6D™ Embroidery System

6D™ Software Newsletter - September 2015


Welcome to the 6D™ newsletter. This month we will look at Color Block tools, making lace in Design Creator, the Cross Stitch Letter tab and Snap to Grid in QuiltDesign Creator.

Inspired Icons


Inspired Icons


Icon Index

The Color Block tools are very useful when editing a design or viewing how it is constructed. Use the Control Strip to view the colors in the selected section of the embroidery. The control strip was added with the introduction of 5D™ Stitch Editor Plus.

Select stitches within the next Draw Next Color or previous Draw Previous Color color block. View the whole embroidery with Draw All Stitches Draw All Stitches, or see an outline of the hidden stitches with Ghost Mode Ghost Mode. In 6D™ and 5D™ Stitch Editor Plus, these are found on the Control Strip. In 5D™ and 4D™ Stitch Editor these are found on the Design Page of the control panel.

Use Draw Next Color Block Draw Next Color to step through the color blocks one at a time in the order shown in the worksheet. Only one color is visible at a time. All the other colors are automatically hidden (unchecked). The work area displays only the stitches in the visible color block. The Draw Range shows the Start and End stitches of the color block and the sliders move as each color is selected.

Alternatively, you can right-click a color block in the worksheet and select Show only this Color from the context menu.

Paisley design

Use Draw Next Color Block Draw Next Color to step through this cute Paisley design from the Samples\6DEmb\Stitch2\Fashion folder and see if the overlap has been removed from the decoration on top. It has not been removed. That means you can delete the decoration and take the paisley element to the Emboss or Object tab to change the fill. After removing the decorations, the teardrop fill patterns have been converted to a Crosshatch fill to make a free- standing lace paisley, as shown at the start of this section.

Use Draw Previous Color Block Draw Previous Color to step through the color blocks in reverse order. Only one color is visible at a time. All the other colors are automatically hidden. The work area displays only the stitches in the visible color block. Alternatively, you can right-click a color block in the worksheet and select Show only this Color from the context menu. The Draw Range shows the Start and End stitches of the color block and the sliders move as each color is selected.

Use Draw All Stitches Draw All Stitches to display all stitches in the currently active embroidery. This is automatically used when a new embroidery is opened or 6D™ Stitch Editor Plus is started. When stitches have been hidden by changing the color selection or the Draw Range, click the icon to view all stitches again. All the color blocks will become visible and the Draw Range will be reset to all stitches.

Use Ghost Mode Ghost Mode to display pale 'ghost' stitches where there are hidden stitches. This allows you to see the overall embroidery and the placement of the visible stitches within the embroidery while working only with the visible stitches. If the background is white or very pale it may be difficult to see the ’ghost’ stitches.

Module Mystique


Module Mystique


Module Mystique

This month we will look at the Cross Stitcher Letter tab. This feature is in all versions of the Cross Stitcher module. On the Letter Page of Cross Stitcher you have the choice of selecting either TrueType Text or Fixed Text.

Click TrueType Text to convert TrueType® or OpenType® characters to crosses, crosses with backstitch outlines or backstitch outlines. If a fill pattern is selected, it will be used in place of crosses when the text is applied. All fonts found in your Windows Fonts folder are available.

Select Fixed Text to place text using pre-defined fonts. Fixed Text is applied according to the design of the characters, which can include any type of stitch.

Click the drop-down arrow and choose any TrueType® or Fixed Text font, according to the current type selected. If text has already been entered, the text preview will be updated. When Fixed Text is selected, view 2D samples of a few letters in each font, to choose a font visually using the View Font tool.

Letter tab

For TrueType® text you can select Bold, Italic or Bold Italic. You can also set the Height. Place multiple lines of TrueType® or Fixed Text with a straight left edge, centered, or a straight right edge.

Click in the Text box and enter the desired text. Press Enter to start a new line of text. When finished entering lines of text click Apply. The text will appear on the design in a selection box, and Box Select is automatically activated. Click and drag inside the selection box to move the text. If desired, change the text and text options and click Apply again. The text is not fixed in place until you click outside the selection box.

You can even make your own fonts - click Save Char to save the current selection as a character in a Fixed Text font. The Save Char button does not become available if the design palette contains more than three colors.

Fall

The text preview shows the grid squares that are used to make the shapes of the characters for TrueType® text, or the entered text in the chosen Fixed Font in 2D mode. The preview is updated as text is entered and when any text options are changed.

The Real Size shows how large the selection area around the text will be when it is placed in the design. This is shown as crosses and as a real measurement. The measured size also depends on the current Cross Size set for the design in Hoop Preferences.

