This is a step by step post on how to create a patch with the Inkscape extension Ink/Stitch. In this post we will use the MeowFire logo design to create a patch with the text ‘WTM’.

The process of creating a patch consist of the 3 layers:

• background fill that is the body of the patch
• satin edge that covers the fill edges
• text to convey a fun idea in the body of the patch

You will need to install the latest stable Inkscape and the Ink/Stitch extension for the OS you are using to follow. Installing both pieces of software are very easy and well documented on their respective sites.

Background fill

Start with a line drawing of a solid shape, our example is the MeowFire cat head logo, in Inkacape and call that layer ‘fill’. This can be a circle or square with curved edges. You can import an image into Inkacape and trace over top of it to get an outline your shape that you want to be the patch body. In our case we imported the shape in from our CAD program that we used to create the Kitty No plant protectors.

Ink/Stitch works with layers. The bottom layer is sewn first and the the next one above it. The ‘fill’ layer is the very bottom base of thread that the rest of the patch embroidery is sewn on. You want to be logical with your layer placement.

Plan body of patch

The key is to have a shape that avoids sharp corners and uses curves and that is a single line, or as Inkscape likes to call them – paths.

One you have the outline of your patch you want to set the fill color to the color of the thread you are using for your patch. In our case the ‘Fill’ color is black by clicking on the color in the lower color bar. You will need to set the ‘Stoke’ color to ‘None’ by holding the SHIFT key can clicking on the red ‘X’ in the bottom color bar.

To keep our objects easily identifiable we will rename object ‘fill’. Since this is a standalone object you do not need a layer, but you can create a layer now called ‘Fill’ and place the object inside. The names of the objects and layers can be anything you want them to be, as Ink/Stitch only relies on layer/object placement and not the names.

Scale body of patch to fit

Transform the ‘fill’ object by scaling it to fit whatever you are putting the patch on, keeping in mind the max area of your embroidery machine. In out case we are using our Brother LB5000 that has a max space of 4in (101.6mm) x 4in (101.6mm).

For us, the patch is going on the front of a hat and our measurements of the hat came out to the patch width needs to be 65mm, we find working in metric is much easier for small measurements.

Satin Edge

Most patches have an outline on the edge that hides the fill edge. This makes the patch look much nicer and gives a place that you can sew the patch to an item with the same color thread. The stitch is called a ‘satin column’ in Ink/Stitch, which is a wise dense zig-zag stitch.

Duplicate fill layer

The satin edge is the stitch that covers the border of your fill. To create this we will duplicate the fill object by pressing ‘Ctrl + D’ in Inkscape and rename the new object to ‘satin edge’. Make sure that the ‘satin edge’ object is above the ‘fill’ object. Set the ‘Fill’ color for your ‘satin edge’ object to ‘None’ and the ‘Stroke’ color to bright green ( this make it easier to see in Inkscape ). Make sure that your ‘satin edge’ layer is on top of the ‘fill’ layer, you should see a solid bright green line on top of part of your solid black ‘fill’.

For single needle embroidery machines, you can set the color of objects to anything you want in Inkscape as Ink/Stitch dose not care about the color of objects. The ultimate thread color is your choice when you thread the machine. Most machines will stop on a color change. If your machine supports thread cutting, like our Brother LB5000, a color change will also cut the thread.

Set stroke width

To set the width that the satin edge, hghlight the ‘satin edge’ object and select the ‘Object->Fill and Stroke’ menu. Then click on the ‘Stroke Style’ tab. Here you can set the stroke ( line width ) of the satin edge. We are setting our stoke width to 3mm.

We have found with our machine, that due to tension on the thread and fabric, a satin edge will be about 0.5mm smaller than what is set in Inkscape.

Scale to fit

Check the size of the ‘satin edge’ layer as changing the stroke width will change the overall patch size. You an scale the layers together if you need an exact size of your patch. If it is OK that the patch is a few mm bigger then you can leave things as it is.

Paper print and test fit

This is a good spot to physically print out your patch template on a paper to make sure that the patch fits and lines up. In our case we pinned the test print out to the front of the hat and all looks good.

