# looking for machine embroidery that looks like hand embroidery



## chicabu (Feb 28, 2010)

I am currently having my line hand embroidered. I have been trying to get a sample of machine embroidery that has a look of hand I know that it is not the same but I have seen it on other lines in stores. You can see my example at www.chica-bu.com Iam trying to get a thicker looser look but dont seem to have the right words to explain what Im looking for. Any suggestions?


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## LUV DEM TIGERS (Jul 25, 2008)

Really, it would mostly be just a matter of digitizing and the type of thread you would use. It would be so specialized that it would be hard to find the supplies or the digitizing expertise in it. Good luck.


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## imeccentric (May 13, 2007)

Chris,
Most hand embroidered looks are done by lengthening stitches and lessening density. A good digitizer, not the cheap auto-digitizing type, should be able to work with you and come pretty close. There will always be some difference, but you could come close.


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## lizziemaxine (Nov 14, 2007)

The right digitizer should be able to create this look for you. And, I think, Robison-Anton has some cotton embroidery thread that will help with the hand embroidered look. Also, Madeira's Burmilana thread will give that hand embroidered look.


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## chicabu (Feb 28, 2010)

What do you consider a good digitizer? Being new to this any suggestions of things to look for?


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## mrsc5inla (May 17, 2008)

A good digitizer will know how to put the lettering/graphic images together by hand and be able to imitate what a person has in mind. 

There is a good digitizer that we use that can make just about anything you can think of. 
Her name is Cherry and she owns AddiePearlDesigns.com

MAry


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## oneill (Mar 6, 2008)

chicabu said:


> What do you consider a good digitizer? Being new to this any suggestions of things to look for?


That can be the million dollar question sometimes..... Check out the link within this forum and hopefully that sheds some light on how different digitizers are. Sometimes it just takes trial and error, took a TEST for me to find the right one....

http://www.t-shirtforums.com/embroidery/t114326.html

Just remember "you get what you pay for"..... especially with digitizing.


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## vlcnmstr (Jan 5, 2007)

there is also what one would call "good" handstitching vs. quick and dirty done by cheap labor. If you research REAL good handstitching you might find it is far superior to machine stitching-- and vastly more expensive. "folk" stitching tends to look looser and more relaxed. You may find it still needs to be done by hand.

That said, you might check out "hand embroidered" under arts and crafts as in mission or the early 1900's. "bungalow style". there are several pasadena based firms that specialize in this type of embroidery at a very high quality.


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## taoknitter (Aug 26, 2010)

I had an opportunity to explore this idea last year when I was asked by a colleague (and a member of this forum) to help her re-create a hand-embroidered Irish Dance dress for an American girl doll dress. This was quite a challenge becuase I not only had to work off of photographs of the dress and the individual embroidered parts, I also wanted it to retain as much of it's hand-stitched look as possible. Lots of fooling with effects & stitch-type, and what my software could not give me I made up.

If you are interested, you can see the pics here: Reproduction dress - a set on Flickr

(Could not seem to include pics in the post...still learning.)


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## vlcnmstr (Jan 5, 2007)

i know lots of irish dancers and all their outfits are machine embroidered. (at least those from the recent decades) only those older outfits from when machine embroidery was far too expensive or far to unavailable are hand done. both ways, done right, they are impressive.


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## taoknitter (Aug 26, 2010)

Irish Dance dress design and embroidery is what I specialize in, and other than the use of celtic knots and the occasional critter from the Book of Kells, no one wants their dress to look too traditional or as if it was hand-embroidered anymore because that smacks of "homemade!" I am one of many (quiet tho we may be) who wishes the dresses themselves would go back to looking more traditional (the beauty pageant sensibility has invaded now), and there is more demand again for the traditonal looking designs but they must be clean and bold, something that very few ID dressmakers can do by hand guiding their machines anymore. It was easier when applique was the norm. Now, there is more embroidery than applique (tho' applique is finding its way back again), so Irish dance dressmakers keep me very, very busy because not everyone has the design, digitizing and embroidery capacity. Great niche for me...I do wish there were more folks looking for the "hand-stitched" feel of the designs like the ones I reproduced, though. A part of our Irish culture is rapidly being lost and this could be a way to at least keep it in our awareness. Same to said of the "hand-embroidered" look in general...didn't set out to hijack this thread.


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## ecampbell (Jul 14, 2010)

A good digitizer, provided with high-quality scans, will not only be able to measure the design and reproduce it, but usually will have a good idea of the supplies you need and generally will have formulas for the proper application of your threads to your chosen substrate in mind. A great digitizer will experiment to arrive at a style that captures the feeling of your designs and puts the stamp of your design ethos on new art that you send to them without having to see a hand embroidered original thereafter. In both cases, you need someone who is good at analysis. I've been lucky enough to know a few digitizers who can do all of this, but they are few and far between.


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