Table of Contents
- Getting Started: Setting Up Your Workspace in Hatch
- Crafting the Wings: Appliqué Digitizing Techniques
- Adding Intricate Details: Freehand & Block Digitizing
- Optimizing Your Design: Sequence & Stitch Management
- Preparing for Production: Exporting Cutting & Embroidery Files
- Bringing It to Life: Cutting Fabric & Embroidering Your Butterfly
- Quality Checks
- Results & Handoff
- Troubleshooting & Recovery
Video reference: “John Bloodworth Gentleman Crafter - Applique Embroidery | Butterfly Design” by John Bloodworth Gentleman Crafter
If you love the airy sparkle of organza wings bordered in satin, this project delivers: a graceful appliqué butterfly you’ll digitize in Hatch and stitch with confidence. From clean outlines to mirrored symmetry, from vein details to a tatami-filled body, you’ll move from artwork to finished embroidery without guesswork.
What you’ll learn
- A reliable hoop and workspace setup in Hatch so your design stays put and sized correctly.
- How to trace a single wing cleanly, mirror it for symmetry, and convert both to appliqué with placement, tack-down, and satin.
- How to freehand internal wing veins and tidy points for smooth paths.
- How to build a body (thorax) in tatami, control stitch direction, and refine width.
- How to reorder the sequence (placement → tack-down → details → satin → body) for a clean finish, export SVG cutting files, and stitch to completion.
Getting Started: Setting Up Your Workspace in Hatch Configuring Your Hoop for Success Begin by setting up your hoop and machine in Hatch. Choose Manual hoop position so the design doesn’t shift relative to the hoop while you work. Rotate the hoop to landscape to gain comfortable horizontal working space while tracing and editing.
Quick check
- The hoop shows Landscape orientation.
- Hoop position is set to Manual.
Importing and Resizing Your Artwork Import your butterfly artwork and scale it proportionally by holding Shift while dragging a corner handle. Switch between Imperial and Metric to verify the design fits your maximum stitching area—reduce slightly if it exceeds your hoop’s bounds.
Watch out
- If you resize without Shift, you may skew the proportions and create mismatched wings.
Checklist — Getting started
- Hoop: Landscape orientation; Manual position.
- Artwork: Imported and scaled proportionally (Shift-drag).
- Size: Confirmed within max stitching area.
From the comments
- Software used: Hatch 2 from Wilcom (community-confirmed).
Crafting the Wings: Appliqué Digitizing Techniques Tracing Contours with Precision Select Digitized Closed Shape. Choose an outline with Single Run and enable Trim. Zoom in and trace the first wing with a combination of left and right clicks: use straight points for sharp edges and curve points for smooth contours. Press Enter to commit.
Pro tip
- Zoom generously while tracing. Clean outlines now will make your satin edges look intentional and smooth later.
Mirroring and Converting to Appliqué Use the Create Layouts toolbox to mirror and copy the first wing to the opposite side—this guarantees perfect symmetry without retracing. With both wings selected, Convert to Appliqué. Hatch generates the placement line, tack-down, and satin border automatically for each wing.
Quick check
- Two wings present, symmetrical across the butterfly centerline.
- Each wing shows a placement, tack-down, and satin component after conversion.
Checklist — Wings
- First wing traced cleanly.
- Mirrored copy created (no manual redrawing).
- Converted to appliqué (placement, tack-down, satin present).
Adding Intricate Details: Freehand & Block Digitizing Enhancing Wings with Freehand Shapes Switch to Freehand Open Shape to draw internal veins. Drag to sketch organic lines; doubling back along segments adds visual depth when stitched. Work on one wing first for focus and control. If the Snap to Grid feature is on, turn it off; if you forget, inspect the line afterward and correct misaligned points.
Watch out
- Snap to Grid can nudge points off your intended path. If you see red guide lines or sudden snaps, disable it and adjust nodes by moving or deleting points.
Pro tip
- After finishing one wing’s details, mirror those vein lines to the other side, just as you did with the outline, for precise bilateral symmetry.
Quick check
- Vein lines flow smoothly with intentional doubling where desired.
- Any snap-induced kinks have been corrected.
Building the Thorax with Digitized Blocks For the body (thorax), choose Digitized Blocks with a Tatami fill. Place anchor points in left-right pairs to define the body’s shape and the stitch direction lines that control how the tatami lays. Commit the shape, then mirror if needed to ensure both sides balance visually. Finally, slim the body slightly so it doesn’t crowd the wing satin borders—this reduces density where the wings meet the thorax.
Quick check
- Tatami fills evenly across the body with sensible direction lines.
- The body’s width respects the wing satin without overlap.
Checklist — Details & Body
- Wing veins drawn freehand on one side and mirrored.
- Snap-to-grid issues corrected by editing points.
- Thorax built with Digitized Blocks in Tatami; width refined.
Optimizing Your Design: Sequence & Stitch Management Separating Appliqué Layers for Control Open the Sequence tab and switch to Colors to visualize the objects. Use Break Apart on the appliqué wings so the placement, tack-down, and satin can be reordered individually. Remove any extra outline that would over-densify the center.
Refining Stitch Order and Density Reorder for a logical stitch path: both placement lines first, then both tack-downs, then your wing details (so those endpoints are later covered by the satin), followed by the satin borders, and finally the thorax on top. This order hides vein endpoints and keeps the body crisp and prominent. Save once satisfied.
Pro tip
- When details are stitched after tack-down and before satin, the satin neatly buries any line endings at the edges, elevating the finish.
