New Floriani FTCU Digitizing Practice! Practice the FTCU Fill stitch tool while tracing these multi-colored fall leaves. Bonus challenge if you can add shadow effects to the acorns!
This is a mini lesson to encourage you to practice FTCU each week. For more detailed lessons, join the Embroidery Gatherings Membership Club. Click HERE for more info!
Fill out the form at the end of this lesson and the image and a PDF guide will be sent to your email inbox.
Download the image from your email and use your creativity to trace and digitize the image, however you would like.
The PDF guide will include a numbered digitizing plan and suggestions and tips for tracing the image.
Create A Digitizing Plan
Decide which shapes to trace first – look at the image and think of it as layers. Trace the layers in back first. Trace the shapes that should stitch first and leave the details for last.
Digitizing suggestions
The following notes are a few suggestions to help you follow a digitizing plan for this image.
These notes include the order in which I suggest you trace the shapes and the stitch tools that would be the most appropriate for the that shape.
Of course, I encourage you to use your creativity and use whatever stitch and thread colors that you would prefer! That is the benefit of digitizing our own designs. No two will ever be the same!
Digitizing Plan:
Here is a suggested digitizing plan for you to follow:
leaf 1
- trace each half of the lt. gold leaves using the Fill Stitch tool
- edit the shape and the angle line as needed
leaf 2
- trace the other half of each of the dark gold leaves using the Fill Stitch tool and a darker gold thread color
- edit the shape and the angle line as needed
leaf 3
- trace each half of the lt. green leaves using the Fill Stitch tool
- edit the shape and the angle line as needed
leaf 4
- trace the other half of each of the green leaves using the Fill Stitch tool and a darker green thread color
- edit the shape and the angle line as needed
leaf 5
- trace each half of the orange leaves using the Fill Stitch tool
- edit the shape and the angle line as needed
leaf 6
- trace the other half of each of the orange leaves using the Fill Stitch tool and a darker orange thread color
- edit the shape and the angle line as needed
acorns
- trace each of the acorns using the Fill Stitch tool
- edit the shape and the angle line as needed
acorn shadow
- bonus challenge: trace each of the acorn’s body in two sections to show the “shadow” area using a slightly darker thread color – (using the Fill stitch tool)
- edit the shape and the angle line as needed
acorn – top
- trace each of the acorn tops using the Fill Stitch tool
- in the properties box, change the Fill Pattern to a crosshatch pattern to resemble an acorn
- edit the shape and the angle line as needed
- trace the acorn stems using a Steil stitch – adjust the width as needed
- tip: trace acorn top and the stem for each acorn before moving to the next one – this will help to avoid jump stitches across your design
- adjust the stop and start nodes to minimize the jump stitches – as needed
leaf veins – stems
- trace each of the leaf veins using either a Steil Stitch or a Bean stitch depending on the width you desire
- tip: try to connect the veins and the stems to minimize the jump stitches and create continuous stitches
Digitizing Steps
Follow these 4 digitizing steps for each shape, as a guide, to get you started.
Need help?
This lesson is a “mini lesson” to encourage you to practice FTCU each week. For more detailed lessons, join the Embroidery Gatherings Membership Club.
Here are two ways to get the help you need to digitize your own designs.
- Have a digitizing question?
Join the Embroidery Gatherings Facebook group and ask your questions, anytime.
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Join the Embroidery Gatherings Membership Club. There are over 75 written lessons and videos to help you learn to digitize your own embroidery designs using the FTCU software. The lessons inside the membership club are more detailed step-by-step instructions to help you use all the tools in FTCU.
And, there are 3 learning levels to choose from: Independent, Guided and Coaching.
To receive lots of extra TLC with FTCU digitizing….
You can get one-to-one digitizing help by joining the Coaching level of Embroidery Gatherings Membership Club.
We can create a personalized “journey” for you to learn to digitize!
Click HERE to find out more information.
Share your design!
After you have finished, you are welcome to share your design image with our Embroidery Gatherings Facebook group. We would love to see your creativity!
Fill out the email form below and a PDF copy of this digitizing practice and the image, will be emailed to you!