Use Ink/Stitch to create satin column

This is where the Ink/Stitch comes into play, as it us used to convert the ‘satin edge’ to a ‘satin column’. The wide zig-zag stitch of a ‘satin column’ handles curves well. Select the ‘satin edge’ object and then go to ‘Extensions->Ink/Stitch->Tools:Satin->Convert Line to Satin’. This may create more than one path. You create a new layer to logically keep the paths together. In our case we created a new group and named it ‘satin edge’. Later on we will set up layers, but Ink/Stitch will work fine with groups, as it will work from the bottom of the stack to the top when creating the embroidery file.

Ink/Stitch changed the single path into two paths consisting of parallel lines with perpendicular intersecting lines. This is what Ink/Stitch uses to code a satin stitch.

Simulate stitches with Ink/Stitch

At this point we now have enough to have Ink/Stitch simulate the stitches your machine will do. Running the simulation will also make sure that the layers are in the proper order as we want the ‘fill’ object to be first followed by the ‘satin edge’.

To run the simulator make sure no objects are highlighted and then select ‘Extensions->Ink/Stitch->Visualize and Export->Simulator / Realist Preview’

This will open a window that will show you stitch by stitch of how the patch is created. Make sure the ‘fill’ object is first and that it is filling in logically. You may need to change the Start/Stop points of the ‘fill’ object to ensure that it there are no breaks in how the background is created. As a rule, as single smooth fill, with no breaks looks best.

In the case of our patch, Ink/Stitch wanted to do the bottom half of the patch and then jump to the top of one ear and then the other.

We were able to change Start/Stop point by selecting the ‘fill’ object and then ‘Extensions->Ink/Stitch->Commands->Attach Commands to Selected Objects’. In the popup window we checked the ‘Fill stitch starting position’ and ‘Fill stitch ending position’ check boxes.

Once you click ‘Apply’ you will see a circle and arrow object show up. They may be in a objects of there own. To keep things organized you can select the newly created Start and Stop objects and place them in a layer ( which is an object ).

To do this create a new layer and place the new Start and Stop objects and ‘fill’ object in the new layer. Move the ‘Start’ and ‘Stop’ arrows to adjust where the fill stitch will start and finish.

This will get us close, but the ears are still breaking up the fill stitch. We can fix this by adjusting the angle of the fill and underlying stitches by highlighting the ‘fill’ object and selecting ‘Extensions->Ink/Stitch->Params’. A box and simulation window will pop up that lest you tune the stitch. Make sure you click ‘Apply and Quit’ to save the parameter changes to the object.

Experiment around with the angle settings until you get the fill we wanted. You can always ‘Cancel’ or ‘Undo’ any unwanted changes. We had to move the start point down to get the underlying stitch to perfect. You can also test out some of the ‘satin edge’ parameters to get them where you want.

Adding Text using default Ink/Stitch fonts

Ink/Stitch make adding text very easy, if you opt to use the ‘Lettering’ tool with the default installed digitized fonts. We will be using the Ink/Stitch default fonts for this patch. Create a new layer called ‘Text’ and select ‘Extensions->Ink/Stitch->Lettering’

When you click ‘Apply and Quit’ individual letters will be an object group that contains individual parts of the letter that you can adjust and move. We alternate thread colors for lettering to force our Brother LB5000 to cut the thread and avoid having to manually cut jump stitches from letter to letter.

Final Simulation with Realistic view

Run the simulation once more to verify that the Fill layer is the first stitches to be sewn, followed by the Satin Edge and then the Text layers. The order is important, as you do not want to do the fill layer to be sewn last and cover the text. Also look to make sure that the routing of the letters looks OK. Once the simulation is done you can click the ‘realistic’ check box to have the image rendered with thread widths.

If anything looks amiss in the simulation, now is the time to fix it.

Final test fit

With the simulation looking good, we make sure that the parch still looks how we want it on the hat by printing it out on paper and doing one more test fit. If any changes need to be done we make the modifications and print out one more test fit on paper.

Export and sew

Once your patch is created and tuned via Ink/Stitch it is time have Inkscape export the patch. Make sure you select a format that your embroidery machine can use. To export the file go to ‘File->Save As’. In our case the Brother LB5000 can use .pes Brother format.

We save the file to a USB stick and then plug the USB into the embroidery machine and set up the position on the fabric in the hoop.

Here is what the final patch looks like that we created with the Inkscape extension Ink/Stitch and sewed it directly to the piece of fabric. To get a standalone patch there are a few more steps in design and embroidering that we will cover next.

This is a patch the is embroidered directly on fabric, this post covers how to create a standalone patch.