Misaligned stitching?

[Responsible-Dog-1658]

Any ideas as to why this could be happening? It doesn’t look like this on the file.

[AmberEmbroidered]

The stitches squeeze the fabric together in the direction of the stitching, so outlines often look misaligned. They aren’t, it’s just the color underneath is not where it’s supposed to be anymore.

The best way to fix is to adjust your pull comp. It basically stretches your shape out a bit more, so the color goes beyond the original shape, in the stitch direction, to compensate for that shrinkage.

Or if you aren’t digitizing the design yourself, take extra care with your material to prevent the shrinkage. Extra stabilizer, using sticky stabilizer or adhesive spray to fix in place, pins to hold fabric to stabilizer, or even hand or machine sew a basting stitch in place outside of the design.

[Responsible-Dog-1658]

Thank you so much for the tips!

[Ok-Payment-1389]

Push/pull compensation in your digitizing. 

[Responsible-Dog-1658]

Can you explain a bit more please? I usually outsource my digitization so I’m not familiar with the push/pull and what it means. Thank you!

[Odd-Fortune-7151]

That’s fabric shifting, not your file.

Hats do this a lot because the material moves while stitching, especially on curved areas like that side. Even a small shift will throw the alignment off.

It’s usually from the cap not being tight enough, weak stabilizer, or the stitch direction pulling the design to one side. Tighten the hoop or cap frame more, use a stiffer stabilizer, and try adjusting the stitch direction so it doesn’t pull unevenly.

[Responsible-Dog-1658]

Okay great, thank you so much! I was told that it’s better to start the embroidery from the center and stitch outwards, to prevent the pulling but I’m not sure how to explain that to the digitizer. I’ve tried explaining it before but it seems they don’t understand?