When you are creating a new embroidery design sample for a customer, it is wise to always sew out the sample on the same type of fabric that the customer is  purchasing for the finished product.  I know that you do not always have the same exact fabric, but use a fabric  that is similar in weight and texture.

A T-shirt fabric is a good substitute for a jersey knit placket shirt.  If you do not have a fleece fabric and your final product will be fleece, you can turn over a piece of sweatshirt fabric and use the backside of that.  The result will be very close.  An old worn sheet is a good subsitute for a dress shirt or even a handkerchief.  If you use your imagination, you can come up with a lot of close matches that will definietly work when you are creating your embroidery design sew out samples.

I have discovered that most embroiderers do their sew outs on squares of backing and they give this to the customer.  You really do not know what the actual design will look like on your finished product. The settings for various types of fabrics need to be adjusted correctly for best look on that fabric.

I have found by cutting up squares from old garments that my family has discarded works very well.  Instead of giving the garments away, I cut them up in various size squares and store them in plastic boxes that I have labeled:  T-shirt fabric, Sweatshirt fabric, Windshirt fabric, Terry cloth and etc. When it is time for a new sew out, these fabric squares are very handy.

Joyce Jagger
The Embroidery Coach

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I am in the process of creating a brand new embroidery video training site.  If you are or have been a student of mine in the past, you are familiar with my current site EmbroideryTipsAndMore.com.

Within a few weeks I will have the brand new site up with more information on it than the old site.  I am very excited about this new site.  It is going to be very clean and easy to find any of the information that you need at the time that you need it. 

It is also going to be able to be viewed in Firefox and on  MAC computers as well as Internet Explorer!  This has really been a huge issue in the past because my current site can only be viewed in Internet Explorer!

All of the current students will be grandfathered over into the new system at the current prices.  Anyone that joins our program between now and the new release date will be able to get in at the current price and will be able to stay at that price level.  I have an entirely new membership system and there are going to be more levels of membership in the new system. 

I do not have an exact release date at this time, but I will keep you posted.

Joyce Jagger
The Embroidery Coach

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Requirements For A Good Digitizer

How do I find a good  digitizer for my embroidery designs  and what do they charge?

First of all, what is a good digitizer?  A good digitizer is someone that will work with you and help to make you look good to your customer.  A good digitizer will know the embroidery process and know what it takes to make your design look the best that it can on your particular type of fabric.  A good digitizer will ask the following questions:

• What fabric is this design going to be sewn on?
• Will you be using this design for any other type of application?
• What format do you want the design to be finished in?
• Will you want to increase or decrease the size of the design from the original size?
• Can I make some modifications to the design to make it sew better such as increase the letter size or choose a different font style?

There can be many other questions, depending on the design and the information that you have given them. When you are looking for a good digitizer, look for one that uses the same software that you do and request that you have a copy of the outline file.  This will allow you to make changes such as resizing or removing lettering from the digitized file.  You may have to pay a little more for this privilege, but it is well worth it.

Digitizer must know embroidery production

Make sure that your digitizer knows production so that you have as few trims and color changes as possible.  Make sure that he or she sews out the designs before sending them to you.  This is a problem with a lot of digitizers, especially with Graphic Artists..  They get their software and think that since they can create any type of graphic art, they can digitize.  This is far from the truth.  They don’t usually know anything about the sewing process and have no idea about push and pull comps, underlay or density.

The best place to find a good digitizer is through the sales rep in your area that sold you your embroidery design software.  He or she should be able to direct you to someone that will be the type of digitizer that you are looking for.

Most good digitizers charge from $9.00 to $20.00 per thousand stitches.  Sometimes they charge by how long it takes and sometimes it is by how complicated the design is.  There are even good digitizers that will give you a choice and will create designs based on a scale.  If you want a lot of detail it will cost you more than if you want less detail.  If you want color blending this is an additional charge on top of the stitch count.  If you find someone that is charging less, then you had better try them out on a design that is for a customer that would not complain if it is not the kind of quality that you envision.  If the price is low, I would truly beware.

This brings me to the subject of going over seas for your designs.  Yes, their designs are very inexpensive; but can you communicate with this person or is it a company that employs a lot of digitizers?  You have no control over who you are going to get.  Sometimes the designs are OK and sometimes they are horrible and you cannot specify who you want to digitize your design.

This can also be true in this country if you are dealing with a large company.  They will send your design to the next person that is available. Sometimes they even contract them out to other companies and maybe overseas.   This is even worse.

Digitizer must sew out designs

Make sure that your digitizer sews out the designs before sending them to you.  Many digitizers with such a low fee do not sew out the designs before sending them to you.  Many of this type do not even own an embroidery machine.  If you have a design that you have purchased for a low price and it has a lot of issues in it, it will cost you money in the end.  It will drive up your production time so far that it will cost you money to do the job.

You want to make sure that you are working with someone that will give you a trouble free design and you can make money on their work.  This is truly one area that you do not want to skimp on in your embroidery business!  This is one area where you get what you pay for. Don’t forget you are going to charge the customer for the digitizing fee.  This is not a charge that you absorb in any way shape or form!

