Filling Holes

There are times when digitizing that we want to create holes in an object to fill them in with embroidery of a different color or fill pattern, which adds to the effect of the design.

What you'll learn
There are times when digitizing that we want to create holes in an object to fill them in with embroidery of a different color or fill pattern, which adds to the effect of the design.
We will illustrate this process using the Ladybird bitmap from the Embroidery Album.
Note:this image is of a bug that is called a ladybug in the United States. It is called a ladybird in other countries.
1. Click Image, Insert Image...


2. The Open dialog box will appear. If necessary, change the Look in: box to the Embroidery Album, which was placed on your C: drive when DigitizerPro was installed.


3. Click ladybird.bmp once to see it in the Preview window.
4. Click Open to bring it to the design screen.
Note:if you do not see the bitmap on the design screen, click the Display Images icon.


5. If the bitmap is not already selected (having 8 black boxes around it), click on the bitmap to select it.Selecting the bitmap will turn on the image processing tool icons, making them available to use. Because you are going to be using semi-automatic digitizing tools on the "Click-to" toolbar, you must process the image before you begin digitizing.
6. Click the Image Processing icon.


7. The Image Preparation window will appear. The general rule when using the Image Preparation process iswhen the image in the preparation window is showing the same colors as the image on the design screen, it is acceptable.
Since the Ladybird in the window is showing the same colors as the Ladybird on the screen, click OK.
8. The image is now prepared for use with semi-automatic digitizing tools. 

Semi-automatic Toolbar 

 
The semi-automatic tools reside on the semi-automatic toolbar.
Note:this toolbar is also referred to as the "click-to" toolbar. 

The semi-automatic toolbar is a flyout toolbar. It is accessed by clicking the black arrow on the lower left corner of the current semi-automatic tool that is showing on your Digitize Toolbar.
1. Click the flyout arrow on the icon.
2. The click-to toolbar will appear.
3. The first tool we will look at is the Click-to-Parallel Weave Fill Without Holes. When we use this tool, embroidery will generate for the area of the bitmap that you click, regardless of areas of color within it.
4. Click the second tool, the Click-to-Parallel Weave Fill Without Holes. It will replace whichever tool icon is on the Digitize Toolbar. 

5. Click on the red area of the ladybird's back. Red embroidery will generate as if the black dots on her back are not there.
6. Click on the black dots on her back. (Note:you may need to enlarge the bitmap to see the black dots beneath the red embroidery.) Black embroidery will generate, sewing on top of the red embroidery. 


7. Embroidery is often sewn over a layer of embroidery for technique. In this instance, the black dots will appear raised up from the bug's back. Tightening the stitch spacing and/or changing the fill pattern to an embossed fill will add emphasis to the black dots.
We will now look at the Click-to-Parallel Weave Fill tool, which creates embroidery around areas of color.
8. Click the Undo button seven times to undo each of the six dots and the red background.


9. Click the flyout arrow on the current click-to tool.
10. Click the Click-to-Parallel Weave Fill tool to activate it.


11. Click on the red area on the back. This time, the red embroidery forms around the black dots, leaving holes. 
 

Filling Holes I
The first method of filling holes uses either one of the semi-automatic Parallel Weave fill tools. The black holes are solid objects, so either tool will create embroidery to the shape of the holes.
The Click-to-Parallel Weave Fill tool is still active. 

1. Click on each of the six black holes.


2. Each hole will be filled with black embroidery, and will be slightly larger than the black area on the graphic. This will create a slight overlap, which will help keep gaps from forming when the design is sewn.
3. You can resequence the black embroidery to be sewn first, before the red background embroidery. If you choose to sew black first, then the slightly larger black embroidery fill will underlap the holes in the red embroidery. 

Note:there is no rule that determines sewing sequence. It is usually determined by the designer and the elements of the design. Some digitizers choose the darkest color to sew last. 

Filling Holes II
The second method of filling holes uses the Fill Holes tool. This tool will automatically fill all holes present in a selected object.
1. Clear the holes from the back of the Ladybird: click the Undo button six times to undo each of the six dots.


2. Click the Select icon.


3. Click on the red embroidery to select it.


4. Click Edit, Fill Holes...


5. The Fill Holes window will appear.
6. There are two options available through the Fill Holes Window.
The Remove Holes option will recreate the selected embroidery as if holes were never there. The resulting embroidery will appear as though the Click-to-Parallel Weave Fill Without Holes was used on the embroidery, as you did above.
7. Click Remove Holes.


8. Click OK.


9. To look at the second option, click the Undo button to undo the hole removal.


10. Click Edit, Fill Holes... again.
11. The Fill Holes with New Objects option will fill in all of the holes with new embroidery objects. The objects will all have the same properties and will also be the same thread color as the selected object.
12. Click Fill Holes with New Objects.


13. Under this option, you can make a selection as to how much underlap you would like for your new objects.
14. Click the down arrow in the Underlap box to see the drop down selection.
15. Click the amount of underlap you want.
 

Note:You can highlight the amount of underlap in the box and type in a new number.
Note:Always test sew your embroidery to determine that the underlap is not too small or too large. If too small, a gap will form between the hole and the background. If too large, a ridge will show under the background.
16. Click OK. The holes will be filled in. 


17. Click the Select icon.


18. The six holes will be selected. 


19. Click black thread on the thread palette to change the holes to black.
20. Click the Object Details icon to bring up the properties of the six holes.


21. Change the Stitch Type on the Fill Stitch tab to Embossed fill or Weave Fill from the Satin fill in which the objects were generated. 




Note:A satin fill object should never exceed 1/2 inch wide.

The Fill Holes Icon
The Fill Holes icon is on the Edit Toolbar, the fifth tool from the right end of the toolbar. 



1. It is a quick tool that bypasses opening the Cut Holes window. It will take whichever parameter is set in the Cut Holes window and execute it. If the Remove Holes indicator is checked, it will remove holes. If the Fill Holes with New Objects is checked, it will fill holes.
2. To see how the icon works, click the Undo button three times to remove the property change, the thread color change, and the object generation.


3. Click the Select icon.


4. Click the red area on the Ladybird's back to select it.


5. Click the Fill Holes icon.


6. Since Fill Holes with New Objects was the last selection in the Fill Holes window, that is the operation that will execute.