If you're new to the embroidery hobby, it's easy to get lost in all of the fancy words and all of the different parts to the machine. This is your one-stop article to get all of the information necessary to get you started.
Appliqué is a French word that means to apply one piece of fabric to another by sewing. This adds dimension, texture and reduces stitch count.
A Backer or Stabilizer are important to any embroidered piece. These will keep the garment stable and add support to it to keep it from unraveling. There are different kinds of backer and which one you use depend on your personal choice.
A Bobbin is a small spool of thread located inside the rotary hook housing. This thread is what forms the stitches on the underside of the garment just like the bobbin on a normal sewing machine.
To Digitize means to take a design that you chose and changing it into a digital read-out that will then be used by your machine to embroider the design on the garment. A software is used to digitize into embroidery language.
Fill Stitches take many running stitches and make larger areas of embroidery by sewing them closer together. This is done by using different patterns and directions.
A Hoop, as in most sewing, is a device, either wooden or metal that holds the fabric in place while sewing or embroidering.
A Running Stitch is a line of stitches that is usually used for detailing or outlining.
Satin Stitches are usually a maximum of ½” and are used to make a border or edge. It is when a line, border or edge is made by the alternately stitching the thread to either side of the baseline.
An Underlay is a pattern that is used first, if necessary. It is using running stitches or some combination of different stitches on the design.
We hope this helps in your endeavor to become an embroidery pro.