Table of Contents
Getting Started: Selecting and Downloading Your Logo
Canva is the starting point here. The instructor heads to Canva.com and selects a retro-styled logo—“retro sunnies eyeglasses co.”—as the example. The guiding principle is to pick a clear, uncomplicated logo that digitizes well.
Choosing Your Design on Canva
Browse Canva’s logo templates for a design that fits your brand. The video shows a circular, sunny motif with sunglasses and curved text—a style that plays nicely with both fill and satin stitches once in Hatch. Keep your eye out for clean edges and high contrast; this helps the auto-digitize step recognize shapes later.
Pro tip: Vector-like simplicity tends to digitize more cleanly than highly textured or photo-based graphics.
Downloading in the Right Format
In Canva, click Share, then Download. The creator recommends PNG or, if available with Canva Pro, SVG. SVG is ideal when you have it, but PNG also works well for this workflow. After downloading, locate your file so you can import it into Hatch right away.
Watch out: The video doesn’t specify DPI or size settings within Canva’s download panel. If your art looks low-res after import, it likely needs a higher-quality download.
embroidery machine for beginners
Importing and Auto-Digitizing the Base Design in Hatch
Bringing Your Logo into Hatch
Open Hatch Embroidery and drag your downloaded logo into the workspace. Confirm the image appears correctly before moving on. The instructor uses the imported graphic as a backdrop for auto-digitizing and subsequent cleanup.
Quick check: If your image doesn’t open, confirm it’s a commonly supported format (PNG/JPG) or re-download from Canva.
Initial Auto-Digitization for Fills
Go to Auto-Digitize and choose Click-to-Fill. In the artwork prep dialog, reduce processing colors to a small number (the video shows 2). This reduction helps Hatch isolate the key regions and keeps the stitch plan efficient. Then click the background area to generate a stitched fill.
Result: The tan circular background becomes a stitched region—your base layer for the rest of the design.
Refining Shapes and Stitch Directions for Quality
Reshaping and Node Management
Zoom in and select the background fill. Click Reshape to reveal nodes. The creator deletes unwanted areas inside letters so text will sit crisply without stray fill underneath. This is hands-on but worth it; clean cutouts mean cleaner stitching.
From the comments: No public viewer comments were provided with this video dataset, so we’re focusing entirely on the techniques demonstrated in the tutorial.
Adjusting Stitch Angles for Smoothness
Next, the instructor tweaks the stitch angle line (the purple/orange handle-to-handle guide). The aim is to make long stitch lines less visible and to better follow the curve of the shape. Try a few angles until the texture looks even and natural in preview.
Watch out: Over-rotating angle lines can concentrate texture in one direction and highlight banding. Make small adjustments, preview, assess, and iterate.
Utilizing the 'Smooth Shapes' Function
When building the sun’s yellow fill, the instructor uses Click-to-Fill without holes so interior elements (like sunglasses and facial features) don’t punch holes into the fill. After creating the fill, “Smooth Shapes” gets heavy use. This reduces excess nodes, which often cause jagged stitching and inefficient paths.
Pro tip: The video highlights “Smooth Shapes” as a favorite tool for good reason—cleaner nodes lead to smoother contours and frequently fewer artifacts after stitch-out.
Digitizing Detailed Elements: Sunglasses and Text
Creating Satin Stitches for Fine Details
For the sunglasses, the shape is refined, then switched to a satin stitch. The creator sets the stitch angle to 0 degrees, which visually sharpens the lightning-bolt detail across the lenses. Satin is also used on the smile. The key: choose a stitch direction that flatters the shape and enhances contrast.
Quick check: If satin looks flat or lumpy, recheck your angle and ensure shapes are smoothed before you apply satin.
Individual Letter Digitization
Letters are handled one by one—first the “retro sunnies” curve, then “EYEGLASSES CO.” at the bottom. This ensures legible text and consistent fills. Once the letters are digitized, the creator converts the black text to satin and smooths shapes for polished edges.
