Sew What Whaaa???

Today I have been dreaming of summer. The weather has been glorious and I long for the days of NOT getting up at 6:30 to get the kids off to school. I dream of no homework, packing snack or lunches, waking up with no where to be, and taking the kids to the pool every other day if they want to go.  6 weeks!!! I’m taking bets of how long it will take me to complain about the 100+ degree temps and the fact that the kids are driving me nuts! 🙂

If you were on Facebook today then you hopefully liked my post of this A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E t-shirt from Sassy Kid Blanks. This is our Lollipop Trio design with bright, fun and adorable fabrics! Melissa does a great job with the blanks, but she also sends me photos from time to time of my designs that she has sewn! Love….skb-tile2

Y’all…. I have been pushing Sew What-Pro for YEARS!! It’s simple to use and it’s affordable (ONLY $65). What else do you need to know? While dreaming of summer today, I’ve also been working on my website and blog and newsletter trying to tweak things here and there to make shopping and browsing easier but also helpful and informative. Well…. I stumbled upon some videos from the S & S Computing website and my life may be changed regarding Sew What-Pro. Helllooooo TUTORIALS!! I watched a few of them, and the 2 that caught my eye were…..

Adding “fabric” to your applique design on screen. Granted there aren’t a ton of choices and it looks like digital fabric of course, but it’s a pretty cool feature if you are trying to pick out colors or visualize fabric.

swp fabric

Also… I knew about the View Album Icons feature, which shows your font folder and what’s inside on the right as shown below. BUT… what I did not know is that if you add the first letter and move it to the left of your work area, THEN click the ICON button on the toolbar, AND click Alphabet Mode in the font folder on the right… you can click on the rest of the letters you need and SWP will place them in a row for you! You still might have to arrange them and space them a little, but the old way I was doing it, it piled all of the letters on top of one another and then you’d have to separate and arrange them! GENIUS!!!! This is a huge time saver! After you’ve arranged them, then you can go in to EDIT, and JOIN THREADS to make it all 1 step and thread color.

alphabet mode

Check out the VIDEOS and I will too, and let’s all figure out what else is FABULOUS about Sew What-Pro!! I am so glad that I have started selling it and have enjoyed answering questions and sharing this great and inexpensive program!! It’s perfect for beginners and old timers like me! Now I have even more reasons to recommend it to my applique friends! Update: I forgot to mention – watch the Pull Compensation video FOR SURE!! I had no idea… 

Are you on Instagram?  I love IG for many reasons. I used to love Facebook, but scrolling through all of the ads and blog posts people want me to read (not to mention the cray cray things people post), I love IG more. Granted I still like Facebook and spend wayyyy too much time on there, but IG is great for JUST photos! I like to post on there the random things I’m working on in my sewing room! It’s not all Applique Cafe designs. I still take customer orders, so I monogram a lot and do all sorts of things. Here are a few photos of what I did today….

This is a C-U-T-E picnic blanket from none other than Target. It folds and zips up so it’s easy to tote. This is for a friend for her friend’s wedding gift. Hopefully these people are not reading my blog. I used our Paw Prints design (4×4 on each side – right one I flip flopped for a mirror image in SWP). The font is Monogram Wizard Plus “Library” font and I narrowed up the letters so they would be tall and big. These folks are Auburn fans! #wareagle

picnic

I also monogrammed this HAT today and I used my fast frames. Several followers on IG asked for a blog post or tutorial on how to do this, so I will work on that asap! Font: MWP Cotillion (Fishtail)

hat

I also had a friend bring me a couple of shirts to do, and for this one she wanted to match both of the shorts shown. I happened to have the orange fabric, so I used that and tied in the green with the accents of the FISH design. This is actually our Two Fish design, and I used the 6×10 file and deleted the top fish! That left a fish that fit nicely in my 5×7 hoop and I did enlarge it a little after I put it ON my machine. {Most machines will shrink or enlarge 10-20%} We may offer this as a single fish design and might come up with a girly version too. Did I mention that I edited the design in Sew What-Pro?

fishshorts

Lastly, my friend asked me to do the Cool Dog on this gray t-shirt. She specifically said use red and navy, so I pulled these fabrics together and it turned out cute. I love red on gray!

cool dog

In case you missed it, I will be at Ruthie’s Notions down in Baker, FL on Friday/Saturday May 2-3. I rode down there yesterday and spent several hours with Ruthie and am excited and extremely nervous about this class! Ruthie is a Babylock dealer and sells tons of “notions” and all of the fabulous Babylock machines. My machine is a Brother PR650 and it was basically the same as the Babylock. I believe they are manufactured by the same folks. Anywho, if you are interested in learning about applique and embroidery and are in the area or willing to travel, check out the details HERE!

ruthies

If you have suggestions of topics I could cover, please comment or email me! My target audience is a beginner, or someone who’s just learning about embroidery & applique. I plan to also discuss starting or growing your embroidery business (which I have never taught before). This is the longest class time-span I’ve ever taught, so I have a lot of work to do! I’ve already had someone email me with ideas so if you have any, please let me know ~ rosemarygulledge@appliquecafe.com or comment! THANKS!!

