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Cover image for The Ultimate Guide to Embroidery Digitizing & How AI Can Help You Get It Done Right - No BS
Nitin Sharma
Nitin Sharma

Posted on • Originally published at Medium

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The Ultimate Guide to Embroidery Digitizing & How AI Can Help You Get It Done Right - No BS

Let me be honest - designing embroidery is a great skill to make money.

If you don't know what it is, well, it's basically the art of creating designs with thread on fabric.

Think of it like drawing, but instead of using a pencil, you're using a needle and colorful threads.

And the best part?

You can create some mind-blowing embroidery designs on specific fabrics - even on human clothes - and sell them online or offline.

But designing embroidery isn't so easy. It takes skill, and it's time-consuming.

Back in the day, people used to create embroidery by hand. Then machines made it faster through the process of embroidery digitizing.

And now? We can use AI to make the process even smoother and way faster.

And that's exactly what I want to talk about.

To be precise - I want to talk about Embroidery Digitizing, and how you can use AI (and more) to make money from it.

Note: This post is part of my AI Made Simple newsletter, where I cut through the noise and deliver real-world AI use cases and step-by-step guides.

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With that said, let's get started.

What Is Embroidery Digitizing & Why It's Important

Before we talk about how we can use AI, let's get clear on what embroidery digitizing actually is and how it works.

Generated by Leonardo AI

You may know that designing embroidery by hand is slow and time-consuming. That's why we have embroidery machines - they create precise, beautiful designs much faster.

But if you want your machine to stitch a design like a logo, text, or illustration, you need a special digital file that the embroidery machine can read.

Well, this process of converting a design into a digital embroidery file that the machine can read and stitch onto fabric is called Embroidery Digitizing.

And this digitized file contains all the instructions for the machine, telling it exactly how to stitch the design:

  • What type of stitches to use
  • Where to place each stitch
  • How to layer stitches for the right texture and appearance
  • The stitch density, angles, and underlay needed for a clean, polished design

Sounds simple, right?

Well, it's not as easy as it sounds. Creating a good digital embroidery file takes a good amount of time and skill.

And if you mess up even one of these things - your entire design falls apart. The stitches look sloppy, the texture's off, and you could even end up ruining the fabric.


How to Use AI in Embroidery Digitizing

Now, let's talk about how AI can help you with embroidery digitizing, and even with creating your embroidery designs.

First of all, you need to generate images for your embroidery design - and the best part? It's completely free using AI.

You just need to write a specific prompt based on what you want to create and use any AI image generator like Microsoft Copilot, Leonardo AI, and more.

Even you can ask LLMs (like ChatGPT) for ideas. And here's a tip - the more precise you are, the better and more creative ideas you'll get.

Let me keep it simple and ask ChatGPT for some prompt ideas by writing a basic prompt:

Source: ChatGPT

Later, I can use these prompts to generate images with tools like Leonardo AI, Microsoft Copilot, and more.

Embroidery images generated by Leonardo AI

Embroidery image generated by Microsoft Copilot

Well, I really like most of these images, and no doubt, I can create even better images by writing more precise prompts.

Once you have your image, you can create auto-digitized embroidery files using several great software tools like Hatch Embroidery by Wilcom, Embrilliance, Ink/Stitch, and more - many of which use AI and offer additional features.

Note that some of these software tools are free, while others offer a free trial so you can try them out.

Also, the ones I've listed above are some of the most popular, and most embroidery digitizing experts use them.

Here's a great video that explains the complete process.


The Best Way to Get Your Embroidery Digitized

Let me be honest - you need to know how to use this software to create embroidery designs.

And you can't just convert your images directly into embroidery digitizing files with just a click of a button.

AI is not that smart, so it requires manual work.

In short, you need to be skilled; otherwise, the digitized file will be of no use, and the embroidery machine will create poor-quality designs.

And if you're a business owner or don't have the time to learn this software, you can easily hire an expert from freelancing platforms like Fiverr or Upwork.

They can help you create high-quality embroidery designs without any effort.

And if you are a business owner or don't have time to learn this software, you can simply hire an expert from freelancing platforms.

But how?

First off, you need to visit Fiverr and search for "embroidery digitizing".

Image from Fiverr

Then, you can hire one of the best embroidery digitizing experts by checking their ratings, reviews, and more.

Image from Fiverr

And the best part? You can hire an expert for just $5 to $10 and get your digitized file within an hour.

Insane, right?

So, I think it's better to hire an expert for $5 to $10 and get a high-quality embroidery digitizing file.

But why only Fiverr?

Well, I think Fiverr is the only trusted platform that provides the best freelancers at affordable rates, and I've been using it for years without any issues.

Sure, if you need help with other similar services, just search for them on Fiverr and pick one of the top-rated experts.


What's the Best Approach for You?

The short answer is - it depends on your time, budget, and goals.

If you're short on time and need embroidery designs quickly, AI tools like Leonardo AI or Microsoft Copilot can help you generate embroidery images.

Once you have the designs, you can hire a professional embroidery digitizing expert from Fiverr to convert them into high-quality embroidery files.

This one is perfect for small business owners or anyone looking to get started fast without spending time learning complex software.

On the other hand, if you're a beginner with time and a passion for learning, you might want to invest in auto-digitizing software like Hatch Embroidery, Embrilliance, or Ink/Stitch.

These tools allow you to create your own digitized files and give you full control over the entire process.

Sure, it takes time to master, but once you do, you can even offer digitizing services and monetize your skills.


Hope you like it.

That's it - thanks.

If you've found this post helpful, make sure to subscribe to my newsletter, AI Made Simple where I dive deeper into practical AI strategies for everyday people.

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