Machine Embriodery – Pull Compensation

Dear Friends,
I have finished Lesson One of Generations Digitizing Machine Embroidery Workshop.  Let me tell you, Wow do I ever have a lot to learn!  I went through the workshop 3 times!  From time to time, I’d like to share bits and pieces with you of what I learned.  I hope you find this as interesting as I do.
The star sugar cookie you see here is the homework project for this lesson.  It was a less than perfect design to begin with.  Is there such a thing as a perfect design?  Anyway, we were given specific instructions on how to make improvement to the design and it covered quite a number of topics but what I want to speak specifically about is pull compensation.
As a design is stitched, and as the needle pierces the fabric thousands of times, that piercing of fabric causes a stretching or pulling of the fabric.  This is particularly the case with filled designs such as this one.  Take note in the above two pictures.  On the computer screen, the design looked perfect.  It looked as though the dark tan and light tan in the cookie would perfectly meet up with one another.  Not so when the design is stitched out.  I have paid good money for designs in which the pull compensation was not adjusted for and it had gaps such as this. Those were frustrating experiences.
Now, I don’t have experience with other brands of digitizing software and my experience with Generations software is minimal at best, but I am guessing that all forms of software have an ability to adjust for the pull compensation.
Take a look at the picture above where I have made the adjustment and restitched out the design.  It meets up perfectly.  Thankfully I had instructions to help me with this.  I think though that adjusting for the pull compensation is something that comes with good ol’ practice.

See here in this photo just how nicely the dark and light tans meet up.  That is the way it is supposed to look.

Did you understand pull compensation before you learned to digitize?  It was certainly new to me.

Happy stitching,
Blessings~Nancy