The "Place TrueType Text As" options control the way the TrueType® text is converted to crosses and backstitch.

  • Crosses/Fill Pattern: Use the currently selected Cross color or fill pattern for the characters.
  • Crosses With Backstitch Outline: Use the currently selected Cross color or fill pattern for the characters, and have an outline of standard backstitch in the currently selected Outline color.
  • Backstitch Outline: Place the characters as an outline of standard backstitch in the currently selected Outline color.
  • Smooth: Make the edges of characters smooth by using three-quarter crosses rather than full crosses.
  • Cross Color: Click the Cross color and Color Selection dialog box appears, so you can choose a new cross color for the text.

Click the Outline color and the Color Selection dialog box appears, so you can choose a new color for the standard backstitch outline around the characters.

Fall

Fixed Text fonts can have up to three colors in them. Click the desired color and Color Selection dialog box appears, so you can choose a new color. All stitches in the current font that use the color will be affected. The colors are reset when the font is selected again. (These colors are not used by TrueType® Text.) Fill patterns do not affect Fixed Text fonts.

If you have any further questions, there is a Help button to show help for the control panel functions.

Technique Tune-Up


Technique Tune-Up


Technique Tune-Up

You can easily create lace in either the 6D™ or the 5D™ Design Creator module with the crosshatch fill feature. Crosshatch fills are used in quilting too. This month we will look at how to create free-standing lace with this tool.

Properties

The Crosshatch fill properties dialog box enables you to set the gap, style, line angle, stitch type and stitch length for the crosshatched lines of stitching in the fill. The preview changes according to the options chosen. The Spacing option lets you set the Gap to the preferred distance between lines of stitching. Set the Gap from 5mm to 20mm in steps of 1mm. It is initially set to 10mm.

The Style option lets you choose from Diamond, Square, Parallel and Enter Angles. Diamond is selected by default, and creates a symmetrical crosshatch pattern (balanced horizontally). Choose Enter Angles to create an asymmetrical crosshatch pattern, if desired.

Select a stitch type for the crosshatch fill. Choose from Running Stitch, Double Stitch, Double with Zigzag Return, and Triple Stitch. Set the Stitch Length from 1 to 6mm in steps of 0.1mm. The initial setting is 2.0mm.

Set the Zigzag width for Double with Zigzag Return from 0.1 to 12mm in steps of 0.1mm. The initial setting is 0.6mm. Double with Zigzag Return is a special stitch type, recommended for lace. A running stitch line is retraced in a zigzag pattern to create a mesh. After embroidering on water-soluble stabilizer, the mesh of stitches provides strength when the stabilizer is washed away.

For free-standing lace set the Spacing to 2mm, Stitch Type to Double with ZigZag Return. Create any shape you want for your lace. Pictured is shape 65 using the Shape as Fill Shape As Fill tool then resized. Now wasn’t that easy! Add decoration on top or leave as is for a cute doily or insert into a dresser scarf. In the design at the beginning of this section, Candlewicking stitches were added using the Shape as Line Shape As Line tool then resized to fit.

QuiltDesign Creator QuiltDesign Creator


QuiltDesign Creator QuiltDesign Creator


Technique Tune-Up

This month we will look at how useful the Snap to Grid feature is in creating designs. Use Snap to Grid to align objects to the Grid lines when moved or when drawing them. Use this tool to draw the exact size shape that is desired.

Snap To Grid

The Snap to Grid tool is located on the View tab drop down menu. For example, the design pictured was made with Shape 33 sized at exactly 7", 4", and 2" using the Snap to Grid feature.

Fun Facts to Know and Tell


Did you know you can place a shortcut for any module by right- clicking on the icon in the task bar then pinning it to the taskbar?

Best wishes from 6D™

P.S. Watch for the software newsletter next month as we look at the new Premier+™ Embroidery System. We are "sew" excited to share all the wonderful ways you can let your creativity take flight - from appliqués to decorations; from multicolor satin to curved crosshatch fill and much, much more.

Vantage Software Support
Vantage Software Support

VANTAGE™ Embroidery Software Support is a membership program which provides education and support of the HUSQVARNA VIKING® & PFAFF 6D™ and 5D™ Embroidery Systems, QuiltDesign Creator, TruEmbroidery™ 3 and TruEmbroidery™ Software for Mac® computers. The VANTAGE™ program is currently available in the US, Canada, and Australia. Please visit your authorized HUSQVARNA VIKING® or PFAFF® dealer to learn more and sign up today.