TruEmbroidery™ Software Newsletter April 2014

This month we are going to assist you with some quick gift projects you may need over the next few months. Monogramming is a fast and easy way to make a very personal gift. The TruE™ Studio module has all the tools you need to create one-of-a-kind embroideries for your friends and family.

Flower Icons

icon

Selection tools help you to either capture your entire embroidery design, or just sections of it. In TruE™ Studio TruE Studio you select a group of embroideries. In TruE™ Modify TruE Modify you select stitch points or groups of stitches. In TruE™ Create TruE Create you select objects. Let's see how these tools work.

Selection tools can be found in all TruEmbroidery™ Applications:

  • Edit Menu in TruE™ Studio
  • Design Page of the Control Panel in TruE™ Modify.
  • Edit panel in TruE™ Create.

In TruE™ Studio TruE Studio, click on a design to select it.

Selection

If you want to select more than one design at a time, press the Command key then click on other designs. To select all designs press Command + A. To select the next design in the stitchout order press Command + →.To select the previous design in the stitchout order press Command + ←.

These and other selection tools can be found under the Edit Menu, along with the shortcuts used above.


  • Use Box Select Box Select pointer to capture embroideries in a rectangular area. Choose the Edit Menu then Box Select and drag a rectangle around the embroideries you want to select.
  • Use Freehand Select Freehand Select pointer to select embroideries within an odd shaped area. Choose the Edit Menu then Freehand Select. Drag to draw an irregular line around the desired embroideries. When your mouse is released the area is closed automatically.
  • Use Polygon Select Polygon Select pointer to select embroideries within an area of any shape made of connecting straight lines. Choose the Edit Menu, then Polygon Select. Click a series of points to create an irregular line of straight lines around the desired embroideries. When you get back to where you started, you will see an x next to the mouse pointer; click to close the selection.

When using Box Select, Freehand Select, and Polygon Select In TruE™ Studio the entire embroidery must be selected or it will not be included in the selection.

Selection icons

In TruE™ Modify TruE Modify the selection tools can be found on the Design Page of the control panel or in the Edit Menu. In this Application we work with individual or groups of stitch points within an embroidery design, not just the entire embroidery. Although the selection tools in TruE™ Modify are similar, they work slightly different here than in TruE™ Studio.

Selection

  • Box Select Box Select, Freehand Select Freehand Select and Polygon Select Polygon Select no longer need to surround an entire design. They select groups of stitches
  • Select Stitches Select Stitches allows you to select and edit individual stitch points one by one. Once selected, it can be moved or deleted. To select several individual stitches, hold down Command + click the additional desired stitch points. To select a sequence of stitches, hold down Shift and then click the first and last desired stitch points. The two stitches you click and all stitches between them are selected.
  • Select Color Color Select will select all of the connected stitches by thread color. After clicking Select Color Color Select, click a visible thread color within the embroidery design. Note: If the same color is used elsewhere within the design as a different color change it will not be selected as the stitches are not connected.
  • Make Block From Visible Area Make Block From Visible Area is a one-click function that selects all visible stitches in the current embroidery. This is like Select All in TruE™ Studio, and you can also press Command + A.

Selection

In TruE™ Create TruE Create the Selection Tools can be found on the Edit Page of the control panel or under the Edit Menu.

  • Box Select Box Select, Polygon Select Polygon Select, Make Block From Visible Area Make Block From Visible Area, and Freehand Select Freehand Select work the same as TruE™ Modify however they are selecting objects and not individual stitch points. Only objects that are completely enclosed by the selection line will be selected.
  • To select the last visible object displayed in the FilmStrip use the Select Last Visible Object Select Last Visible Object function. It is located at the bottom of the FilmStrip, or click Select Last Visible Object Select Last Visible Object in the Create window. The other option is to select the Edit Menu then click Select Last Visible.

The selection tools available in the TruEmbroidery™ applications will allow you to easily move, delete, rotate, mirror, reposition, resize, scale or distort an entire embroidery or just sections within the design. Selection tools are usually used in combination with the many other tools available with the software so have fun experimenting!

Flower Tips and Techniques

tips and techniques

Monogramming is a great way to create a one-of-a-kind gift for yourself or a friend. Using the over 100 fully adjustable, professionally created fonts in TruE™ Studio, your possibilities are endless. First, start by typing in one, two or three letters for the monogram on the Letters Page of the control panel.

Lettering

Remember to place the letters as you want the initials arranged (First, last, middle for example). Next, select a font collection and style, then choose a Line Type. There are 21 line types to select from, allowing you to make your monogram unique. Click Apply to add the letters in the work area.

In the first example the Individual letters option was selected, allowing you to rearrange and resize as desired.

Lettering selected

In the second example the Diamond envelope shape was selected. There are six square green handles. Drag the handles to adjust the layout of the lettering and the distance between vertical pairs of handles.

If you desire a Monogram using multiple font styles you create the lettering in multiple steps. In the third example the largest letter was created first using a more decorative font style and then the side letters were added making use of the Individual Letters option. Remember to use the Alignment Tools to assist when arranging the layout (see the February newsletter for details on the alignment tools). As a finishing touch the Frames Page was used to place side pieces and an appliqué frame around the Monogram.

Monogram

Give these techniques a try next time you want to personalize a towel, shirt, tote bag and so much more...

Best wishes from TruEmbroidery™ Software

P.S. Watch for the newsletter next month as we explore the possibilities for creating repeating embroideries!