizing the best way possible. After you are sure you know the embroidery digitizing program inside and out, you start embroidering the digitized patterns. You want to have plenty of samples to prove you know how to digitize embroidery patterns.

Once you are satisfied with your digitizing skills and once you feel you have plenty of samples to show, you start thinking about beginning your business.

However there is more to consider. To start a crafting business, you need the same information you need for any other business. You need to write a business plan. That's where you sort out what your plans are for the business. You need to consider advertising, you need to consider what you are going to charge, and you need to have a plan in place for bookkeeping. Like any small business, you need to look at how much competition you will have.

When you consider advertising, you may come up with many ideas. You can find a web designer with skills at search engine optimization. As your embroidery digitizing business is driven by digital files, it will not matter if your customer is not local to you. You can put a business card up at a local coffee shop or other local gathering place. You might decide you want to embroider some items and get a booth at a craft fair. Not only will you be able to sell your embroidered items, you can put out your business card for your embroidery digitizing business. You may decide to start small. You can join an embroidery forum and post there, offering embroidery digitizing services in your signature line with each post.

There are any numbers of other advertising ideas you may decide to follow. Once you have the business plan and advertising ideas in place, you may be surprised to find that your business can grow by leaps and bounds. There are many people out there who do digital embroidery. A good portion of these people are not going to want to learn to digitize their own embroidery patterns. That's where your business comes in.

One final thought, statistics show that when starting a business, the first five years are the toughest to get through financially. Some days it may seem too difficult to stick with it, but if you do, your business will be a money maker.

Sahel is the Sales/Support representative of Cheap Digitizing. You can find more information or ask him questions about Embroidery Digitizing on www.cheapdigitizing.com

Essential Embroidery Supplies

Before taking up embroidery as an occupation or a hobby, you need to know the different types of important embroidery supplies and accessories that are available. Also keep in mind that each type can be further divided into specific subtypes based on function and utility. Choose the right tools depending on your need, and type of work.

The Hoop:

An embroidery hoop is a circular tool usually made of wooden material that is used to hold the fabric steady, providing support and stability to the fabric being embroidered. Most hoops have brass screws that can be tightened or loosened if necessary, and come in various shapes and sizes. Popular types include -

1. Tubular Embroidery Hoops: The arms of the hoops are on the outside of the garment and connect to an inner hoop ring. The larger outer ring, on the other hand, is on the inside of the garment. Normally used without the table top. These are the most popular embroidery hoops on the market.

2. Magnetic Embroidery Hoops: These hoops require magnetic assembly. They can be used with or without the tabletop and are typically designed for lightweight and thin garments and fabrics.

3. Jacketback Embroidery Hoops: large wooden hoops that have strong holding power wood because of the wooden. To be used with the tabletop and Jacketback holder.

4. Q-Mag Embroidery Hoops: These hoops use a combination mechanical or magnetic attach plate at two places, suitable for larger fabrics because of its stability.

Bobbin Thread:

A Bobbin is the spool that holds the thread. The top thread and the bobbin thread form the stitch. Pre-wound Bobbin threads are widely available and come in different types and materials.

1. Continuous-Filament Polyester: Strong, thin, consistent, and does not leave behind any lint so it is the most popular type.

2. Cotton: It allows for a wide range of tension adjustments because of its texture.

3. Spun Polyester: Gaining popularity because of texture similarity with cotton.

4. Nylon: It is the strongest type but may be tough to adjust tension.

Embroidery Needles:

The type of needle used depends on the type of the embroidery, thread and fabric. Therefore the correct size and type of needle is important when browsing embroidering supplies for your work. These are the basic types of embroidery needles:

1. Tapestry: Has a blunt tip with large eyes. Ideal for threading multiple plies of thread.

2. Milliners: Has small eyes, and typically used for surface embroidery techniques.

3. Sharps: Sharp pointed and small eyed standard needles.

4. Chenille: Has same characteristics with Tapestry needles except for the sharp point.

5. Beading: Long and thin needles generally meant for beadworks.

6. Twin-Pointed: Has a point at each end and a single eye in the middle to be used with a stitching frame.

7. Easy-threading: has a split eye at the top, for easy threading as the name suggests.

8. Trolley: Attached to a ring it slips on the finger, and can be used as a laying tool.

Backings and Stabilizers:

Backings are important in any type of embroidery because by the amount of stability and support they provide often dictates the quality of the finished product. Here are some common types:

1. Water soluble topping: Put over stitches-observing fabric types, which prevents stitches from sinking into the fabric.

2. Water soluble backing: Generally used for used for embroidering freestanding lace designs on it, or making cutwork.

3. Cutaway Backing ? This type enables cutting the excess fabric with a pair of scissors.

4. Tearaway Backing ? This type enables the excess to be torn away after fabric is embroidered.Embroidery HQ offers articles, tips and tricks about embroidery.