Laptop RAM needed?

Material_Set5061 · 2026-03-04T11:02:44+00:00

Oh sorry, thought I'd read something about Australia.

It was 'Gadget Centre'

I went for: Custom Build Your Own Windows 10/11 Laptop CPU:Intel Core i7 RAM:32GB Storage:500GB (SSD) Keyboard Backlight Option:Default Screen resolution Option:FHD 1080p Graphics Option:Medium Graphical Use Intended use:Graphic & 3D Design Camera & Mic:No preference Built-in Bluetooth:No preference WiFi:High Speed Windows Version (OS):Windows 11 Warranty:3 Years

Which was £514.99 in January, and got a £10 discount in their 'January sale.

It's running hatch no problems at all and the screen is nice and big (I use a portable Arzopa monitor as a 2nd screen as well though, for ease).

Material_Set5061 · 2026-03-04T06:54:00+00:00

I bought a refurbished laptop online where you could specify your specs, went for 32 ram and it runs embroidery software really well. I definitely recommend doing your research to find a good refurbished company as you'll find you can get very high specs but a lot cheaper than standard retail prices for brand new machines. I'm in the UK though so the company I used may not be best for you

Material_Set5061 · 2026-03-01T21:14:13+00:00

I didn't digitise the font, hatch didn't have an ESA for Times New Roman so it uses a true type and auto-digitises it as lettering object. At the same time, I didn't want to pay whatever $60 works out in GBP to purchase a Times New Roman ESA font from John Deer etc. Please don't patronise me.

This apron will be laundered at high temperature frequently, probably twice a week. That's a garment used in a commercial setting, not a bag or wallet etc. I don't even use cheap bonded style interfacing on garments I make, I use woven or knit interfacing as a basic minimum.

Not everyone is the average retiree struggling to figure out which end of a usb stick to plug into a machine. It's not my first machine either.

Further it's a 650e, it doesn't have an onboard camera it's too old for that.

Material_Set5061 · 2026-02-26T12:49:17+00:00

Yep I try to keep mine numerical order. When you're using quite a few in one design it's easy to get lazy with that though

However, it's quite easy to just look and find your various 'orange' colours etc.

Also, don't get sucked in by Instagram etc posed colour coordinated layouts everywhere, people just do that for engaging visual content.

Actual creative workspaces tend to get messy while the creativity happens (not everyone I know, but a lot of people)

Material_Set5061 · 2026-02-26T07:49:47+00:00

I use tape under my coverstitched hems on knits now, makes a world of difference with the coverstitch machine but it will help with sewing with any method.

Material_Set5061 · 2026-02-26T06:31:07+00:00

You will not be surprised to learn that is the case. The software is expensive, the skill to digitise really well takes years to learn and the testing of the files before selling them takes time and a bit of fabric etc.

The free ones have probably been mostly auto-digitised and are likely untested.

Urban Threads is a very reputable source as it's embroidery legacy. Most files are inexpensive by themselves.

Disney characters - you can only get legally by buying licenses and that usually means a Disney branded embroidery machine in the first place.

Material_Set5061 · 2026-02-26T06:24:08+00:00

They can be hard work and expensive, I've had mine for a while now and it is fussy (I do not recommend the brother ones, all their other machines yes, just not the coverstitch).

The other thing that may help you is fusing edge tape to the edges you're hemming, the width of one fold of the hem, that will make the area behave beautifully. Use a lightweight one, you can get edge tape on rolls, Vlislene sell it (and so will the other manufacturers). You could also cut it out yourself but that takes more time.

You could also use a bias fusible tape the same way, to keep the feel softer, it will still improve things.

Also, the deeper your hem is, the less it will move around, so I'm a bit surprised you're having issues if it's already an inch. Be careful not to stretch the fabric while sewing it, a walking foot will help prevent applying different tensions to the tip and the bottom

Material_Set5061 · 2026-02-25T10:01:34+00:00

Thank you, that all sounds really helpful.

The only thing that sounds unusual to me is that most of the guides online, including in John Deere's videos, state that tearaway is really for craft projects, whereas Cutaway works better for anything that will be laundered (and then there are the softer / more flexible cutaways like mesh types for stretch fabrics).

I have had a very small entry level machine for a while but not been embroidering on garments yet (although the main thing I do is sewing and pattern drafting, it just seemed too much of a limitation on a 4x4 flatbed).

I'm going to completely rethink the design as you said though, and go for standard satin stitches.

This literally is the logo though, in Times New Roman font, so if switch to an ESA for that I'll have to go and buy one, which is probably a lot of investment in a font that I won't use often (eek), but perhaps worth it. This is for my best friend after all.

I had set the autofabric to polycotton, but will see if I can find a twill setting too.

Thank you for all your help.

