Hatch Embroidery Tutorial: Add and Shape Slab Text on Banners (Part 5)

Video reference: “Slab Text - Lettering (Part 5)” by Gentleman Crafter

If you love clean, bold lettering that reads across the room, slab text on a curved banner is a timeless look. In Hatch Embroidery, it’s also fast—type, curve, refine, duplicate, done. This guide turns that workflow into a dependable routine you can reuse across projects.

What you’ll learn - How to clear visual clutter and focus on lettering without distractions.

• Exactly where to type, choose a pre-digitized font, and place your word on a banner.

• How to use Reshape mode handles to get the curve just right.

- A quick duplication trick to match styling between top and bottom banners.

• Practical checks to confirm alignment, spacing, and the final composition.

Primer: What Slab Text on Banners Does (and When to Use It) Slab text is a blocky, bold letter style that stitches cleanly and reads clearly at a distance. On banners, curving the baseline helps the text nestle into the ribbon’s shape, improving both legibility and aesthetics. In Hatch Embroidery, you can apply built-in lettering art to give the word an initial curve, then refine it in Reshape mode.

Where this shines

• Designs with strong contrast between lettering and background shapes

• Statements and slogans that benefit from a confident, bold look

• Projects where you want consistency—duplicate text keeps font/curve settings intact

Prerequisites

• Hatch Embroidery installed

• A basic understanding of the interface and panels

• Your working file that already contains the banner shapes

Scope and constraints - The process below covers adding and shaping slab text using the Lettering tool, applying initial lettering art, and refining the curve via Reshape.

• Font choice is flexible; using a pre-digitized font in Hatch ensures better stitch reliability than raw system fonts.

Pro tip If your banner has a mild arc, start with a subtle lettering art curve. It’s easier to add a little more curve than to walk back an over-curved baseline.

Prep: Files, Tools, and What to Check First You’ll work inside Hatch Embroidery with your banner design open. Before you begin, visually confirm that all banner elements are present and placed where the text should sit.

Have ready

• Your digitized banners design file

• Mouse and keyboard for precise selections and nudging

Quick check Open the design and zoom so the banner area fills most of your screen. The lettering decisions you make are easier when you can see spacing and curvature clearly.

Context note The digitizing steps here are software-based and apply regardless of the hoop or machine you’ll stitch on. Whether you run a home or studio setup, the lettering method remains the same. If you use accessories like magnetic embroidery hoops, the software work here doesn’t change—only your hooping workflow does later.

Prep checklist

• Design file open with banners visible

• Navigation panels/palettes docked where you can reach them

• Zoomed in on the banner area you’ll letter

Setup: Workspace and Lettering Controls in Hatch Clear your view so you can judge spacing and curves accurately.

1) Hide existing elements to reduce clutter - Select everything unrelated to your lettering pass and hide it. This gives you a clean canvas where only the banner and working guides show.

• Expected result: A simplified canvas where only the artwork background is visible.

2) Open the Lettering tool - Go to the Lettering tab and select Lettering. This exposes the Object Properties panel where you’ll type and style your word.

3) Type your word - In Object Properties, type FOREVER (or your chosen word). Confirm it appears on the canvas.

4) Choose a pre-digitized font - Pick a style you like. Pre-digitized typefaces are optimized for stitches and tend to produce cleaner results.

Setup checklist

• Non-lettering elements hidden

• Lettering tool active

• Word typed and visible

• Font chosen and applied

Operation: Step-by-Step Slab Text Digitizing Step 1 — Add the first word - With Lettering active, type FOREVER in Object Properties and click to place it on the top banner. A default curve (lettering art) may apply automatically.

• Outcome: The word sits on the banner with an initial baseline curve.

Pro tip If the initial curve looks too dramatic, don’t fight it here—go straight to Reshape mode to fine-tune the baseline.

Step 2 — Refine the curve with Reshape mode - Enter Reshape mode. You’ll see handles above and below the text.

- Drag the top or bottom handle to soften or increase the arc until the word visually tracks the banner’s contour.

- Watch for the on-screen tooltips; they surface dimensions that help you make incremental changes with confidence.

• Outcome: A gentler, better-fitting curve that reads cleanly and looks intentional.

Quick check Zoom out to preview the curve from “wall art” distance. You should see even letter heights relative to the banner edges and a baseline that mirrors the ribbon’s arc.

Step 3 — Adjust spacing, slant, or width if needed

• Use the controls in the right-hand panel to tweak character spacing, slant, or width as needed. Small changes go a long way with slab text.

• Rationale: Letter spacing that’s too tight clutters stitch paths; too loose and the word falls apart visually.

Watch out Over-curving produces awkward distortion at the ends of the word. If your first and last letters look “tilted off” the banner, reduce the arc slightly.

Step 4 — Duplicate the word to keep styling consistent

• Copy the FOREVER text object.

- Paste, then use the arrow keys to nudge it straight down onto the lower banner. Arrow keys maintain alignment better than freehand dragging.

• Outcome: A perfectly aligned duplicate with identical font, spacing, and curve.

