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1 NOTICE: You DO NOT Have the Right to Reprint or Resell this Report! You Also MAY NOT Give Away, Sell or Share the Content Herein If you obtained this report from anywhere other than Joyce Jagger, The Embroidery Coach you have a pirated copy. Please help stop Internet crime by reporting this to: joyce@theembroiderycoach.com Copyright Joyce Jagger, The Embroidery Coach ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this report may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by informational storage or retrieval system without express written, dated and signed permission from the author. DISCLAIMER AND/OR LEGAL NOTICES: The information presented herein represents the view of the author as of the date of this publication. Because of the rate with which conditions change, the author reserves the right to alter and update his opinion based on the new conditions. The report is for informational purposed only. While every attempt has been made to verify the information provided in this report, neither the author nor his or her affiliates/partners assume any responsibility for errors, inaccuracies or omissions. Any slights of people or organizations are unintentional. If advice concerning legal or related matters is needed, the services of a fully qualified professional should be sought. This report is not intended for use as a source of legal or accounting advice. You should be aware of any laws which govern business transactions or other business practices in your country and state. Any reference to any person or business whether living or dead is purely coincidental. 1 Joyce Jagger, The Embroidery Coach

2 "Why Should I Use Underlay Stitching In My Embroidery Designs And Which Type Of Underlay Stitching Do I Use?" If you are new to embroidery or new to creating designs for embroidery learning the basics of what makes a good quality finished design is extremely important. One of those basics is the fundamentals of Underlay. Many embroiderers do not use Underlay stitching because they have no idea as to how to use it or what type of Underlay to use for their particular design, stitch type or fabric style. Instead they use a heavy density and this can cause a multitude of problems. During this presentation we are going to focus on: 5 Basic Functions Of Underlay 4 Basic Rules Of Underlay The Different Types Of Underlay Stitching What Underlay To Use For Different Types Of Stitches Why Lettering Sews Out Uneven How to Increase And Decrease The Density Of Your Underlay And What Is It s Purpose? Go Over Examples Of Lettering And Underlay In The Software. Show You How To Create Underlay Manually Even If You Do Not Have Digitizing Tools! Underlay stitching is the most important and most under rated element of creating your design. Like anything else that is built, you need a good foundation and Underlay is the foundation of your embroidery. Many embroiderers are very confused and want to know: how they can tell if they have any Underlay in their design? what does it look like? Underlay stitches are the stitches that are sewn on your fabric first before the actual top stitching is sewn. Sometimes they will follow the same line as your embroidery and sometimes they will look very strange to you if you are new to embroidery and are not familiar with Underlay. It depends on what type of Underlay you have chosen but we will talk about that later. 2 Joyce Jagger, The Embroidery Coach

3 Underlay has many basic functions. It attaches the garment to the backing creating a stable surface and smooth platform for the top stitching. It helps to reduce the amount of give in the fabric. It hides the color of the fabric that will be covered with stitching. It helps to reduce the density of the top stitching. It stops the fabric from puckering. It keeps the stitches from sinking into the fabric. What are the different types of underlay? There are 3 different stitch types that are used in creating underlay in your embroidery design. Run stitches Zig Zag stitches Fill or Tatami Stitches These 3 different stitch types make up the 5 basic types of underlay stitches. These can be applied by hand if you are digitizing your own design or they can be applied automatically if you have this capability within your software. Sometimes you cannot get the same effect using the auto functions in your software so you need to know how to apply the different types by hand so that you get the exact effect that you are looking for. The basic underlay types are as follows: Contour or Edge walk - This creates a running stitch along the edge of the letter or the segment that you are creating. It is also know as an Edge walk stitch. This type of underlay is used to create a roll over edge for your lettering or object. It is used with a Satin Path letter or Satin path column that is over 1.5 millimeters wide and in combination with Lattice for a Complex Fill stitch. It helps to give you a smooth edge on textured fabrics such as pique. If it is too close to the edge the run stitches will pop out. You have seen this I am sure. When a design is finished you are left with some run stitches that are hanging out from the edge and you need to trim these off in order to save the design but it really never looks good. The distance from the edge of your top stitching to the Contour underlay run stitch is your inset distance or margin. To move your run stitch closer to the center of the letter you would increase your number in the inset distance or margin box. From experience, I have found that.40 millimeters is a good basic setting to start with. If you see some run stitching peeking out from under your top stitching you may want to increase this 3 Joyce Jagger, The Embroidery Coach

