Table of Contents
- Unlocking Creativity: The Power of Hatch Embroidery Software
- Finding Your Perfect Image: Pixabay & Beyond
- Bringing Your Image into Hatch: Import & Initial Setup
- The Magic of Auto-Digitizing: From Image to Stitch
- Customizing Your Masterpiece: Duplicating, Rotating, and Lettering
- From Screen to Fabric: Stitching Your Design
- The Importance of Test Runs: Learning and Perfecting
Watch the video: “Hatch Embroidery Software: Turning an Image into an Embroidery Design” by Burley Sew
A simple image can become stitched art in minutes—if you know how to prepare it. In this third installment from Burley Sew’s Hatch series, you’ll see a clean, repeatable workflow: find a free vector, prep it for embroidery, auto-digitize, customize, optimize, and preview before you stitch. The on-screen example builds a playful Thanksgiving layout with three hats and curved lettering.
What you’ll learn
- Where to find free, legally usable vectors (Pixabay) and what to watch for
- How to prep an image in MS Paint (or similar) so auto-digitizing behaves
- Auto-digitizing in Hatch, removing backgrounds, and resequencing
- Customizing a layout: duplicate, resize, rotate, mirror, and add stitch fonts
- Optimizing color changes, previewing the stitch-out, and saving for your machine
Unlocking Creativity: The Power of Hatch Embroidery Software Hatch provides an approachable path from artwork to stitches, even if you’re not a manual digitizing pro. In this video, the host takes a simple pilgrim hat vector and builds a small seasonal design—proof that clean, simple art translates into clean, simple embroidery.
Pro tip If you’re new to auto-digitizing, start with bold vectors composed of solid fills and clear edges. Complex gradients and tiny details tend to create extra colors and messy stitch layers. For a smoother stitch-out, favor simplicity. embroidery machine for beginners
Finding Your Perfect Image: Pixabay & Beyond Pixabay is the featured source. The video walks through searching for themed vectors there and highlights that Pixabay offers free images with a permissive license. Sponsored images on the top bar are shown too; these may not be royalty-free, so always check before downloading.
Watch out Read the Pixabay terms if you’re designing for business use. The video shows the license screen and notes that the site is free to use (with a few restrictions). If you see sponsored images at the top, they may redirect to paid sites. magnetic embroidery hoops
The host filters by “Vectors,” searches “Thanksgiving,” and chooses a simple pilgrim hat. The key is clarity: minimal colors and defined shapes help you reduce cleanup later.
Quick check Before downloading, ask yourself: will those tiny lines stitch well? If not, pick a more minimal vector now and save yourself time later.
Once selected, the hat vector is downloaded from Pixabay. This is the exact image used in the tutorial, making it easy to follow along.
Bringing Your Image into Hatch: Import & Initial Setup The host drags the image into Hatch and it lands quite large on the canvas. A quick scale down using the toolbar makes it manageable. The goal here is to get the artwork comfortably inside your hoop area so you can assess proportions and plan the layout.
From here, he opens the image in an external editor. Hatch can connect to MS Paint or Corel products; the video uses MS Paint to simplify and clean up the art. Open-source options like GIMP or Inkscape are also mentioned. embroidery sewing machine
Pro tip If you’re comfortable with vector editors, Inkscape offers finer control than MS Paint for color merges and edge management. The host notes that Paint is fine for the demo, but more robust tools can reduce odd stitches later.
Preparing for Digitization: Clean Lines, Fewer Colors Once in Paint, the hat is resized again and color-reduced conceptually for easier selection later. The host makes simple color edits (like changing the hat band), removes small details that won’t stitch well, and brushes away stray shadows along the edges. The idea is to create a basic, embroidery-friendly version of the art.
From the comments A viewer asked what file formats Hatch recognizes for insert artwork. The video doesn’t specify exact extensions—it simply demonstrates dragging in a downloaded asset and then connecting to Paint. If your system only shows JPEG or bitmap, check your Hatch version and documentation; the video doesn’t list supported import types.
Watch out Similar shades count as different colors to your software. That’s why remnant tints along edges cause extra thread changes. Consolidate fills to strong, distinct colors before auto-digitizing. magnetic hoop
The Magic of Auto-Digitizing: From Image to Stitch Back in Hatch, the host first reduces colors using “Prepare artwork for embroidery”—from 15 down to 5 (including the white background). Then he auto-digitizes to convert the image into stitch objects. Immediately afterward, he removes the white background layer in the resequencer so only the hat remains.
Even with prep, an odd stitch can sneak in—he finds and deletes one artifact. He notes that a stronger editor like Inkscape probably would’ve avoided that. Then he resequences the stitch order to ensure proper layering.
In Object Properties, the host changes stitch type, explores fill settings, and experiments with texture. He mentions that deeper settings will be covered in future videos, but this is where you dial in polish.
Quick check
- Are background stitches removed?
- Do colors match your plan?
- Does the resequencer show a logical order from underlay to top elements?
Customizing Your Masterpiece: Duplicating, Rotating, and Lettering With a clean hat object, customization begins. The host groups the hat, duplicates it, and resizes one copy by 10%. Rotations happen in 15-degree increments, and a mirrored copy across the horizontal axis adds variety. He positions all three hats manually into a playful arrangement.
Spacing can be done by eye or with toolbar tools—the video notes that Hatch offers multiple ways to achieve the same goal, so use what’s comfortable and accurate for you. embroidery machine hoops
Adding a Personal Touch: Lettering Next, the host adds text. He types “Hatty Thanksgiving!” chooses a stitch font, and uses Object Properties to curve the text so it balances against the three hats. Then he groups hats and text and centers the entire composition in the hoop.