Watch out: Auto-fill can occasionally select the wrong region if the bitmap contrast is unclear. If a letter doesn’t fill correctly, zoom in and try re-selecting the area.
Adding Defining Outlines
To combat potential gapping and to visually sharpen the design, outlines are added by duplicating the orange rim and sun shape and converting those duplicates to satin outlines. The width is adjusted (the video shows around 0.050 in) and the inner duplicate is removed where not needed. The result is a black satin outline that frames the shapes cleanly.
Pro tip: Slightly overlapping the yellow fill under the black outline helps hide pull-induced gaps during stitch-out.
Final Checks: Stitch Count, Gaps, and Sizing
Previewing Your Design Worksheet
Use Zoom to Fit and then tap Preview to view the design worksheet. Here you can confirm overall appearance and check the stitch count before you ever go near the machine. The video’s preview shows the essential data clearly.
Quick check: If the stitch count seems unusually high, reconsider filling strategies, node smoothing, and satin densities. The video doesn’t specify custom density values—so stick to defaults or your usual presets.
Inspecting for Gaps and Overlapping Fills
After deleting the original imported image, zoom in and pan around the stitched design. The instructor carefully inspects the junctions between fills and outlines, adjusting nodes to increase overlap slightly. This “overcompensation” helps fight gappage due to fabric pulling.
Watch out: Too much overlap can create ridges or lumps, especially where several satin elements converge. nudge, preview, and nudge again.
Adjusting to Hoop Size
Select the whole design and check the dimension readout in the top bar. The example is adjusted to fit within a typical hoop space and then re-checked to ensure nothing clips outside the boundary. Keeping aspect ratio intact maintains your letter proportions.
Pro tip: If you often stitch on compact hoops, plan your text size and satin widths accordingly from the start. It reduces last-minute resizing.
Exporting Your Digitized Logo for Embroidery
Choosing the Correct File Format
Head to Output Design, then Export Design. The instructor exports as PES for a Brother PE 550D—select the format your machine requires and save. The filename change indicates a successful export.
Watch out: The video doesn’t show stabilizer selection or machine tension settings. Before stitching, consult your machine manual and test on a similar fabric.
Saving to Your Embroidery Machine
Transfer your newly exported file via flash drive and load it on your embroidery machine. The video notes you can also see stitch count on many machines prior to stitch-out, which is a useful cross-check before you commit thread and fabric.
From the comments: No viewer Q&A was available in the provided data, but the creator does address a common question inside the video—where to find stitch count in Hatch (Preview/Design Worksheet) and typically on your machine.
Workflow Recap and Practical Pointers
- Start with clear art (PNG or SVG) from Canva; import into Hatch and reduce processing colors for simpler auto-digitize results.
- Use Reshape to clean cutouts around letters; Smooth Shapes often to tame nodes.
- Adjust stitch angles to flatter curves and reduce banding. Satin for details that need crisp, raised edges.
- Duplicate and outline key shapes in satin (with modest width) for definition and gap prevention.
- Delete the original image, scan for gaps, add slight overlaps, and resize to fit your hoop before export.
- Export in your machine’s native format (PES shown in the video) and test-stitch when possible.
FAQs (based on the video content)
Q: Which file type should I download from Canva? A: PNG is recommended in the video. If you have Canva Pro, SVG is excellent for clean edges and scalability.
Q: Where do I check stitch count in Hatch? A: Click Preview to open the Design Worksheet; you’ll see stitch count there. Many machines will also display stitch count before stitching.
Q: How do I prevent gaps between fills and outlines? A: Slightly overlap fills under outlines. The video demonstrates nudging nodes to overcompensate for fabric pull.
Q: What sizes and settings should I use for every design? A: The video doesn’t set universal numbers. It demonstrates angle adjustments, satin selection, node smoothing, modest outline widths (around 0.050 in), and a final size check to fit the hoop in use.
Note on accessories: The video focuses on software technique rather than hoop hardware. If you’re exploring specialty accessories for holding fabric—such as magnetic embroidery hoops in general—always verify compatibility with your specific machine model and follow manufacturer guidance.