4 number. (Example: If it is set at.40 millimeters change it to.50 millimeters. This will move it in.) Run another sample to check and see if this number is large enough. Perpendicular or Center Walk- This underlay runs down thru the center of the column. It is also called Center Run underlay. This underlay is used when you have a very narrow letter or column that is less than 1.5 m wide. For that you will only use 1 line or pass of underlay down thru the center. In the Pulse software, the default if 2 lines or passes. This underlay is good to use in combination with contour when you have a wider column and need a little extra for lift in the center of your column. You can add as many lines as you like depending on the size or width of the letter or object. I have personally used this combination on heavy rough textured types of fabrics such as Carhart jackets with excellent results. Parallel- This underlay is created using Zig Zag stitches or run stitches with square ends. In some software programs it is called the Zig Zag underlay. This can be used on a lightweight terry cloth or fleece. You can increase or decrease the amount of density in your Parallel underlay. It is much better to increase the underlay stitch count rather than the top stitching stitch count. You will end up with a smoother look and better coverage. You can also control the inset distance of the underlay in relation to the edge of the top stitching. The distance between the outside edge and the edge of the underlay is your inset distance or margin. Zig Zag - This type of underlay is the same as the Parallel except it has twice the amount of stitches. It runs down the column and then up the column creating twice the amount of stitches as the Parallel. In some programs this is known as a Double Zig Zag. This is a better choice for terry cloth and pique. You may even want to increase your density if you are working with an extra heavy terry. This will lift the top stitching off of the fabric and help to keep it from sinking into the loops of terry cloth. It also creates an even surface for the top stitching. It works well in combination with the Contour underlay on pique. You may want to increase the density of your Zig Zag underlay to give your top stitching a puff or rounded appearance. You can also control the inset distance or margin of the underlay in relation to the edge of the top stitching. Lattice or Tatami- This underlay is a low density fill stitch used underneath Complex Fill stitches or Tatami stitches, depending on which program you are working in. Lattice is usually used in combination with the Contour or Edge walk underlay. It runs at a 45 or 90 degree angle to the top stitching in a lattice form. It helps to reduce the pulling up of the fabric as it is stitching and to keep your stitches in good registration especially if you are going to add a border. It will help to keep the border in the proper place. Full Lattice or Double Tatami Stitches forming a full lattice effect going in both directions. This is a good choice is you are using a heavy contrast thread or fabric color 4 Joyce Jagger, The Embroidery Coach

5 such as a white thread on top of a black garment. This will hide the color of the fabric. This is also a better choice for heavy towels or any type of terry. There are some basics rules about Underlay that are very important for you to learn. Underlay run stitch length can vary depending on the purpose of it or the size of your object or letter. The default stitch length for the run stitch underlay in some software packages is 2 millimeters and others like the Tajima DGML software is 2.5 millimeters. A run stitch length of 2.5 millimeters is a good general base to work from. You may need to reduce this size to 2 millimeters or even 1.8 millimeters if you have a small letter or object that has a narrow column. This will help the underlay stitching to hug closer to the curves of the inside of lower case letters such as a s, b s, d s, e s, and etc. If I am digitizing a letter that is less than 3.5 millimeters in height, I may reduce the stitch length to 1.5 or 1.6 millimeters if I have tight round areas in order to keep the underlay in the center of the letter and curve around those tight areas. There have been times when I had to bring my stitch length down to 1.2 millimeters because of the inside portion of letters like a lower case e that were so small that they wanted to close up. I also would not use the automatic underlay if I am creating a letter that small. You do not have enough control over the outcome. I want it to be in the exact spot that I create it to be and that is not always possible with the auto features in the software. Your underlay stitching will be more effective if it is consistent and not randomly laid down. Do not use 1 pass or line of underlay in one letter and 2 passes or lines in another unless your software is creating an additional line as it is traveling from one part of the segment or letter to another. A lot of this depends on where you have placed your Start and Stop points, but that is another subject. Underlay that is not even on the edges or not the same distance from the edge on one side of the column as the other will cause the column to look uneven on the side that the underlay is set in too far. The density will look sparser on the side that the underlay is too far from the edge. It really does not look like it would make that much difference, but it really does. This will give you that saw toothed effect. I am sure that you have seen that on designs. I have found in some programs that it does not lay down the automatic underlay even on both sides and this can cause a problem that you cannot control. Your only option is to create your own underlay. This can be done using your run stitch tool. Do not use a Manual Stitch for your underlay. Your stitch penetrations are exactly as you placed them with the manual stitch. You must use the Run stitch. Underlay density can be increased and decreased just the same as the top density. When your design looks sparse or thin, increase your underlay density 5 Joyce Jagger, The Embroidery Coach

