Hatch Embroidery: Digitizing Banners with Closed Shapes

Video reference: “The Banners - Digitizing A Closed Shape” by Gentleman Crafter

Do you want your embroidered banners to read as sculpted ribbon—not flat blocks of fill? This guide shows you the exact digitizing moves that create believable, dimensional banners in Hatch Embroidery.

We’ll convert a flat drawing into stitch-smart closed shapes, shape edges with precision clicks, steer tatami flow for graceful curvature, and duplicate your best work efficiently.

What you’ll learn

• How to outline banners with Digitize Closed Shape and apply a tatami fill that supports later effects

• When to use straight vs. curved corners—and why the click choice matters for geometry and texture

• How to reshape stitch direction and use the Florentine effect for movement and depth

• How to copy/paste banner elements and refine them fast for consistent styling

Introduction to Digitizing Banners

Understanding the Design Goal Banners do heavy lifting in embroidery designs: they hold text, bridge elements, and signal movement. Your digitizing must support those jobs. We’ll build closed shapes for two ribbon banners, select tatami fills, and sculpt the stitch flow so it looks curved and intentional.

The design begins with a reference artwork that you trace in Hatch Embroidery, keeping visibility high by temporarily hiding unrelated elements. You’ll create one banner to a high standard, then duplicate and tweak—saving time while preserving consistency.

Why Choose Hatch Embroidery? Hatch Embroidery provides an approachable workflow for:

• Digitizing closed shapes with precise node control

• Fast switching between straight and curved corner nodes by mouse click type

• Tatami variations and the Florentine effect for controllable curvature

• A Reshape tool for intuitive stitch-angle adjustments

Getting Started with Digitize Closed Shape Tool

Setting Up Your Workspace Before drawing, clear your field of vision. Hide other design layers and zoom in on the banner area. This ensures each node lands exactly where you intend along the reference lines.

Pro tip: Keep a mental model of stitching order. Even though we’re focusing on the banners, how they overlap other elements will matter during the final review.

Selecting the Right Stitch Type: Tatami Fill With the Digitize Closed Shape tool active, choose Tatami fill in Object Properties. Tatami’s even coverage is ideal for readable text overlays and responsive to angle and curvature adjustments later.

Watch out: Changing your stitch type after placing a complex shape can cause unintended changes to density or texture expectations. Choose tatami first, then digitize.

Quick check

• Tool active: Digitize Closed Shape

• Stitch type: Tatami fill

• Zoom level: Close enough to place precise nodes

Checklist — Getting Started

• Workspace: Non-essential objects hidden

• Tool: Digitize Closed Shape selected

• Fill: Tatami preselected

• View: Zoomed into banner area

Mastering Corner Types for Precise Shapes

Left-Click for Straight, Right-Click for Curved Hatch distinguishes node behavior by click type:

• Left-click = Straight corner (perfect for fishtail ends)

- Right-click = Curved corner (ideal for the banner’s arced top/bottom edges)

This split-second choice at each node supplies your shape with the correct geometry and smoothness, making the fill stitches lie cleanly along edges.

Digitizing the Fishtail Ends and Banner Curves Work clockwise. Place your straight nodes at the fishtail cuts and any sharp edges using left-clicks. For flowing edges, right-click to lay curved nodes. When you’ve closed the loop, press Enter to generate the filled object. You should see a solid tatami fill inside your outline.

Quick check

• The fishtail corners are crisp (straight nodes)

• The banner’s long edges look smooth (curved nodes)

• The shape closes neatly and fills without gaps

Pro tip: If a curve kinks or flattens, undo and re-place that node with a right-click slightly upstream/downstream. Small changes to node positions can dramatically improve edge fidelity.

Checklist — Shape Digitizing

• Straight corners placed with left-clicks

• Curved corners placed with right-clicks

• Outline meets cleanly at closure

• Pressed Enter to apply fill

Enhancing Appearance with Stitch Angles and Effects

Using the Reshape Tool for Stitch Direction Open Reshape to reveal the angle marker: a line with draggable handles. Rotate/drag these handles so the tatami rows “flow” with your banner’s contour. This step transforms a flat block into a ribbon with believable direction and dimension.

Why it matters: Stitch direction suggests surface form. When the angle follows the ribbon, viewers read curve and movement instead of a flat slab.

Applying Florentine and Other Fill Effects The Florentine effect subtly bends tatami rows along a defined curve, amplifying the impression of ribbon flow. Use it when a standard angle cannot fully match the banner’s arc. Try it, evaluate, and fine-tune. The goal is an elegant, continuous sweep—not oscillation.

Watch out: Over-bending can create abrupt directional changes that look busy. Favor gentle arcs and keep the stitch path harmonious with the banner’s silhouette.

Quick check

• Angle marker aligns with the banner’s dominant direction

• Florentine curve (if used) is smooth and visually consistent

• The fill reads as a single flowing surface, not segments

Checklist — Stitch Direction & Effects

• Angle marker set to follow ribbon

• Optional: Florentine applied and tuned

• Visual test: Smooth curvature without jitter

Efficient Design: Copying and Adjusting Elements

Duplicating Banners for Consistency Once your first banner looks great, duplicate it. Copy/paste provides identical properties—fill, effects, density—and helps maintain a cohesive look across banners. Position the new copy where the second banner belongs.

Fine-Tuning Shapes with the Reshape Tool After positioning, reshape only what’s necessary. Adjust a few nodes to refine the top curve or fishtail geometry so the second banner complements the first without becoming a mirror clone. Small edits preserve consistency while honoring the design’s natural variations.

Pro tip: Make adjustments near the middle of a span first, then taper edits toward corners. This keeps long edges smooth and prevents ripple effects at the ends.

