Embroidery digitizing is a highly paid skill, but only if you master the details and provide expert-quality work. Now, the million-dollar question is: how can you learn embroidery digitizing without breaking the bank?
Most free resources often turn out to be marketing scams. They offer little to no value, wasting your precious time and negatively affecting your motivation to learn. Researching authentic resources can take a lot of time—it’s like finding a needle in a haystack.
Today’s blog post answers this problem. At Absolute Digitizing, we are professional embroidery digitizers, interacting with real digitizers daily. We understand their challenges, and this blog post is a platform to help address all of them.
This blog post will highlight the top-notch, authentic, and free embroidery digitizing resources. We’ll discuss in a fun and easy way how you can benefit from these resources and how they will improve your skill set. If you’re reading this blog, you’ve already taken the first right step by asking the right question. Now, let’s get ready for the right answers.
Disclaimer: This is not a paid post. It is an informational blog post created for the benefit of our beginner embroidery digitizing community.
John Deere – Digitizingmadeeasy.com
Let’s begin with easy-to-understand, matter-of-fact embroidery digitizing tutorials. It’s really hard to find informative and technical teaching content that is actually helpful and addresses real-time problems. When it comes to YouTube tutorials, John Deere is at the top of the list, and the embroidery digitizing community will certainly agree. With more than 86k followers and 60 years of experience in the field, his channel is a popular and authentic teaching resource.
Both beginner and seasoned embroidery digitizers vouch for his work. His channel offers something for all levels, and much of his very useful content is free.
Channel Highlights:
- Custom Embroidery Patches Course: Their free course, “Patches Made Easy,” is a hit with the digitizing community. It teaches a quicker and easier process for making patches using new in-the-hoop patch-making techniques.
- Embroidery Digitizing Course 101: Our personal favorite is their “Embroidery Digitizing Course 101,” which covers all the basics of digitizing and is a great way for beginners to start their journey. It’s completely free and comes with a useful fact sheet.
- Design Doodler Software Tutorial: This is a free tutorial that could be very helpful for using the Design Doodle software. You’ll learn important tips and tricks in a quick and simple way.
John Deere also has videos where he reviews designs submitted by viewers and provides tips on improving the design for better efficiency, particularly to avoid issues with wearable garments. He is quite popular among the Reddit community and here we have saved some comments for you.
Specialized Content:
- Separate series for beginners
- Machine Embroidery Secrets, Tutorials & Tips
- Special tutorials for Hatch Software
- Embroidery Legacy project ideas
- Echidna Hooping Sessions
- And much more!
Visit John Deere’s YouTube channel here.
Romero Threads
Romero Threads is a relatively new but pretty useful and authentic learning force.
Best Tutorials:
We highly recommend their tutorials, especially “How to Embroider Patches in 5 Simple Steps”. Also, don’t miss the free tutorial “Learn How to Digitize in 2 Hours.” The channel also features past live stream videos, which include live discussions and Q&A sessions that are both helpful and informative.
The teaching method is precise, simple, and always on point. It’s definitely worth your time and a valuable investment if you’re serious about making progress in your embroidery digitizing learning journey.
Erich Campbell Website and Blog
Next on our list is Erich Campbell’s wonderful YouTube tutorial channel and his informative website. It’s a hidden gem, as many may still not be aware of it. We’ve subscribed to Erich’s YouTube channel, and there’s always interesting and informative content being released.
Check out his popular videos section, where you’ll find a wealth of relevant information. Some of our favorites include:
- A Review of Blending Animal Fur with Fill Stitches for Machine Embroidery
- Machine Embroidery Digitizing – Silhouette Carving: Quick Steps
- The Take-Up: Ep. 193 – Making it Minimal: Single-Color, Tonal, & Textured
Be sure to visit https://www.youtube.com/@ErichCampbell/videos and level up your learning!
Low Tech Linux
Low Tech Linux primarily focuses on Linux, as the name suggests, but it also offers valuable content on Godot and Ink/Stitch. You can check out this useful tutorial about ink/stitch here. In the creator’s own words, “This is my channel for contributing to Linux and open source in general.”
