NOTES PATHING A DESIGN Pathing a design is the digitizing term for the order in which you approach a design. Simply put, what would you digitize first, second, third, and so on. In some designs this is obvious, in some, not so much. The more complex the design, the more steps there will be. The things to keep in mind when pathing a design are: 1. Use the fewest amount of color steps as possible. 2. Use the fewest amount of trims as possible. 3. Use the fewest amount of stitches as possible. Sounds pretty simple - let’s break it down. THE FEWEST AMOUNT OF COLOR STEPS Every time that you change thread colors the design takes longer to stitch. If the art only has three colors, you should only have three steps in the design. The more you go back and forth between colors the longer it will take. This is specifically true with single needle machines. THE FEWEST AMOUNT OF TRIMS Every time your machine trims it adds about 7 seconds to the run time of a design. So, the less often you trim, the faster the design will run. When you are digitizing, try to connect sections whenever possible. This includes lettering and outlines. This is where a successful design map comes into play. Your thread is also less likely to unravel when there are no trims. Every time your machine has to trim, you run the risk of the machine stopping because of a mishap. If you are creating a single-color design, it should only trim once. THE FEWEST AMOUNT OF STITCHES This is obvious. The lower the stitch count, the faster the design will stitch. There are a number of factors that can lower stitch count such as the use of appliqué, density, and stitch length. All of these decisions need to be made before you start your design, which is why I recommend to everyone that I train as a digitizer to start with a design map.
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