Joyce Jagger
The Embroidery Coach

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How to Train a New Employee for your Embroidery Business does not have to be a difficult  procedure, but a training program is a must for the success of any embroidery business. Each new employee must be trained thoroughly on one process before they are allowed to move onto the next process.

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New Features For Embroidery Tips And More Video Training Site

I am so happy to announce that we are adding some exciting new features for all of the members of our Embroidery Tips And More Embroidery video training site.

• Personal Call In Time Once Per Month
• Personal 15 Minute Consultation For All New Members
• Private Members Forum
• Webinar Will Be Held During The Day Time Hours Every Other Month

Call In Time-Personal One on One Time With The Embroidery Coach

This new feature will start on January 21st.  This call in time will be held the 3rd Thursday of every month.  This will be your personal one on one time that you can call in and ask me anything that you would like to know about running your embroidery business.   I am very excited about being able to spend time with you personally.

I would love to be able to work with each person  on a one on one basis,  and I thought that this will be the  best way for me to be able to connect with you and give you your own personal time with me. You will be allowed 10 minutes for this call. Save up your questions and be ready for this one on one time with me.  All members will receive an email with the actual call in times and phone number to use.

Personal FREE Embroidery Business Consultation For All New Members

Each new member will be called and welcomed.  You will receive a 15 minute consultation about your embroidery business.  This will give me a chance to find out a little more about you, your business and will help me to discover how I can help you more with your embroidery business.  Each new member will be sent an email to schedule their Free consultation.

Private Embroidery Tips And More Club Members Forum

We are working on a Private Members forum.  This will only be available to all of the Embroidery Tips and More.com Embroidery Club members.  This forum will be open to any questions about embroidery applications, design issues,  or any other embroidery business issues.  I will be announcing when the Forum is open.

New Day Time Embroidery Webinar Hours

I have heard from many of you that  you cannot attend the Embroidery webinars because they are held in the evening.  I have decided to rotate the times for the webinars so that you will be able to attend during day if the night times for the webinars have been impossible to work with your schedule.  Traditionally our webinars have been held at 8pm Eastern Time and this is not always the best time for everyone.

When I first started holding the Embroidery webinars, I asked for the best times and this time worked for the majority of the club members.  Times have changed and I have decided to rotate the times for the webinars to best suit everyone.   The webinar this month will be held at the same time, at 8pm on the last Tuesday of the month,  but next month I would like to start the rotation schedule.

The recorded version of the Embroidery webinars has been available for all of those that register, but the live interaction is always better for the attendees.  I will continue holding the webinar on the last Tuesday of the month, but I would like to have some opinions as to which times of the day works best for you.  At the end of this post, I would like for you to comment and let me know which times will work for you.

• 11:00 am Eastern Time
• 1:00 pm Eastern Time
• 2:00 pm Eastern Time
• 4:00 pm Eastern Time

I would like to accommodate everyone, but obviously that is impossible.  If you will please let me know which time is best for you, then I will schedule the day time webinar for the majority.

Thank you so much and I am really looking forward to working with each and everyone of my Embroidery Tips and More Embroidery Club Members in 2010!  This is going to be such a great year!!

Joyce Jagger
The Embroidery Coach
Author of the forth coming book,
“The Truth About Embroidery Business Success”

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The big question that I get a lot is What Golf, Polo, or Knit shirts can I order for my embroidery customers that will not shrink?  I ordered from Sanmar and the shirts that I ordered shrank after I washed them.  Who should I order from?

Actually Sanmar is about the best out there that I know of.  They are very easy to deal with and offer a huge variety of products and quality.  What brand did you order?  That is what you are going to have to pay attention to, not the supplier.  All of the knit shirts are going to shrink a little bit.  This is something that is totally unavoidable.  Knit shrinks no matter what, especially when it is put in the dryer.  I do not care how expensive the shirt it, there will be a small amount of shrinkage.  Some are a lot worse than others.

“Order 3 Different Golf, Polo Or Knit Shirts In 3 Different Qualities And Test For Shrinkage”

Try ordering 3 different shirts, 3 different qualities, all well known brands and test from there and see how you make out.  How are you testing the shrinkage?  Lay the shirt out on a piece of backing,  I mean from a large roll and trace around it.  Wash and dry it and then lay the shirt back on your drawing again and compare that way.  This is how I used to test my shirts.

I always offered 3 different qualities to my customers and I told them in advance about the shrinkage.  If they were more interested in price, that was their issue, not mine, they were told.  Sometimes they just order the next size larger to compensate for the shrinkage.  Not only does this work, but it also covers your butt, so to speak.

Good luck, and remember no matter what shirt or how much shrinkage, the shirt will always need a little press to look great!  The embroidery will always pucker or cup under a little after washing and drying when you have a lot of fill stitches in the design.  A little press takes care of this issue.  So many embroiderers think that it is the design when this happens, but that is not necessarily true.