Pro tip Only select fonts with a stitch icon—this ensures you’re using embroidery-ready lettering. Curving text after placing your objects helps you see the overall balance and avoid crowding.
From Screen to Fabric: Stitching Your Design Before stitching, the host optimizes color changes in the Edit Objects toolbox. In this example, he reduces 12 color changes to 4—a big improvement in efficiency. Grouping similar colors minimizes rethreading and helps the design run more smoothly.
He previews the design with a mock stitch-out, watching sequence and travel. The timeline and speed controls help him skip ahead to verify that each element appears in the right order.
Finally, he saves two formats: an EMB (editable) and a PES (his machine’s format). Your machine might use a different format—save the editable file for future tweaks, then export a compatible stitch file for your hardware. best embroidery machine for beginners
Pro tip If your hoop choice changes, revisit Optimize Color Changes after adjusting colorways or resequencing. Little tweaks can introduce extra thread swaps you’ll want to reduce again.
The Importance of Test Runs: Learning and Perfecting The host shows the stitch-out on orange broadcloth—a cheap stand-in for the final fabric. He emphasizes that test runs are essential. They surface thread handling, density quirks, and any mis-sequenced objects before you risk a premium towel or linen.
He notes the test fabric is flimsier than the intended final material, but it still reveals what needs attention. The result is “pretty good”—not perfect—and that’s the point: embroidery has a learning curve, and small cleanups improve your next pass.
Watch out Jumping straight to premium blanks without a test means you’ll learn expensive lessons. Use inexpensive material with similar characteristics to validate the design first. magnetic embroidery hoops uk
From the comments: viewer insights and common hurdles
- Audio balance: One viewer found the music loud and the voice soft. If you prefer minimal distraction, mute background audio in your workspace while following along.
- Explain-as-you-click: Another wished for more step-by-step narration of each click. This article fills some gaps, but if you’re brand-new to Hatch, pause often to mirror each on-screen move.
- Trial behavior: A viewer reported their machine sewing repeatedly in one spot when connecting objects in a trial run. The video doesn’t cover machine troubleshooting, so check your machine manual and software support resources.
- “Which version of Hatch?”: The exact version isn’t stated in the video. If pricing is a concern, evaluate trials and compare features you’ll actually use.
- “What program is this?”: It’s Wilcom Hatch, confirmed by replies beneath the video.
Step-by-step recap you can follow today 1) Find a simple vector - Go to Pixabay and choose Vectors in the filter. Search a theme (the host searched “Thanksgiving”). Simple art digitizes best.
2) Download and import - Download the vector, drag it into Hatch, and scale it to fit your hoop area.
3) Prep externally - Open in MS Paint (or GIMP/Inkscape). Reduce colors conceptually, simplify details, and remove stray shades around edges. Save to sync changes back into Hatch.
4) Reduce colors and auto-digitize - In Hatch, reduce colors (the demo goes from 15 to 5). Auto-digitize, then remove any background stitch layers using the resequencer.
5) Refine and arrange - Tidy odd stitches, adjust stitch types and fills in Object Properties, group the hat, duplicate, resize by 10%, rotate in 15° steps, mirror one object, and arrange.
6) Add lettering - Type “Hatty Thanksgiving!”, pick a stitch font, curve the text, group with hats, and center the layout.
7) Optimize and preview - Use Optimize Color Changes (the demo cuts from 12 to 4), run a mock stitch-out, and confirm order and travel paths. Save EMB, then export your machine format (demo uses PES).
8) Test stitch - Load the file, stitch on inexpensive but similar fabric (the demo uses broadcloth), critique the result, and tweak if needed.
Quick check before you stitch for real
- Are there unnecessary color changes left?
- Did you remove the background fill layer?
- Do curved letters read clearly and sit away from dense fill areas?
- Are mirrored/rotated objects properly sequenced to avoid overlaps?
Troubleshooting cues surfaced in the video
- Odd one-off stitch after auto-digitize? It may trace back to prep—cleaning edges in a stronger editor (like Inkscape) can reduce these artifacts.
- Fuzzy edges from multiple near-identical shades? Consolidate colors before digitizing, and re-reduce colors in Hatch if needed. magnetic embroidery hoops for brother
Save smarter, stitch smoother Always keep your editable EMB version. When you return to refine density, stitch angles, or travel routes, you’ll be glad you did. Export a fresh machine file only once you’re satisfied with the mock stitch-out. magnetic embroidery frames
Materials and tools shown or mentioned
- Tools: Hatch Embroidery Software; MS Paint for edits (Corel, GIMP, or Inkscape also mentioned); embroidery machine for the stitch-out.
- Materials: Broadcloth for testing; final projects might use linen or towels.
From the comments (format and usage notes)
- Drag-and-drop into Hatch is shown; if you receive an update prompt or import limitation, the video doesn’t address fixes. Consult current Hatch documentation for your installed version.
- Vector formats aren’t enumerated in the video; the demonstrated workflow focuses on sourcing from Pixabay and editing in Paint.
- Pricing/version questions are raised in the comments, but the video doesn’t specify the exact edition used.
Why this workflow works
- It prioritizes clarity at every step: a clean vector, fewer colors, logical stitch order, and a preview before you sew. That sequence reduces surprises at the machine and minimizes thread swaps.
Final encouragement The sample stitch isn’t portrayed as perfect—and that’s honest. Each iteration teaches you where to tighten up: clean edges a bit more, reduce a color, or resequence for neater layering. You’ll build skill quickly by keeping the cycle short: edit, auto-digitize, optimize, preview, test, refine. magnetic embroidery hoop