6 before you increase your top density. You increase your density by decreasing your number is the density box on your underlay page. (Example: the default is 52.9 spi in the Tajima by Pulse software. This is telling you that your actual underlay density is 10.6 stitches per inch.) To increase your density, change your number to 45 spi. This equals 18.5 stitches per inch. If this is not heavy enough decrease that number again to maybe 35 spi. This would work on a very heavy thick towel. In the Wilcom software the density is controlled by spacing. If you want to increase your density you are going to decrease your spacing. (Example: if the spacing is set at 3 millimeters, you will want to change it to 2 millimeters.) This will decrease the spacing between your stitches. Some other programs have a sliding scale to control the density. You need to figure out in your program how to increase or decrease your underlay density. Run off a sample to see if this is the look you want. The underlay for each object or letter should be created at the same time that the object or letter is created. Do not create all of your underlay and then go back and create the object or letter. Fabric shifts and they may not follow the same path. If I am not getting the effect that I want, I will create additional underlay after I create the object because it is not doing what I want it to do and then I will move it to be in front of the object where it belongs, but I will complete that before I go to the next letter or segment. More than one type of Underlay can be used on the same object or letter. I have used a combination of 3 and 4 underlays in one segment. Underlay is used to give many different effects. You can even give it a 3 D effect by using several layers under the top stitching. If you are sewing on a knit or stretchy fabric and using more than one type of underlay in an object or letter, such as a Zig Zag underlay and a edge run or contour, lay down the Zig Zag first and then the contour or edge run. The Zig Zag stitching has a tendency to pull the fabric in at it is stitching. Running the Contour underlay second will smooth out the edges after the Zig Zag has run and give your top stitching a smoother effect on the edge. Create and keep recipe file cards for the settings that you use for the different type fabrics so that you have this to refer to. Some programs will allow you to create and save the recipes or styles and others will not. I have found that the recipe card system works great. I started using this method 30 years ago before we had any of those helps built into our systems and it always worked. It is a huge timesaver when it comes to working with the same fabric and texture another time. Experiment. You have to try different combinations of settings and underlay to achieve the desired effect that you are looking for. Make several copies of your 6 Joyce Jagger, The Embroidery Coach

7 segment or letter with different settings in each and compare them as they sew out. When you have the correct combination that you are happy with, write it down and keep the record. Now that we have talked about the different types of underlay and some basic rules, let s go back to the functions or the purpose of the underlay. You must understand how to use it and for what purpose you are going to use it before you actually apply it to your segment or letter. You can create many different effects with your underlay. When you are starting to create your design you must know what the purpose of the underlay is going to be. This will make it easier for you to decide which type to use. Underlay attaches the garment to the backing creating a stable surface and smooth platform for the top stitching. You will want to use a small running stitch for this. The shorter the run stitch the tighter it will hold the fabric and backing together. By that I mean a 2.5 millimeter run stitch and make sure that you place a lock stitch at the beginning of your run stitch so that it truly attaches the garment and fabric together. This also helps to prevent your thread from pulling out of the needle. I m sure you seen the issue where the design starts sewing and it leaves a long thread because it did not get caught, this is because there was no lock stitch at the beginning of your run. Underlay helps to reduce the amount of give in the fabric. This will help to keep your design in good registration and decrease the Push and Pull factor created by the pulling of the thread. The underlay will act as a barrier and keep each area of your design well defined. If your running stitch is too long it will allow too much movement between the fabric and backing. It will shift as it is sewing. This is more prevalent in large stitch count designs. Underlay hides the color of the fabric that will be covered with stitching. Using a long run stitch such as a 3 millimeters to 4 millimeters stitch length will cover the fabric much better than a shorter stitch such as a 2 millimeters. If you are sewing a large fill area with a dark color thread on a white fabric you will want to create a contour or edge run underlay with a small run stitch such as a 2 to 2.5 millimeters and then change your stitch length to 3.5 to 4 millimeters for the remainder of your underlay that will cover the entire area. This lifts the thread off of the fabric hiding the color underneath. Helps to reduce the density of the top stitching. It is a misconception that underlay increases your stitch count. If you do not use underlay you have to increase your density and your embroidery becomes very stiff and hard. I m sure that you have heard the term, bullet proof! 7 Joyce Jagger, The Embroidery Coach

