Here is a question that I received from one of my students. She needs some help creating outlines on Small Lettering the easy way! I thought that I would share it with my readers as this is a common problem.
Hi Joyce, hope you can give me some advice on lettering. Everybody wants OUTLINES. and I find them to be very problematic. I have seen them done with smaller lettering successfully, though so I don't want to give up. I'm doing a 13mm lettering and every type of outline I use looks like a dotted line! I don't want to do satin outline because I think it may be too heavy. Any advice?
Vicki, Creating an outline on a small letter can sometimes be very problematic; however, it is doable! Creating a satin stitch around a letter that is only one-half inch is very difficult. You will usually lose most of the inside area of your letter.
The run stitch outline looks good if you are using a dark colored thread. If you are using a light colored thread it looks terrible, at least that is my opinion. I have found that by digitizing a run stitch and going around the letter 2 times will make it look slightly better. Also, use a small stitch length such as 1.6 or 1.8 millimeters. Do not use the 2 ply as it will start and stop in the same place and you do not always have control over the start and stop point. It all depends on your software.
When you are creating outlines on small lettering the easy way, the best method is to digitize a single run stitch around your letter and then duplicate it. You can control the start and stop point if you are using this method. Another tip is to create the inside part of 2 or 3 letters at a time if you are doing a line of lettering. Then go back and create the outside part of these same 2 or 3 letters. Make sure that you put a lock at the beginning and at the end of this run segment. I always use line locks for my run stitches and connect each one of these letters. Do not lock and trim each letter individually, you may have many thread breaks or the thread may come out of the needle when you are starting up the embroidery machine. This is my favorite method of creating outlines on small lettering the easy way!
Vicki, I hope that helps you a bit!