If this tip helps you please leave a comment and let me know!  I would really appreciate it.  Sometime I do not know if my information is getting to you or know.  If you let me know, then that will help me to deliver the kind of information that you are looking for.

Joyce Jagger
The Embroidery Coach

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January’s Embroidery Webinar Of The Month is going to be entitled “How To Market Your Embroidery Business Even In These Hard Times!”  This webinar will be held on January 27th, 2009 at 8PM EST.

When I first started my embroidery business I thought that all I had to do was put out my sign to let everyone know that I was now in business!  Along with that I placed a couple of adds in the newspaper. I thought that this would let everyone know that I was here and I would have all of the customers that I ever wanted or needed!  Guess What!   It didn’t quite work out that way!

I soon found out that getting customers was not as easy as I had envisioned!  It really took a lot of work to get them coming into the doors!  I really loved what I did and I had no plan or fore thought as to what I would do if the customers did not start to come to my place of business!  Without that steady flow of customers, you have no business!

This is not the right way to get your business started!  I learned very quickly that I needed to have a plan about every aspect of my business and Marketing was no exception.

As a result of having no plan, it took me a little longer to get started!  I have made a ton of mistakes over the past 30 years, but I learned from my mistakes and that makes it easier for me to teach you how to avoid most of the mistakes that I made.

My Webinar this month is on “How To Market Your Embroidery Business Even In These Hard Times!”    We are going through some slow economic times right now, but that does not mean it has to be slow for all of us!  It will take a little more effort on our parts to keep those customers, to get new referrals and create a larger customer base, but it can be done!

During out Webinar, I will show you how all of this is possible!  January 27, 2009 at 8PM EST.

Go to EmbroideryTipsAndMore to see how to attend the webinar for FREE!

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Hooping Caps with the The Third Hand Hooper is so much easier than having to hoop them the traditional way.  It takes all of the effort and stress out of hooping the caps whether they are the heavy stiff caps or just the simple unstructured caps.

Today I had the privilege of training the employees of one of my students on hooping caps.  He has been in the business for two years now, but has shied away from caps because of the stress that it was causing his employees.  He called me to come to his place of business to train his employees on the proper way of hooping caps and I decided to take my Third Hand Hooper with me and they were totallyamazed at what a difference it made in both the ease of hooping as well as the time that it was saving them to actually do the hooping.

In my own opinion, this is the only way that anyone should hoop caps if they are serious about doing cap embroidery.  In the large embroidery business that I sold I had an older lady, 68 years old, that has been hooping caps for me since 1995.  She can keep up with the 15 head machine, hooping, running the designs, trimming and packing all at the same time.  She would not be able to do this without the Third Hand Hooper. She is still hooping the caps today!

It is a great investment in your business and is huge in reducing Workers Comp claims.   I am going to be doing a video on this piece of equipment very shortly and posting it to my website.  If you would like any more information on this Third Hand Hooper, please contact me personally at joyce@embroiderytipsandmore.com.

Joyce Jagger
The Embroidery Coach
www.embroiderytipsandmore.com

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This week’s embroidery tip is all about quoting a design for your customer while they wait! I wanted to repeat it on my blog because I feel that this is very important!

Do you ever have a customer that brings in designs that they want you to reproduce? Of course you do. Do they want a price while they wait? Sure they do. Have you ever wondered how to quote a price without having to go to your digitizer to find out how many stitches there would be in that design?

I have come up with a system that…. is simple and works great for me and has worked for the past 20 years.

I started creating my system by typing in letters at different sizes into my digitizing system to find out what the stitch count would be. Of course each style is a little bit different but for the most part it worked. I averaged out the different letters and here is my result.

1/4″ letter = 150 stitches
1/2″ letter = 250 stitches
3/4″ letter = 400 stitches
1″ letter = 600stitches
1 1/4″ letter = 800 stitches
These are the sizes that I have always used the most.

If you will add up all of the letters in the design by the size and multiply them by the number of stitches you will have the stitch count for the lettering.

Within the Business Basics Section of the Printable Instructions tab of my website http://www.EmbroideryTipsandMore.com/ you can find a “Custom Design or Logo Embroidery Grid” and instructions on to how to use the Grid. With this grid you can quote on all of your custom designs, including filled in areas and borders. This Grid is available to all Embroidery Tips and More Embroidery Club members. To find out how to become a member go to http://www.EmbroideryTipsandMore.com/.

You can download this Grid and print it out on a piece of vellum. Vellum is a sheet of clear plastic that I purchased from Kinkos. You can lay this clear plastic grid on top of your designs, count up your squares quickly and arrive at a stitch count with your customer standing right in front of you.

It makes life much easier, saves a lot of time and creates a happy customer. It usually results in you getting the job rather than the competition that has to wait for an answer from his digitizer.

I have also included a Design Stitch Count Calculator that will really speed up the process. This tool alone is worth the price of the Embroidery Club!!

Please respond in the comments section let me know if this tip has been helpful to you!

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