I taught a class last Thursday night at Beth’s Heirloom Sewing in Wetumpka, AL. I’ve taught a couple of “intro to embroidery & applique” classes before but this time she asked me to teach Embroidery Software. Since I use Monogram Wizard Plus and Sew What Pro, those were the 2 I chose to teach. I took 3 pages of notes (front and back) and ended up spending a good hour on Monogram Wizard Plus and the last hour on Sew What Pro. We didn’t even take a break! People really ARE interested in software!! Check out Beth’s website ~ they are now selling fabric online and she said they were still in the process of adding all of it! If you are in the area, you can also sign up for their newsletter and hear about upcoming classes. I need to take my notes and put them in a good outline form ~ I will work on that in my spare time!
One of the most impressive features of Sew What Pro is that you can adjust PULL COMPENSATION, or in other words, you can WIDEN YOUR SATIN STITCHES on your appliques and fonts! Say what???? I posted a picture of a demo I did on Facebook last week and got a huge response!
I will walk you through the process, and also include a link to a video from the Sands Computing website so you can also watch the process. It’s SUPER easy to do!
Here is your Sew What Pro workspace screen and I did my demo using our Mini Satin Circle Applique Design. There is an icon up top for adjusting your density and PULL COMPENSATION. Click on that button (which says “Adjust Density”). I don’t mess with density by the way. I found this when googling Embroidery Density ~ “Density is the distance between individual stitches in a satin column or rows of stitches in a fill. The closer the rows are to each other, the more dense an area of stitches is.” You can read more about density here. Again, I typically don’t mess with density!
On the bottom you will see Pull Compensation and X.1mm. You can adjust your PC up to 20, which would be 2mm. You can also go -20 which would make your satin stitch 2mm thinner. Basically, 5= 1/2 mm, 10=1 mm, 15 = 1.5 mm, and 20 would be 2 mm. You will see my examples down below.
This is what my adjusted design looks like after changing my PC to 10. This, I thought, was a good increase for PC and it didn’t make it too thick.
Here is the demo I did! As you can see, 20 is almost too thick unless you just like super duper thick satin stitches!
Here is a shot of the back of each applique. As you can see the bobbin distribution looks great (about 1/3, 1/3, 1/3) so adjusting Pull Compensation does not mess up how the design stitches.
And now, here is the video you can watch from the Sands Computing website: http://sandscomputing.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/PullComp/PullCompensation.swf
There are also other helpful videos on their website! Let me know if you have any questions! This is just one of the cool features of Sew What Pro, which you can find at Applique Cafe! There is a 30 day free trial if you are interested in trying it out, and it’s only $65 to purchase. Well worth every penny!!
Check out our new Digitizer’s Pick for Christmas. This is a great design for the BOYS and it’s $1.50 for a limited time!
Do you ever change the density of fonts in Sew What Pro? I stitched a receiving blanket using Itch 2 Stitch Curtsy font and it looks off. I used Schmetz 75/11 embroidery needle, medium weight tear away and two layers of WSS on top.
I don’t mess with density. You might adjust the pull compensation and it will make the font a little thicker.
That’s such a good tip! I use SWP but mostly just to merge/resize things.
I am interested in purchasing a Brother 770 machine, but have a few questions. I have been reading your blogs and you seem very knowledgable about all of this so I thought I would ask. I want to be a to design my own appliqués on my computer. Can I create this using the SWP software? I have a cheer team and want to custom their bags, etc. but don’t want just embroidery. I want to use different fabrics, etc. Please help!!!
Yes, I have bought Fonts and have done really well with them but I have saved one name using a different Font Cap letter…and now the whole name is saved and I can’t get the Cap letter back it’s still with the name….I was needing to use it again how can I get it back….the whole name is in my Cap font letters when I try to use the Alphabet ?? Please Help ..Thank you Teresa
Is the name set up where each letter is it’s own file? You could go through and delete the letters, leaving the Cap letter you need and save it again. Or you might be able to re-download the whole font file again from where you bought it.
Thank you for sharing these tips with us, following your blog hoping you continue to share more for us that don’t live near any classes.
Do you know if Edit N Stitch software has the pull compensation adjustment feature. I need to widen my satin stitch but can’t find out how in this program. Thanks
I am not familiar w/ Edit N Stitch?
I am now wondering this same question Pam. What did you ever find out about Edit & Stitch?
I purchased Sew What Pro, but I cannot understand, how it works. I want to use it to import a file and add a monogram at a specific spot. I do not know where to start. I am a visual learner and A 73 yr old grandmother who wants to make very special items for her grandchildren. Help please!
You would OPEN the file – applique design file. Then you would MERGE in the name or initials you want to add. Then you would arrange the design and name/initials however you like it before saving it to your computer or machine to sew!
Oh MY!!! thank you so much for this info!!! I did a baby blanket for someone and she said she couldn’t see the font and wanted it redone! I didn’t know what to do….so I Googled today and saw this post!!! It was very easy like you said and it saved my sanity!! I will redo the new font over the old one and pray it lines up correctly!!! THANKS again!!!
What version of sewWHat – pro do you need to buy to widen the satin stitch?
Joanne Mlaink
All versions should have the feature to increase the satin stitch!