Preferences<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIn the dialog box that opens, switch to the Custom Hoops<\/strong> tab. This is where you manage all non-standard hoops. Click Add<\/strong> to define a new one:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n- Type a recognizable name for the hoop so you can find it later.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Select your embroidery machine’s brand and model from the list.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Choose the Rectangular<\/strong> hoop shape.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Set the useful stitch area to a Width of 280 mm<\/strong> and a Height of 65 mm<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Click Create<\/strong>, and then close and restart the software. The restart is necessary so eXPerience can load the new hoop geometry into your machine library.<\/p>\n\n\n\nRotating the Hoop and Mapping the Strap Width<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Once you relaunch the software and click Create New<\/strong>, you need to load the hoop you just built. Click the Machine<\/strong> icon on the Standard toolbar, select Change<\/strong>, pick your machine, and scroll down the hoop list until you see your new custom belt hoop. Click it to place it in your workspace.<\/p>\n\n\n\nBy default, the 280 mm width sits horizontally. Because we are embroidering vertical text down the length of a backpack strap, working sideways on the screen feels unnatural. You can rotate the hoop in the workspace for a more accurate preview. Go to the Tool Options<\/strong> bar, type your rotation value into the rotation field, and press Enter<\/strong>. Keep in mind that the software rotates the hoop counterclockwise, so a 90-degree or 270-degree turn will stand it upright.<\/p>\n\n\n\nEven though the hoop gives you 65 mm of width, the backpack strap itself is narrower. Measuring the actual strap is crucial here. Ours measured 40 mm across. Instead of guessing where the edges of the strap sit inside the hoop, you can build a visual boundary using Guidelines mode<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSwitch to Guidelines mode and click the Work Area<\/strong> option on the Tool Options bar. In the dialog box, keep the Rectangular<\/strong> area type selected, and enter a Width of 40 mm<\/strong> and a Height of 280 mm<\/strong>. When you click OK<\/strong>, you get a clear box on your screen that matches the physical strap. As long as your stitches stay inside that 40 mm guideline, they won’t fall off the edge of the webbing.<\/p>\n\n\n\nDigitizing Vertical Text That Won’t Snag<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
With the guide in place, we can move into the actual embroidery digitizing. Select the Text<\/strong> tool from the Tools toolbar and type the name you want to stitch in all capital letters. Capital letters tend to read much cleaner when stacked vertically on narrow material.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIn the Text Options<\/strong>, we chose font XPG200<\/strong> and set the size to 25 mm<\/strong>. To make the letters read from top to bottom rather than left to right, expand the Orientation<\/strong> drop-down menu, select Vertical<\/strong>, and choose Center Alignment<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nStacked letters can sometimes crowd each other, especially when you plan to add an outline later. Setting the V spacing to 2<\/strong> opens up a bit of breathing room between each character. Once the spacing looks balanced, switch to Selection mode<\/strong> and set both the X and Y axes to 0 mm<\/strong>. This snaps the entire text block dead-center inside the hoop.<\/p>\n\n\n\nBefore moving on, there is one important stitch adjustment to make. At a 25 mm letter height, standard satin columns get pretty wide. On a bag strap that gets tossed around and grabbed every day, long satin bar stitches can become loose, snag on things, cause unnecessary thread trims, and force your embroidery machine to slow down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To prevent loose stitches, open the Embroidery Properties<\/strong> and change the stitch style from standard Satin to Wide Satin<\/strong>. Wide Satin automatically breaks up overly long satin spans with subtle split stitches, keeping the thread tight against the strap without ruining the glossy look of the lettering.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAdding a Symbol and Building an Autoborder<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A plain name works, but adding a small icon at the top or bottom makes the strap look like a finished custom piece. You don’t need to draw anything from scratch for this\u2014font symbols work great.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Go to the Tools<\/strong> menu and select Insert Symbol<\/strong>. If you scroll to the Webdings<\/strong> font, you will find dozens of simple vector shapes. We picked a music note, clicked Insert<\/strong>, and brought the crosshair cursor into the workspace. Click and drag to draw the symbol while holding down the Shift<\/strong> key; holding Shift locks the orientation so the symbol stays parallel to the Y-axis. Click once more to close the dialog box, then drag the music note into position right above the vertical text.<\/p>\n\n\n\nBecause the symbol doesn’t need the raised puffiness of a satin column, change its embroidery type to Step<\/strong> (fill stitch) in the Properties<\/strong> rollup. This creates a flat, sturdy stitch texture that contrasts nicely with the Wide Satin letters.<\/p>\n\n\n\nTo tie the text and the music note together into a single badge-style patch on the strap, we added a satin outline around the whole design using the Autoborder<\/strong> tool:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n- Select both the vertical text and the symbol together.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Right-click and choose Autoborder<\/strong> from the context menu.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Set the position to Outside<\/strong>, the distance to 5 mm<\/strong>, and Repeat to 1<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Check the Remove holes<\/strong> box so the software doesn’t try to put tiny borders inside the enclosed spaces of letters like A, B, or O.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- For the stitch type, select Satin serial<\/strong> with a 2 mm Width<\/strong>, and press OK<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
Cleaning Up the Outline with Node Smoothing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Whenever you generate an automatic offset border around complex shapes\u2014like stacked letters combined with a music note\u2014the software calculates the exact mathematical distance around every curve and corner. Because of that complexity, the new border will usually have a lot of extra nodes. If you stitch it as-is, those clustered nodes can make the satin border look bumpy or cause the machine to stutter around tight turns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taking two minutes to clean up those nodes in the Node Editor<\/strong> makes a noticeable difference in your final stitch quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\nStart the Node Editor and click on the newly created border. You will see cusp nodes at the sharp corners and a series of curve nodes running between them. We want to refine the sections between those corner cusp nodes. When you drag a selection box around a group of nodes along one side, a Smooth Nodes<\/strong> option appears in the Tool Options<\/strong> pane.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Smooth Level<\/strong> scale goes from 1 to 10<\/strong>. At level 1, the software barely removes any nodes; at 10, it simplifies the path aggressively. For this border, setting the Smooth Level to 6<\/strong> and clicking Smooth Nodes<\/strong> hits the sweet spot\u2014it strips out the clutter while keeping the wave of the border hugging the letters. Work your way around the border section by section, and don’t hesitate to delete a stray node manually or tweak a control handle if a curve looks slightly off.<\/p>\n\n\n\nColor Setup, Placement Templates, and Exporting<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Even if you know which thread cones you have sitting by your machine, assigning colors in the software helps you visualize the contrast and sets the proper color stops for the machine. Click the Color Palette<\/strong> bar to open the Edit Color Palette<\/strong> dialog. You can pick from the Standard colors or use the color wheel to match your thread chart, press X<\/strong> to close the window, and then click each object in your workspace to apply the colors.<\/p>\n\n\n\nBefore sending the file to the machine, do yourself a favor and print a 1:1 paper template. Click the Print<\/strong> icon on the Standard toolbar and hit Print<\/strong> from the preview window. When you are working with a heavy strap and metal clamps, having a physical paper crosshair to lay directly on the strap saves a lot of alignment guesswork.<\/p>\n\n\n\nTo send the file to the embroidery machine, click the Machine<\/strong> icon on the toolbar. We used StitchPort<\/a>\u2122<\/strong>, which sends the design directly to the connected machine without needing to walk a USB stick across the room.<\/p>\n\n\n\nClamping the Strap and Stitching It Out<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
With the software side finished, gather your materials: the SEWTECH Belt Hoop, the backpack strap, your printed placement template, and your embroidery threads.<\/p>\n\n\n
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