Most embroidery machines come with a few fonts built in. It is easy to design a monogram or embroider a word using these fonts, but there will be times when you'll want more flexibility. There are a variety of embroidery alphabets available for purchase. Generally, when you buy an alphabet, each letter, number and symbol is a separate file. It is necessary to combine the letters to make monograms or words. You can do this by using embroidery software or by carefully embroidering each letter separately.
Instructions
Use Embroidery Software to Combine Letters
1. Preview the files associated with the embroidery alphabet and select the appropriate letters.
2. Open the first letter and save a copy of the file under a new name.
3. Open the next letter, copy the design and paste it into the new file you created. Note that each embroidery program has a different method for doing this. Some software programs may require you to "import" another design into the current file.
4. Use the software's grid to align the letters properly. Save the file. Repeat this process until all letters have been added.
5. Transfer the completed file to the embroidery machine to be stitched out.
Combining Letters Without Embroidery Software
6. Open the files associated with the embroidery alphabet and print a full-sized template of each letter. Trim the paper close to the outline of the letters but make sure that the horizontal and vertical axes and the center point are clearly marked.
7. Align the paper templates on the item to be embroidered. It may be helpful to tape the templates in place so you can see how the finished embroidery will look.
8. Use a disappearing marker to carefully mark the horizontal and vertical axes and the center point for each letter on the fabric. Remove the paper templates.
9. Use the markings for the first letter to hoop the fabric and stitch out the first letter.
10. Remove the hoop from the embroidery machine and re-hoop the fabric so that it is aligned for the second letter. Stitch out the second letter. Repeat this process until all letters have stitched out.
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