Comments

  1. I didn’t know all those tutorials were available for SWP! I love the tip about the fonts.

  2. Glenda Noe says

    Hello,
    I have just bought myself a Topaz 25 machine. I am a beginner and know next to nothing about what to do and how. But I have heard a lot about your software ” Sew What Pro” and I am going to buy it in the near future. My question is , When I purchase this software can I get a disc ( hard copy) of this software? I am not that up to date on the computer and am not sure about downloading. I have been to a few classes at the dealer where I bought my machine and am very excited about getting started on this wonderful adventure.

    • I don’t have any discs of the software. It’s very easy to download and all you have to do is click Install and maybe one other button and it basically installs it on your computer for you! I’d be glad to help if you can’t figure it out!

  3. betsy nelms says

    Ok, this may just the thing that pushes me over the edge to get SWP (even though i already have editing software)! Typing the name and it actually shows up in order, placed (mostly) correctly? Yes please! Thank you for all of your great posts–love them all! And of course all of your great designs! 🙂

    • Just want to clarify it doesn’t turn in to a keyboard or key punch software for fonts, but clicking each letter and having it arrange them in a line is almost as easy!! There is still some arranging and spacing, but it’s easy!

  4. I saw your post on FB this morning, and to my surprise I actually had already watched the videos on SWP and was doing those things already! YAY me! I love love love your blog though and I can’t wait to see your hat tutorial on the fast frames. I’ve bought some hats but have been hesitant to try embroidering on them. I’ve just contemplated doing patches instead.

  5. Teri Rippe says

    Hope this isn’t a dumb question, but I have a Husqvarva -Diamond Royale, I use the 5D software, would I be able to use the Sew What Pro also? Or is there not a need? I need to watch the videos to see what exactly it does, but sounds like it does things my software doesn’t do…or don’t know what it does. Thank you!

    • I am not familiar with 5D software but it does save to and is compatible with HUS format (and many others) so it would work. It’s basically BASIC merging and editing! Very user friendly and easy to use and I’m discovering more and more of what it can do, including increasing the thickness of satin stitches in a design!

  6. Lori Carawan says

    Rosemary, LOVE LOVE LOVE all your helpful hints, tips and tricks and your designs. I would love a tutorial on the hat with fast frames. I have a hat hoop for my PR600 but it is somewhat of a nightmare to me. Thanks for all you do!

  7. Can I use Sew What Pro on my Mac?

  8. I was wondering about this software’s ability to do split designs. I have a 4×4 hoop and really would like to be able to do larger images without having to buy another machine. Can this software split these larger designs so that they can be stitched using the 4×4 hoop?

  9. Love your blog. Always glad to find video tutorials, don’t have patience to read the written ones I was playing with the fabric selection…would you know why I can’t open the ‘Select Fabric’ tab to open after I select Color and click Applique?? Probably need to read something, huh?

  10. How do I add fabric to the fabric folder? SWP gives about 7 fabric to use as backgrounds, but it doesn’t have a chevron and I’d love to add that one. I read that you just add them to the “fabric folder” but I can’t find that. Can you please help? Thanks!!!

    • I have never done that!? Check the SWP website – maybe they have the instructions? http://www.sandscomputing.com. I know they have some tutorial videos.

    • Linda Johnson says

      I just did this yesterday with my granddaughters design she made ( going to make it into fabric.

      In the SWP files on SEW-What Facebook page ( you must be a member)

      , May 24. By Karen Sessions. She put the file

      Adding Fabric Picture to SWP

      Save a picture of the fabric in either bmp or jpg format
      2) From the folder in which you saved the picture, locate picture file, right click and select “copy”
      3) Locate c:/program files/S & S Computing/SewWhat-Pro/Fabrics
      4) Paste picture file in “Fabrics”
      To access Fabric file in SWP
      1. Select “Tools” – “Fabric”
      2. From the pop-up window, “select fabric”

  11. Jeannette says

    Rosemary, first let me tell you how much I appreciate all the advice you give on applique, especially using SWP (which I just purchased). I just finished my first applique, a lion for my quilt guild, and my satin stitches did not come out near as neat and wide as yours. I used the density and compensation adjustments on SWP, but apparently I don’t understand those settings very well. Can you guide me as to how to get satin stitches that look as lovely as yours? Thanks so much!
    Jeannette

  12. Linda Johnson says

    Is there a way for SWP to stitch the background fabric along with the embroidery?

  13. Do you offer any lessons for beginners? I just purchased a Brother SE 400 and I have no idea on where to even start! I have the SWP software I am just confused

  14. Sheri Harlin says

    Rosemary,
    I noticed that most of your posts are from 2014. Are you still in the business of selling SWP and answering questions? I have a Singer Futura XL400. I’m wondering if SWP compatible and if you think it will be of benefit to me. My software that came with my machine is very limited! I haveheard & read great things about you!
    Thank you so much!
    Sheri Harlin
    sheriharlin@yahoo.com
    479-238-5789