Are you ready for the assignment? Its not hard. Do not get frustrated. You have some time to practice and play but do NOT wait until the last minute to do this. Yes, everyone that actually does their homework will be happy that they did.
Before you even read the assignment – why did you sign up to come to this class? To learn about Embrilliance, right? To learn about software and how to do things that you didn’t already know. So for this assignment, I am REMOVING the embroidery machine and ANYTHING to do with stitching the design from the equation. Of course when you are working on a real project you want to be able to stitch what you do in the software! But this is a homework assignment for the software. I did not create these designs for them to be stitched! I did not even test sew them so I have no idea if they are any good.
Since we are not going to stitch what we create in this software exercise, we are going to pretend that the designs are PERFECTLY DIGITIZED. You can break all the rules when it comes to changing the size because you are not going to stitch anything.
I am giving you permission to play in the software, use any hoop, any format, just focus on playing and creating a design layout that meets the homework requirements.
On this page you will find links to the design files that you should use to create your design layout. As you can see from my examples, you can create all sorts of design layouts and there are only a few requirements that I am asking you to include.
Download the design files here. homework2
- You must use at least TWO of the designs I have provided – by doing so, this tells us that you know how to open and merge designs into Embrilliance. If you are stuck at this point and want a bit of guidance, check out Quick Tip Video #2 on how to Open and Merge Designs.
- You must add some sort of lettering to the design using the Lettering tool. Use any font and any test that you want. Monograms can be lettering objects – you want to see “Lettering” in the object pane. The purpose of this requirement is so that when I say “Let’s add some text to our design by clicking on the Lettering tool and type “Fantastic Fred” in the lettering properties pane” no one is asking “where is the lettering tool?” or “where is the properties pane?” If you want a bit of guidance on using the lettering tool check out this playlist which has HEAPS of videos about lettering. If you can’t decide which video to watch, here is a quick and easy one that shows you how to add lettering to a design.
- You must change the size of something on your design page – choose one of your designs and make it bigger or smaller. Maybe select a single letter and make that bigger just like you saw in the how to add lettering to a design video I suggested above. We aren’t stitching anything – remember what I said above about playing in the software, not stitching. You need to know that you know how to select something on the design page and make it bigger or smaller – that’s it! Did you know that there is more than one way to change the size of a design? If you want a bit of guidance, check out this video which goes thru the various ways to change the size of a selection.
- You must change at least one color – the first thing I do after I merge in my designs is click on the preferred thread button so that they are all converted to my preferred thread brand. Yes, if that is all you did, you fulfilled the homework requirement. D for diploma. I know you all want more than just to just “pass”! You aren’t stitching the design so if you want to create a design with 100 different colors – have at it! What you should care about is that you know how “click on the color chip” and choose a new color. Or how to click on a color chip for a running stitch and then go to the Applique tab and set that run to applique position. Or how to select your lettering object and choose a color that is already in the design so that is coordinates. There are a whole bunch of links in this section – so you can get more information on any one of these things!
- Make sure everything that you have done fits in the hoop you have selected. We aren’t stitching this design – use any hoop that you want! Yes, going to the Edit menu > Select All > Fit to Hoop is an option – the D for diploma option. I am trying to push you to play and work out different solutions for the requirements of this “Learning how to use the software class”. I’ve thrown the requirement that you have to be able to stitch the design out the window. The point of this final requirement is to first, verify that the design layout you have created fits the hoop you selected but also how to change your hoop from the preferences. Seriously, no one should say “oh my gosh I had no idea you could rotate your hoop so easily” because you should have all learned that trick because you watched the video on changing your hoop 🙂
These are the 5 things that your project must show that you know how to do. There is no deadline or requirement that you do this – but NOW is the time to ask for help, read the manual, watch the youtube videos so that you become familiar with the program AT YOUR PACE. I know that all of you want to learn as much as possible at the event. This exercise and homework is going to make sure that everyone is starting at the same place so we don’t have to cover the really basic stuff that can be learned on your own.
Now when I say “ask for help” – If you have questions about using the software to complete the assignment, you need to check out the videos and forum posts that I linked above and if something there does not make sense and you need further help, use the contact us link on the Embrilliance website. I am not tech support and I know that you want to get the help that you need so do not hesitate to send them a message if you have questions!
Do not get flustered.
If you lose your properties pane or your object pane or your hoop or your grid – these are ALL CONTROLLED by what you have selected in the View menu. Here is a video showing you how to reset if all else fails.
So you did your homework and you want to share your masterpiece? I’ve created a post in the Embrilliance Educational Opportunities group where you can post a screen capture for us to see! If you are not yet a member of the group, you can find it here. If you are not on Facebook, its all good! I hope that you did the homework and look forward to seeing you at our upcoming class!
There are MANY ways to capture your screen – taking a photo with your phone is one way but its probably very blurry not the greatest to look at 🙂 From a quick search of Google for those that don’t know HOW EASY it is to create a screen capture:
How to create a screen capture in windows