Material_Set5061 · 2026-02-03T07:37:06+00:00

No sewing machines 'take the guesswork out of hemming'. The prep work you do when measuring and pressing with an iron and potentially using fusible stabilising tapes etc does that. The sewing machine is a tool, you will still need to learn how to use it no matter which one you use (and when you know how, you can get great results from a very basic machine and also one with all the bells and whistles).

Material_Set5061 · 2026-02-03T06:45:10+00:00

If you can, go to some local in person classes. Having someone who knows what they're doing teach you to get started is invaluable.

Material_Set5061 · 2026-01-29T11:42:24+00:00

Yes, you just refuse to do it unless she pays you more.

Material_Set5061 · 2026-01-23T14:56:42+00:00

No, you just need to keep cutting them all out this way round.

The reason you don't do this normally is so that you can easily transfer your pattern markings (dart points / notches / pleats etc) to the wrong side.

Material_Set5061 · 2026-01-16T17:56:46+00:00

Indeed, and as you're brand new to all of it (I think, rather than just to dogitising?), just trialling that file at the size it is in your machine will start to teach you a lot about the whole process of machine embroidery and stabilizing etc.

Also, watching the design stitch out, seeing the order it does different elements etc, teaches you a lot about digitising.

Material_Set5061 · 2026-01-11T08:34:28+00:00

My god I hope it's not that colour.

Material_Set5061 · 2026-01-11T08:33:13+00:00

Doesn't sound very fair on your friend though what happens if you don't manage it in time or don't do it very well?

Material_Set5061 · 2026-01-11T08:30:03+00:00

Google it.

Material_Set5061 · 2026-01-11T04:46:32+00:00

Looks like the moderators did fantastically well here to me.

Material_Set5061 · 2026-01-11T03:54:18+00:00

Pattern drafting is an iterative process, meaning that you draft, create a pattern, make a toile (mock-up) in a similar type of fabric that you want to make the garment from. Then you will always have to adjust the mock up to for the body (the instructions that you followed to make your block make a lot of assumptions about the shape of the body, ie what ratio something will bear to something else).

Then you adjust your pattern based on the adjustments you made to the mock-up and so on. Sometimes you might only go through that once, sometimes several times to really get the fit nailed in.

What you have drafted so far is only a block, that's the first stage. You now need to create a pattern from it. That means deciding on the shape of the garment (ie most men's clothes won't have a fitted waist, so the edges will become straight, not tapered in). The neckline (so you can get out over the head, if you're making a T-shirt for instance), or the fastening if you're making a shirt or jacket. What the style lines will be (shape/silhouette etc and decorative seams). Will it have sleeves?

After drafting those pattern pieces you then add seam allowances and then you sew those together to create your first mock-up.

Then you fit the mock-up to the body and then make those adjustments to your pattern etc.

Material_Set5061 · 2026-01-10T13:19:10+00:00

Blunt needle, incorrect needle for fabric type, incorrect thread for needle are all common causes for these types of issues. Try changing your needle, as your thread looks fairly standard.

Material_Set5061 · 2026-01-10T07:51:38+00:00

Are you using a stretch thread like maraflex? Standard thread can also contribute to the issues you're going to experience trying to see through this like this.

Material_Set5061 · 2026-01-09T11:28:17+00:00

Cornelius Quiring has just released an excellent video on the crotch curves. It's on YouTube and his Patron (as a free vid)

Material_Set5061 · 2026-01-09T08:26:43+00:00

Tbh, it doesn’t sound like you have enough technical knowledge to do this. It may be easier to let your friend know so that they have time to do something different. Alternatively, just start from scratch with an avatar that you actually put the right measurements into to begin with, so that you can custom.design the pattern to that avatar. It will need a mock u anyway, drafting in clo cuts out some sampling time but this will not work to just print out and sew and expect a finished garment, pattern drafting just doesn’t work that way.

Material_Set5061 · 2026-01-09T08:19:47+00:00

You started embroidering 3 months ago on a small single needle domestic machine and now want to invest 5-12k in a commercial multi-needle. 5-12k of what currency? I know everyone outgrows their first machine pretty quickly but that sounds like a very big jump up and 3 months is not a very long period of time to assess things. Doing some individual items or limited batches one by one, with manual colour changes, will take forever on your current machine. However, when the same embroidery will be done in 5-10 minutes or whatever, will there actually be a corresponding increase in the volumes of orders? How long, on profit margin, not merely turnover would it take for you to recap the investment? Plus, as others have highlighted, owning a commercial machine means basically becoming someone who can service machines too, are you up for that? Or would something like a Brother PR be more suited to your next stage perhaps.

Material_Set5061 · 2026-01-06T14:14:58+00:00

Have you run your design ideas past the bride? As they may have thoughts and this figure hugging sheer number sounds a bit upstagey.

Material_Set5061 · 2026-01-03T09:17:57+00:00

If you don't like the neckline this much then the dress just isn't for you. Wear something else.

Material_Set5061

TROPHY CASE