8 Stops the fabric from puckering. If you are using a heavy density and no underlay, your garment will pucker around the embroidery after it has been laundered. It will sometimes roll up and is very unsightly. This issue really shows up on t-shirt fabric. Embroiderers complain a lot that they cannot embroider on T-Shirts because the design always puckers up especially after it is washed. That is because they have not used the proper underlay and sometimes no underlay at all. Keeps the stitches from sinking into the fabric and you can achieve different looks by using layers of underlay. With the proper underlay your stitches will sit right on top of your garment. I have included a file called Flowers.dst that you can sew out. I also included it in a.pxf file just in case you have the Pulse software. In this file I layered 4 underlays tying to get a certain look for my flower. You can see my combination and how I used it along with the settings. It gives a raised look to the petals and since each segment is turned a different direction it looks like it is in different shades of color because of the way that the light reflects off of the thread. For this file, I used a contour underlay with stitch length of 2.5 millimeters and an in inset distance of.50 millimeters. Next I used a Perpendicular underlay with a stitch length of 2.5 millimeters and an in inset distance of.60 millimeters. Next I used a Parallel underlay with a stitch length of 4 millimeters and an in inset distance of.80 millimeters and for the last one I used a Zig Zag underlay with a stitch length of 4 millimeters and an in inset distance of.60 millimeters. When you lay the zig zag over the top, it makes the satin or top stitch roll over the edge giving it a raised look. I hope that this is not confusing you. When I created the flower, I used all of these underlays form the automatic settings within the Pulse program but some programs will not allow you to have this many underlay choices for one segment. If that is the case, then you will have to create part of your underlay by hand with you run stitches. You can use the same stitch lengths and inset distance by measuring from the edge of your Pull Comp. We will talk more about Pull comp in another webinar. But you must know what your settings are going to be before you create your segments. Very few designs or letters, even small ones are acceptable without underlay. If you do not have the tools to create your own underlay, it can be done at times with your editing tools. Go into a stock design and copy the run stitch onto the page that has your lettering on it and reshape it to fit the inside of your lettering and change the stitch length. If you are not happy with the underlay under a complex fill area, you can duplicate the area, reduce the size a small amount, reduce your density, increase your stitch length; change the direction of your stitches and this can create a very satisfactory underlay. I showed you in the Bulldog picture how I created the underlay using just the editing tools. The same also holds true with a satin path segment. If you need a Zig Zag underlay under a satin path segment or letter, you can duplicate that letter, bring in your point a small amount, 8 Joyce Jagger, The Embroidery Coach

9 reduce your density, change your stop and start points so that it will start where you want it to. This can also create an excellent underlay stitch. As I stated earlier, very few designs or letters, even small ones are acceptable without underlay. Of course there are always circumstances that change this rule. If you are working on a very lightweight fabric such as a wedding gown and you are using tone on tone, you may not want any underlay in certain areas especially if you are going to be seeing thru the stitches. For this type of embroidery you would not use any underlay at all but you would have to be careful that your stitch length was not too long because it would pull up and your garment would pucker. If you send out your designs to a digitizer there are certain items that you must make sure that the digitizer knows about you and your business. By that I mean, What type of machines and software are you running. What type of fabric is thing design going to be sewn on. Are you going to be using this design on any other type of fabric? How fast do you run your machine? This is critical. If you run your machines at a very high rate of speed, what that I mean over 850 stitches per minute, your underlay may have to be increased or made wider to compensate for this. The faster the machine is running, the more the fabric will pull in. These are all very important factors in the creation of the design and if the digitizer does not have this information, you may not be happy with the results. Sometimes they do not even know how to compensate for these factors, it all depends on their level of experience and skill. Once you understand what the purpose for your underlay is for and what you are trying to achieve with it, choosing what you need is not hard. It takes a lot of practice and experimenting, but it is fun. It is very exciting seeing the end result! I want to thank you for watching this presentation and now it is time for you to go back to the drawing board so to speak and do some experimenting on your own and achieve the type of look in your designs that you want to be known for. Everyone wants to be the best and with the understanding of why you need to use underlay stitching and what type of underlay to use in the various parts of your design it will make it easier to achieve that look! Joyce Jagger The Embroidery Coach 9 Joyce Jagger, The Embroidery Coach