Linux is quite popular among the embroidery digitizing community on Reddit and is often recommended to beginners. You’ll find highly informative and technical tutorials about Linux and Ink/Stitch, all presented in an easy-to-understand way.
Ink/Stitch YouTube Channel
The Ink/Stitch YouTube channel offers comprehensive tutorials that explain the software in a detailed yet easy-to-understand manner. With over seven thousand followers, the channel covers all the nuances of Ink/Stitch. Since it’s free and open-source software, it’s ideal for beginners who are eager to learn embroidery digitizing without any cost.
All the tutorials are professionally done by the Ink/Stitch team, making the content well-organized and easy to follow. These tutorials are specifically designed for Ink/Stitch users.
Ricoma TV
Next on our list is the Ricoma blog and YouTube channel. Since it’s Ricoma’s official channel, it offers a lot of information that may not be entirely relevant to beginners. However, the homepage is neatly divided into different sections, making it easy to find what you need quickly. The tutorials are created in a fun and engaging way by experts.
Our personal favorite tutorials for embroidery digitizing beginners are:
- Embroidery for Beginners | How to Get Started with Machine Embroidery
- How to Digitize and Embroider Patches on an Embroidery Machine
Wilcom
If you want to learn Wilcom software, there’s no better resource than Wilcom’s own YouTube channel, Wilcom. It offers detailed step-by-step tutorials and guides about the Wilcom software. The content is always updated and professionally presented, so subscribing to the channel is a smart move.
Our favorite tutorial for beginners is this simple guide. You’ll find plenty of informative content, and the best part—it’s absolutely free!
Facebook Groups
Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned embroidery digitizer, Facebook groups are a fantastic way to learn. They provide a platform to join the global embroidery digitizing community, allowing you to communicate with fellow digitizers and discuss your problems and ideas in real-time. You’ll also have the opportunity to promote your work and find new job opportunities. Our favorite group is [insert name], but once you join a group, Facebook will recommend similar groups, and you’ll soon be part of many professional communities. You can start your journey with this amazing Facebook group which we have shortlisted for you.
Reddit Community
There are several Reddit threads and communities that are incredibly helpful for embroidery digitizers. They offer valuable discussions and resources for learning and improving your skills.
If you’re interested in Reddit threads related to embroidery digitizing, here are some valuable subreddits and threads where embroidery enthusiasts and professionals share tips, resources, and discussions:
- r/MachineEmbroidery – One of the largest Reddit communities dedicated to machine embroidery. Users regularly post their projects, ask for advice, and share experiences with different software and digitizing techniques.
- r/Embroidery – While this subreddit focuses on hand embroidery, there are still plenty of posts discussing machine embroidery, digitizing, and software tools.
- r/EmbroideryDigitizing – This smaller subreddit is specifically focused on digitizing embroidery designs. Members discuss software like Wilcom, Hatch, and Ink/Stitch, share tutorials, and troubleshoot digitizing problems.
- r/Embroider – A mix of hand and machine embroidery, showcasing designs and offering feedback, including digitizing for machine embroidery.
These Reddit communities can offer support, troubleshooting help, and inspiration from other digitizers. You can also search within these subreddits for specific threads on software recommendations, tutorials, and more detailed discussions related to digitizing embroidery.
Absolute Digitizing Blog
The Absolute Digitizing blog is an informative and regularly updated resource for all things related to embroidery digitizing. It offers valuable insights, tips, and tutorials that cater to both beginners and experienced digitizers. From learning new techniques to staying updated with the latest industry trends, the blog ensures that readers are always equipped with helpful knowledge.
In addition, our 24/7 customer support is always available to assist and guide you through any digitizing queries, ensuring that you get expert help whenever you need it.
Start learning for Free Today!
After reading this blog, you’ll find yourself with a wide range of diverse and free options to learn embroidery digitizing. This information is also useful for seasoned embroidery digitizers looking to upscale their skills. We hope you now feel more confident and well-directed towards a successful embroidery digitizing career.
Happy Digitizing!