Quick check

• Second banner aligns with the composition

• Curves feel siblings, not twins—cohesive but not copy-paste obvious

• Stitch angle still supports the impression of flow

Checklist — Duplicate & Refine

• Copy/paste complete banner 1

• Position banner 2 correctly

• Reshape select nodes to fit

• Confirm stitch direction harmony

Final Review and Next Steps

Assessing the Banners in the Full Design Reveal the previously hidden layers and view your banners in context. Look for overlaps with needles or background and verify the banners still read clearly. This is the moment to decide if the angle or effects need subtle tweaks for visual balance.

Preparing for Text and Further Details With banners set, you can plan slab-style text placement. Your tatami field should present an even, stable base for lettering. If any area looks overly dense or too textured, consider a slight density reduction before adding text, balancing coverage with legibility.

Primer (What & When)

• What: Digitize closed-shape ribbon banners with tatami fills that suggest real curvature.

• When: Whenever your design needs a ribbon field for text or an accent element that looks dimensional.

• Constraints: Clean corner control and stitch direction alignment are mandatory for believable form.

Prep Tools and environment

• Software: Hatch Embroidery (Digitize Closed Shape, Reshape, Effects)

• Reference: Your artwork or template image

• Workspace: Hide unnecessary layers, zoom in for node placement

Decision points

• If your banner has sharp fishtails → bias toward left-click nodes at tips and inner V-cuts.

• If your banner edges are gentle arcs → place more right-click curved nodes for smoothness.

Checklist — Prep

• Hatch open and artwork imported

• Non-essential objects hidden

• Zoom prepared for accurate clicking

Setup Configuration and rationale

• Select Digitize Closed Shape now so your clicks record nodes, not selections

• Choose Tatami fill up front to avoid rework later

• Confirm object properties visible for quick effect toggling

Quick check

• The correct tool and fill are active before placing the first point

Checklist — Setup

• Tool: Closed Shape ready

• Fill: Tatami selected

• Panels: Properties and Effects accessible

Operation / Steps 1) Place the outline precisely

• Work clockwise around the banner. Left-click straight nodes at fishtails and any crisp edge. Right-click curved nodes along long arcs. Close the path and press Enter to fill.

• Expectation: A solid tatami-filled banner that matches your artwork’s silhouette.

2) Sculpt stitch direction

• Open Reshape and drag the angle marker so tatami rows follow the ribbon’s flow.

• Expectation: The fill now hints at curvature; edges look calmer and more intentional.

3) Consider Florentine effect

• Apply Florentine for subtle curvature inside the fill if a simple angle cannot capture your arc. Tune gently.

• Expectation: A graceful sweep that reinforces ribbon form without visual noise.

4) Duplicate and adapt

• Copy/paste the finished banner and position the duplicate. Reshape only a few nodes to fit the design’s second banner.

• Expectation: Two cohesive banners with shared texture and believable differences.

Watch out: Don’t over-segment your outline. Too many nodes—especially alternating straight/curved—invite bumps. Use the fewest nodes needed for fidelity.

Checklist — Operation

• Outline closed cleanly, filled in tatami

• Stitch angle aligned to form

• Florentine used only if it improves flow

• Second banner duplicated and gently reshaped

Quality Checks

• Edges: Straight cuts are crisp; curves are smooth without kinks

• Fill: Even coverage; no obvious banding from abrupt angle changes

• Direction: Rows guide the eye along the banner’s path

• Pairing: The two banners look related, not copy-paste identical

Quick check: Toggle the visibility of other elements on/off. If the banners remain readable in both states, your direction and density are likely balanced.

Results & Handoff

• Output: Two tatami-filled banners with tuned angle and optional Florentine curvature, ready to receive text.

• Next actions: Consider text object planning, sequencing (lettering after banners), and any density fine-tunes where elements overlap.

Troubleshooting & Recovery Symptom → likely cause → fix

• Fishtail tips look blunt → straight nodes weren’t used at the tips → replace with left-click nodes and simplify extra nodes nearby

• Banner edge looks lumpy → too many mixed node types or inconsistent spacing → delete/adjust nodes; prefer fewer, better-placed points

• Fill reads flat → stitch angle not aligned to form → rotate/drag angle marker to follow the ribbon’s curve

• Curvature looks jittery → Florentine path too aggressive → reduce curvature; aim for gentle arcs

• Duplicated banner breaks consistency → excessive reshaping changed the “feel” → undo; make smaller, mid-span edits first, then taper toward corners

From the comments

• (No public questions were posted on the source thread at the time of writing.)

Context notes for hooping and machines Even the best-digitized banners need stable hooping to sew cleanly on fabric. A secure frame and reliable machine feed will showcase the stitch direction and effects you set here. If you’re experimenting with different frames, you might compare options like magnetic embroidery hoops when testing stability on lighter fabrics. If you’re just starting to build your setup, you may already have a brother embroidery machine at home; this workflow in Hatch is machine-agnostic, so your exported file will carry the stitch logic you crafted here.

When repeating the layout across larger items or multiple placements, plan your workflow with multi hooping machine embroidery in mind. Consistent baselines and alignment marks will help you keep text straight across banner repeats. For extra clamping power on bulky items, some stitchers prefer embroidery magnetic hoops for test runs before moving to production settings.

If you’re exploring frame choices, the same digitized file can help you A/B test stability across accessories, including magnetic hoops for embroidery in comparable sizes. And if you’re still deciding on equipment for your first setup, many readers ask what to buy first; choosing the best embroidery machine for beginners depends on budget, hoop range, and your project mix—but your digitizing fundamentals here will transfer regardless of brand.

Finally, when adding text onto these banners, a reliable frame that holds fabric evenly—such as a brother embroidery magnetic hoop sized appropriately for your banner—can help preserve the stitch angle integrity you shaped during digitizing.