Step 5 — Update the duplicate’s content - With the duplicate selected, change the text in Object Properties from FOREVER to NEVER. The canvas updates instantly with stitch parameters preserved.

- Outcome: The lower banner reads NEVER with the same styling and curve as the top banner.

Step 6 — Reveal the full design and review - Unhide everything. Review the full composition with banners and slab text together.

• Outcome: A cohesive design where both words feel integrated and balanced.

Operation checklist

• First word placed and visible with initial curve

• Curve refined in Reshape mode

• Spacing/slant/width checked and adjusted

• Word duplicated and nudged onto the second banner

• Duplicate’s text updated and reviewed in full view

Quality Checks: How to Know It’s Right Baseline vs. banner arc

• The text baseline should echo the banner’s arc, neither flatter nor more curved. When correct, spacing feels even and the word “sits” naturally.

Edge letter posture

• End letters shouldn’t appear to tip outward or inward excessively. If they do, slightly reduce curvature.

Spacing sanity check

• Scan for crowding in pairs like VE or ER. Adjust spacing subtly until counters (interior spaces) feel balanced.

Consistency between banners

• The lower word should read like a sibling of the upper: same height impression, matching curve flavor, and similar negative space around the word.

Quick check Toggle to a contrasting background color momentarily and squint. If the silhouette looks balanced, the details usually are too.

Results & Handoff: Save, Share, and Next Steps You now have a bannered design with two slab words that curve intentionally and stitch cleanly. Save your work in your native Hatch format so you can revisit the text objects later. When you’re ready, export for your machine as you normally do.

Context note Whether you stitch on a compact single-needle or a multi-needle system, these digitizing steps remain unchanged. If your shop uses specialized hardware—like brother embroidery machine models with larger fields—the export and hooping steps vary by machine, not by this lettering procedure.

Optional explorations

• Duplicate styles for additional banners or alternate phrases

• Slightly different curves for a dynamic “call-and-response” effect

• Minor width or slant changes to differentiate emphasis subtly

If you are exploring starter gear, many readers ask which machines help them grow. While the digitizing process here is software-based, entry-level shopping research often includes terms like best embroidery machine for beginners—but your lettering technique will carry across brands and formats either way.

Troubleshooting & Recovery Symptom: The curve looks lumpy or uneven

• Likely cause: Big handle moves instead of small refinements

- Fix: Undo, re-enter Reshape, make shorter drags, zoom in, and use the tooltips for incremental control

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Symptom: The duplicate word won’t align perfectly with the second banner

• Likely cause: Freehand dragging introduced horizontal drift

- Fix: Undo and use arrow keys to nudge straight down from the original

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Symptom: Spacing looks fine up close but messy at normal distance

• Likely cause: Over-tight spacing in slab text magnifies dark areas

• Fix: Increase spacing slightly; then zoom out and reassess.

Symptom: End letters appear to fall off the ribbon

• Likely cause: Over-curving the baseline

• Fix: Reduce curvature slightly; re-evaluate the outer letters’ posture.

Symptom: The lower word doesn’t match the upper word’s “feel”

• Likely cause: Re-typed from scratch with different defaults

• Fix: Always copy/paste the first word and then change the content in Object Properties.

Recovery strategies

• Use Undo in small increments to back up to the last stable shape.

- Hide nonessential layers again if the view gets crowded—clarity speeds correction.

• Save iterative versions before making large changes to spacing or curvature.

Decision points you’ll face

• If your banner’s arc is subtle → Start with a mild curve and add slightly more if needed.

• If the banner’s arc is deep → Begin with a stronger curve, then soften until the end letters sit comfortably.

• If letter spacing feels inconsistent → Tweak spacing first; often, spacing solves more than curvature.

From the comments This project’s core steps fit a wide range of hooping setups and machines. If you’re working on specialized accessories—such as brother magnetic hoop frames or other magnetic hoops—remember: those choices affect hooping and stabilization, not the Hatch digitizing workflow you followed here.

Extra practical notes

• Duplicating the text ensures identical stitch intelligence without re-tuning parameters.

- Tooltips are your best friend for consistent el-bow adjustments—keep an eye on them.

- Arrow key nudging reduces misalignment risk and preserves the design’s axis.

Gear sidebars (optional, not required for this workflow)

• Some readers use snap-style frames for convenience. While your hoop choice doesn’t change the digital steps, your setup might mention items like dime snap hoop as part of your personal hooping arsenal.

• If you’re comparing entry-level machines, models that support reliable tension and stable frames are more helpful than any single feature. Even a popular pick like brother se1900 magnetic hoop accessories won’t alter today’s digitizing logic—software comes first.

• Multi-project users sometimes ask about larger fields or alternatives like magnetic embroidery hoops for brother and brother magnetic embroidery frames. Again, all helpful for hooping—but not prerequisites for lettering in Hatch.

Wrap-up By hiding the clutter, typing once, reshaping with intention, then duplicating and editing the text content, you get crisp, repeatable results that scale across banners and slogans. Keep the curve gentle, spacing balanced, and your full-view sanity checks frequent. The steps you practiced here become a reliable template for any banner lettering you’ll digitize next.