So I have had the Big Bad Barudan running almost constantly since Saturday morning, excepting the challenging "down times" where I learn more about the machines little tiny parts and how just the simplest thing can make the difference between "working" and "not working".
We have
another shirt! This time a 2XL. Little did I realize that it wasn't finished yet. These shirts have to be put into giant embroidery hoops and it is far from easy. It involves putting the hoop, the stabilizer, the shirt, and the top hoop on the floor, and using both hands and both knees I have to get the damned thing perfectly aligned AND tightly inside the hoop.
Today I had to put a whole dollar in the swear jar because I had a shirt hooped, had the pins taken out, was making minor adjustments, and the whole thing popped apart on me.
The devil-skull was hooped vertically. To do the "Ride Like the Devil!" I had to rehoop horizontally. That's where the whole dollar and swear jar thing came in.
This design was done with an appliqué placed in the background. Just the grey skull area. Everything else, beard, horns, teeth, eyes, is entirely stitched. This takes a very, very, very long time. How can we cut the time down? More appliqué work!
In the big embroidery shops they have laser cutters that do the appliqué cutting. We have a really cheap substitute: Me and several types of scissors, an X-acto knife, and a little bit of time. Wish I had a laser cutter tho'.
This doesn't look like much. In fact it looks like Hell (pun intended)! The way the file was set up, I had to lay down the appliqué, stitch, cut, lay down another layer, stitch, cut, lay down the final layer…good times! This time I'm working on a 4XL shirt.
However, if things had worked ideally, it would have taken less time to to the appliqué work than it would have taken to fill the same areas with stitching.
It doesn't look too bad now all of the appliqué elements are stitched. It did save some time, but had a whole new set of challenges built right in. And I think Big Al is getting sick of this design…he was working on a new one today.
We have
another shirt! This time a 2XL. Little did I realize that it wasn't finished yet. These shirts have to be put into giant embroidery hoops and it is far from easy. It involves putting the hoop, the stabilizer, the shirt, and the top hoop on the floor, and using both hands and both knees I have to get the damned thing perfectly aligned AND tightly inside the hoop.Today I had to put a whole dollar in the swear jar because I had a shirt hooped, had the pins taken out, was making minor adjustments, and the whole thing popped apart on me.
The devil-skull was hooped vertically. To do the "Ride Like the Devil!" I had to rehoop horizontally. That's where the whole dollar and swear jar thing came in.This design was done with an appliqué placed in the background. Just the grey skull area. Everything else, beard, horns, teeth, eyes, is entirely stitched. This takes a very, very, very long time. How can we cut the time down? More appliqué work!
In the big embroidery shops they have laser cutters that do the appliqué cutting. We have a really cheap substitute: Me and several types of scissors, an X-acto knife, and a little bit of time. Wish I had a laser cutter tho'.This doesn't look like much. In fact it looks like Hell (pun intended)! The way the file was set up, I had to lay down the appliqué, stitch, cut, lay down another layer, stitch, cut, lay down the final layer…good times! This time I'm working on a 4XL shirt.
However, if things had worked ideally, it would have taken less time to to the appliqué work than it would have taken to fill the same areas with stitching.
It doesn't look too bad now all of the appliqué elements are stitched. It did save some time, but had a whole new set of challenges built right in. And I think Big Al is getting sick of this design…he was working on a new one today.
Sick of design!? If only you knew someone else that could do it....if you gave said person some specifications and limitations of your giant sewing machine....hmmmmmmmmm...who could design stuff and knows design software....hmmmmmmmmm
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