Quick check
- Sequence reads: Placement → Tack-down → Details → Satin (wings) → Body.
- Any unnecessary outlines removed to prevent heavy density.
Checklist — Sequence
- Appliqué components separated with Break Apart.
- Out-of-order items dragged into the desired sequence.
- Excess density trimmed by removing unneeded outlines.
Preparing for Production: Exporting Cutting & Embroidery Files Generating SVG for Fabric Cutting Go to File → Export Cutting. Deselect Embroidery Shapes; keep only Appliqué Shapes selected. Choose SVG and name your file. This creates precise cut lines for the wings—ideal for delicate fabrics like organza.
Saving Your PES File for Stitching Export the embroidery design in your machine’s compatible format (e.g., PES) so you’re ready to stitch. Save your working file, too, in case you want to tweak densities or paths later.
Checklist — Exports
- SVG exported for appliqué shapes only.
- Embroidery file exported (e.g., PES) for your machine.
- Working file saved.
Bringing It to Life: Cutting Fabric & Embroidering Your Butterfly Using Your Cutting Machine for Appliqué Import the SVG into your cutting software (e.g., CanvasWorkspace for a Brother ScanNCut). Send it to the machine via Wi-Fi or load from a USB. Mount organza onto the mat, fit the rotary blade, position the design to the fabric area, and cut the wing shapes cleanly.
Pro tip
- For delicate fabrics, confirm your mat grip and blade choice. A clean cut now means cleaner satin edges later.
The Stitching Process and Final Result Hoop your embroidery fabric with appropriate stabilizer. Stitch the placement lines, then position and secure the organza wings within those outlines. Next, run the tack-down stitches, followed by the wing vein details. Finish with the satin borders around both wings, and stitch the body last for a layered, professional look. Reveal your butterfly—crisp edges, delicate organza glow, and a balanced tatami thorax.
Quick check
- Organza wings align precisely within placement outlines.
- Satin borders are smooth without crowding the body.
- Body sits on top, visually clean and centered.
Quality Checks
- Outline fidelity: The satin borders should track your traced wing edge without wobble or flat spots.
- Symmetry: Mirrored wings and mirrored vein structures should match side-to-side.
- Density balance: The thorax should look filled but not bulky where it meets the wings.
- Layer cleanliness: Vein line endpoints should be neatly concealed under the satin.
Results & Handoff You now have a polished appliqué butterfly and a repeatable workflow: precise outlines, mirrored details, density-aware body, intelligent sequencing, and production-ready exports. Keep your SVG and embroidery files organized—future colorways and fabric swaps (e.g., different sheer fabrics) will go quickly since your paths are already proven.
Troubleshooting & Recovery Symptom: Wavy satin borders around the wings
- Likely cause: Inconsistent outline points or insufficient zoom while tracing.
- Fix: Edit the outline nodes; replace awkward points with smoother segments and retrace tight corners.
Symptom: Vein lines end visibly at the wing edge
- Likely cause: Details stitched after satin (or too short to be buried).
- Fix: Reorder sequence so details come before satin; extend endpoints slightly into the satin path.
Symptom: Thorax looks crowded where it meets wing borders
- Likely cause: Body width too generous.
- Fix: Nudge thorax inward or reduce width using the bounding handles until it clears satin borders.
Symptom: Hairline kinks in freehand details
- Likely cause: Snap to Grid altered points.
- Fix: Disable Snap to Grid; edit nodes to smooth; delete or move errant points.
Symptom: Organza wings shift during tack-down
- Likely cause: Misalignment when placing cut pieces.
- Fix: Re-run placement lines on a test hooping and practice positioning. Use careful finger placement to hold organza while starting tack-down.
Symptom: Cutting machine frays or drags organza
- Likely cause: Mat adhesion or unsuitable blade settings.
- Fix: Refresh mat tack and verify a compatible blade for sheer fabrics.
From the comments (community insight)
- What software is this? Hatch 2 from Wilcom. That’s exactly what was used through the entire process here, from hoop setup and tracing to Break Apart, sequence management, and exports.
Side notes on tools and hooping
- If you’re experimenting with different hooping hardware, many embroiderers like exploring options such as magnetic hoops to simplify fabric handling—especially with layered projects like appliqué.
- Some crafters prefer systems marketed as embroidery hoops magnetic for quick loading; if you’re comparing, factor in your hoop size and machine brand.
- Users of Brother machines sometimes consider a brother magnetic hoop for repeatable positioning on delicate fabrics like organza.
- If you’re a dedicated Brother user exploring upgrades, you’ll often see mentions of mighty hoops for brother in community discussions; always confirm compatibility with your specific model.
- Shop talk often includes third-party accessories such as a dime snap hoop for easier clamping; evaluate based on your stabilizer and fabric combinations.
- For home models like the PE series, some makers look for a magnetic hoop for brother pe800 to streamline appliqué setups.
- If you’re standardizing placements at scale, a station such as a hoop master embroidery hooping station can speed up repetitive hooping tasks across multiple blanks.
Why this order matters (the “why” behind the sequence)
- Placement before tack-down: Placement lines exist to show where the appliqué piece belongs; running them first ensures accurate positioning.
- Details before satin: Stitching the veins before the satin lets the satin bury their endpoints, yielding a cleaner edge.
- Body last: Placing the thorax on top prevents overlap clutter and creates a polished, layered look.
Recap checklist — Operation
- Placement (both wings)
- Tack-down (both wings)
- Wing details (both sides mirrored)
- Satin borders (both wings)
- Body last (tatami thorax)