What is density?
Density is the distance between individual stitches in a satin column or rows of stitches in a fill. The closer the rows are to each other, the denser the stitch area will be.
How is density measured?
There are two main ways that embroidery and digitizing systems measure density. One measures the actual spacing between rows (technically, between alternate rows, not each row) and the second is by counting stitches per inch (SPI), which I won’t spend any more time discussing. Most embroidery software uses one of these systems, although there is popular home software that uses an arbitrary scale that is relative, making accuracy difficult.
The first system can measure in metric or inches. Due to the small distances, the metric system is much easier to work with and can offer increments in millimeters or points, which are one tenth of a millimeter.
Why density can be confusing
Since we are measuring the space between stitches, the smaller the number, the denser the seam. A reasonably average value of density is .4 to .45. If the density is .8, it is half as dense as .4; the seam is more open because there is twice the space between the rows. This is a good value for shading lighter layers or backgrounds like the sky. A density of .2 is twice as dense as .4 and should probably never be used (with the possible exception of 3D foam) because you are simply tucking too many stitches into a small space.
Where is density used?
Density only applies to satin and fill stitch objects and underlay. With satin stitches, the narrowest column has less density than the wider ones. Sample densities for the base can be between 2 and 4 mm. Ordinary stitches have no density.
How Density Affects Your Embroidery
In a well digitized nifty design, you will often find that the density varies for two main reasons: interest and purpose. Light fills create excellent backgrounds, skies, and water, allowing the eye to focus on the main subject, creating depth and perspective, and allowing the design to more gradually transform into the fabric, thus avoiding the “patchwork” look. “.
Light densities provide less coverage. This can be good when creating shadows, shading, layering texture, or tone-on-tone embroidery. Lower density designs sew faster and put less stress on the fabric. The result is a softer and more flexible embroidery.
High densities, especially when combined with short stitches, help create stiff, thick-feeling designs. When densities are excessive, you may experience more thread breaks, broken needles, fabric damage, design distortion, and longer sewing times. Too much density combined with too short stitches is one of the most common mistakes novice digitizers make and can be found in many of the free designs they share.
Note: Increasing the density provides better coverage to some extent. For better fabric coverage, lengthen the stitch, increase the base coat, or use a color-block coverage.
The perfect combination of density and stitch length covers the fabric adequately without creating a “bulletproof patch”. Unfortunately, “perfect density” is relative and depends on the fabric, the color of the fabric in relation to the design, and personal embroidery preference. Always keep in mind that embroidery is an embellishment and absolute full solid coverage is not the goal and rarely results in good embroidery.
How to control density
As an embroiderer, you are most likely faced with density options when using a lettering program. Avoid the temptation to dramatically increase the density of the letters, especially when working with very small letters. The general rule of thumb here is that the narrower the column (thinner the stroke of the letter), the less density you should apply.
If you are using original designs, you probably have little or no control over the initial density setting. There are some utilities (I recommend Density Works from Designer Gallery) that can detect and correct high-density areas. Density Works is very easy to use and should be part of any embroidery toolbox.
Resume
While you may not have precise control over stock designs, recognizing the impact of density can help you understand why some designs perform better than others with different fabric / pattern / thread / stabilizer combinations. Note that high density is not the only cause of a thick design; The thread and stabilizer options also affect the smoothness of an embroidery.