Add Texture to your Embroidery with Embossed Fills

Hatch Blog | How to
April 7th, 2024 4 minute read

How to make the most of these wonderful fills

Embossed fills are used to fill wide and large areas with patterned decorative stitching while keeping the appearance of a solid field. The pattern is repeated along a grid. You can change the grid settings for greater variation.

Applying an Embossed Fill

To preset an Embossed Fill, open the Object Properties docker with no objects selected. Any closed line digitizing tool is now available for use. Double-click to edit existing objects. The Object Properties > Fill tab opens. Select Embossed Fill then you can choose from many patterns.

Embossed Fill Settings

Embossed Fill settings can be controlled in a similar way to Motif Fill settings, both via the Object Properties docker and interactively on screen. The docker allows you to control the pattern size, spacing, and orientation by the same settings as Motif Fill. It also allows you to control the stitch density via Stitch values.

Pattern Size

You can change pattern size to obtain less densely patterned effects. The Size setting does not affect spacing between patterns.

Pattern Spacing

The Spacing setting determines distance between patterns. You have independent control over horizontal (X) and vertical (Y) spacings. The Spacing field does not affect the pattern size.

Pattern Orientation

You can change pattern orientation for different effects. Try different angles in the Rotation Angle field.

Pattern Layout

In addition to object properties, you can adjust pattern layouts interactively. Lay out patterns on-screen by using ‘Guide Motifs’ to scale, space, transform and offset the entire pattern.

Click “Layout”. Sample and guide patterns appear in the design window. There are three blue guide patterns. Other sample patterns appear in yellow. Each guide pattern lets you change different elements of the layout:

* Use the left guide pattern like any object to move, rotate, and skew patterns. Click twice to access the rotation handles.

* Use the top guide pattern to change row spacing and row offset.
* Use the right guide pattern to change column spacing.
* All guide patterns can be used to adjust pattern scale by dragging the sizing handles.
* Press <Enter> to confirm changes. All patterns in the fill change accordingly.
* Zoom in and adjust selected guides to achieve the effect you require.

Grid Orientation

As an alternative to using the the layout guides to control grid orientation, you can use stitch angle to control pattern orientation.

Where this feature really comes into its own, however, is in combination with multiple stitch angles. When activated, the grid adjusts to orientate itself to the stitch angles defined within the object.

The difference is that Embossed Fills can be applied to objects with turning stitches creating three dimensional turning pattern effects which can’t be achieved by Embossed Fill alone.

If the object you are working with does not contain turning stitches, you can generally add them with the “Add Stitch Angles” tool. Read more about Stitch angles here.

Curved Embossed Fills

Embossed Fills can be combined with stitch effects to contour patterns around curved lines. Read the article on Curved Fills here.

Would you like to get the most of out your Hatch Embroidery software? You will find a wealth of information in the online Product Documentation and the User Guide.

Hatch Embroidery software products are in popular use in over 100 countries. It is time to join the global trend and give Hatch a try! The 30-day Free Trial grants you unlimited use of all the amazing features and the 30-day Money Back Guarantee ensures that there is absolutely no risk involved.

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