Applique letters

[Gini]

Well, I am completely stumped as to how to do applique letters. Is there a tutorial that actually shows the steps? I need to know how to take a simple font that is in Design Shop and turn it into a 3" applique. I tried to follow the instructions under help- no help. I tried to follow the instructions provided here under the sweatshirt question- I got very sloopy looking outlines followed by 2 differnt color satin cover stitches and no pause in between to actually put down the applique fabric. Is there a step-by step guide somewhere?

[Steve I]

Gini,

Dalco Athletic has a pretty good step by step demo on applying numbers and lettering. As far as digitizing the letter, you can't just change the element type because letters are composed of several objects and the change element type function only works for one element at a time. If you want to digitize the outline of a letter it's easier to follow the outline if you turn off the stitches and just view wireframe lines. If you need further help, contact me via e-mail and I will explain further.

Steve I.
Trinity Sports & Embroidery

[signman]

the few times I've needed letter outlines I set up the lettering to the size I need or half size if large...then just use the manual tools and 'trace' or make the outline-then add fill, convert to whatever, etc.
and delete the 'font' letter.
Saves a lot of time when you don't know the fine tricks of the program and only need a couple letters.
For shadows or outlines you can easily control 'overlap' and fill pattern this way and get exactly what you want.
With the 3-D view you can check it as you go.