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Embroidery lettering has special requirements compared to graphic applications. Besides filling letters with stitches, it should also allow nearest-point connections, sewing from the center out, adjustments for very small text, and a number of other features.
Studio includes such a lettering tool with multiline text support.
Multiline text
There are two different kinds of fonts supported by Studio:
Alphabets are manually pre-digitized, scalable embroidery fonts. They are optional plug-in modules for Embird software. Most Embird alphabets are digitized with satin stitches (column objects); the rest are in redwork stitches.
Studio also allows the use of system TrueType and OpenType fonts. These fonts are automatically converted into Studio's vector format and can be filled with plain fill, motif fill, or auto-column stitches and/or outlined with all types of outlines available in Studio.
Both font kinds are converted to embroidery objects and stitches and become part of the digitized design.
Support for TrueType and OpenType fonts in Studio requires a registered Font Engine, which is an optional plug-in for Embird software.
To start lettering mode, use main menu > Text and select whether you want to create Text (Alphabets), Font Engine Text (system fonts), or if you want to edit some existing text.
Selection of existing text for editing works only with text created in Studio version 6.0, build 8.8 or later. It does not work with files from older versions of Studio.
If you want to create new text, click the Work Area in the place where you want to position the new text. The lettering tool allows you to insert and edit text directly in the work area of Studio, on top of the background image (template) and the rest of the embroidery design.
In the case of system fonts, if you install new fonts or add fonts to archive folders, use the main menu (Lettering mode) > Font > Find Fonts command for loading installed system fonts and also loading fonts from optional folders with font archives.
Icon of the Find Fonts command
Lettering supports multiline text and adjustable baselines. Predefined text baselines include circles, lines, and spirals. All baselines can be transformed (moved, scaled, rotated, and slanted) as well as edited node by node. Baseline scaling allows you to create an ellipse from a circle. Baseline transformations can be done either with the 'spider' control on the work area or with controls on the main control panel at the side of the screen.
As mentioned above, lettering tool allows you to modify the text baseline. It also allows you to modify individual letters. Therefore, there are three different lettering working modes available:
Use the pop-up menu or mode buttons to switch between baseline and character working modes.
Mode 1: baseline transformations: move, scale, rotate, slant. The spider control allows you to make transformations with its handles.
This mode allows you to modify (especially move, scale, and rotate) the whole baseline at once. When moving the baseline, the text moves as well. Scaling the baseline does not scale the text. Text scaling must be performed separately, either with character spiders or via controls on the main control panel. Baseline transformations are performed with a spider control similar to the spider controls of individual characters (see Mode 3 below), with the exception of the missing slider 2.
Mode 2: baseline nodes editing. The baseline is a vector path composed of curves and straight lines. In this mode, the baseline can be modified with control nodes.
The baseline is composed of straight lines and Bézier curves. The user can add and delete baseline elements in a similar way as when digitizing objects in Studio. In the case of multiline text, all text lines use the same shape of baseline, which is copied from the top line.
Shortcuts available in this mode:
Mode 3: character transformations: move, scale, rotate, slant, and baseline offset of individual characters. Select the respective letter and make transformations with its spider handle nodes.
Studio allows you to transform individual characters or all characters at once (see shortcuts below). Transformations are accessible via the nodes of the spider control. The spider control serves to transform characters in two axes (horizontal and vertical). As the text is placed on the baseline and the baseline can be curved in any direction, the definitions below refer to the direction 'along' and 'perpendicular' to the baseline, rather than horizontal and vertical.
The nodes of the spider control are numbered 1-8.
Moving the nodes transforms the character in the following way:
The following shortcuts can be applied simultaneously with spider node movement:
The Lettering Tool provides a number of controls located on several panels:
The main menu contains commands and switches. Commands include: load, save, copy, paste text. Switches include: bold, italic, vertical text, placing lettering on the opposite side of the baseline. There are also commands for baseline nodes like insert, delete, smooth.
Load and Save commands work with lettering project files, which allow you to store a lettering session and open it in another design, i.e., copy lettering from one design to another.
Please see the respective Menu chapters for more details:
Main Menu - Lettering Mode - Tools
Main Menu - Lettering Mode - Font
Main Menu - Lettering Mode - Nodes
Example of vertical text
The Unicode glyph set option is available for system fonts only (not for Alphabets). It allows the use of a wider range of characters. It affects the cell count in the characters table.
The horizontal button bar is located just next to the main menu. Its buttons allow you to Cancel lettering mode, Finish and apply lettering to the design, or Generate Stitches, which is the same as the Finish command but also creates stitches.
There are also several combo boxes in this bar, which allow you to modify the paragraph alignment, sewing order, stitch kind, outline kind, and connection options.
Note: Mesh fill works only on large lettering.
A double-pass outline is a thin outline composed of simple stitches that run forward and backward into each branch of the outline. This kind of outline allows a seamless connection of all outline parts without any trim.
A single-pass outline does not have a second (backward) layer and therefore allows the use of samples, borders, or other fancy outline stitches. This kind of outline requires trims or connection stitches between separate outline parts.
Example of redwork lettering.
Learn about connection in the Connections chapter.
Some buttons on the splitter panel duplicate functions from the main menu.
However, there are also some buttons important for use with a touch screen, i.e., without a mouse. These buttons are: the pop-up menu button, zoom-in and zoom-out buttons, and undo / redo buttons.
The Tool Box at the side of the screen contains a combo box with a list of pre-defined baselines and mode buttons for switching the lettering working mode.
The Main Control Panel at the side of the screen contains those lettering controls that require more space. Controls are organized into several tabs.
Click or tap the character table to insert a character that is difficult to type with a keyboard.
The Folders Tab is available only for TrueType and OpenType fonts (i.e., not for pre-digitized alphabets). Controls on this tab allow you to specify paths to folders with non-installed fonts. The lettering tool normally scans only fonts installed in the operating system. If you have other fonts stored on your device, specify paths to folders with these fonts and use the Find Fonts command from the main menu. The scanning process will include these folders. Besides font files, these folders may also contain font archives (zipped files).
The Baseline Tab is available only in mode 1 (baseline transformation).
The Transform Tab is available only in mode 3 (character transformation). When the "All Letters" option is selected, transformations are performed on all characters in the text. The example below shows rotation performed on all characters at once.
Please note: The current version of the program does not work well if the redwork style is used for a very thick font. We recommend using it only for thin fonts. The redwork style can be combined with the 'Nearest Points' option.